Not Us: Isla & Brixton Novel – I looked behind me, hearing the voices again. I didn’t want to listen to anything else. I ran down the stairs, tears streaming down my face. He’s cheating. With Sasha. Oh…I could feel my heart breaking. I didn’t know how long I ran for. I just ran. I ran down the stairs. I ran out of the lobby. I ran past the car waiting to take me home. I ran down the sidewalk, pushing past people. I ran until it felt like my lungs would explode. I wasn’t sure if it was my heart or my lungs. I just knew it felt like I was dying. I’d been crying the whole time I ran. I couldn’t stop the tears or my heart from shattering. Why? Why would he do this?
Isla’s POV It had been a week and a half since I’d met with the lawyers and since he missed the dinner with my folks. And I know what you’re thinking. You’re a hacker. Just look at his phone. Break into the provider’s network and download his phone history, or whatever hackers do. I don’t know if I’m in denial, or if I just really want to trust my husband, but…I couldn’t do it. I wanted to trust him. It was late as I walked out of my office, locking it behind me. I checked my phone and saw a text from Stan about twenty minutes ago. Stan: Working late. That’s all it said. ‘Working late’ like normal. Nope. I can do this. It had been almost two weeks of us, not talking and ignoring each other. I decided to walk up to his office to see if I could broach the topic of our divorce. I was done being treated like this and I wanted to just be done.
I was walking down the hall, seeing his office light was on. I noticed that Sasha’s stuff was still at her desk. The closer I got, the more I could hear something. It sounded like moans. What? The closer I got, the louder the moans and groans and grunts and sounds of skin slapping together got. Oh. I think I’m going to be sick. “You’re so tight…” No. He wouldn’t. “Oh god! Stan! Your…your shaft!” She sounded all loud and nasally like she was faking it. Who knows. She probably was. She was so fake she looked like a Barbie doll. Plastic everywhere she could get it. Her hair was a little stiff from all the bleach and hair spray. I’d never liked her, but she seemed to be well-qualified when she first started. Who knew married men and spreading her legs were on that list of skills. No. I wanted to puke or pass out. I was dizzy and did not feel well, but I had to.
I needed to. I had to see if it was real. It was so sick. I looked through the slightly open door to see my husband nailing his assistant against the wall of windows behind his desk. I saw his hands holding hers above her head. That fake-hip blonde hair was falling out of its neat updo onto his shoulder. He had a hand on her hips, thrusting into her. I saw as he pulled out and she got on her knees. He wasn’t even wearing a rubber. I spun on my heel and took off running down the hall, my bag secured across my body. It didn’t slow me down any as I ran. I took the stairs when the elevator was taking too long. The seventeen times I pushed the button didn’t make it come back to inferno any sooner. I looked behind me, hearing the voices again. I didn’t want to listen to anything else. I ran down the stairs, tears streaming down my face. He’s cheating. With Sasha.
Oh…I could feel my heart breaking. I didn’t know how long I ran for. I just ran. I ran down the stairs. I ran out of the lobby. I ran past the car waiting to take me home. I ran down the sidewalk, pushing past people. I ran until it felt like my lungs would explode. I wasn’t sure if it was my heart or my lungs. I just knew it felt like I was dying. I’d been crying the whole time I ran. I couldn’t stop the tears or my heart from shattering. Why? Why would he do this? I stopped, hailed a cab, and called Goldie. “Hello, beautiful. What time are you getting here?” She sounded like she was surrounded by people. It was loud on her end of the phone, but I couldn’t stop the tears that kept spilling. I could barely talk. “Goldie…” I sobbed out, barely able to breathe after running god knows how far. It’s at least a mile. Maybe more. It had been ages since I’d run like that.
Pull yourself together, Isla! “Excuse me,” I heard her say to someone and it got quieter. “What’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay?” “He’s screwing her. He’s screwing her in his office. Right now.” Was that my voice? It sounded emotionless. Inside I felt like I was hollow. “What?” “Stanley! That prick is screwing his assistant in his office on his window!” “Woah. Do you have proof?” “I’ll get it. I can hack anything. I’m sending it to Brighton as soon as I get home. He leaves in two days for this trip. I wanna move him out then.” “I’m leaving,” I heard her say to someone as it was getting louder on her end of the line. “What?” they asked. “My sister needs me. I have to go. Accept the highest offers on whatever photographs people want. She needs me,” she said as it got louder and then sounded like she was outside. “Be at your house in twenty, babe. Love you. Call Brighton. Now.” I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. We had pulled up to my building. I paid the cabbie in a daze. After saying it all out loud I felt like someone had ripped the wool off my eyes and I was in a daze.
I heard a ringing as I nodded to the doorman. I felt like a zombie. “This is Brighton.” I pushed the button for the penthouse. “Hello?” “Mr. Brighton, it’s Isla Taft. Soon to be Whitley.” “Miss Whitley. What can I do for you?” “I caught him screwing his secretary tonight. Can you use that?” “I need concrete proof,” he said slowly, probably hearing the nothingness in my voice. I mean, I know I was filing for divorce, but that was because he’d changed. He’d changed a year ago. He changed again six months ago. And two to three months ago, he changed again. Getting worse and worse with each transformation. I didn’t know who I was married to anymore, but I still loved him. “I’m the one in charge of the security system. I can get you video evidence.” My voice was emotionless. I felt like I was on autopilot. “I can file for an at-fault divorce.
It’s also in your prenup. You’ll get a minimum of half the company, and you’ll be able to get a sizeable amount in maintenance. It’ll take me a few more days to get everything re-done and filed.” “I don’t care about any of that. I just want to get a divorce and keep my patents and coding. He’s leaving for a trip with her in two days. He said it’s a business trip.” I really was starting to not recognize my own voice. It was a little terrifying. I moved like a robot into the penthouse, going straight to my office, and locked the door. “I can have my PI on him while he’s there. Send me the information, save the video, and whatever else you can get on a flash drive, and deliver it to the office tomorrow. Please do not email it. It could be considered distribution of porn if his lawyers wanna get worse.” “What can I do against her?” “In New York, adultery is a criminal offense with a sentence of six months. It’s hardly used anymore—” Perfect. “Do it.” I cut him off. “Both of them. Do whatever you can to her. She knew he was married. I met her the first day she started. He introduced me as his wife.”
“I’ll be in the office early tomorrow. We’ll take care of it all tomorrow. I’ll have the papers ready when he gets back.” “Can I change the locks while he’s gone?” “Yes. And, I know your friend said something about a singing telegram?” “Yes.” “It will look bad, and I hope you know that.” “I want everyone to know. I don’t care because I just want the divorce and patents with my code on them.” “All right, I can work with that.” I hung up the phone and got to work. I knew I needed to leave at some point tomorrow to deliver the flash drive. But I did not want to be here alone when I saw all the ways he betrayed me. I might get sick. Goldie: Here! Let me in. I ran to the front door and opened it, pulling her into a hug. We made our way back to my home office while I cried on her shoulder, telling her everything that I saw. “If he shows up, I don’t know if I can be objective.” “You have to. You get your singing telegram.” “YES!” She hissed, doing her best impression of Kip from Napolean Dynamite.