Chapter 5: What He Gave Her
Mr.
Bennett dismissed Susan, but Grace kept the copied documents.
At the door, Susan turned toward Nathan.
“You wanted the promotion as much as I did.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“Get out.”
She looked at me.
“He’ll tell you only what he has to.”
The door closed behind her.
I remained beside the table.
“Why did she have your password?”
“We were preparing a presentation.
I was driving, and she needed a file.”
“Passwords can be changed.”
“I forgot.”
“For three months?”
Grace lowered the laptop lid.
“Nathan, stop giving partial answers.”
He pulled at his collar.
“Susan used my account more than once.”
“How many times?” Mr.
Bennett asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know she created Parker Relocation Services?”
“No.”
“Did you know the company was paying separate allowances?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Yes.”
The word landed harder than shouting.
I gripped the back of a chair.
“So you knew the shared apartment wasn’t necessary.”
“It saved money.”
“For whom?”
“For us.
I thought I could bring my unused allowance home.”
“And Susan?”
“She said she would do the same.”
Mr.
Bennett’s voice sharpened.
“The allowance is reimbursement for actual costs.
It is not a cash bonus.”
Nathan’s face went gray.
Grace packed the papers into a clear evidence sleeve.
“Both of you are suspended while we review the accounts.”
“Both?” Nathan rose.
“She forged my wife’s name.”
“And the records currently point to your login.”
Mr.
Bennett paused beside me.
“Natalie, the company will pay for an independent attorney to help secure your identity.
You should not face this alone.”
I looked at him.
“Why would you help me?”
“Because I brought this mess to your table without checking it first.”
His voice dropped.
“And because Susan told me you refused to attend a meeting where you were never invited.”
After they left, Nathan followed me into the kitchen.
“Nat, please look at me.”
I set my wedding ring on the counter.
His breath caught.
“Don’t do that.”
“You lied about Seattle.
You lied about the apartment.
You knew the housing was separate.”
“I was afraid you’d say no.”
“You didn’t want an answer.
You wanted permission after everything was finished.”
He reached for my hand.
I moved it away.
“Was there an affair?”
“No.”
“Did you kiss her?”
Silence spread between us.
“Nathan.”
“Once,” he whispered.
“After the promotion dinner.
She kissed me, and for a few seconds I didn’t stop her.”
My knees struck the cabinet.
He caught my arm, but I pulled free.
“You stood in this house and told me nothing was happening.”
“It never happened again.”
“But something happened.”
He wiped his eyes.
“I liked how she made me feel.
Important.
Capable.
I liked being admired, and I let that matter more than being honest with you.”
My hand closed around the ring on the counter.
“I could have survived an ugly truth,” I said.
“You made me live inside a lie.”
A knock sounded at the back door.
A young woman stood outside holding a cardboard file box.
“I’m Laura Chen,” she said when I opened it.
“Susan’s assistant.”
Nathan stiffened.
“Why are you here?”
Laura’s hands trembled around the box.
“Susan told me to destroy these.”
She placed it on the table.
Inside were printed emails, copied identification documents and receipts from Parker Relocation Services.
“I helped her organize them,” Laura said.
“She told me they were approved.”
“Why bring them to me?” I asked.
“Because your driver’s license was on top.”
She reached beneath the receipts and pulled out a flash drive.
“And because this contains the recording Susan made of Nathan.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
Laura looked at him.
“She was never planning to go to Seattle with you.”
She pointed to a receipt carrying Mr.
Bennett’s name.
“She was planning to make it look as if all three of you stole the money.”
