"Rick Dickerson, you love humiliating people who can't pay their bills, don't you? Well, now you get to experience it yourself. Let's see how you handle it."
The room erupted.
"I heard this Rick guy married into the Galloway family. And now his wife shows up with her new man to watch him squirm?"
"Ha! This is what happens when you're a kept husband with nothing to offer."
"Exactly. How long did he think his looks would last? The second a rich woman finds a younger, prettier face, his cushy life is over."
My fists clenched slowly. The humiliation burned through me like fire.
Just as I'd suspected—Leila had set this whole thing up to get back at me for her precious assistant.
Leila walked Jacob over to a table and pulled out a chair.
"Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "However Rick humiliated you that day, I'll make sure he gets it all back tonight."
Jacob's face lit up. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you, Leila."
Then he turned to me, eyes full of spite. "Rick, you're just a useless kept man. What gave you the right to freeze my card?"
He grabbed an expensive bottle of wine from the table and smashed it at my feet.
Crash!
Wine splashed across my face, adding to my humiliation.
"Ha! Pathetic loser. Now I've got Leila to cover my tab. I can smash as many bottles as I want and she'll pay for it. But you?" He grinned. "You're finished."
Leila watched me with that same mocking smile. "Don't glare at me like you want to tear me apart. If you've got money, pay the bill and walk out."
"Ha! What money? He couldn't pay this bill if his life depended on it."
"Those dishes, the bottles of wine they've already uncorked—the total alone would make him choke."
"He's nothing but a kept husband. Without her, he's nobody."
To make sure my humiliation was complete, Leila rose from her seat, her cold gaze sweeping the room.
"Anyone who helps Rick out of this mess becomes my enemy—and an enemy of the Galloway family."
Everyone in Capital City knew the Galloways were the wealthiest family around. No one would dare cross Leila.
A few business partners I'd worked with—people I thought were friends—started to stand up. But the moment Leila's warning landed, they sank back into their chairs, afraid she'd notice them moving.
"See that? She's not playing around."
"I know, right? I figured since they're legally married, she was just venting. But this is real."