Chapter Two, His Brand, Her Brand
Inari and the kids entered the house and found Joe rushing out of his office to the front door. He immediately started apologizing to the kids.
"I'm so sorry my meeting with Creative went longer than expected," Joe said, apologizing for not picking up the kids on time like he promised to do.
Inari waved off him. The kids greeted their father and then rushed to their bedrooms. "I am sorry, honey," Joe told Inari.
"It's okay, I knew it would happen so I changed my schedule to be able to pick them up," Inari said.
Inari wanted to laugh so badly in his face. Joe was such a hypocrite. Yesterday, he was down her throat about being there for the kids and he forgot to pick them up because of a meeting that he could had in the car while going to pick them up.
If she had done that he wouldn't have lectured her about her priorities but she is here letting get him away with it like she has always done in the past.
Joe and Inari stared at each other in silence for a moment before Inari cleared her throat. "We need to talk," Inari told him.
"Yeah, let's talk in my office," Joe said, leading the way to his home office.
They entered the room and Joe just stared at Inari, his eyes scanning her face for any sign of irritation. Inari rolled her eyes as she watched Joe. "I'm not upset, I should be but I'm more annoyed than anything like you made me feel like shit yesterday just for you to do this today," She said.
"I know I fucked up, I lost track of time," He said.
"Whatever, Joe, you're not ever going to get how you made me feel the other day but that's okay. I lighten up my schedule like you wanted so you don't have to worry about my life choices anymore," She told him.
Joe frowned.
"That's not fair," He said.
Inari scoffed.
"What's not fair, Joe?" She asked.
"You're making me sound like an ass," He answered.
"Because you are an ass," She said.
"Just because I want you home more doesn't make me an ass, Inari," He said.
"Yes, it does because what the fuck was I doing for the last couple of years, Joe? Huh? I was home all the damn time and now I can't do anything without it being a problem for you," She said.
"Because when you go out all you do is party. Do you know how many videos of you shaking your ass in the club I see on a daily? It's crazy. At your big ass age in the club with younger and single women that don't have men waiting at home for them. It's like you don't have any self-respect or respect for me," He said, snapping at Inari as he took a seat at his desk.
Inari feels her heart breaking. So that's what bothering him. It wasn't about being there for the kids. It was about him not liking the fact that everyone got to see what he saw in her.
"Is that what you think of me?" She asked him.
Joe remained silent. Inari lets out a sigh.
"Fine, your silence tells me everything I need to know, Joe," She said, walking out of his office.
For the rest of the day, Inari ignored Joe. The kids picked up on the fact that they were fighting. Joe didn't like the silent treatment and he didn't like their kids knowing that they were upset with each other. He wanted Inari to understand that she wanted not just a brand for herself but for him too. She was an extension of him and some of the things that she does not align with his public image.
"Are you going to give me the silent treatment now that you know how I feel about your partying?" Joe asked Inari after they put the kids to bed.
Inari sat at her vanity putting on her night skincare products before bed. She looked at him through the mirror and sighed.
"What else is there for me to say to you?" She asked him as Joe got off the pulled and walked over to her.
"You know I love you but your brand isn't just your brand, Inari, it's mine too, we're a team and when you do something that doesn't look right to people then people look at me in a bad light," He explained to her.
"Me partying is bad for your brand when the only time I go into clubs is when they are paid appearances which I barely accept those gigs so whoever is in your ear telling you that I'm damaging your brand can go to hell with gasoline draws on," She said.
"Stop being combative," He said.
"You know what, Joe, go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow," She said, knowing that pressing the issue tonight would go nowhere so she was over it.
"Inari," He said.
"Get out of my face and go to sleep. I don't need you blaming me for your lack of sleep in the morning," She said.
Joe sighed. They'll talk about it some other time but Inari was right. He had a big day tomorrow so he needed to go to sleep soon or else he would have bags under his eyes in the morning and he didn't want to be photographed with bags under his eyes.
"This isn't over," He said, heading for bed.
"Far from it," She said.