“It’s nothing, ma’am. Just a list of instructions.”
Bullshit. Chloe made a grave mistake not hiding those papers. Lana attempted to snatch them right out of the maid’s hands… but Chloe’s grip was so strong that the papers tore in half. All Lana had to show for her tantrum was the letterhead and the tops of words she could not make out in her husband’s cursive writing.
“Look here,” she growled, pointing a steel-tipped boot in Chloe’s direction. “I know what’s going on here. You’re staying low for now, but a wife knows when hanky-panky is underfoot. My husband is an idiot who thinks he can get away with it. You?” Lana cackled. That same cackle that sent so many of her colleagues running and calling her “crazy bitch” behind her back. Or right in front of her. “You’re nobody. I can wipe the floor with you. I can make sure nobody hires you in the city for as long as you live. Got it?”
At first, Chloe merely looked petrified. Now, Lana did not enjoy scaring a girl shitless. It wasn’t as satisfying as, say, scaring a fellow CEO shitless. There was no joy, no pride in making some little no-name girl quake in her flats and act like she was going to relieve her bowels in front of the boss.
Then Chloe changed. Knowledge overcame her. Soon enough, she knew exactly what her crazy-ass boss was referring to.
“Oh my God!” she cried, crumpling the yellow stationery in her hands. “I swear I’m not… no… you have the wrong idea, Mrs. Andrews!”
“Do I? You think I haven’t played this game before?” A part of her wished the change in Chloe’s demeanor meant a tiger cub was about to burst out. Threatening, but nothing she couldn’t deal with. Instead she got a scared and defensive little girl who probably really believed what she was saying. “You would be remiss, Chloe. I know exactly what my husband is up to.”
“You… do?”
“Oh, yeah. And I know your role in it, if you know what I mean.”
Now the maid looked confused.
“Mind yourself,” Lana said as a final warning. “I wouldn’t merely destroy you, girl. I would make your life such a living hell that you would have to move to the other side of the country to get a break from me. And even then? I would find you. Stay away from my husband.”
“I…”
“Shut up.” Lana turned, a satisfied grin taking over her pale complexion. “Oh, and I believe your break is now over. Roberta has some things for you to do.”
Lana learned nothing from that encounter, but damn if she didn’t feel better!
Chapter 10
“Do You Think I’m Pretty?”
“Oh, boy,” Elle said over margaritas the next afternoon. “Bullying your maid? That’s a new low, even for you.”
Lana slammed her margarita on the table between them and squared her shoulders. “I did what had to be done. You think I liked doing that?”
“Yeah, I do. At least a little.” Elle laughed, pushing out her fake tits and brushing her manicured nails through her crunchy black hair. Outside of the club, you can really tell she does shit to herself. Lana hoped she never reached that level of delusion. “You like throwing your weight around. Nothing wrong with that, especially from a badass bitch like you, but was it really necessary to make your maid piss herself? Even if you think your husband is hiding his sausage in her taco, that was brazen. Jesus, Lana.”
Yup. I’ve told someone. When Elle called her up the night before, wondering if she wanted to do afternoon drinks downtown, Lana jumped on the chance. She needed someone to bounce her suspicions off. Elle was as good as it was going to get on short notice.
“I can’t believe that Ken would cheat on you. Honey, that man is over the moon for you. Even after ten years, I can tell from the way he looks at you. You could tell him no more orgies for the rest of your lives, and he would go along with it as long as he got to be with you.”
“See, that’s what I’ve tried telling myself.” Lana lined up their empty glasses before sitting back in her seat, arms crossed. “I know the man still loves me. But is he fawning over me to keep me placated and distracted, or is it all in my head?”