The Husband Who Lied to Me novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: The Office on the Slough

I showed Russ the folder on my phone before the coffee went cold.

He read every page of it with his lips pressed flat.

"Don't go near the buyer yet," he said. "Don't tell Kristen you know about Seattle."

"I won't tell her about Seattle," I said.

I did not say what I would tell her.

On Monday at nine I walked into Tillman Marine Supply with the photo on my phone and the lawyer's letter in my bag.

The office sits at the front of the warehouse on the Columbia slough, up a short flight of stairs, with a glass wall over the floor where the forklifts run.

My grandfather had hung his first invoice in a frame by the door.

Fourteen people work at the front desks.

I knew nearly all of them by name, because I had grown up doing homework under those desks.

Kristen's desk was by the window, with a plant and a framed photo of the two of us at our graduation.

She was already there.

She looked at me and her face went through three expressions and settled on hurt.

"Ruby. I'm so glad you came. I've been trying to call you."

"I know. I blocked you."

She glanced around.

Heads were bent over keyboards, and every ear in the room had turned toward us.

"Can we do this in private?" she asked.

"No," I said. "It's my grandfather's company. Everyone here has known me since I was eleven."

I held out my phone.

"Tell me about this."

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