He Wanted Open Marriage, I Chose His Boss

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Logan came home and stood in the doorway of the walk-in closet with two ties in his hands.

"Blue or gray?"

"Ask your date."

His face darkened at once. "Claire, we agreed this wouldn't interfere with our home life. You were perfectly calm when you signed. There's no reason to throw a fit now."

I gathered my pajamas and work clothes and moved them into the guest room at the end of the hall.

"We both signed that agreement. There's no reason to keep pretending we're a perfect couple."

"I haven't slept with her."

"That's your timeline."

Logan tightened his grip on the ties.

He had probably expected me to cry, interrogate him, or beg him to tear up the agreement. Instead, I simply closed the guest-room door.

His phone lit up a moment later. The anger vanished from his face as soon as he read the message on the screen.

In the end, he chose the gray tie and hurried out.

For years, whenever Logan needed a wife on his arm, I had to put my own career aside and canceled work commitments.

The same winery had invited me three times. Each time, Logan told me he had an important client dinner and needed me there, so I backed out at the last minute.

Only later did I understand that any one of those opportunities might have helped me build a career of my own instead of remaining a full-time homemaker.

That night, I stopped arranging my life around his schedule.

I replied to the email from Walker Hotel.

On Thursday evening, I attended a small winery launch event downtown. The scheduled presenter had to pull out at the last minute, and when the organizers recognized me, they immediately handed me the microphone.

I spent 15 minutes explaining the differences among three wine regions.

As I finished pouring the last glass, applause broke out at the back of the room.

Adrian was standing there.

I had met him three times before, always while accompanying Logan to corporate events. Whenever Logan mentioned his boss, there was an unmistakable note of awe in his voice.

This was the first time Adrian had stood in a crowd and listened to me talk about wine.

"That was excellent." He came to the table and picked up the wine I had just introduced. "The new restaurant is changing its wine list. My team contacted you twice, but we never heard back."

"I never received a formal offer."

Adrian studied me for a few seconds. "Logan was copied on the first email. He told us you declined. The second time, he told us directly that you had other plans. The hotel put the wine-list project on hold while we waited for you."

My fingers slowly tightened around my wineglass.

Logan had told me Walker Hotel had found someone more qualified.

'There was never anyone else. Walker Hotel actually put the project on hold for me. Logan just doesn't want me to work. He praises me for being smart and dependable while quietly turning down opportunities on my behalf, shrinking my world a little at a time until my entire life revolves around him.'

"That wasn't my decision." I set my glass back on the table. "I'll take the project."

Adrian didn't ask whether Logan approved.

"I'll have my team contact you directly tomorrow. You can decide the scope and the fee yourself."

It was the first time since I got married that anyone had discussed my career without first asking what my husband thought.

After the event, Adrian stopped me outside the coatroom.

"There's one more thing. This has nothing to do with work." He sounded concerned but cautious. "Logan announced at the company that the two of you have started an open marriage. Is that what you want?"

I met his gaze. "I signed the agreement."

Adrian didn't press me about my marriage, and he didn't use the opening to move closer.

For a man so used to being in control, he was almost tentative when he asked, "Then would you have coffee with me Saturday afternoon?"

"3:00 p.m. on Saturday." I picked up my coat. "I'll choose the place."

"Of course."

He left the choice entirely to me.

When I got home, Logan wasn't there.

There was an unopened box of condoms on the nightstand in the master bedroom.

I didn't put it away.

Instead, I placed the invitation from Walker Hotel in the center of the dining table.

Adrian Walker's name was printed clearly across it.

Logan had his first official date that night.

On Saturday, I would have mine.