Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 60: Good Morning Kiss

My lipstick was applied, the mascara perfected, and my nerves were on overdrive long before we were scheduled to leave for work. The bedroom felt more like a cage than a place for rest and relaxation, but I was reluctant to step out into the common area. King might be there.

On the other hand, if I stayed cooped up much longer, I would go crazy. I packed up the designer laptop bag that Bea insisted I needed. I slipped on the kitten heels and looked in the mirror.

"I can do this. I can do this. It will be a great day."

I might as well get this party started.

The men were gathered around the table, enjoying a full breakfast. A brickhouse of a woman poured orange juice from a crystal pitcher.

"Good morning! You must be Teela. I’m Rosie. Father DiMarco said you were a looker. He didn’t exaggerate. You’d make a gunny sack look good."

"Good morning. Thanks for the compliment."

It would have been nicer if the men in the house had flattered me, but it still felt good.

Rosie said, "You look like a smoothie, poached egg, and toast kind of gal. Am I right?"

Oh, geez, this woman had me pegged in thirty seconds or less.

"Yes, please."

"Green? Strawberry banana? Acai and mixed berries? I brought protein powder."

"They all sound good. Surprise me."

Ben said, "A smoothie sounds terrific. Can I have one to go?"

"Sure! Anyone else?"

So far, Rosie was a ray of sunshine. I owed Father DiMarco a huge favor for setting us up with her.

With the first sip of the kale and apple smoothie, I almost cried. How long had it been since I’d had a smoothie? When Mom was alive? Yeah.

And this smoothie was perfectly balanced. My compliments to the chef.

"Rosie, would it be okay if I gave you a hug?"

"Oh, honey. Of course it is."

Tears glistened in my eyes as I wrapped my arms around this perfect stranger.

"I can’t wait to see what you deduce I want for dinner tonight."

Rosie chuckled. "I’ve got it all planned out. I think you’ll love it, but right now, I need to shoo you and these boys out of here before you’re late."

Jake finished his last bite and stood. "Thank you for the meal, Rosie. Teela, you ready?"

We rode the elevator as a group.

Ben said, "You do realize my first class isn’t until one this afternoon, right? Why do I have to get up at such an ungodly hour?"

"Solidarity. We need to show a consolidated front. We’re sending a message."

"I don’t have to do this every day, do I?"

"No. You get a pass when you work late nights at the club."

"Thanks for that."

When we reached the garage, King headed toward his car.

"Not today, King. Today, you ride with me."

"Why?"

"Weren’t you listening?"

King shrugged. "What does Ben’s schedule have to do with me?"

"Look at the big picture, King. What part of you taking your own car screams we’re together and you are devoted to me?"

"Seriously? It’s a car ride. If it’s all about going together, you can ride with me. I’ll drop you off on the way in."

"King, Lettie doesn’t know where I work. She knows where you work. People where I work won’t care if we are together. People at your work will make sure Lettie knows I dropped you off with a big kiss and Ben in tow. So, do the math, then get into my car."

"You are messing with my routine."

Ben said, "Come on, man, the woman that you’ve been trying to get back together with just said she wanted to kiss you, and you’re arguing about the logistics. Isn’t that worth a little chaos?"

Min answered while staring directly at Ben. "Definitely."

Ben ducked his head and darted to the car.

King sighed. "Fine, but not every day, right?"

The headache forming in my temples didn’t bode well for a good day. I could have sworn King agreed just last night to cooperate. This didn’t feel like cooperation. This felt like a lot of passive-aggressive BS.

Even though the condo was physically located near King’s office, the drive took what felt like forever, compounded by the fact I’d promised to kiss King. Crap. When did that become a good idea? It wasn’t, but it was. Nothing screamed togetherness more than kissing. In public.

I had a problem with the idea of kissing King in private. In public, it sounded terrifying. I fought the urge to reapply my lipstick and check my hair. This whole drop-off was supposed to look natural, not like a staged event for social media even though I’d kill if it topped in social media popularity charts for as much as a second.

The car pulled up in front of the Heavenly building. King got out. I held out a hand for an assist in getting out of the car. King just looked at it.

"Help me out of the car," I said under my breath. It stung enough to ask for help when I was perfectly capable, but to have the guy ignore the request doubled the humiliation. He’d pay.

"Fine."

"Ben, make sure you’re seen too. United front, remember?"

I took King’s hand and climbed out of the car. Ben exited the car from the other side and came around to join us. He shook hands with King and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing into the passenger seat.

King pulled me close, but he looked about as happy about it as a naughty first-grader at the principal’s office.

"Smile," I whispered. "We’re putting on a show."

At least he stopped grimacing before he dropped a kiss on my forehead.

"There. That should make our point," King said.

Maybe, but that wasn’t how I envisioned this kiss going down. I grabbed King’s necktie as he took a step back. He stumbled back into my embrace.

"I don’t think so, Mr. Heavenly."

I cradled his face between my palms and kissed him. I kissed him like real lovers kissed, my body pressed against his, my mouth open and welcoming. For a moment, King froze, but then he relaxed into the experience. His kiss reminded me of one of the reasons I enjoyed dating him. He was strong, took charge, and passionate. And we fit well together. It felt natural to kiss King right up to second I remembered I planned to divorce him for being a much suckier husband than he was a date.

Where our bodies touched a I could tell the kiss was affecting King as well. Then I remembered we were standing on a public street in broad daylight with King’s brother just feet away.

I gently pushed King away, making sure the kiss ended as naturally as possible in the process.

"I’ve got to get to work. I’ll be late."

King nodded.

"Have a great day. Call and I’ll pick you up when you’re ready to go home."

King leaned in close to say, "If that is how you plan to kiss me every morning, I’ll sell my car right now." His eyes made mad promises that made me weak in the knees.

"I’ve got to go."

King smiled and turned to walk away. His new bodyguards fell into step behind him.

I fumbled to open the car door and fell into the backseat fanning myself as I leaned back in the seat and tried to remember what day of the week it was.

"Should we stop at the emergency room and get you a hit of oxygen?" Ben asked as he grinned at me from the visor mirror.

"Shut it."

"Big brother hasn’t lost his touch."

"You mean he kisses all women like that?"

Ben shrugged. "I don’t know about all women, but he did a fine job with you today. Hey, why do you look so surprised. You’ve been married for a few years now. He must have kissed you like that dozens of times."

"You would think, wouldn’t you?"

"Well, I’d love it if someone kissed me like that," Ben said.

"I can think of at least one person who’d volunteer to practice with you."

Ben cleared his throat. "Yeah, I get it. Time to change the subject."

"You sure because I’ve got you-know-who on speed dial."

"Driver, how quickly can you get me to the quad? I’m sure I’ve got something to do."

I smiled and let Ben off the hook. What he did or did not have going on with Min was his business, but it was pretty clear that Min was into Ben from the way he took care of him to the casual touches and softness in his eyes when he looked at Ben when he thought no one was looking.

Besides, I had bigger problems. That kiss was hot. I mean super-hot, like mind-scorching hot. It would be sweet torture to go through that on a daily basis, especially knowing it couldn’t go any further.

And it couldn’t go any further. No matter how well he kissed, King was still King. It didn’t change anything that mattered.

We pulled up to the quad and stopped in the fire zone. I got out and faced Ben with a big smile on my face. Ben looked nervous. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"You’re not going to kiss me like you did King, are you?"

"Oh, goodness, no. You’re my brother-in-law. But can you cope with a hug and a cheek kiss?"

Ben nodded. "That I can do."

We hugged and kissed. I motioned for his team to step forward.

"Teela, no. I can’t be seen on campus with a gang of musclemen following me around. It’ll ruin my game."

"You’ve got game?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Hey, I’m not the owner of the hottest nightclub in the city for nothing."

"Well, if you’re that hot, you should have an entourage. Own it, Ben." I put a hand on his arm. "It’s temporary, Ben, and for a good cause."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."