The doors opened, and there she was, walking out of his office in a floral sundress.

Young. Beautiful. Long hair falling past her waist, round doe eyes, impossibly cute.

In the split second before the office door swung shut behind her, I saw it: my personal throw blanket draped over the couch, and the matching couple's mug Asher and I had bought together, sitting on her side of the desk.

She froze mid-step when she saw me. The corners of her mouth went stiff for just a fraction of a second before she recovered and beamed at me, all sweetness.

"Hello! Do you have an appointment?"

I looked her straight in the eyes. My voice was unhurried, level, the kind of calm that comes from knowing exactly where you stand.

"Winifred Taylor. I'm Aileen Pruitt, Asher's wife. Do I need an appointment?"

Winifred's mouth fell open in a performance of shock.

"Really? You're his wife? I had no idea Mr. Sanchez was even married!"

Asher and I had been married for three years, but I could count on one hand the number of times I'd set foot in Sanchez Group.

I'd done it on purpose. I wanted to give him room, to make sure no one could say he'd built his success on the Pruitt name.

Outside of close friends and a handful of long-time employees, almost no one knew.

But he'd always worn his ring. He'd never once hesitated to tell people he was married. He said it was to make me feel secure.

So the wide-eyed girl standing in front of me was anything but innocent.

I let out a short, dry laugh and held her gaze.

"The 'Winnie's personal navigation' voice. That's you."

A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, gone almost instantly, replaced by a gentle, apologetic smile.

"Oh, you mean the GPS in Mr. Sanchez's car? It was raining the other day and I couldn't get a ride, so he gave me a lift. He asked me to type in the destination, and I must have accidentally connected my Bluetooth. That's all it was."

"Mrs. Sanchez, did you come all this way because of a misunderstanding? If you say things like this in front of the whole company, my reputation..."

Her voice trailed off, her expression settling into something wounded and delicate.

Every employee on the floor was staring at me now. To anyone who didn't know better, I probably looked like another jealous housewife making a scene.

I smiled and stepped closer to her.

"When Asher brought you in, did he forget to mention that I'm the one who has the final say in this company?"