the boat. Leslie had set up a slew of appointments with new clients. Right before their noon meeting on Thursday, Coco realized she had left their color wheel at home.
“Damn, I’ll run home and get it. I’ll be back in ten minutes,” she said and sped out the door, as Leslie thanked her. She let herself into the house, looked in her office on the main floor, which Nigel had designed for her, couldn’t find the color wheel, and then remembered that she had left it in their bedroom and sped up the stairs. The door was open, and the cleaning staff they had hired to come in every day hadn’t started yet, so she flew through the door and found herself looking at her husband, with his head deep between a woman’s legs. The woman started to scream just as Coco saw them. She stood rooted to the floor, unable to believe what she was seeing, or run away. As soon as the woman came, Nigel entered her and they both came again as Coco stood there too horrified to move and whispered, “Oh my God.” From somewhere in the distance, Nigel heard her and glanced over his shoulder and the next thing she knew the woman was screaming again. Nigel leapt out of bed, and tried to take the sheet with him to cover his erect penis, while Coco looked him in the eye, shaking from head to foot.
“For God’s sake, Coco, why did you come back here?” As though she was the one at fault. She glanced at the bed, and recognized the blond girl from marketing at the magazine. She ran from the bed into Coco’s new bathroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it.
“I forgot my color wheel,” Coco said, “and you forgot that you’re married. For chrissake, we’ve lived here for three days, and this is what you do?”
“It was an accident…I didn’t mean it…I can explain…” He looked pathetic, as he clutched their new sheets around him.
“I want you both out of my house by the time I come home,” was all she said, and then she grabbed the color wheel she saw on the desk, ran back down the stairs, and out the door. She was back in Leslie’s office after twenty minutes, not ten, and she was deathly pale under her tan, but the client hadn’t arrived yet.
“Are you okay?” Leslie asked her, concerned. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Yes, something like that. I saw an accident on the way back.” She didn’t know what else to say to explain her disarray. All she could think of was what she’d seen Nigel doing to the girl on the bed. She had a sleazy reputation at the magazine, which was apparently well deserved. But Nigel was no better. She couldn’t let herself think about it now. She had to get through the meeting first.
The client arrived two minutes later and stayed until two while they discussed the apartment Leslie had found them. It was perfect for their needs, and they had to decide what color to paint the rooms. Coco sat back in her chair, and let out a breath as soon as they left, as Leslie watched her. She had made sense in the meeting, but she looked sick.
“Coco, what’s wrong?” she asked her gently. Coco shook her head, trying not to cry, and then looked at her.
“I found Nigel in bed with another woman when I went home. The slut secretary from marketing that everyone says is a whore. I guess they’re right. They were in my bed, going at it when I walked in.” It felt better to tell her and get it off her chest.
“Oh my God,” Leslie said, horrified.
“Yeah, I think that’s what I said too. I had to leave to get back here.”
“I’m so, so sorry. What are you going to do?”
“I told him he had to leave before I get back. And I just gave up the mews house yesterday.”
“Do you want to stay here?”
“No, I want him to get out,” she said fiercely. “I’m not going to let him do this to me.” Leslie made her a cup of tea. Coco stayed at the office to avoid Nigel, and she left at six o’clock. Leslie was worried about her.
The house seemed empty when she got home, and then she saw him in her office, waiting for her when she went upstairs. “I told you to be out of here when I