16. Crocodile's vain death

"I'm going to my meeting now. I'll see you when I get back. Please wait for me. I want to go home with you," his voice shook as he spoke.

She cupped his face, kissed him, and nodded. "Love you."

"I love you, too, Evelyn." He stood, punched in the key, and left. He spotted his wife's blouse on the floor under his chair.

He chuckled. She'd kill him if anyone ever found out about what they’d just done. He stuffed it into his bottom drawer and spotted her bra next to his laptop.

He grinned, 'Yup, definitely love her.' Leaving his office as tidy as it was before she'd come, he walked into Jen's office.

"You have 20 minutes until your next meeting which is 15 minutes away." Jen didn't even look up at him.

"I'll make it," Troy picked up the folder he had given Jen that morning. His watch told him it was half-past three.

"She called and asked to move it up. I agreed because I couldn't reach you on either of your phones. Is she okay?"

"Oh. Yeah, she's taking a nap. When she wakes up, please serve her tea and order-"

"Cheesecake from CeeCee’s. I know. You're going to be late. Gaby is waiting for you in the lobby."

"I'm going with Gaby? Not James?"

"Gaby. Not James. I don't know if they'll concentrate much with the way you look and smell right now though."

Troy panicked slightly. "If she wants anything else, give it to her, I will reimburse you if necessary."

"You'll be fine, Boss. They won't eat you alive. Knock 'em dead." Jen pushed her boss out of her office and toward the elevator which opened as he stepped in front of it.

The meeting was extraordinarily successful; the client they were courting hadn't budged for any previous delegations from his firm. He sensed the two women didn't like each other much though. He had even managed to end the meeting within an hour of their arrival.

On the way back to the office, Gaby would not stop praising him for his brilliance. The pleasure she got from his small victories in the meeting was beginning to repulse him.

Normally he'd be amused but today he found himself growing irritated. On their way back to the office Troy stopped by Braeside Spar to buy Eve sparkling water.

As he headed towards the till with Gaby, they bumped into a friend of his, Tafara. Tafara grinned at Troy.

"Yes, my wife," Troy said before Tafara could open his mouth. It was a known fact that Troy could not stand sparkling water. So much so that he refused to buy it for anyone.

Troy then turned to Gaby, "Gaby, this is a friend of mine, Tafara Gavi, he's with Ernst and Young. Taf, this is one of our interns, Gabriella Scott."

"Nice," Tafara said as he shook Gaby's hand.

Turning to Troy he smiled widely. "If your wife is doing that akapenga (she has mad skills). At least now I know why we don't see you around socially as much as we need to. Looking good man, don't lose her, isu makava takamirira (us jackals are waiting)," Tafara commented before walking off.

Troy frowned as he headed to the till. He was silent on the drive back to the office. Tafara's parting words made him feel uneasy.

As he walked into Jen's office, he saw his wife laughing with his personal assistant and he felt relieved. They sat at the round table.

What he didn't expect was to find the CEO of the firm next to his wife at the round table looking enamoured. Tafara's words haunted him again.

Eve stood and kissed him. Jealousy demanded he mark his woman, so he held her against him and kissed her back in a way that made her whimper when he pulled away.

"It went really well, thank you," his voice a lot deeper than usual from the desire the kiss had awakened.

"She didn't say anything, Boss," Jen teased.

"I know my wife. That's the first question she'll ask." Troy didn't look at anyone else except for Eve.

Looking up he greeted his boss and PA. He handed the sparkling water to his wife while sitting next to his boss so he could fill him in.

Glancing at Eve he saw her beaming. In all the years they'd known each other she'd never not been proud of him, he realized suddenly.

Why had he been so blind? For so many years. The question disturbed him deeply.

Troy went through the highlights of the meeting and glanced at his watch before looking at his boss hoping to continue the discussion further tomorrow morning.

"Eve, weren't you wearing a pink blouse with white buttons earlier?" Troy's boss asked.

Eve raised her head to look at the man who had addressed her. Troy realized she was wearing one of his shirts. He cocked his head to the side trying to figure out how that was.

Eve smiled. "Yes, I was, then I ate a yummy cheesecake that greed forced me to eat in one gulp. I ended up dribbling cherry sauce all over the front." Then she turned to Troy. "Sorry, love, I was hoping you wouldn't mind."

Troy's boss chuckled and clapped Troy's back as he stood. "I am sure Troy doesn't mind at all. Eve, you must join us for cocktails after Golf this Wednesday, it's been too long since we last had a good chat."

He walked around the table. His beer belly was barely concealed by the well-cut, long sleeve shirt he wore. His leather belt glinted in the artificial light.

Eve suspected that the unlucky crocodile would have fought back had it known it would be tautly stretched over a wide belly in death.

Waves of designer fragrance hit her as the stout man came to her side. When he came to a stop before her, he took both her hands in his. "I'd be very disappointed if I don't see you Wednesday. Find your handsome boys a childminder for the night."

Looking up at him she nodded & smiled. He turned in a half-waddle. "Jen, Troy, bright and early tomorrow." He waved as he turned into the corridor.

Jen quickly packed her things and prepared to go home. She had left the cheesecake in her boss's office, in the fridge.

She was not friends with her boss's wife, but she had never known her to lie. Eve was a notoriously messy eater.

Troy took the white Spar branded plastic carrier bag that the bottle of sparkling water had been in and walked into his office. Minutes later he emerged with the bag, only now the white was pink a quarter way up from the material within it.

They all left the office and the couple walked Jen to her in the parking spot before returning to theirs. Troy drove his wife home and they chatted easily about his day, his irritation with the fawning intern, and his boss's invitation.

Pulling into the driveway Troy saw a curtain flick from the window and back. He pulled into the garage parking his car next to his wife's.

Seconds later the boys rushed to open Eve's door and jostled to hug her. Eve hugged both boys at the same time and walked them to their room. Troy followed behind.

As she tucked them in Troy stood at the door and watched. He noted that Michael now said the nightly prayer and Jeffrey read the story. Both parents kissed the boys good night and walked out of the room holding hands.

Seeing his wife in his shirt made Troy happy. It swamped her on the arms and shoulders, but it looked good. The small voice in his head told him he was being possessive, but he brushed it aside as he followed Eve into the kitchen.

"Maswerasei Dedi (How was your day daddy)?" The maid asked cheerfully as Troy walked into the kitchen.

His response was also cheerful. He waited for the two women to greet one another. Finally, his wife asked the maid how her day had been in Troy's mother tongue.

The maid mumbled a barely civil response. Alarm bells rang in Troy's mind as he tried to recall why his wife had wanted to find a new maid just last week.

He'd hushed Eve off saying she was too damn picky. He grimaced mentally, yes, those had been his words.