Office Affair

A heart-to-heart chat

Kayla frowned as she tapped her nail on the display of her phone.

"That's odd."

There was not a single missed call from Dominic, and he always called at least once a day to tell her that he wanted her to come home straight after work, to spend time together. Her throat thickened when she realized that their roles were suddenly reversed.

"The number you have dialed is invalid."

What the hell, she thought. She rechecked the number and dialed again. Same result.

She stormed out of her office and called the cab. It took almost an hour to get home due to a traffic jam. She took a few deep breaths and deliberately focused on every muscle in her body. He is at home. He is waiting for her as always. It's just that his phone is broken or stolen, or something. Of course. That must be it. It has to be it.

When the cab finally pushed through to her building, she called the lift and circled in front of it until it had arrived. She felt like it took her forever to get to the top floor.

The key went into the lock easily, but the darkness made her freeze on the spot. This was unusual, because Dominic always left the light on when no one was at home. She turned on the switch and looked around. So far everything was all right, but that brought her no consolation. She sensed that something was missing.

Her instinct took her to the bedroom. The bed was tidy, just as she left it this morning. Everything was in order. Unless...her gaze ran to the closet. She tried to divert it but it was glued to the handles. Her body moved to that direction and she found herself gripping the handles while taking a deep breath. She flung them open and for a moment she saw nothing wrong. She ran through his shirts with her fingers.

The blues and the blacks were there, his usual outfit for work. His jackets and pants were also there. Except...she remembered the moment when Dominic came home one day in a pale red shirt. She asked him where he got it and he casually said that he found it when he was passing by Marks&Spencer. Ever since then it was his favorite shirt. She thought nothing of it until now.

She forbade him to ever shop at Marks&Spencer again, because she thought it isn't worthy of their image as a couple. She told him that multiple times, but he brushed it off as unimportant and raised her temper once more when, a few weeks later, he bought his jeans there, as well.

A week after that she noticed new sneakers, and that also drove her crazy because they always went shoe shopping together. Kayla didn't do it to spend quality time with him, but because she wanted to make sure that their styles matched for any important event they're invited to.

Now it hit her; Dominic was being influenced by another woman. Calm down, a shirt and jeans missing from his closet are hardly a reason to panic, she said to herself. Maybe so. She felt the urge to open his drawer. She knew how many underpants he wore, because she always bought them for him. She almost screamed in the realization that three of them were missing. He would never take them unless he planned on leaving her.

"After all I've done for him this is how he repays me?!"

She took the phone again but then remembered that he changed his number. She was losing him.

"My dear, you may try to run away but I know where to find you!"

She called the taxi and ordered him to RIMA. Again, the first person she saw was Michelle, who tried to stop her, but she already expected that.

"But Dominic isn't here."

"Nice try. You're not that good a liar. Now shut up and let me through."