Revenge of the Cube Dweller by Joanne Fox Phillips Read Free Book Online

think?” asked Mason. “She’s a rock star,”said Winston. “Battle-tested over at KPMG, made partner over there in eight years. I think that may be a firm record.”
    “Unbelievable. Maybe she has her sights on your job. How long do you think before she’s the next CEO?” Mason joked, as his wife, Leanne, looked on uncomfortably.
    “No doubt, Mason, I’ll need to watch my step around the board,” said Winston, always the politician.
    “Not bad looking, either,” said Mason. “Must be more enjoyable jetting off to New York with her instead of that old fart, George Callaway.”
    Winston looked a bit startled but composed himself. “I can assure you, it’s all business, Mason. George was a great executive to work with.”
    Leanne gave Mason a gentle nudge and changed the subject. “Tanzie, I’m wondering if I can borrow you to look over the luncheon menu for the bridge group next week. It’ll only take a second.”
    While there had been many previous infidelities on Winston’s part, I was blissfully unaware of this affair that would change my life so profoundly a year later. I didn’t get the inference underlying Mason’s comments until many months afterward. Looking back, I think plenty of people did know, but that is how country club friendships work, sometimes. They tend to be superficial and husband-centered. The women are your friends while you’re married and involved in the club, but since the man is the member and the woman a “spouse,” a divorce means that you are no longer welcome on the premises. No Wednesday morning golf,no ladies association lunches, no bridge or book club. Promises to meet outside the club evaporate over time, and pretty soon you lose all contact.
    Still, my friendship with Beth and Alice was anything but superficial, and we remained close even through the awkward months as the divorce finalized. I promised to keep in touch after moving to Tulsa but instead retreated inward. I can’t pinpoint the emotion that made me distance myself from my closest friends. Alice suggested I join Facebook, but I didn’t. She and Beth left messages on my machine and sent e-mail that I didn’t return. I fell into a funk after moving, and reminders of my old life only made me more depressed.
    And the whole process had started right then—June 1, 2007, my fiftieth birthday. I stare at the date, right there on my computer clock.
    Moe and Hal stop by on their way out the door, interrupting my thoughts. “Just so you know,” Moe begins, “I called around about the security breach over the weekend. The guy they used was new because of the holiday. They don’t think that will happen again.”
    “Okay,” I reply. “I am really sorry if I went too far. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can help you with on your audit, Moe?”
    “Maybe. I’ll let you know,” he says coldly.
    Hal leans in. “Tanzie, could you put together a data request for this construction audit before you go home tonight? See if we can get the contracts by the end of the week. Think you can do that?”
    “Of course, I’ll send the requests by e-mail tonight. I’ll copy you so you can make sure I did it correctly,” I say, trying not to sound angry.
    I get busy putting together a schedule and figuring out who has the needed information as the clock reaches five and keeps going.
Ironic
, I think,
I had nothing to do all day but will end up leaving late because of this assignment. I feel sure this isn’t accidental
. I click
send
and pack up for the day.

CHAPTER FOUR
    A fter I finish my dinner, I pour another glass of wine and head out to my balcony for my evening smoke, taking the landline with me. It has been an exhausting day and I want to talk to someone. I think about calling Alice or Beth, but that feels funny after blowing them off for the last six months. Instead, I decide to talk to my sister again.
    Lucy and I are Irish twins, just eleven months apart. Looking at us, though, it’s hard to believe