Her face softens and her eyes lose their wounded look.  I know she wants me there—hell, I want to be there—but I’m not lying.

“It’s that terribly nasty trophy wife, isn’t it?”

She may think she has me fooled with that bored tone, but I know she and the other girls secretly plot ways to make Mrs. Hutchins disappear.

“Yeah, Beauty.  It’s her.”  I brace for it because I know it’s coming.

“I hate that plastic, home-wrecking, troll-trotting, skank bitch,” she seethes.

She isn’t unjust with her hatred either.  Between her, Izzy, and Dee, each of them has witnessed her attempt at getting their men to stray.  We joke about it, because they know we would never even think about it, but when it comes down to it, we all want her out of our lives.

“I know, and you aren’t alone.  We agreed a few weeks ago that we wouldn’t take meetings with her alone anymore.  She threw herself at Beck, which is why he flat-out refuses to even be near her.  Asher is out of town so he can’t help.  It’s just me, and baby, as much as I hate it, I can’t let Axel deal with her alone.”

She nods her head in understanding, “I know.  I get it, I really do, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”  She hugs me close, and I rest my chin on the top of her head.

“I’ll be there before you even open your first gift or play your first game.  Promise.”

She smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.  “I know you will.  Now, go get Cohen dressed, please.  No rain boots with shorts though!”

After getting Cohen dressed and waiting until Melissa was finally ready to go, I helped her buckle Cohen into her car before pulling her into my arms and giving her a deep kiss. 

“Before the first gift, I’ll be there,” I remind her, hating that I’m letting her down, even just a little.

“I know,” she smiles.  “I’m not upset, I just wish you didn’t have to go.  I love you and everything you do for us.  Missing a baby shower really isn’t a big deal.  I’m sorry I made you feel bad earlier, but my hormones are all over the place.”  She laughs, and the blush she seemed to adopt when she got pregnant spreads across her cheeks.

“I love you and your crazy hormones.”

She smiles and gives me another deep kiss.  “I love you, too.” Laughing, she folds herself awkwardly behind the wheel.

I make a mental note to go straight to the dealership before the week ends and get her the minivan we’ve been talking about for a while now.

*~*~*

“But, Greg, isn’t there something else you can do?  I just know that Harry is sleeping with that woman.  I saw the way she looked at him.  There is no way that a woman who hasn’t seen him naked would look at him like that.”

“It’s Mr. Cage, Mrs. Hutchins, and as Mr. Reid has gone over with you already, there is no evidence that points to any infidelity on your husband’s behalf.  We’ve been watching him closely since the day you walked into our office for the first time.  There hasn’t been a single grain of proof that we could even offer to you.  I’m positive that this is a good report, correct?”

We’ve been playing this game for the last thirty minutes.  I keep checking my watch, knowing that Melissa should be at the country club that the girls are using to host her shower by now.  If I plan on keeping true to my promise, I need to get this woman out of our building as soon as possible.

“Oh, don’t be silly, Greg.  I told you to call me Alison,” she purrs.  Literally purrs.  Axel rolls his eyes from his perch across the room.  He’s about to blow, and I’m not far behind him.

“Mrs. Hutchins, how about this?  We will put the cameras back up inside your home as well as his office for another two weeks and then reevaluate at the end of that time?”

She instantly brightens when I confirm that we aren’t cutting her loose.  Shit.  Axel’s going to flip.

“Darling, that is just perfect.”  She makes a move to touch my arm and I pull back roughly.

After another five minutes of bullshit, she finally agrees to a time for us to come and reinstall the equipment in her home.  Another pain in the ass, but this time I wouldn’t make the mistake of showing up alone.

“Swear to Christ, I’m ready to just say to hell with the ridiculous amount of money she’s paying us and cut her loose.   She’s like a fucking parasite.”