Victoria glanced at her phone—it was already late. She barely knew this man, he certainly wasn’t a child in need of looking after, and staying any longer just felt inappropriate.
Quickly, she stood and apologized. K looked at her with a disarmingly innocent expression.
“If you have time tomorrow, could you come over again? I’d love to have your pasta,” he said, a hint of playfulness in his voice.
Sometimes, a man’s pleading could be even more persuasive than a woman’s. Victoria, who still needed his help, found herself nodding before she could think twice.
Downstairs, Yasmine was waiting in the car and nearly dozing off. As soon as she saw Victoria emerge, she hopped out to open the door for her.
“All set, Ms. Turner?” she asked.
Victoria hesitated at the question. Was everything really settled?
She’d been here four or five hours. All she’d accomplished was tidying up his place, making him a meal, and taking a nap. As for what she’d actually come to discuss—she’d gotten nowhere. She remembered K’s promise: after a few rounds of his game, he’d talk with her. But one round stretched into another, and by the time night fell, they still hadn’t spoken. In the end, she’d simply let him usher her out.
Yasmine could read her disappointment right away. “No luck, huh?”
“It’s fine. I’ll come back tomorrow,” Victoria replied.
“Wait, what?”
After a long, fruitless night, Victoria dragged herself into the office the next day, yawning nonstop. George spotted her and hurried over.
“So? Did you see K? What did he say? Is he as eccentric as they say?”
Truth was, George had never met K either.
Victoria felt embarrassed to admit she’d been played for hours with nothing to show for it, so she just shook her head. “I haven’t gone yet. Maybe next time—been busy with family stuff lately.”
George instantly recalled the man’s voice that had drifted from her laptop during that last meeting and abruptly fell silent. Now that the quarrel between her and her husband had passed, of course she’d be preoccupied.
During the day, Victoria focused on coding at her desk. After work, she headed back to K’s apartment complex, making a stop at the market to restock his fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables.
She climbed all fifteen flights again to his floor. This time, she just rang the doorbell. K opened the door almost immediately.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge