Page 16 of Want to Know a Secret?

“Yes, well.” She shrugs. “His plans have changed. He’s got a meeting in fifteen minutes, and he was very clear about not wanting to be disturbed.”

“For God’s sake, I’m his wife!” I fold my arms across my chest. “He didn’t mean me.”

“I’m sorry,” she says in that irritatingly bland voice of hers. “There is no lunch on the calendar. I’m afraid I can’t let you in.”

That’s not true. She obviously could let me in if she wanted. She simply doesn’t want to.

Well, I’ll show her.

“I’m calling him,” I inform her.

I yank my phone from my purse and select Elliot’s cell number from my favorites. The only other favorites listed are Julie, Shady Oaks Nursing Home, and Bobby’s school. I wait while the phone rings in my ear.

And I wait.

And I wait.

My whole face feels very hot by the time the call goes to voicemail. He definitely has his phone in there. He texted me less than an hour ago. He could answer it if he chose. But he’s choosing not to.

Brianna smiles with satisfaction. “I could book you for lunch later in the week if you’d like?” She taps on her keyboard a few times. “He has an opening on Friday. Should I put you down?”

“No, thanks,” I manage.

She clucks her tongue. “In the future, you really should make an appointment. That way you don’t have to drive all the way down here for nothing.”

I hate this woman. I really do.

“Look,” I say, “I just want to talk to him for a minute. That’s all.”

“As I said…” She smiles up at me. “Elliot is very busy right now. I’m sure he’ll contact you when he has a free moment.”

I’ve had enough of this. I move to the side of the desk, planning to blow past her, right into Elliot’s office. But before I can reach the door, she jumps out of her seat, quick as a flash, and steps in front of me, blocking the door.

“I’m afraid you can’t go in there.” Her eyes meet mine. “As I said, he’s busy.”

I hold her gaze. Brianna is about my height, although I’ve got at least ten pounds on her. I wonder if I could knock her out of the way. For a moment, I’m tempted to try.

Brianna folds her arms across her chest. “Should I have somebody escort you out of the building?”

Great, she’s going to call security to boot me out of here. I take a step back and jab at my phone one more time to call my husband. Again, the phone goes to voicemail, only this time immediately. I take a shaky breath.

Then the message appears on my screen:

So sorry. Forgot about meeting during lunch. Will make it up to you.

I look up at Brianna, who still has that smile plastered on her face. I truly don’t care for this woman.

Call me as soon as you can, I type into my phone.

“Would you like that Friday lunch appointment?” Brianna bats her heavily mascaraed eyelashes at me. “You should book it now, while it’s still free.”

I don’t even answer her. I do an about-face and leave the office before I burst into tears.

I don’t even bother with the elevator this time. I go straight for the stairs. At this point, who cares if I’m sweaty? It will be hours before I see Elliot. I’ll probably be in bed by then. All I want is to go home and take a nice hot shower, then binge-watch some series on Netflix. Or maybe I’ll bake something. That always helps me relax.

I wish I could talk to somebody about this. I can’t tell Julie. She won’t get it. She’s married to a lawyer too, but she takes her husband’s long hours as a given. She would never consider traipsing out to his office for lunch. Frankly, sometimes I think she likes the fact that he’s not around much. I might feel that way too if I were married to Keith.

At times like these, I wish I could talk to my mother. It’s like a deep ache inside my chest. Unfortunately, my mother developed early Alzheimer’s several years ago. Right now she’s a resident at Shady Oaks nursing home, and having a meaningful conversation would be out of the question.