Jordan trembled from head to toe.
"Boss, what... what do you mean by that?"
"There's really nothing going on between me and your wife."
Whispers began rippling through the crowd around them. I couldn't make out every word, but the gist was clear enough: they thought I was being petty.
The whole company knew the story.
Not long ago, Myra had taken Jordan abroad on a market research trip. They'd had the misfortune of running into a group of armed muggers. Jordan had thrown himself into the fray without a second thought, fighting off the attackers to keep Myra safe. She'd walked away without a scratch. He'd been hospitalized with serious injuries.
He still hadn't fully recovered.
As Myra's husband, I should have been falling over myself with gratitude. The man had risked his life to save my wife. But instead of thanking him, I was humiliating him in front of the entire company. Accusing the two of them of having an affair.
"You don't owe him an explanation!"
Myra's gaze was cold enough to freeze the air around her. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
She fixed me with a stare that could cut glass. "If this is about the million dollars, I'm not afraid to say it in front of everyone."
And she did.
She announced, right there in front of the whole crowd, that she'd given Jordan a million-dollar bonus. The room buzzed with shock and envy. Lucky bastard, some of them were probably thinking.
And just like that, everyone understood why I'd suddenly turned on Jordan.
It was about the money.
Some people got it. A million dollars was a million dollars, not pocket change.
Others thought I was being small. Jordan had put his life on the line to protect my wife. The fact that he'd survived was pure luck. Myra rewarding him with a million? That was perfectly reasonable. It just proved she had more class than I did.
She knew how to show gratitude.
After a moment, Myra challenged me. "Or does my life not even mean a million dollars to you?"
I said nothing. I just watched her perform.
"Ma'am, I don't think the boss meant it that way..."
Jordan tried to speak up for me.
Myra shot him a look so vicious he flinched, then turned back to me with a frigid smile. "Luke, you went to all this trouble to stage this little scene. It would be rude of me not to play along."
With that, she stepped forward, took Jordan's face in both hands, and kissed him full on the mouth while every single person in the room watched in stunned silence.
The hall went dead quiet.
The only sound was Jordan's ragged breathing.
The kiss lasted a full ten seconds before Myra finally pulled away.
"Boss, I—"
Jordan looked like he was about to cry. His panic was written all over him. His hands didn't know where to go, his eyes darted everywhere, his whole body rigid with the look of a man who'd just committed an unforgivable sin.
Some people envied him. He'd actually gotten to kiss the boss's wife.
Others pitied him. Sure, he'd kissed her, but it also meant he was about to lose a very comfortable job.
"Are you satisfied now, Luke?"
Myra's crimson lipstick was noticeably fainter than before. The deep kiss had transferred some of it onto Jordan's lips.
I clapped slowly. "Very."
"So now you're going to accuse me of cheating," she said.
"Then ask for a divorce."
"And demand I leave with nothing?"
In answer to her challenge, I shrugged and signaled my assistant, who stepped forward carrying a set of divorce papers that had clearly been prepared well in advance.
"The terms are laid out in full," I said. "Read them carefully. If you have no objections, sign, and it takes effect immediately."
My words hit the room like a bomb.
