Chapter 5: Roses

Wyatt had written his phone number on the back of the diner receipt.

Under it he had written: "Plain voice, any hour."

I saved it in my phone as Wyatt (pie) and did not let myself think about why I smiled.

On Tuesday morning I woke in Kat's spare room with her cat on my feet.

I had slept there since Monday night, and I had not looked at the unknown number once.

At ten o'clock Cory walked onto the twelfth floor carrying two dozen red roses.

He had put on his good gray suit and slicked down his hair.

Kat saw him first.

"Incoming," she said. "Tell me if you want me to trip him."

"Don't."

"I would do it so smoothly."

He stopped in the middle of the aisle between the desks and cleared his throat.

The whole floor went quiet.

"Cassia," he said. "I know I can't ask you to forgive me."

I turned my chair around.

He held the roses in his left hand.

In his right hand he held his phone, up at chest height, with the camera facing me.

I saw the red dot in the corner of the screen.

My stomach went cold, and then something very strange happened.

I felt calm.

"I made a terrible mistake," Cory went on, louder, so the back rows could hear.

"I hurt the best person I know. I'm standing here in front of everyone because I'm not ashamed to say I love my wife."

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