“You must be Emma,” Lisa said. “I’ve heard so much about you. Alex is such a good guy, isn’t he? The best! I don’t know what I’d do without him!”
I forced a smile.
“Yes, he is wonderful.”
Lisa continued, oblivious to my discomfort.
“He just loves my cooking! And I’ve had to make so many things that he enjoys because he says that you’re too busy to cook sometimes. Right, Al?”
I felt humiliated, but I maintained my composure. I couldn’t let myself go.
I watched as Lisa clung to Alex’s arm, laughing and whispering in his ear. He looked uncomfortable and excused himself, and Lisa turned her full attention to me.
“Emma, let’s cut to the chase,” she said, holding her glass of champagne. “You might be his wife, but he’s given me something special tonight.”
She pulled a note from her clutch and showed it to me. There was a hotel room number scribbled on it.
“He’s planning a surprise. He’s going to see me. Let’s see what excuse he gives you when you get home for why he needs to leave,” she said.
“You know, Lisa,” I said. “People who think that they can take what isn’t theirs, often end up disappointed.”
Lisa laughed.
We returned home later that night, and as soon as we walked in, Alex made an excuse to leave.
“Emma, I need to help a friend with something. His car isn’t starting and he needs a ride home. It’s urgent. I’ll be back soon.”
“Which friend?” I asked, feigning casual curiosity.
“You remember John? From work? I think you saw him tonight, too.”
“Of course,” I said, pretending to accept his explanation. “Just be careful.”
As soon as he left, I grabbed my keys and followed him to the hotel. I parked discreetly and saw him head into the lobby.
I waited a few minutes, then followed, making my way to the floor that I saw on the note earlier.
When I reached the room, I took a deep breath and knocked. The door opened, and there was Alex, looking surprised and worried.
“Em? What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, pushing past him into the room.
But here’s the kicker, to my surprise, John was there, looking sheepish in a hotel bathrobe.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
John stepped forward, looking embarrassed.
“I asked Alex for Lisa’s number because I wanted to ask her out. We had dessert together after the work event, but she spilled a drink on me and I needed a change of clothes. I asked Alex to bring me some clothes.”
“So, you’re the one who wanted to see Lisa?” I asked, blinking slowly.
“Yes,” John said. “I really liked her, but I guess she wasn’t interested. She left a few minutes ago, saying she wasn’t feeling well.”
“Why did you follow me, Emma?” Alex asked.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
“Alex, Lisa told me something at the event tonight. She showed me the note with this room number on it. She said that you’d make up some excuse to leave the house and come to her. I needed to see it for myself.”
“Emma, I had no idea,” he replied. “I’m so sorry.”
“Look,” John said. “Why don’t you guys keep the room and talk this out? I’m not going to use it, and neither is Lisa.”
In the end, that’s exactly what we did. And Alex promised to take up Lisa’s behavior with the company.
“I finally see it for what you do,” Alex said.
What would you have done?