Chapter 6: Office Earthquake

That afternoon, Jenna popped into my office, looking rattled. “Natalie, Marcus just lost it in the project department.”

Marcus never lost his cool in public. My stomach dropped. “What happened?”

Jenna hesitated, chewing her lip. “You should see for yourself.”

She looked worried, and the tension in the office was thick—you could feel everyone listening.

I gave her a look. “Just say it.”

She swallowed. “Honestly, I figured it out yesterday at dinner. The call Hailey made? Everyone knew she was calling Marcus.”

She paused, then added quietly, “A lot of people noticed.”

My chest tightened. It wasn’t anger I felt first, but shame. There’s something uniquely awful about your marriage becoming office gossip. I felt exposed, like the glass walls of my office had vanished.

Marcus owed me a real solution. He’d let me take the fall with him.

As I neared the project department, I could hear Marcus’s voice—sharp and cold—through the door: “Don’t let this happen again, or you’re all out.”

I stared at the glass door, wondering how many people were watching now, and how many would still be watching when this was over.

I reached for the doorknob, pulse racing. Whatever waited on the other side, I knew nothing would ever be the same.