Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 64: The Morning After

I awoke aching from temple to temple and from the top of my rib cage to the soles of my feet. Yay! My arms and neck were fine.

More pressing at the moment, though, my bladder was dangerously full.

I tossed back the covers and sat up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed. I was focused on making a bathroom run.

I squealed when I stepped on a warm lump that groaned from the impact of my foot. Instantly, I pulled my feet up on the top of the bed before looking over the side.

King lay wrapped in an unfamiliar blanket, a forearm lying across his eyes. As he awoke, he shifted to a more comfortable position.

"What are you doing here?"

I didn’t wait for a response. The full bladder took precedence. I crawled off the foot of the bed but immediately regretted it as I stretched sore muscles and asked those same muscles to support my weight.

I bit back a groan, but not quick enough.

"Are you okay?" King asked.

"Hold that thought," I said as I hobbled toward the bathroom.

I quickly dropped my pants and underwear. Squatting, though, came more slowly as my aching body resisted. My eyes watered as I prayed my bladder control held out until my bottom touched porcelain. I was seconds away from making a deal with the devil not to wet myself in exchange for never drinking again. But then I was fully seated and relieving myself.

The pressure off, literally and figuratively, I tried to fathom why King was in my room.

I replayed the evening in my head. While I wasn’t proud of my behavior, I didn’t sense any blackout moments.

I stalled returning to the bedroom, taking my time to wash my hands and face, brushing my teeth, and flossing. I was considering giving myself a facial when there was a knock at the door.

"Teela, I’m going back to my room. You don’t have to hide. You said you didn’t want to be alone last night. I didn’t either, so I crashed here. On the floor. I hope it’s okay."

I didn’t know what to say. Last night was weird. King talked to me like a friend. I didn’t know what to do with that.

King said, "The water by the bed is yours. I’m going now."

I decided being mad or upset served no purpose. Plus, I really wasn’t sure why I would be upset. King didn’t do anything a friend wouldn’t do.

There it was. When did I start thinking of King as a friend? If that was the problem that I had with him, then that was on me. King was innocent.

"Yeah, okay. I’ll be ready for work shortly."

"Take your time."

And I did, but eventually, I couldn’t put off leaving my room. Besides, I owed Jake an apology, and as much as I loved all things electronic, this wasn’t something I could do via text.

What I could do was check in with Father DiMarco on the condition of my church friends. That killed another two minutes.

The vivacious Rosie from yesterday was replaced with a much more subdued version of our master housekeeper.

She handed me a brownish smoothie and two pain relievers. "Hangover remedy, " she said, waving me off and heading back to the kitchen.

Min and King were at the table. Ben was missing.

"Ben okay?" I asked.

Min said, "No class today. Staying in. I’ll take him to the club tonight."

I nodded. "Take backup."

The smoothie looked toxic but it tasted of pineapple, something pureed, something spicy, and maybe banana. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to know as long as it worked.

I spent the trip to drop off King dozing. Yes, I was so out of it that the crazy smoothie and two pain relievers were enough to sate my nerves. At least until the car stopped and King and I were standing on the sidewalk close enough to touch then the moment felt too intimate for a public place under the early morning sunlight.

I had to remind myself we were acting with purpose. We had to stand firm with the story we were selling to Lettie. It was especially important after the Nan ordeal.

King leaned close. He brushed the hair back from my ear and said, "You don’t have to do this."

Yes, I did. And if I was totally honest with myself, it was somehow easier today.

My answer was to turn my head to find his lips with mine. The kiss was too awkward and filled with thoughts of last night and this morning to be as passionate as our last kiss, but it was still an acceptable kiss on the grand scale of all kisses.

We broke apart with nervous smiles.

"See you," King said as he walked away.

"See you."

If I hadn’t given my knot ball back to the therapist, I would have gladly worked on undoing a knot. It felt like we’d earned one.

The crew at Crazy Code were in worse condition than me. Red eyes, half-empty coffee cups so loaded with sugar that I could smell it, and random groans of agony were prevalent.

"I’m not even going to ask how you’re doing."

Bea gave me a dirty look. "I blame you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Taekwondo was your bright idea."

"Mine? I thought it was yours."

Stiff said, "Sh, argue quieter."

I went over to him and massaged his shoulders. "I’m sorry. What can I do to make it better."

Stiff looked at me over his shoulder. "You don’t want to know, especially with the smell of King’s cologne still clinging to you."

I blushed and sniffed my sleeve. "Really? Oh, wow. Yeah, I can smell it a little bit. Nice scent."

As casually as I could, I put distance between us.

I asked Bea, "So what is the plan today, boss lady?"

"This morning, I’m training the new hires. Stiff and Jake are finalizing the next raid. You’ve got a couple of money-maker hacks to work on with Cometkazee.

"Hey, when will I meet CK? He sounds cool."

I asked, "When did you talk to CK?"

"Never you mind. I want to meet him."

"Alright. I’ll make it happen, but you said that is this morning. What’s on the agenda this afternoon?"

Stiff said, "You and I are going shopping."

"For what?"

"You’ll need a dress for the auction."

"I thought Bea and I would cover that."

Bea said, "Sorry, Boo. I’m otherwise engaged. You’ll have to settle for Stiff. Besides, his tastes are better suited for this event than mine."

Stiff said, "Settle. Geez, I feel so loved, not."

I said, "Don’t be that way. I’d love to go shopping with you, but Bea, won’t you need a dress too?"

Bea said, "I picked up a couple of pieces in France last year that should fit the bill. You can help me choose which one later."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. What has you tied up this afternoon?"

Bea’s entire face lit up with a smile. "Father DiMarco and I have plans."

Ah, Anya. "Okay. Play nice. Stay safe."

"Yes, mom."

Jake entered the room with a monster coffee and a box of pastries. He sat both on the table and pulled out a value-sized bottle of pain relievers from his jacket pocket. He sat the bottle next to the pastries.

Jake said, "Help yourself, folks, but the coffee is mine."

A pack of wolves couldn’t attack faster than Bea and Stiff. Bea went in for the chocolate croissant while Stiff scarfed down three pain relievers with a full bottle of water.

I turned my attention to Jake. "Can we talk?"

"Sure."

I led Jake to the office Bea assigned to me, but I seldom used it. I was either out with the programmers or in the conference room with Stiff most of the time.

"Jake, I wanted to apologize for last night. I drank too much and misbehaved."

"Tee, you don’t have to apologize. It was nice to see you relax and let go."

"Still—"

"No, Teela, seriously. If anything, I was honored you trusted me that much."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we’re good."

"Thanks."

It was a huge relief. I valued Jake’s friendship. The thought of harming that relationship was unforgiveable.

With that worry off my mind, I wondered about this shopping trip with Stiff. I knew King wouldn’t like me going out with Stiff, even if it were as friends, but King really didn’t have much say in how I ran my life. Then why did I care? It wasn’t like we were going to a hotel room. It was shopping in public, surrounded by tons of people.

I also had a feeling this trip meant more than just shopping to Stiff. He’d made it so clear that he was into me. And I also knew he was not enjoying all the time I spent with King. The icy glares were hard to ignore.

I wanted Stiff as a friend. I only had room for Stiff as a friend, but it would gut me if he walked away because he couldn’t handle my relationship—whatever that relationship was now—with King.

Maybe Stiff and I could have a serious talk about everything while we were out and clear up some of the underlying tension that could turn toxic if we weren’t careful.

That was my dream anyway.