The Red Flag

15 Years Ago

          There's only one thing that Elle Jennings feared more than going to jail or losing his career, and that was losing his wife. When he met her, he knew she was the one just by the way her smile glistened in the light and in the dark. Her smile made him smile and he always admired that about her. She never complained about anything unless she felt strongly about a certain opinion she'd have during regular conversations, and even then it would always turn into a bundle of laughter causing them to forget all about it soon afterwards.

          Elle loved Jennifer and promised to stay with her through thick and thin, sickness and health, rich and poor ... until he met Heather Price. He and his old assistant had a fallout due to an intense disagreement, causing him to fire him and hire a new one. When they met, it was almost as if there was a fire in their connection and he was drawn to her ever since. Although he loved his wife, he couldn't get his mind off of Heather.

          The way her long, red, curly hair flowed down her back and stopped directly in the center. The way her bra straps peaked through every piece of clothing she wore. The way her dark brown eyes always hung low with her long lashes hovering over as if she was constantly flirting with him. The way she spoke with such delicacy and the way her lips shined with the gloss she wore every day. The sound of her heels clicking towards his office. He was desperately lusting for her and he knew it.

          Every day, he came home from work guilty of what he did. At this time, all he had done was think about Heather constantly (even seeing her in his dreams) and fed into her flirtatious demeanor a few times, but he had yet to touch her in any way.

          When he'd get home, he'd be reminded of the beautiful woman he fell in love with at first sight. He'd kiss his wife, eat what she cooked up for him, take a long shower, then join her in bed and make sweet love to her all night long. The problem was, after meeting Heather, he wasn't making love to Jennifer anymore. In his mind, he was making love to Heather.

          One late night at the office, Heather finally confessed her lust for Elle as she basically threw herself at him knowing there was no one else in the office to see. He denied her at first, telling her he was married but she didn't care. Knowing the consequences of cheating on his wife, he removed himself from the situation instantly. Going to the break room for coffee, she followed him as she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Elle was doing his best to control himself, but even he knew there was only so much he could take (especially after dreaming about her for over two months). He finally gave in, feeling the guilt build inside of him every second that he was there, but continued to get it over with.

          After that one night, he promised to never cheat on his wife again.

          A few weeks went by and Elle kept his promise to himself. No matter how many times Heather tried to get into his pants, he rejected her each time which only caused her to become uncomfortably obsessive. She'd follow him downstairs to the parking lot after work, begging for him to be with her, but the most he did was call her 'crazy', then went about his day. Sometimes, she'd pull stunts like leaving her underwear in his car or in a drawer in his office, but he'd find them every time and throw them away before anyone could see.

          Fed up with her games, he confronted her one late night at the office when no one was there, and made her promise to quit playing around. In return for this favor, she asked for just one more night of his love ... so he gave it to her.

          The very next day, Elle woke up to plenty of messages in his phone from Heather. He quickly took it to the bathroom, avoiding Jennifer, and read them all.