FOUR-- JAKE MILLER

Somewhere in New York

Jake ruffled through his thick dark hair, with a pen in hand and a client in the seat before him.

His client said something that seemed really crucial, because he nodded and noted them down in the sheet he held, and as he opened his mouth to respond to her, the shrieking of his ringtone cut into the conversation. The middle-aged woman whose words had just been intruded arched a brow and cupped her chin in her palm. He knew that his ringtone was uncalled for, but he had used that particular ringtone on purpose.

It was to easily know the identity of the caller, and now, he dared not refuse to answer the phone, even though he was in no mood to hear her rants and banters. It was the third time she'd be calling that day, and it had only taken his strong willful resistance to not ask her to go to hell.

It was few minutes to his board meeting but he knew for sure that he was going to be late if he answered the phone.

Nevertheless, he raised the phone to his left ear, stealthily biting his tongue under the table. His client shifted in her seat.

"Hello, Good afternoon, Scarlett Miller on the phone. May I speak with the CEO of Jake Automobiles please?" her tone dripped sarcasm as usual and it cut through his tongue each time she spoke like that.

"Scarlett, what do you want this time?" He dropped his arms beside him, removed his eyeglasses and wrinkled his forehead with his fingers.

"I need to talk to you. Are you in the office? You must be in the office. Right? Because where else should you be?" Jake could almost hear her gloat over the phone.

She was always like that and if anyone of his friends asked him why she still lived with him in his house, and still slept in his bed, still fed from his earnings, he always did not have a suitable answer.

Even though his best friends have asked him more than twice why he still chose to be in a relationship with her, despite that it was clear this woman was gradually snuffing life out of him and ruining his kids, he was always caught off guard by the question.

"Did you not hear me, Jake?" She bellowed. He had to put the phone down to sustain his hearing.

"We'll talk when I finish work. I have a meeting in five minutes. I'll be home today, I promise" he mumbled, absentmindedly wiping at the lenses of his glasses.

"Oh please Jake! Don't give me one of your empty promises again. I'm coming over RIGHT NOW, and make sure I meet you there" With that, she hung up.

Jake slammed the phone on the table and held his head in his arms, but as soon as he realized his client was still waiting, he feigned a smile and immediately apologized.

"It's okay, sir. I'll come back tomorrow morning for the jeep. My purchase is not urgent" she said, drawing back her chair.

"Okay then. Please drop the details with the dealer downstairs, ma'am. Thank you for your understanding and patronage" He stood up too, carefully seeing her out of the office.

He put a call across to his PA immediately. "Go to the meeting immediately. I'll be late. Tell them traffic. Thank you"

He had earlier planned to leave before Scarlett's arrival, but that was going to be a dangerous game in which she always took the prize. He didn't want her to make a mess of him in his absence. Besides, only God knew how she always managed to drive so fast to his workplace when home was about an hour away.

He better faced his fear than run from it.

As soon as his phone rang, his heart leaped in his chest. He was always like this no matter how hard he tried to be 'man enough'.

"Let her in" he informed his secretary. In two minutes, the woman he married flew up the stairs and was right at his door in the twinkling of an eye.

As usual, she had her sunshades on, with bright red, creamy lips and was dressed in a crispy formal off-shouldered dress with a skirt that had a slit so deep you could have a faint view of her smooth thighs. It was kind of sexy if you think about it, but nothing was appealing to him at the moment. For the umpteenth time, Jake wondered what kind of blood ran through her veins- she wasn't even wearing a hoodie or cape!

"What happened to your phone? You're not telling me you got so carried away with work that you did not hear me call you two times before?" She barked, her brows kissing each other in a wave.

"Scarlett, why don't you sit first?" His tone was quieter. It was the only thing that kept both of them together for years- his gentleness and unexplainable tolerance.

She sat, and hit her fists on the table as she spoke.

She was clearly not a gentle woman.

Not on her nelly would she ever talk calmly. Not even at 5am in the morning, Jake could bet.

"Two things brought me here, and you gotta attend to them or I ain't leaving this place" she made her mark, crossing her arms under her slightly ample bosom.

Jake checked his wristwatch. He was late. Three minutes late. He had better get her started or he'd not be able to attend the meeting at all.

It was his first in the year, and he wanted to make a good impression to everyone but, well, here he goes.

"Scarlett, can you hurry? You could have told me that on phone! I have got an important meeting to attend!" His voice was a little off the rails.

"I need money. About four or five hundred dollars" she started, adjusting her off-shouldered dress. "I need to have my nails done, get a cook and maybe...hire a personal driver. These days, my supple palms get weak at the wheels. You know I shouldn't stress ..."

He cut in with a tone so sharp.

"But Fiona does all the housework already"

"She's lazy. Too lazy. I want an outsider to do my chores now. Give me money" she stretched her palms towards him,while looking out the window.

"400 dollars. Is that all?"

"I'll tell you about the second when you get home today.

Make sure you come home today, because I don't know how a whole CEO chooses to sleep around every night when he's got a whole huge duplex to himself in the city with a hourglass killer figure wife and..." she hissed loudly, stopping herself all of a sudden.

She must have remembered her doctor's warnings about shouting too much.

Jake felt like he could explode in the next minute.

"So, money, that's all? I'll send $200 in an hour's time" he said, fetching his suitcase and his car keys from the shelf.

"I gotta go" he started to walk towards the door, but she pulled his collar towards herself with so much physical exertion.

"I need 500 dollars or nothing. You have to withdraw your useless first son from that school in Tuscaloosa, so I can keep getting my usual maintenance fee, or I'll go get him out myself! I don't know who told you he's not gon' return to the streets like...

"Scarlett.." he made an attempt to touch her shoulder.

"Wait, let me finish. You also need to cut back on your weekly concubine hires, or else, Jake, you'll know that I've got pepper bells on my fingers. You think I don't know where all your money goes? It's $500 or nothing, Jake!"

"I have never cheated on you, Scarlett" he muttered, like a wounded child.

She stared at him in what looked like disbelief for split seconds.

"You know what? Let's leave now. Please" he stamped his feet on the floor, hurriedly moving towards the door, his suitcase and keys in hand.

"I insist I want nothing less than...

"I'll send it, I promise. Just shut the fuck up and leave. You're getting loud" he said dragging her by her belt out of the office.