The entire flight back to New York, I think about ways to tell Max I got the job but that I don’t want to take it. I want to stay with him and Bella in New York. I know it’s foolish, and I know it won’t work, but sometimes it helps to think that it’s possible. And that lets me get through the long nights without him.

I grab my luggage off the conveyor belt and drag it behind me as I make my way through the crowds toward the exit.

“Weren’t you supposed to tell me when you wanted to come back?” A deep voice asks from behind me.

I whirl around and come face to face with Max. “How did you know?”

“You used my card, remember?” He chuckles. “I got an alert when you changed the ticket.”

I’m annoyed with myself for not changing the payment to my own card. He has eyes and ears everywhere except for where it counts. I wish for the hundredth time today that we had a normal relationship, with no deadlines or weird agreements. It would have been nice to have a man who’s in love with me picking me up from the airport and taking me home.

“Shall we?” He sticks out his elbow, and I gingerly accept it. He grabs the handle of my suitcase from me and leads the way to the driver waiting for us. The driver leaps out to take the bag from him, and Max holds the door open for me.

I slip in and scoot to one side. Max slides in after me and scoots closer so our thighs are touching. I missed him so much when I was away, but now that he’s near, I don’t want him.

I have to stick to the resolution I made to myself while in Milan: not to sleep with him anymore. It’s going to be difficult, but in the long run, I hope it will be easier to forget about him. This is the only way we can start distancing ourselves from this arrangement.

He leans in without warning and brushes his lips against mine. My lips betray me by parting and inviting in his tongue to dance with mine. I want to stop, but I also want to see where it will lead. My resolution lasted all but ten seconds. But a few kisses can’t hurt.

A warm, familiar sensation spreads through my body. My chest thrusts forward, willing his hands to cup my breasts. His hand cups the right side of my ribs instead, and his thumb brushes the underside of my breast. He goes back and forth lightly before slowing down and increasing his pressure.

I pull back suddenly while I know I still can. “I think we should stop,” I rasp. I hate that I sound so affected by just his kiss, but I can’t help it.

Max looks amused, but he leans back casually as if he doesn’t care if we continue or not. I cross my arms over my chest to stop my nipples from straining against my thin shirt.

“I have to leave tomorrow for London,” he says, swiping through his phone. “I thought we would have more time together between when you returned and when I had to leave, but it didn’t work out that way. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight, just you and me? We can put Bella to bed before we go.”

“No, I just want to relax for a bit. Why are you going to London?”

“I have to meet one of the investors that missed me when we were there earlier. He’s not as, well, invested in the project as the rest of the group.” Max continues to tell me a little bit more about the project, but I tune it out.

I stare out the window and blink back the tears that threaten to spill. He’s so casual about this business venture, the same as he’s treating our arrangement. I’m a fool for catching feelings and becoming invested when he warned me that it wasn’t part of the deal.

“I have about a month before I have to wrap things up here,” I say quietly when he finishes.

“And then?” I feel him stiffen and pull away, but I can’t understand why. This is what he wanted, this is what we agreed to.

“Then I go to Milan for six weeks. It’s a preliminary assignment, but it’s during the peak time before fashion week, so I have to be there ahead of that for planning. I should actually be there now, but I told them that I had to come back to make arrangements.”

“That’s nice that they’re so understanding,” Max replies vaguely. “You’ll do well.”

We pull up to the house, and Max is out of the car before it comes to a complete stop. Unlike when we got into the sedan, he doesn’t wait for me by the door and runs up the steps and into the house before I can get out. The driver rounds to the back of the car smoothly and withdraws my bag. He carries it up, and I follow closely behind, my mind racing.

What did I say to Max that made him get out of the car and leave abruptly? It’s not like he didn’t know where my interviews were going to lead. Or did he assume that I wasn’t talented enough to get my foot in the door without his assistance?

* * *

I roll my neck to get the kinks out. I could go for a massage, but there’s no time for that. I go through the list of things that I need to do today before I can begin to think about relaxing. Although I hadn’t planned on returning to the office, Sam had requested my help in a few matters. Before I knew it, I was back to my routine, minus Max in the office.

After picking up Bella, I have to take her to her swimming lessons and then return home to give her dinner and do her nighttime routine. After swimming is a tricky time for her because she’s incredibly hungry and sleepy at the same time. The symptoms for both are similar—crankiness, moodiness, and crying at the drop of a hat. I know that when I let her emotions run their course, she calms down quicker, so I usually let her have a good cry and sympathize with her.

“You got a minute?” Riley comes in and has a seat across from me.

“I do now,” I joke. “What’s going on?”

She bites her lip and shakes her head. “There’s this lady in my department who’s trying to cause trouble. She started to tell me about it last week while you were gone, but when I wasn’t biting, I thought she’d drop it. She didn’t.”

“What? Start from the beginning. What happened exactly?”

“You’ve seen the Amazon that works on my floor before, right? The one with terrible taste in perfume?”

“Oh yeah, you said you got a headache from her horrible strawberry hurricane a while ago.”

“Yup, that’s the one. It turns out that’s not her only flaw. She went to human resources and claimed that Max made a pass at her.”

“What?” I get up from my chair, ready to go out the door and confront her.

“You can’t do anything about it, Laura. Let HR deal with her. If you do anything, it’ll reflect poorly on you since you’re his wife. Of course, you’d take his word over hers.”

“So I’m supposed to let her say whatever she wants?” But I know she’s right, and I sit back down. “Where the hell does she get off saying something like that?” Then I remember her a few weeks back, talking to Max by Sam’s office. She was leaning into him, touching him.

“She’s the one you warned me about,” I say flatly. “I should have listened. Maybe she’s telling the truth.”

“What? No!” Riley stands up to wear a path in my carpet. “I might have believed it for a second if I didn’t see firsthand how much he missed you while you were gone. There’s no way he’s interested in Sandy.” She pauses by the window behind me and looks out. “When is Max coming back, anyway?”

“By Thursday, unless he has some delays.”

Riley worries her lower lip and crosses her arms. “Is there any way he can come back sooner? It would help to have him here to clear his name.”

“It’s her word against his, right? What’s her story, anyway? She’s been with the company for a while or what?”

Riley shrugs. “She’s not exactly new. She joined maybe a year ago, and she’s always seemed a little opportunistic, but that could be my personal bias seeping in. Her personality rubs me the wrong way.”

“If you find out details, let me know. The sooner, the better.”

“As far as I know, she’s been pretty vague. At least, that was the impression I got when she was trying to tell me before I shut it down. I should have heard her out.” Riley looks regretful.

“Don’t worry about it. Human resources will figure it out on their end.” I sound more certain than I feel. I don’t want to get into what happened when Rebecca came into town. I still don’t know what happened with that, but I’m hurt by it nonetheless.

“Yeah. I know Maxwell will want to be on top of things, though. Maybe you can talk to Sam and see if there’s anything he can help with.”

“Good idea.” I plant my hands on my hips and glance at the time. “He should be back in his office by now. I think he was in a meeting earlier.”

Riley nods and walks to the door. “I have to go, but let me know what happens. I’ll keep my ears open, too.”

I hear the staccato of her heels disappear down the hallway. I can’t possibly concentrate on my work now; I need to know more about this woman. There’s no better person to ask than Sam.

Hurrying to his office, I pass by Norma’s desk. The curiosity on her face is evident, but I’ll have to pick her brain later. She’s loyal to Max, and if anyone has something negative to say about him, I’m nearly positive she’ll have some dirt on them.

“Hey, you free?” I rap on the door as I speak.

“Yeah,” Sam responds without looking up from his laptop. “I have a few minutes. Come in, have a seat. I just need to finish this email before I forget.”

“I can come back.” I retreat into the hallway, but Sam looks up quickly.

“No, really. Have a seat. I’ve got some time. What’s going on?”

“Did you hear about the woman who’s accusing Max of sexual harassment?”

Sam snorts. “Is it you?”

“Sam!”

He laughs. “I mean really, if anyone was going to complain, it should have been you.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You wouldn’t. That’s my whole point. You two are both crazy for arranging this marriage, and you’re even crazier for wanting to end it. So who’s this other lady? I’m intrigued.”

“She works with Riley,” I begin.

Sam cuts me off with a hand in the air. “You mean Sandy.”

“I guess. Yes, actually. That’s what Riley said earlier.”

“Yeah, she’s a piece of work. I know she’s lying.”

“How can you be sure? You don’t even know the details.”

Sam takes a deep breath and closes his laptop. “For starters, Max is married. And out of the two of us, I will say that he’s definitely more qualified to be married—meaning he will always do it justice. He’s always held the sanctity of marriage in high regard. Remember when we talked a while ago about how my parents got a divorce? My mom had an affair. It devastated everyone, but Max especially. I think my dad already suspected that she was cheating for a while and had just accepted it. But Max took it to heart. That alone makes me think this woman is lying through her teeth. He has no reason to cheat. He’s married to you. And even if you’re heading toward what you two refer to as an ‘inevitable divorce,’ then what reason would he have to cheat? Why not wait a few months?” Sam shook his head. “Bullshit.”

His words make my heart feel lighter, even though I didn’t believe the woman’s story.

“And she flirts with anyone who looks in her direction, so I already don’t believe her. I mean she flirted with me right in front of Riley—” He breaks off and shakes his head. “She has no boundaries.”

“Flirting doesn’t mean she wasn’t harassed,” I argue.

“So do you believe her?” Sam raises his eyebrows. “I know this is off-topic but whatever you think happened between him and Rebecca, didn’t, and I can guarantee this is nothing, too.”

“I’m just playing devil’s advocate here.” I run my hand through my hair and exhale loudly. “It’s just a lot, you know?”

“Yeah.” Sam looks at me curiously. “If you two are going to divorce, then why do you even care about this? Max can pay her to make it all go away in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. He’s famous for paying women off. But would he? How does that solve anything? It doesn’t prove his innocence.”

“And why do you care?” Sam presses me.

“I don’t. I mean, I do, but I just don’t want to see someone like her get away with accusing him or anyone and thinking it’s okay.”

“And that’s the only reason?” Sam doesn’t look convinced. “It sounds like you believe him, so that’s a start.”

“I know what you’re getting at, but I’m mad that she’s able to say whatever she wants, even if there’s no truth to it. It’s not fair. That’s all.”

“Yeah, she’s entitled to say whatever the hell she wants. And we’re entitled to find out the truth.”

Riley raps on the door behind me. “Hey, I got some more info.”

“How?” Sam is incredulous.

“When women want to know something, we know how to investigate.” Riley sniffs and tosses her hair in an exaggerated fashion.

“I guess so.” Sam puts his hands up in surrender. “Close my door if this is juicy.”

Riley closes it and makes herself comfortable in the seat across from him. I wonder if it’s my imagination, but I notice Sam’s gaze lingering on her legs briefly before she starts sharing what she knows. “Oh, it’s juicy. So apparently, li’l Miss Thang has been after Max for a while.” She pauses and looks at me, then Sam, then settles her eyes on me. “Did you hear anything about this before? You and I both saw her trying to flirt with Max outside of Sam’s office that one afternoon.”

“I saw that, but I thought that was the extent of it.”

“Wait, where was I? Flirting outside my office?” Sam looks annoyed. “Like I said, the woman has no boundaries.”

“Is this a flirt-free zone?” Riley teases.

“For her, yes.” Sam gives her a lopsided smile.

“What else?” I prod, annoyed with their banter.

“After talking to a few people on my floor and stopping by Human Resources, I know a few details.” She waits for us to ask what they are.

“Well?” Sam spreads his hands in the air. “Are you going to tell us?”

“I worked hard for these details. I’d like a little credit.” Riley huffs.

“You’re a genius, and we couldn’t have done it without you.” Sam grins at her. “Good enough? Now talk.”

“Sounds a little condescending to me, but okay. One of the girls said that Sandy’s been talking about how easy it was for you to wrap Max around your finger, and she’s become obsessed with the idea of doing the same thing. Now, don’t get upset, but she’s been talking about your arrangement with Max—don’t ask me how she knows anything, and she thinks she could be next on his list. You should know that no one believes her about the arrangement. They’ve seen firsthand how you dote on Bella, and they all believe that you and Max had a whirlwind romance.”

I look up at Sam and find him staring intently at me. “What did you find out in Human Resources?” he asks Riley, but he’s still watching me.

“I went down there to see what I could find out, but you know that stuff is all confidential. I did my best, but no one was talking. I don’t mean to brag, but I have a skill: I can read upside down really well. So, one of the women had a file behind her, and I read some of the remarks when I was trying to get her to spill the beans.”

“I’m actually a little frightened by you right now.” Sam draws himself up and shakes his head. “I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a violation of company policy.”

“Hey! I’m trying to help your brother, here. Whose side are you on?” Riley cocks her head to one side and rests her hands on his desk, pushing her face forward toward him. “You would have done the same thing if you had my skills.”

Sam laughs. “You’re probably right. I’ll look the other way this time, I suppose.”

“Damn straight,” Riley says smugly. “So anyway, someone said that she’s been put on paid leave until they straighten everything out.”

“So what prompted her to go to Human Resources if she thought she had a chance with Max?” I wonder aloud.

“Yeah, exactly.” Sam frowns. “I don’t get that.”

“My guess is that Max told her flat out that she stood no chance with him, and this is her way of squeezing out some money from him. She’s assuming that he’ll want the problem to go away, and he’ll silence her with a healthy payoff.”

“Could be,” I agree. “Weird thing to do, though. Then she loses her job in the process. Not a great plan.”

“Not everyone loves their job,” Riley points out. “You have to understand; some people are just out for blood and waiting for a quick opportunity to make cash at any cost. She knows he’s loaded. She somehow knows about the arrangement you have with him, and she wanted to be next on his list, one way or the other. It’s possible she threatened him to go public with whatever she has on him, and he called her bluff. Did either of you hear him say anything about her—good or bad?”

“No,” Sam and I say in unison. “I didn’t really notice her until that one day we saw her in the hallway,” I admit.

“That’s because you didn’t have to smell her.” Riley rolls her eyes. “I took one whiff, and I never forgot to avoid her.”

“I’ll keep an ear to the ground.” Sam sighs. “I’ll prepare Max with the news before he comes back, too. I hate to make him tense while he’s on a trip, though. It’s going to make him that much more stressed. In the meantime, let’s reconvene if we find out anything else.”