King
King rolled the muscles in his shoulders. This day wasn't going anywhere near how he imagined it. It was all because of Teela. She wasn't the same woman he married. She had more spunk, and he would never have dreamed she would cheat on him, but now she had been seen twice with the same man.
The man was tall and good-looking. Perhaps as good-looking as King if he had to be honest with himself. His car spoke to his wealth, and Teela was more intimate with him on a public street than she'd ever been with King, sans their ovulation couplings. And the guy didn't seem intimidated by King. Not many people could say that. He was going to be a problem.
He messaged Min to do a background check on this new problem.
Could the guy be part of their hacker problem? He didn't look that type, but it was a more viable answer than Teela's hints that she was behind the hacks.
Teela was a good girl. Her studies were average. Her looks were average. Her temperament was better than most, at least until recently. There was absolutely nothing outstanding about the woman. Why did she stay so close to the forefront of his thoughts then?
Min tapped on the door before letting himself in. He handed King a tablet. "You should see this."
King watched the footage as Anya admitted to masterminding the absence of Teela's allowance. The woman had some nerve getting between him and his wife. He would talk with Joshua tonight. This couldn't go unaddressed.
Then Min showed him the live feed. He watched as Teela outted the entire family for how they had treated their least favorite daughter-in-law. She had no right to do that. This woman was causing more problems left and right.
If he expected Joshua to take control of Anya, then he had no choice but to control his own wife. He stormed out of his office, motioning Min to follow. King recognized the store as one downstairs. He needed to intervene before the situation worsened.
The store was packed. Anya and Teela were in the center of the commotion. As soon as Anya grabbed King's arm, he was ready to push her away. He controlled the urge and just removed her arm, but he felt dirtied where she touched him. He had never warmed up to Anya, but now she repulsed him.
He turned to Teela instead and leaned in close. "Is this your doing too?"
Teela's features transformed from cat-fight viscous to angelic perfect. "Who me? King, you've told me at least twice now that I don't have the skill to hack my way out of a shoebox. I've been in the store the entire time. I'm guessing since you're here, you've seen the footage. I've been on camera almost the entire time. When did I have time to do anything? When I was changing clothes? How long was I in the dressing room? Really, either give me creds as a master hacker or find someone else to blame. From what I saw in the comments, there are a lot of suspects to choose from. Anya is not a well-liked person."
King stared at her as a niggle of doubt inched its way into his brain. She was right. She had returned every cent of the money he had gifted her. Either someone else was footing the bills for the hacking, or this woman would have to be a grand master in the technology field. A woman like that, he'd like to have on his team.
But for now, he needed to gain control of this situation. He called for the store manager.
"Get with security and cut the cameras. Disperse the crowd with mall coupons. Min can help you."
He spoke to the security guards and the police. While he would dearly love to send Bea to jail, he knew Teela would hold it against him, particularly considering the circumstances. By the time he was done, Bea's concerns about charges were dispelled in exchange for a promise to keep her hands to herself in the future.
When he saw Teela and Bea arguing over the purchase of a suit for Teela, he took the garment from Teela's hands and gave it to a clerk to ring up. It was his wife. He would be the one paying for her clothes, not Bea.
Teela said, "You don't have to, King. I didn't intend to buy it anyway."
"Making a purchase is the least you can do considering the scene you made today. The shop owner lost business while dealing with your foolishness."
"I didn't start it. I was minding my own business when Anya came in hurling insults."
"You are an adult. You are responsible for your actions no matter what Anya said."
"So, you expected Bea and me to just accept whatever she said about me without reacting?"
"I expect you to know there is a time and place for everything, and in the middle of a crowded store is not the right place."
Teela nodded. "Okay, then, when and where is the right place?"
King leaned in until he could feel Teela's breath on his face. "You know where."
"I'm not going back."
"Fine, but we are going to talk. Come with me."
They were at the store door before it occurred to King that Teela was still dressed as some street urchin. He took the shopping bag and handed it to Teela.
"Put this on."
"Why?"
"Didn't you buy it to wear to the office? We are going to the office."
"Oh." Teela headed to the dressing room before turning back. "I don't have shoes."
King pulled out a credit card and held it out to Bea. "Go find her shoes. You have ten minutes."
Teela was dressed before Bea returned. She exited the dressing room. King approved. Teela looked like an adult version of the put-together college girl he had dated. This was a woman he wouldn't mind taking to lunch.
While he would have preferred to see Teela in a pair of high heels, the rich brown, thigh-high boots Bea returned with gave Teela's outfit a sense of edge that suited her new personality—the same personality he was about to tell her to drop.
Honestly, it wasn't the personality that he disapproved of. He liked a woman with backbone. What he disapproved of was his inability to control when and where she spoke out.
Those boots, with their chunky heels, looked as if they would be butter soft to the touch. King could imagine running his hand up her booted leg over all that soft leather until he reached the bare skin showing between her short skirt and the top of the boots. Her skin would be soft and warm.
He wondered if she would respond to his touch. She hadn't in so long. He had chalked her up as not interested in sex long ago. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken advantage of what Nan offered him.
Nan. She was quite a woman. Always available to him. Always able to separate personal from professional. He liked that about her. But she wasn't his wife. She wasn't even wife material. Fortunately, Nan had never brought up the subject of marriage to King, so he never had to address that aspect of their relationship.
With a single nod, he expressed his approval when taking his credit card back from Bea. He dismissed the awful woman and escorted Teela to the elevator.
The elevator ride was quiet. Teela stood as far from him as she could. King considered moving closer, but what was the point? Once they arrived upstairs, he planned to give her a long-time coming lecture. Any connection built now would quickly be destroyed, but he had to make it clear to her that outing the Heavenly family in public would not be tolerated.
On the executive office floor, they exited. King had already led Teela past the receptionist's desk when he thought better of it. They backtracked.
"This is my wife," King told the receptionist. "From now on, when Ms. Heavenly visits, you will notify me immediately, no matter what I'm doing."
Proud of himself for considering Teela's comfort, he looked to her for approval. King was disappointed. She was looking everywhere but at him.
King frowned and continued leading her to his office.
Once there, he locked the door behind them.
"What are you doing?" Teela asked.
"I'm making sure we aren't disturbed."
"Like people walk into your office unannounced every day?"
As fortune would have it, someone knocked on the door at that moment.
"Go away," King called out.
"The finance minister is waiting for you in the conference room," Nan said.
"He can wait."
Nan called back. "Should I bring coffee?"
"No."
"I'll check back later."
That was Nan. Always looking for a way to make my life easier.
King turned back to Teela. "So, do you know what you did wrong or do I need to start from ground zero?"
"Do you?"