Page 14 of Margot

“It’s fine. You can drop it. Let me check some emails before we go to this showing, okay?” She responded with a tight smile before leaving me to get a little bit of work done.

I answered a handful of emails about different properties and forwarded some to a few colleagues before shutting off my monitor and standing to my feet. I swear the moment I was fully upright, Ebony was back in my office.

“Time to go,” she chirped. “You wanna ride with me? I have more space.”

“You just want a reason to drive that damn tank around the city. It’s your gas tank,” I laughed. “Let’s go.”

Once we were in Ebony’s truck with the heat turned up, she looked over at me and smiled. “Whatever that cologne is you’re wearing smells amazing.”

“Yeah, thanks. Sutton thinks so too.” I told her, pulling out my phone. How did I miss the signs that she was throwing herself at me?

Fuck, I was blind.

“Maybe I should get some for Jovan. What’s it called?”

“I honestly don’t remember, Ebony.”

“You okay? You’re so tense.” She turned down a private road that wrapped around a lake. I chose to focus on that instead of her.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

I hoped when she pulled onto the property that the client was waiting. I had no such luck though. We headed inside the tall double doors and looked around in silence for a while.

I took note of the fireplace in the den then went upstairs to put some distance between Ebony and I. I already knew all the specs on the house but it was always good to look around for yourself so you could describe things to the buyer from a personal point of view.

“Jesus, these rooms are huge.” Ebony walked up behind me with quiet ninja steps. I spun around and she smiled at me.

Seriously, Lennox, how the fuck did you not notice her desperation before?

“They’re beautiful. Look at the molding,” I pointed out.

“I see. No wonder the seller is asking for three million. It’s exquisite.” She craned her neck to view the high ceilings. “Lennox, are you sure everything is okay? You’re really tense and we’re not going to have good energy if you’re like this when the buyer comes in. I’d hate to fumble this property.”

“I’m fine, Ebony,” I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

“Here, let me rub your shoulders.” Before I could protest, her hands were working knots out of my shoulders that I didn’t realize were there. I let her fingers knead my tense muscles for a few seconds before moving away from her grasp.

“I’m fine, Ebony. Thank you. It’s inappropriate for you to do this shit while we’re at work but most importantly, you know I’m married and I work with your goddamn husband.”

Her expression turned sheepish and she studied the tips of her heels. She held onto her elbows and shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Lennox. I can’t help it if I notice when you’re upset and unhappy. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling the same way.” She chewed on the side of her bottom lip and my eyes locked on.

Her lips were so red and full…

“Ebony, I’m sorry if you’re unhappy but I’m fine. My marriage is fine.”

Lies.

“Men with happy marriages aren’t as knotted up as you are because their wives are making sure they’re relaxed.” She took a single step closer to me and slipped her pointer finger down my chest, then my stomach until she came to a stop at my belt buckle. “I could help you relax, Lennox. I wouldn’t tell a soul. I think I need it just as badly as you do, to be honest.”

Both of her palms rested on my chest. She was close enough for me to smell the cinnamon on her breath. I held my head down and shut my eyes.

Temptation was everywhere but whenever I thought about giving in, I saw Sutton’s big brown eyes and my heart sank. My wife was at home working through her pain and confusion. She was at home looking for therapists to help us through choppy waters.

If she was doing that, then I could turn down a piece of pussy. It wasn’t worth risking the love of my life. Fuck that.

“Ebony, I’m sorry you and Jovan are having problems but trying to fuck me isn’t going to help you solve them. You’re a beautiful woman. You’re just notmywoman. I could never hurt Sutton.” I took a couple steps back from her and watched rejection crack her expression into a million pieces. “I’m going to wait for the buyer downstairs.”