After My Husband Spent My Fortune on His Mistress

I didn't go straight to the airport.

My flight left at four. That gave me six hours. Six hours to do one last thing in Montana, and do it right.

I drove our old truck into Bozeman. I still wore my work jeans and my barn jacket. There was a smear of feed on one sleeve. I didn't care. I wasn't going there to look pretty. I was going there to take back what was mine.

Big Sky Trading Company sat on the second floor of a brick building on Main Street. Lian ran it. Everyone thought he owned it. He thought so too.

He didn't.

My name was on every filing. My money had paid for every desk and every phone line. I never told him. I'd just smiled when he called it "my company" at parties.

In my bag sat a thick envelope. I pressed my hand against it once, then climbed the stairs.

The moment I opened the door, I stopped.

The office was different. The old gray carpet was gone. Now there was pale wood and white leather chairs. A new sign hung on the wall in gold letters. Fresh orchids sat on the front desk. The air smelled like vanilla and something floral.

I knew that smell. It had walked into my kitchen at dawn.

The CEO's door stood open. My door. The office I had picked out myself, three years ago, because it had the best window.

A woman sat behind the desk.

She had long dark hair and big soft eyes. She wore a cream dress with a gold logo on the belt. I knew that brand. I knew what it cost. She leaned back in the chair like it was a throne. My chair.

She looked up. A slow smile curled her lips.

"Oh," she said. "Are you the delivery girl?"

A few people at their desks laughed. Not loud. Just a little.

"I'm Hadley," I said. "I'm here for the company records."

She tilted her head. Then she laughed. It was light and pretty, like wind chimes.

"Hadley." She said my name slowly, like she was tasting something sour. "So you're the one. Lian told me about you." She stood and walked around the desk. Her heels clicked on the new floor. "I'm Celeste. Celeste Diaz. Acting CEO."

Acting CEO. In my company. Wearing my money.

"Records," Celeste said, turning to the room. "Did you all hear that? The pig-farm girl wants our records." She waved a hand at me. Her nails were long and pink. "Honey, you reek of feed. Go home and shovel some manure. Leave business to people who actually belong in an office."

Nobody laughed this time.

The room went still. Someone's keyboard stopped clicking. A phone rang and rang, and no one picked it up.

In the corner, a young woman sat at the front desk. Journee. I remembered her. Last Christmas, I'd brought cookies for the staff. She was the only one who said thank you. Now she gripped the edge of her desk. Her knuckles were white. Her jaw was tight. She stared hard at the floor.

I didn't move. My face felt hot, then cold.

Behind me, the stairs creaked. Heavy steps. I knew them by heart.

"What's going on?"

Lian stood in the doorway. He wore a new navy suit. I had never seen it before. He looked at Celeste first. Then he looked at me.

His nose wrinkled.

It was small. Just a twitch. But I saw it. Ten years, and that was what he gave me now. A wrinkle of disgust.

"Hadley." He tugged at his cuff. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for the records."

"Dressed like that?" He glanced at my sleeve. At the feed stain. "You're embarrassing me. In front of my staff."

My staff. He said it so easily.

Celeste drifted to his side. Her voice changed. It went soft and breathy, almost a whisper. "Lian, it's okay. I'm not upset. She just came in yelling, and I got a little scared."

I hadn't yelled. Not once.

Lian slid his arm around her waist. Right there. In front of everyone. In front of me.

"See?" he said. "This is what I'm talking about. You get a text wrong and you blow up. You're so immature, Hadley. So dramatic. You always have to make a scene."

"I sent you a text," I said quietly. "You laughed at it."

"Because it was a joke." He shook his head like I was a child. "And now you barge in here and insult Celeste? She runs this place now. Show some respect."

The whole office was watching. Twelve faces. Twelve pairs of eyes.

Lian pointed at the floor in front of Celeste's shoes.

"Kneel," he said. "Kneel down and apologize to her. Right now. Then maybe I'll forget this happened."

Celeste's lips curved. She didn't even try to hide it.

I looked at the floor. The pale new wood. Paid for with my money.

Then I looked at the man I had given ten years to.

My bag hung heavy on my shoulder. I felt the corner of the envelope through the leather. Sharp. Solid. Waiting.

The room held its breath.