Page 127 of The Restoration Program

“I mean… It sounds scary, what he did. Do you feel safe?” Darlene straightened, ready to take action on Nicole’s say-so. “You can stay at my place if you need to.”

“Oh—hey. I… I’m fine.” Nicole couldn’t help but smile warmly at the offer. “He and Carlos had been snapping at each other a lot, and it escalated in the worst way.”

But Darlene didn’t look convinced. “This isn’t the kind of thing you can shove aside and distract yourself from, girl. You said Ryan apologized, but is he sorry he did it, or that you got kicked out for it?” She paused and spoke even softer. “He and Carlos may have been arguing, but… don’t you two argue also?”

“He wouldn’t hurt me,” Nicole said. “I’m fine, Darlene, really. But I…”

Like a lost gear snapping into place, Nicole thought back to what had happened just before Ryan forced her to go to the office with him. She hadn’t been able to peek at his phone since then.

“But I’m worried he might be cheating on me,” she said in a tighter voice. “Or that he’s thinking about it.”

Darlene stammered, “But he’s crazy about you. He won’t fucking shut up about it.”

“I looked at the online bank statement a while back and saw something weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Three-hundred dollars from a place calledMystify.”

“Where he got the engagement ring redone,” Darlene said, nodding.

“Right. But that was months ago.”

“Was there anything else weird on the statement?”

“I don’t know. I only looked for a second.” Embarrassment flooded her. “Honestly, I… I haven’t looked at it myself the last few months. I just let him take care of finances.”

The foolishness of this sank in as she spoke. She imagined how frivolous she must seem to her friend—giving up her control to her husband like a little fifties housewife.

“It’s not just the money,” she went on, raking a hand through her hair. “There’s, like, this weird vibe between him and a coworker,Cora. They’re always making each other laugh with these dumb fucking inside jokes, and she’s in like all of his big meetings—some of them run late.”

Nicole grit her teeth at the memory of those ruby lips, always boldly lacquered. The way Cora would sweetly, perfectly transition from speaking with Ryan to sitting down to speak with Nicole on the desk. She was absolutely lovely. Whowouldn’twant to chase someone like that?

“She’s always trying to force these heart-to-heart conversations with me, too,” Nicole added. “Every fucking time I’m in the office, she finds a way to bring up her NüPrint friend, Emma. As though that makesherrelatable somehow.”

“You ever meet the friend?”

“No. She must be in a differentPartners with Printsgroup,” Nicole said with a snort.

Darlene mulled this over for a while, her silence as faint static through the video call.

“I don’t know if this is good advice, but frankly, you should ask him directly,” Darlene said. “Ask him about the charge, at least. I mean, as long as you feel safe.”

“Of course I do,” Nicole said sharply.

“Okay,” Darlene said placatingly. “Okay. Can you blame me for being worried? With the way you said he snapped at Carlos, I—”

“Wait.” Nicole straightened as Ryan’s footsteps thudded in the next room. “I have to go—I’ll text you later, okay?”

In her hurry, she didn’t give time for Darlene to reply. All Nicole saw was her confused expression before ending the call. By the time Ryan made it through the door and strolled up behind her, she was pretending to look at NüPrint work gigs. She peeked over her shoulder like she just noticed him coming.

“Hey, you.” His voice was soft, cautious.

Everything about him screamed sheepishness andI fucked up, please forgive me. His hands cupped gently around her, and she didn’t resist being scooped up. He brushed his lips on the crown of her head.

“How did your meeting go?” she asked.

“Boringly. Is that even a word? If not, it should be.” He chuckled, and she made herself laugh along with him. “How about you? Find any new gigs?”