TOWARD THE DISTANCE Chapter 5

They drove to the office together that morning, but Elena insisted on sitting in the back seat.

"I get carsick," she said. "The back is more comfortable. I can crack the window."

Cade didn't argue. "Then I'll drive smoothly for you."

At the office building, he jogged around to open her door again — shielding the roof with one hand as she stepped out. The morning rush of employees stopped and stared. A handful of senior managers practically sprinted over.

"Mrs. Harrington! Welcome! Mr. Harrington mentioned you love iced coffee — let me go get one right now —"

"And snacks. I'll handle the snacks. Mrs. Harrington, you like those little cake things, right?"

Cade waved them off with a laugh. "Easy, easy. She's a little sensitive right now. Nothing too rich."

"Oh, Mr. Harrington, you're wrong about that — Mrs. Harrington looks perfectly slim. If anything, the ring not fitting must be because it shrank —"

"Silver doesn't shrink," Cade said, amused.

"Well, Mr. Harrington loves Mrs. Harrington so much that as long as she's happy, you're happy. And if you're happy, we all have good days. So —"

Cade grinned. "All right, you've found my weakness."

Elena was shepherded into Cade's office like royalty. Fruit, pastries, iced coffee, magazines — everything materialized. Cade set her up at his computer with a drama series already queued up.

"I have to go. Just relax in here. If you need anything, ask the assistant outside."

He paused at the door, reached back, and ruffled her hair with easy affection. "Wait for me. We'll eat lunch together."

Then he turned to leave, and Elena spoke.

"Where's your lifestyle assistant? Lily? I don't see her today."

Cade didn't miss a beat. "I have no idea. I'll have HR call her."

He left.

The office emptied. Elena sat alone, surrounded by snacks she didn't want, listening to the silence. Cade had left his phone on the desk — she noticed immediately. She grabbed it and hurried out the door to catch him, but stopped just short of the hallway when she heard voices.

A cluster of senior managers, talking in low, conspiratorial tones just around the corner.

"…The rooftop? Cade and Lily are getting bolder."

"What choice do they have? Mrs. Harrington showed up out of nowhere today. They had to change their plans."

"Do we need to send condoms up to Cade today?"

"No need. I saw him heading up this morning — he had a whole handful of boxes in his pocket."

"Ha! Cade, you legend. Buying protection right under his wife's nose —"

"It's easy. You just use one of those delivery apps. Order anything, anywhere, anytime."

"I wonder if a few boxes will even be enough. Last time Cade and Lily spent an entire day and night in the car. Lily could barely walk straight the next morning —"

"If it runs out, we'll just send more. It's our job to take care of the boss, right?"

"Ha, weren't you just saying you needed to take care of Mrs. Harrington too?"

"Please. She's easy. A iced coffee, a few pastries — done. A man like Cade? Of course he has women on the side. Every man with money and power does. As long as he keeps it hidden from the wife, nobody gets hurt."

"Agreed. She seems really naive. Keeping her in the dark shouldn't be hard."

Cade's voice cut through the hallway like a blade.

"Don't say a word of this in front of Elena. Did you hear me?"

The managers stammered. "Yes, Mr. Harrington. We understand."

One of them, emboldened by nerves, asked: "Sir, why did you bring Mrs. Harrington in today? You and Lily still have to hide on the rooftop. It makes things complicated for all of us —"

Cade's tone went cold. "Elena is the lady of this house. She can come and go whenever she wants. Is that your business?"

"No, sir. Of course not —"

"Take care of Elena. Her stomach has been acting up. Don't let her eat anything cold or raw." A pause. Then, harder: "And anyone who breathes a word about me and Lily to her will be out by end of day. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, Mr. Harrington."

Elena didn't hear the rest. She had already slipped back into his office, placed his phone carefully in the middle of the snack pile, and sat back down.

A few minutes later, Cade walked back in.

Little glutton. The words made Elena's skin crawl.

"I thought you went to a meeting," she said, keeping her voice even. "Why are you back?"

"Left my phone. Have you seen it?"

"No."

Cade rummaged through the snacks, pulled out the phone, and held it up. "Found it. Hidden in the chips." He tucked it into his pocket and headed for the door again. "Keep eating. I'll be back soon."

Elena's own phone rang.

She answered.

"Hello, is this Ms. Wren Faraway?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Ms. Xiang, this is the airline confirming your booking. Your flight to Norway, departing one week from today, has been ticketed. You'll just need your passport to board. No other documents required."

"Nothing else at all?"

"Just the passport. You're all set."

"Thank you."

She hung up. Cade appeared in the doorway, eyebrows raised.

"Passport? Elena, why do you need a passport?"

Elena didn't skip a beat. "A friend of mine lost hers. She asked me how to get a replacement."

Cade crossed the room in two strides and pulled her into a hug. "You scared me for a second. I thought you were going somewhere without me."

Elena turned her head and threw up again.

His smell hit her like a wall — sweet, musky, wrong. The lingering scent of Lily's perfume, still clinging to him from wherever they'd been that morning.

Cade rubbed her back, his voice tight with concern. "What did they give you? I told them —" He was already reaching for his phone. "I'm firing all of them —"

Elena pushed him away. Hard. With everything she had.

"Stop doing that!" she snapped. "Stop using me as your excuse!"

Cade stumbled back, genuinely thrown. "Elena — are you angry with me? Is this because I was busy all day and couldn't spend time with you?"

"Tomorrow," he said quickly. "I'll cancel everything. The whole day. Just you and me. I promise."

Elena took a breath. Let it out slowly.

"You promise," she repeated.

"I promise. Just you."

"Fine. I hope you mean it."