Chapter 3

At five-thirty in the afternoon, Ryan walked out of the office building right on time.

He didn't drive. Instead, he headed straight for a black Uber parked by the curb.

I quickly flagged down a taxi.

"Follow that black car up ahead."

The taxi trailed at a safe distance.

Half an hour later, the black car pulled up in front of a hotel.

Ryan stepped out and walked briskly into the hotel lobby.

I paid the fare, tugged my cap low, and followed him in.

The hotel lobby was grand and gilded, bustling with people.

I hid behind a pillar near the lobby bar, watching the elevators.

Ryan stood in front of the elevator, looking down at his phone.

Soon, the doors opened.

A young woman in a tailored business suit and flawless makeup stepped out.

The moment she saw Ryan, her face broke into a bright smile.

They exchanged a few words by the elevator, then walked side by side toward the hotel restaurant.

That woman was definitely not Greg Palmer, the man in his fifties Megan had described.

I felt every drop of blood in my body rush to my head.

I pulled out my phone and snapped several photos of them in a row.

"What are you doing here?" A hand smacked down hard on my shoulder.

I jumped and whipped around.

It was Megan.

She was wearing a slinky spaghetti-strap dress, carrying a limited-edition handbag.

"What are you doing here?" I stared at her in shock.

"I'm meeting a friend for drinks," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"The real question is, what are you doing skulking around? Who are you following?"

She followed the direction I'd been staring and immediately spotted Ryan, about to walk into the restaurant.

"Oh my God, is that Ryan?"

Megan let out an exaggerated squeal.

"Who's that woman next to him? She's dressed to turn heads."

She grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the restaurant.

"Come on, let's go catch him in the act!"

"Let go of me!" I wrenched my arm free.

"Going over now would prove what? They're just having dinner. They're not going upstairs to a room."

I forced myself to stay calm.

"Dinner's not okay either! A married man sneaking off to dinner with another woman is always up to something!"

Megan's voice was so loud that people around us started staring.

I wanted to crawl into a hole.

Just then, Ryan seemed to hear the commotion and looked over in our direction.

Seeing me, he froze for a second, then strode over.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was sharp.

"I..." I was at a loss for words.

"She's here to catch you cheating!" Megan shouted, never one to miss a chance to fan the flames.

Ryan's expression turned ice-cold.

He glanced at Megan, then fixed me with a withering look.

"Catch me cheating? Have you lost your mind?"

He grabbed my wrist and started dragging me toward the hotel exit.

"Ryan, let go of me! Who is that woman?" I struggled.

"She's a major new client at our company! It took me forever to get this meeting!"

Ryan hissed through clenched teeth.

"Do you have any idea how close you came to blowing this deal?"

"A client? You need a place like this for a business meeting? And you told me it was Greg Palmer!" I refused to back down.

"That's Dana Carter! Greg Palmer is her boss. Last night I was giving him today's meeting schedule!"

Ryan shouted in exasperation.

"You don't believe me? I'll go get her right now so you can ask her yourself!"

He turned to go back inside.

"Oh, come on, Ryan. Don't be mad."

Megan suddenly rushed over and grabbed Ryan's arm.

"She just cares about you too much. She's been a little high-strung lately. Don't hold it against her."

Megan turned to me with a look of exasperated disappointment.

"And you, honestly. Ryan works himself to the bone every day to provide for this family. Instead of appreciating it, you followed him here? You humiliated him."

I stared at Megan in disbelief.

Whose side was she on?

"I'm high-strung? Megan, whose side are you on?" My whole body shook with anger.

"I'm on the side of reason, not friendship." Megan shrugged.

"Look at yourself right now. You look like a crazy, bitter wife. What man could put up with that?"

She let go of Ryan's arm and smoothed her hair.

"Anyway, sort out your own marriage. My friend's still waiting for me."

With that, she clicked away on her heels without looking back.

She left me alone to face Ryan's furious glare.

"Are you done?" Ryan looked at me coldly.

"If you're done making a scene, go home and stop embarrassing me."

He shook off my hand, turned, and walked back into the hotel.

I stood at the busy hotel entrance, feeling like a complete joke.