Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 153: Wyla to the Rescue

"Teela..."

I could tell King was debating on lying to me.

"It won’t do any good to lie, King. You would never have found me if someone hadn’t told you I was here."

With a sigh, King sent a text, and five minutes later, a short guy in a leather jacket and jeans came walking down the street. The man stopped in front of King.

"You called me here?" The man asked.

"So this is the man who has been following me?" I asked.

"One of them."

"Twenty-four-hour coverage?"

King nodded.

"Does Min know?"

"No. He may suspect, but no. I didn’t trust him not to tell you. Alec showed you the pictures?"

I nodded.

"Then you know how much I love you. I couldn’t trust anyone else to keep you safe."

"King, is that what you call it? Love? Were you spying on me at the cabin as well?"

"Yes, from a distance. It wasn’t safe for you to live in the mountains alone."

I rolled my eyes. "Exactly where am I safe alone, King?"

"With me."

"And if I don’t want to be with you?"

"You will. It’s only a matter of time, and I’m patient. When you come back this time, it will be good. I’m not cheating on you anymore, and Mom won’t interfere. I can get back to my routine. You can take care of me. I can take care of the company. My meals will be waiting for me, and my socks will be folded correctly. And the house will feel like a home again."

"Is that what this is all about? The maid doesn’t fold your socks, right?"

"That’s not what I mean, Teela. I mean, yes, I want my housewife back, but even if you want to delegate the housework, you’ll be there for me, to sleep with me and make me feel like a good family man again."

"Wow, King, you are delusional."

King’s tone changed, becoming more authoritative. "If you won’t come home willingly, I can make you. You know that, right? I’m giving you a choice. You should take it."

"It isn’t a choice if there is a threat behind it."

"I didn’t mean it like that."

I turned to the spy. "What is your name?"

"Joe."

"Joe, take your boss home." I snapped his picture with my phone. "And if you value your life the way it is, don’t follow me again. No matter how much King is paying you, it isn’t worth the world of hurt I’ll subject you to if I see you again."

I stood to walk away, but King grabbed my hand.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a car waiting."

"You don’t need a car. You have me."

"No, King. I don’t want you but don’t worry. I’m not going back to Alec, either. I have reservations at a hotel. I’ll go to Crazy Code in the morning. That should buy you some time to replace Joe with someone else."

I jerked my hand away and walked, but I wasn’t alone. I could hear King’s footfalls behind me. I let him.

The hired car was exactly where I asked it to be. A woman with auburn hair and long legs stood outside the car. As soon as she saw me approach, she opened the back door. I slid in.

"Ma’am, this guy, is he bothering you?" She asked as King tried to slide in after me.

"He is not with me."

She blocked King’s entry. "Sir, this is a private car. If you need a ride, you can call this number. I’m sure one of my associates can help you." She handed him a business card.

"He has a car. Let’s go."

"Teela, don’t go," King said. He pressed his hands against the tinted window as he tried to plead with me.

The driver pulled onto the street and drove for a few blocks. "My name is Wyla. I’ll be your driver. Where to?"

I gave her the address to the hotel.

"That guy. A friend of yours? Husband?"

"Ex."

"He seemed desperate."

"He is."

"Desperate men do desperate things. Pardon me for saying, but you should be careful."

"I know."

"I can listen if you have anything you need to get off your chest. You know, sometimes talking problems out with a stranger helps."

"No thanks. Listen, I don’t want to talk right now. Can you just drive? I’m going to doze for a bit. Wake me when we arrive."

It felt like a minute before Wyla shook my shoulder and awoke me. For a second, I didn’t know who she was or where I was. Then I remember. King was doing everything he could to ruin my happiness, and he may have succeeded.

I got out of the car and stretched.

Wyla handed me a business card. "My personal information is on the back of the car. If you need me, call. I’ll be there for you if I’m not tied up with another client. Free of charge. I don’t trust that guy."

"Me either," I muttered. I shook back the fog still clouding my brain, and spoke up, "Thank you. I hope I don’t have to take you up on that offer. However, I’ll need a ride at nine if you aren’t booked already."

Wyla checked her schedule on her phone. "I’m free until one tomorrow."

"You’ll be free before then. I’ll see you in the morning then."

The hotel suite was exactly what I needed right then—male testosterone free, quiet, and private. I threw off my clothes and fell into bed in my underwear. The bed was everything I expected from a high-end hotel. It was like sleeping on a cloud surrounded by the smell of fresh linens.

I slept or passed out. Whatever it was called, for a little while, I was able to leave my problems behind and reenergize. I ordered a smoothie from room service and drank it on the way to the lobby.

Wyla was waiting for me at the door. "Good morning. Where to, Ms. Heavenly?"

"Oh geez, never call me that again. I’m Teela."

"Okay, Teela, where would you like to go this morning?"

I gave her the address to Crazy Code. I answered emails and text messages during the trip.

Alec: I saw.

Teela: What do you want me to say?

Alec: When are you coming home?

Teela: As soon as I’ve taken care of some business with King.

Alec was typing, then deleting, then typing. He deleted whatever he was going to type and that was that. He must have been at as much of a loss on what to say as I was.

King had left two dozen text messages. I was so tempted to delete them unread, but I didn’t.

King: I’m sorry.

King: Forgive me.

King: Did you arrive safely?

King: Let me know you are okay.

King: I’ll bring breakfast to you at Crazy Code.

Oh terrific. My day was destined to start as it had ended.

Wyla pulled into the company parking lot. King was already there.

I called Jake. "Where are you?"

"On the way into the office."

"ETA?"

"Fifteen."

"Can you make it faster?"

"Why, Teela, what’s going on?"

"King is here. Long story, but I don’t want to talk to him."

"Longer than what happened last night?"

"Longer than."

"Take your time circling the block a couple of times. I’ll be there to run interference."

"Too late. I’m already here. Just hurry."

"Ms. Teela, what can I do to help?" Wyla asked.

"Drop me at the door, and prevent King from following me in. I’ll lock the door once I’m inside. I have security on the way to take it from there."

"Yes, ma’am."

"I’ll contact you later about your payment."

"Pay through the company. Worry about your safety."

"Thank you, Wyla. You’ve gone beyond the call of duty."

"When do you get off work? I’ll be back to pick you."

"I don’t know. It could be late."

"Call me. Tonight is my night off. I usually go to bingo with my mother. I’ll send my aunt with her tonight."

"You don’t have to do that."

"I want to. I don’t know why, but I want to. Okay?"

I didn’t have time to overthink this right now. I just took her offer at face value and thanked her before I opened the door and darted into the office building. I immediately threw the lock in place and backed away from the door.

Outside, Wyla stood between King and the door. King tried to go around her, but she moved into his path, mirroring his movements as he tried once again to go around her. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I could imagine. King didn’t like it when peons got in his way.

Min exited King’s car and joined him. I could tell he was trying to talk King into leaving, but King’s face turned red, and he pointed at me through the glass door.

Yeah, I wasn’t helping matters by staying in sight. I turned to the elevator, calling out to the receptionist as I passed. "No one is to unlock that door until Jake gets here."