Was this how it was going to be? Would they occupy the same house, share rooms, breathe the same air, maybe have periodic sex, but live the lives of quiet desperation? Those questions were like knives cutting her flesh.          Raising her head from the sink after washing her face with cold water, Stephanie started long and hard at her reflection in the mirror. It was a disheartening sight. Having silently cried most of the night, her eyes were puffy and red. What else was new? This was her routine lately: crying by night and covering the puffiness by day.               So, she started to undo the damage. Luckily Shawn's assistant, the ever-irritating Amanda, wasn’t at the office yet, so Stephanie had plenty of time to make herself look presentable again. This was her workplace, the only place

          Once they got to their favorite restaurant, Shawn stood in silence, letting Billy do the talking.“I’m sure that the Germans will accept all our conditions, Shawn! They finally realized that the Chinese product is pure crap and that we are their only salvation. Tomorrow I will play my game and I will get out of them all that we have lost, including the 10 million I owe Stephanie,” Billy said after drinking all the wine in the glass and pouring some more. “I hope you will be present tomorrow... I really need you there, brother!”“I will be there, don’t worry!” Shawn replied, nodding.“How about going out to celebrate tomorrow night? Just you and me, like we used to!” Billy exclaimed finishing another glass of wine.“Can I take a raincheck? Isabelle and I have a date tomorrow evening. There are a few things that she and I need to clarify,

          Right after he parked the car in front of the house, Billy turned to face Stephanie. She was staying next to him, in complete silence. She has been like this since she stepped into the car. Stephanie kept looking outside the window while fidgeting with her fingers. She was so nervous, and Billy felt a little guilty for her state of mind but also glad for what he realized after he tasted her lips and touched her body.          The image of their kiss came back to his mind, and Billy felt his body reacting to it. What happened in the office between the two of them was so… right. He was still feeling the taste of that kiss, the sensation of his wife's body pressed against his. His wife... Since they got married, this was the first time when Billy thought about Stephanie this way.          He reached out to take

“Please, just calm down. Let's try and talk about our problems without raising our voices or starting the third world war,” he replied looking at Stephanie for a few seconds. “Yelling won’t solve a thing.”“Alright, Billy. I’ll behave like a civilized person.”          A sharp pain went straight through Stephanie’s heart and she recognized it as fear. After having sex, Billy looked and sounded extremely serious. And this wasn’t a good sign.“You said that the current situation isn’t good for you or for me. Why are you saying this?” Stephanie asked but she kinda knew the answer.“We can’t continue to behave like this, to play this game... After making love to you for the first time that night...”“Stop, please… What we did that night wasn’t making love, Billy. It was something cold and detac

          Disgusted by the presence of Nathaniel so close to her, Isabelle slammed the door behind her and in an angry gesture, she threw the file Nathaniel had brought her onto the floor.          He was starting to cross the lines and Isabelle knew she had to do something to put Nathaniel in his place. He must understand that she wasn’t one of his many… girlfriends, nor was she interested in becoming one. She will let him the moment she’ll get back to the office.          Isabelle had to call Marie and ask her to remove him from their group. This man was not only obnoxious but creepy too. And the way he was talking to the women working at the foundation… He would turn into a slimy, repulsive in a matter of seconds.          Nathaniel was a danger for all