Shrimp for Her, Papers for Him

It didn't take long for the whole company to hear I'd tanked a multimillion-dollar deal for NovaCorp.

Then my mom found out. "Seriously, Sandra, what is wrong with you? Why are you suddenly demanding a divorce? And now the company lost a multimillion-dollar contract because of you. How am I supposed to help if you keep acting like this?

"Stop making Eric miserable. He may be an orphan, but he's been part of this family since he was ten. Your father and I practically raised him. He's always given you whatever you wanted.

"You were the one who said you liked him. You were the one who insisted on marrying him. So what is this now? It hasn't even been that long, and you're already putting him through hell.

"I'm warning you, quit throwing tantrums and bullying him. Don't bring up divorce again. I just got off the phone with him, and he sounded devastated...

"Do you hear me? If you don't stop this, your father and I won't let it slide."

I stayed quiet for a long moment, staring at the gray sky overhead. Then I let out a slow breath.

"Mom, I'm divorcing him."

My dad completely lost it. "Did we raise you wrong or something? How did you become this irresponsible? You're married, and you're still acting like this? I'm telling you right now, if you go through with this divorce, I'll act like I don't even have a daughter!"

Then he hung up.

I was just about to call him back when my phone buzzed. A text from Caleb.

[Sandra. Starcrest Hotel. Room 501. Waiting for you.]

I headed there immediately.

***

The next morning, photos of Caleb and me leaving the hotel together blew up in the company group chat.

Naturally, they made their way to my parents too.

My dad called immediately.

"You foolish girl! So this is why you wanted a divorce? I thought you'd lost your mind, but turns out you've been screwing around behind Eric's back!"

Then my mom snatched the phone away. "Sandra, what is going on?"

"Come to the company. I'll explain everything."

I hung up before they could say anything else.

Half an hour later, Caleb and I walked into NovaCorp side by side.

Everyone stared at us with pure disgust, like we'd committed an actual crime.

"Wow. She really showed up with her affair partner. Zero shame."

"No wonder she kept picking fights with Mr. Tyler. Guess she already had a backup guy lined up."

"I called it. What sane woman divorces her husband over three peeled shrimp for the company's top sales rep? If I were Mr. Tyler, I'd be thanking Ms. Kuntz too. Peeling shrimp is nothing."

"Honestly, that baby probably isn't even his."

...

The whispers were still going when Eric stormed over and punched Caleb straight in the face.

My expression dropped instantly. I shoved Eric back and rushed to help Caleb up.

"You okay?"

I didn't even look at Eric. All my attention was on Caleb.

Eric hit the floor and stared at me like he couldn't believe it.

"You pushed me... for him?"

More employees crowded around us. Ruby and Ivy included.

The second Ruby saw Eric on the floor, she ran over and helped him up like some loyal little girlfriend. Real subtle.

Ivy looked at me, disappointment written all over her face. "You're seriously with this lawyer?"

"No. Nothing happened between us. But those two—"

I walked straight up to Eric and Ruby, my eyes locking on Ruby's hand wrapped around his arm.

"Forgot to keep your distance again?"

Ruby jerked her hand away from him. "Don't make stuff up! I was helping Mr. Tyler up! You're the one cheating, and now you're trying to drag us down with you? Everybody saw the pictures of you and this guy leaving a hotel together!"

Eric looked even angrier. "Sandra, I'll never forgive you for this."

I stepped forward, ready to argue, but Ivy cut me off.

"Sandra, you've seriously gone too far this time. Ruby has a husband and a kid. How could you accuse her of something like that?"

I frowned. "How do you know she has a husband and a kid?"

"I ran into her with a man and a kid at the grocery store not long ago. They looked really happy together. Stop throwing around crazy accusations."

My parents had been standing near the entrance the whole time, listening.

"Sandra! Enough!" my dad barked. "Apologize to Eric right now!"

The second Eric saw them, his eyes got even redder. He staggered over, looking miserable.

"Benjamin... Melinda... this is my fault. I'm the useless one. I'll agree to the divorce."

Ignoring the resentment aimed at me, I spoke calmly.

"Don't you all want to know why I'm insisting on a divorce? Fine. I'll tell you."

While everyone stared in confusion, Caleb walked in with Eric's previous nine secretaries behind him.