Chapter Three

The next couple of weeks went by quickly as more talks of negotiations took up both Marie and Steven’s time. Sandra on the other hand was only too glad to be enjoying her status as the wife of the billionaire.

Apparently after dinner that night, Steven had barely said a word to her but tossed a platinum credit card to her and asked her to buy whatever she wanted.  Sandra had gone wild and started shopping for all sorts of furniture and accessories for her apartment, she hadn't stopped there, she had even bought tons of designer purses and shoes as well. At first Marie had been worried but then Sandra had gotten red in the face and asked her if she knew the resale value of a Kate Spade purse and that it was all an investment. Then she had looked at Marie closely and said,

“You're not jealous, are you? Marie. I thought you were over him?” To which Marie had replied and told her not to be silly and that she was just watching out for her friend.

“ The man is a billionaire, Marie. And you're fretting over thousands of dollars spent. Besides, I'm his wife and I deserve to look fab, you know.”

“Sure.” Marie had replied to end the argument. Not that anyone knew about the marriage anyway except people in their office and the people at Kazuko Inc. . No one even knew what she looked like. All they knew was that Steven King had married. And Marie knew that they would be making no public appearances together but who was she to stand in the way of her friend's happiness.

“Besides, do you want me to return you this lovely Cardigan I got you?” Sandra has asked and Marie has made a grab for it. It really was lovely and in a brown color that would suit her so perfectly.  All squabbles forgotten, the friends had got together for dinner and Sandra had paid.

“Marie, please come in here.” Steven’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes, Sir.”

“You wanted to see me?” She said, popping her head into his office.

“Yes. We need to organize a party to celebrate the account. Can you brief the event team and kick the plans in motion?”

“So we’ve got it, Sir. They have signed over their account and dropped their former agency?”

“Yes, Marie. It's good as done. Hence the party.”

“That's great news. I’ll go and brief the event team right now.”

“Thank you.” He said and looked out his window. Marie couldn't place why he didn't sound excited anymore. This was supposedly all he had wanted before now and it had finally happened. Marie knew better than to ask Steven if he was okay. Steven has serious lines when it came to personal enquiries. That was why her mouth fell open when halfway across the room, he asked her,

“Is that a new cardigan?”

“Err, yes sir. Thank you.” She said but Steven said nothing else and she walked out. Were her clothes that few that he had time to notice that she had changed her cardigan? Or could he somehow have suspected that Sandra had gifted it to her?

Putting away  worrisome thoughts from her mind, she sat at her desk and began to write a brief to the event team lead.

“Heading to lunch. And oh by the way, the party should be on Friday next week. I don't want to hear it. Just make it work, Marie.” He said to forestall any complaints.

Marie wished she could throw a mug at the back of his smug head. A week to plan a party for Alden Kings agencies and its subsidiaries was a nightmare. And it would be her nightmare because if anything went wrong, Steven would call her into his office and give her one of those scalding looks that made her feel she was in Kindergarten and doing something naughty.

“ Hey, Sandra. What's up?” Marie said as she picked up her ringing cell.

“Well, you’re not going to believe this, Marie. I sat down today thinking about the fact that I have barely one week left to be married to the billionaire. So I asked if I could go on a week-long holiday and he agreed.”

“That’s awesome. So where are you now?” Marie asked, trying to inject some cheerfulness into her voice.

“Oh, I’m driving to Maine right now to pick up a few things. But I have a flight to catch to Paris by nightfall. How awesome is that?”

“ I wish you could come.” Sandra said wistfully on the other end of the line.

“Me too, love. But I need to work. Apparently Godzilla wants to have a party to celebrate next week and I'm in charge.”

“Celebrate what?” Sandra asked and Marie worried about if it was okay to divulge this information to Sandra, but Sandra was her best friend after all.

“To celebrate the new business acquisition.”

“Oh, I wasn't aware and invited.” Sandra said and Marie could hear the pout in her voice.

“He only just mentioned today. I’m sure you'll be on the guest list.” Marie said.

“Alright then, I'll shop for a party dress for you as well in Paris. How awesome is that?”

“Fabulous!” Marie said and then laughed as Sandra ended the call.

A new dress was the last thing on Marie’s mind but maybe it wasn't a bad idea to dress up nicely and let her hair down for a night.

Of course she still had to be on duty and be on high alert. Steven also requested a debrief in the morning after every social event. Nevermind that each department and sub agency within their group usually submitted close out reports. Steven always demanded that she stand before him and talk about things she felt could have been done and managed better. At first Marie thought it was just something he did to wind her up until she noticed that he always worked her feedback into subsequent events. Kicking into full gear, Marie spent the next two hours answering calls about the party, offering insights and taking down questions for Steven. The whole thing was already giving her a bloody headache.

“Marie. Come with me.” Steven said as he walked into his office. She must have been engrossed in her thoughts because she hadn't even heard him come in.

“You wanted to see me?” She said, hovering around the door.

“What's the progress?”

“Err, I do have some questions for you, Sir. But I think it's best if I set up a meeting between you and Ellen to discuss some critical details like the guest list.”

“Okay. Tell her to come up in an hour.”

“Okay, Steven. Do I add your wife, err, Sandra for the party?”

“Of course not.” Steven said and Marie nodded carefully. She had guessed as much but hadn't wanted to hurt Sandra's feelings.

“And oh yeah, one more thing.” Steven said, typing into his phone.

“Set up a meeting with the lawyers.”

“Okay Sir, concerning?”

“The divorce.”

“Yes Sir.” Marie responded. How was she going to break the news to Sandra?