The Next Wife

by Kaira Rouda

  “We don’t have enough proof. Or, for that matter, a body.” I watch as his face blanches. “I don’t think EventCo can withstand that gruesome of a scandal. A long, drawn-out police investigation could ruin us. The new will is the key to getting rid of her. Prove it’s fake, and she’s got nothing.” This is the way it must be. “We filed a lawsuit last night. She will lose this fight.”

  “I hope so. I really do,” Lance says. “I’ll get Tish moved and Jennifer pitching our story.”

  “Thanks. And you know what else? We need some publicity stills of Ashlyn and me collaborating before she heads back to college. Build up the family narrative, next generation already learning the ropes,” I say. There’s nothing like a good old multigenerational family story to bolster an IPO. How genuine. How corporate of us.

  “I love it.” Lance is animated again.

  “Send Ashlyn in. I’ll explain my idea to her. You talk with Jennifer and come back when you guys have a plan or an interested media outlet.”

  He hurries out of the office as I wonder how it will make Tish feel when Ashlyn and I have a family business photo shoot together. The thought of her reaction when she finds out is delicious.

  CHAPTER 50

  TISH

  Nothing like a quickie to get the day started right. Fortunately, my house didn’t sabotage our little romp, and the temperature actually stayed below eighty degrees in my bedroom. A miracle.

  Chris is off to work his real estate magic—he promises to be back tonight with more. For more. The thought prompts a little zing in my stomach. Today is going to be a good day.

  As I drive to the office, I’m looking forward to solidifying my power. I’m buoyed by the thought that tonight will be my last night living in my haunted home. I’ll move into a downtown hotel, like Chris suggested. I can start looking for a condo right away. Money isn’t an issue, at least it won’t be once the will clears probate. Thanks to a good marriage, it never will be again.

  Today’s my lucky day. I find a parking space in front of the EventCo offices and, as I step out onto the sidewalk and look up at the impressive building, a wave of pride washes over me. This is my company now. At least half of it. People have to take me seriously. I’ve arrived. I’m a co-president. Or a joint CEO? I’m something important. I need to figure out what my title is and order business cards. Oh, and new office furniture, too. I’ll create a look more feminine than John’s, a look more like Kate’s furniture. Maybe I’ll just copy Kate’s setup. I have to admit I like her office, even though I once thought it was overdone. I realize it’s not. Our offices will be indistinguishable. Over time, I’ll learn everything she knows. Or I’ll pretend to know it. How hard can this be?

  I let myself in the first floor and walk past a bunch of offices on my way to the stairs. I don’t know exactly what all of these people do all day, but I understand their general categories: accounting, IT, sales. I’m going to need to do a sit-down with the department heads and get up to speed. Sure, I know all their names and what departments they lead, but what do they do? I haven’t a clue. I’m going to need someone to take me under his wing. I’m going to need Lance. That thought brings a smile to my face as I climb the stairs to the executive offices.

  I’m humming as I push through the large glass door and stand in the two-story atrium where John loved to challenge people to Ping-Pong games. I sort of miss the big guy about now, even though I would not be here if he was still alive. He was going to make me stay home. That remembrance infuriates me. After all I did for him. He was going to make me stay home, and do who knows what, so he could spend quality time at the office with Kate. And then he was going to dump me.

  Too bad, John. This is all going to work out much better under my plan. I hurry to John’s office, pop the key in the door, and walk in. Some small part of me keeps thinking Kate will have the locks changed again to keep me out, but she’s not that strong, or that stupid. Perhaps she knows she’s lost?

  According to the will, this is where I belong. I wonder how fast I can order new furniture. I have the catalog in my assistant desk. I sit down at John’s desk and wake up his desktop computer. I need a new one of these, too, don’t I? I want something sleek, new. I suddenly hate all of this masculine furniture, this desk, and this chair. It smells like John, like his car: like my nightmares every night. I want a fresh start. I’m entitled to have it the way I want it.

  The screen saver on the computer lights up. It’s a photo of me, standing in the kitchen in Telluride. When was this taken? I wonder if John’s screen saver is filled with photos of me. How sweet. I wait for the photo to change, but there is no slideshow. And then I realize what I’m looking at. John must have taken the photo of me from out on the deck. It’s from our last night. I swallow. I’m mixing a batch of drinks. So what. That’s what everyone does on vacation. I push the power button and the computer shuts down, the screen dark and lifeless.

  Someone is trying to scare me. It’s not going to work.

  My hands shake as I pull open the desk drawer to find my notepad. Instead I find a sheet of paper folded in half. I open it. It’s a printed photo of John, on the last night, drinking my special margarita. Below the photo someone wrote:

  I know what you did.

  Get out. Leave town. Or else.

  I look out to the hall, but it’s empty. Who did this?

  And what exactly does this person think I’ve done?

  It’s a bluff. It has to be. My heart is pounding. I am so sick and tired of people messing with me. Threatening me. Underestimating me. It’s exhausting sometimes, but it does make you stronger. And I am invincible.

  CHAPTER 51

  ASHLYN

  On the way to my appointment, I make a call to Tish’s mom again. I need to ask her a few more questions. She doesn’t answer. I try texting, but it doesn’t go through. Tish must have gotten to her somehow. I lean back in the Uber, try to figure out another way to reach her besides driving to Pineville, Kentucky.

  The driver pulls to a stop, and I hop out ready to focus on my task at hand. I was lucky my mom’s naturopath, Bonnie, agreed to squeeze me in this morning to take a look at my elbow. I wait for my appointment in the front room of her home office, taking a moment to quiet my thoughts.

  The door opens. “Ashlyn, dear, it’s so good to see you. I haven’t seen you since you were a child. Please come in,” Bonnie says. Her calm presence is just what I need this morning. She wears a rainbow sweatshirt and jeans, and a large crystal hangs from her neck. “I’m so sorry about your dad. I wish I had met him.”

  “He was a great guy. I thought he was your patient, too,” I say as I follow her inside.

  “No, men can be very reluctant to take care of themselves. They often don’t go to a doctor until things are very serious. What can I do for you, honey?” she asks as I slide onto the exam table.

  “I was in a car accident. My elbow is pretty messed up,” I say, and show her.

  “Oh dear. OK, let me just take a look at this,” she says, gently examining my arm. The wall of the exam room is lined with shelves, and the shelves hold glass jars and vials of herbs. It smells like a garden in here. “Oh yes, OK. I know just what you need.”

  “Mom said you don’t work on bones, but I figured you did,” I say.

  “Yes, we handle everything, just like those traditional doctors. Tell your mom to come and see me. She hasn’t been in for years,” Bonnie says.

  “I will. So you prescribed the pills for my dad without seeing either of them?” I ask.

  “Oh, honey, I don’t do that, not even for your family. Whatever he was taking, they weren’t from me,” Bonnie says. “Come on off the table, and let’s get you all fixed up. And tell your mom she’s overdue for an appointment. She must be under so much stress right now.”

  CHAPTER 52

  KATE

  I lean back in my desk chair and smile. It feels great to have a plan: overturn the fraudulent will, run Tish out of town, calm the investors, watch Eve
ntCo grow. Oh, and I’m going to launch my new Forever product. There’s no one around to tell me no. Not anymore.

  I swivel my desk chair and find Ashlyn standing at the office door. I wave her in.

  “Hi, honey. You were up bright and early this morning. How are you feeling? How’s your arm?” I tilt my head, hoping for an explanation.

  “I’m a little sore, but I think it’s better. Stopped by the doctor on the way to work,” she says. “Bonnie told me to tell you hi. She hasn’t seen you for years.”

  “Oh, that’s not true. I was just there, to get medicine for your dad.”

  “That’s not what she said,” Ashlyn says.

  We lock eyes. Will she push me further? I hope not.

  Ashlyn drops into the chair across from me. “I’ve enjoyed working here this summer, Mom. It’s weird, not having Dad here, too, though. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. You’re right.” For a moment my anger is replaced with a touch of nostalgia, a glimmer of what if. What if John had been faithful? What if it was the three of us, as a family, celebrating the end of Ashlyn’s internship and the beginning of her senior year at college? But that’s not the way it turned out. And that was all his choice.

  Ashlyn wears black pants and a jacket, a white blouse. She’s modeled herself after her mentor, Jennifer, and it’s a good look. She just needs to go on back to college, and everything will be fine.

  “You look happy. What’s up?” Ashlyn slides into the chair across from my desk. She looks around conspiratorially. “I think she’s here again, by the way. In Dad’s office. Maybe you should have the locks changed?”

  I smile. “I watched her walk in from the street. Don’t worry, she won’t be there long.”

  “Good.”

  Lance knocks on the door. “Sorry to interrupt. I just thought I’d let you know Tish is in John’s office. And she’s demanding to see Sandra. Something about her space being violated?” Lance shrugs. “I’ve set up the back office for her, the one without a window, next to the restrooms. Sound good?”

  “Yes. Perfect.” I nod. “Maybe I’ll go on over there and set her straight.”

  We all hear the crash at the same time. It’s the sound of breaking glass, topped off by a woman’s scream.

  “Is that Tish?” I ask.

  Lance nods.

  “She’s lost it,” Ashlyn says.

  I’m calm as I walk through the office, across the atrium lobby, and down the hall to John’s office. Now Tish’s office. No, John’s office. I can’t help but notice the employees watching me, anxious to see how this little show is going to play out. They’ve had a front-row seat since this sordid ordeal began.

  First it was John and Tish sneaking around, flirting in meetings, and creating all sorts of fodder for the rumor mill. And then, once they were “out” as a couple, the pity and speculation surrounding me grew. Would I quit? Be forced out? Really? The brains and the heart of EventCo? Could John push me to the side as a business partner as easily as he did as a spouse?

  The answer to that, of course, was no. Never.

  And the answer to Tish is no more.

  Sandra stands in the doorway to John’s office, hands on hips. She’s shaking her head like a disappointed schoolteacher.

  I can’t see Tish yet, but I can hear her. “I’m telling you, Sandra, someone broke into John’s office and is harassing me.”

  “You need to calm down,” Sandra says in a teacher voice.

  I touch Sandra’s shoulder and she jumps.

  “I’ll handle this.” I step into John’s office.

  Tish glares at me, her face locked in a furious frown. “Are you satisfied? This is all your fault.”

  I take a moment to view the destruction. John’s desk is somehow flipped forward on its side, the glass lamp smashed on the floor, the computer monitor shattered. This was the crash we heard from my office. It’s unbelievable. Tish is having a temper tantrum like a three-year-old.

  “My fault? You’re a wrecking ball. Look at what you’ve done to this office, to this company, to my family.” I am in control. I’ve dreamed of this moment. “If you choose to work here until I invalidate the scam will, your office is in the back. Sandra will escort you there and get you settled.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Tish screams.

  I turn to Sandra. “Document this incident and the property damage. It should go in her personnel file. Make certain she understands this is not her office. It is for the new president, who we will hire after an executive search. Make sure Tish understands I’m CEO. I’ll decide what title, if any, she’ll have, and whether her employment will be continued at all. At this point, that’s highly unlikely.”

  Tish shakes with anger.

  “And please make sure she understands I’m the majority shareholder here. I will make all the decisions for EventCo. If she doesn’t comply, call the police. I’m sure Chief Briggs will be interested to learn of this destructive, out-of-control incident. He’ll be calling soon to confirm Ashlyn’s car was tampered with. There’s so much more we can share with him.”

  I turn to walk out of John’s office, and I hear Tish gasp. I can’t help but smile.

  “Get back in here, bitch. You can’t do this. I’m the one in the will,” Tish yells, but I’m pretty certain she’ll comply with my demands. It was a gamble but worth it.

  “Mom, that was amazing.” Ashlyn walks beside me. Lance is close behind.

  Lance pushes my door open and follows us into the relative calm of my office.

  I slide into my desk chair. “That went well.”

  “You killed it, Kate.” Lance leans against my office door, grinning.

  “I loved it.” Ashlyn drops into the chair across from me. “I want to be just like that when I’m the boss. Rad.”

  I look up, and Jennifer is at the door. “Did you guys get a chance to talk about the publicity shot? Mother-daughter success and succession story?”

  “Yes, I’m in.” Ashlyn seems excited about it. “I know Dad would have loved it.”

  “The photographer will be ready in an hour. We’re going off-site,” Jennifer says before she leaves my office, Lance following her.

  “We’ll be ready.” I close the door behind them. It’s just Ashlyn and me. The way it should be. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past three years. From being blinded by work and trust, to believing if you did the right thing, worked hard, played by the rules, and were honest, everything would work out. I know that’s not the case, that’s not how the world works. I’m not naive. Not anymore.

  “Mom, she’s still here, though. What do we do?” Ashlyn asks.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. She won’t know what hit her. Stay here. I’ll be right back.” I walk out of my office and head to the back of the building to find Tish’s new, tiny office. It’s a closet, and I love it.

  “What do you want?” Tish asks, her voice cold.

  I’m not afraid. “Here are some facts for you to consider. I control seventy percent of the company, and there is no place for you at EventCo. Never will be. I suggest you take whatever is rightfully yours after three years of marriage and get out of town.”

  “You don’t scare me.” Tish stands up. “Get out of my office.”

  She just doesn’t get it. Stupid is as stupid does, that’s the saying, right? “By the way, you look horrible. Killers have trouble sleeping, I’ve read.” A low blow, but it’s true. Guilty conscience leads to haunting dreams.

  “Get out!”

  I’m already down the hall.

  CHAPTER 53

  TISH

  Who is threatening me? Who put that stupid photo on John’s computer? And why did I agree to relocate to this bleak office in the back of the building? No windows. I mean, this is not fitting for my position.

  John’s office is a mess, that’s why. I’ll let them clean it up, and I’ll order new furniture. Then I’ll move in. This squalid closet is temporary. I need to call George.

&nbs
p; Someone stands in the doorway.

  Ashlyn. Why hasn’t she learned her lesson yet?

  “Why did you tip over Dad’s desk?” She looks at me, all innocent, like she’s never had a fit of rage in her life. I know she has, though, but her anger is more like her mom’s. Hiding away under the surface. She’d never demean herself with a public display like mine. In that sense, she is her mother’s daughter.

  I drop my head and look at my hands. I have no one to blame but myself for my outburst. Someone will need to be summoned to clean up glass, to stand the desk back up. That thing is heavy. I know. I’m surprised I toppled it. Adrenaline is a powerful thing. So am I.

  “Someone burglarized my office, so I had a little temper tantrum. I guess those CrossFit sessions are paying off.” I chuckle, an attempt at humor. It falls flat. I remember crumpling the threatening note and throwing it on the floor. I need to go get that. It’s evidence.

  “Excuse me.”

  I push past Ashlyn and hurry toward John’s office. I turn the doorknob, but it’s locked. I gave Lance the key. I can see through the glass door, though. The note I tossed on the floor is gone.

  Why is Ashlyn following me?

  My phone vibrates. I pull it out of my back pocket. I need to get out of here. I’m not coming back until I have a proper office. Proper respect.

  It’s a text from George. Have confirmation from court. Motion was filed by daughter. Don’t worry. Stay strong.

  Oh, I’m strong. That’s not a problem, Uncle George.

  I turn around and face Ashlyn. I drop my voice to a menacing whisper. “I know what you did. Contesting the will. My will. You’d better stop following me. You better stop getting in my way. Do you understand? Here. And at home. I’m on to you. Don’t push me. Your car was just a warning shot. You know what I’m capable of doing. Cheers.”

  As Ashlyn scampers away, I feel the menial office workers staring at me. I don’t know some of their names, never really cared to learn, but they know me. Know who I am.