no longer interested her. How refreshing.
As she shut down her laptop and closed up her large carry-all bag, she smiled to herself. She’d often wondered what she would do the next time she saw him. She’d imagined horrible scenes where she’d broken down in public, begging him to come back to her, to help her out. Other times, she’d imagined a yelling fit where she blamed him for so many things that had gone wrong in their marriage. And in the dark of night, when she’d be laying in bed wondering how she would pay the rent or buy food, she’d pictured herself trying to become the woman he wanted her to be, someone who could meet his standards, who he wouldn’t criticize, wondering how she could have made herself over if she’d just had enough time and insight, instead of who she really was. Standing here, in the cozy coffee shop with her newfound confidence and success, she knew she’d moved on in her life. Drew was definitely someone from her past. And not a very nice part of her past either, she acknowledged. This was so much better than what she’d been anticipating and dreading.
“Going somewhere?” Drew asked, sidling up to her with his superior-looking expression and huge cup of coffee.
Lana looked at him and smiled politely. “Hello Drew. How are you doing lately?” she asked and was proud of herself for not cowering in front of him, or showing any sign of anger. It was actually quite easy to talk to him without feeling any emotion at all. It was as if he were an old acquaintance that she’d known a long, long time ago, but who no longer had any part of her life.
What a relief, she thought to herself. She also thanked God that Victor had come into her life before this meeting between her and Drew. She couldn’t imagine what she might have done if he hadn’t shown her what life really could be like, what a healthy relationship could be with a man she respected, cared for and was so sexually attracted to that even now, after several weeks of experiencing his magic, she still couldn’t believe it at times.
He smiled smugly and shrugged one shoulder casually. “No complaints. And you?” His eyes kept dipping, roving over her figure as if trying to find out some secret information. She suspected he was looking to see if she’d gained or lost weight since he’d left her. Both were indications of emotional upheaval but thankfully, she was the same size she was before he’d left her, although she felt much more fit than she ever had in her life. Probably the nightly workouts, she thought with a small smile of appreciation. Another bonus from Victor.
Straightening her shoulders with a great deal of pride, she smiled up at Drew. “I’m doing well, thanks for asking,” she replied. It seemed odd that they would be standing here, in the middle of an anonymous coffee shop, being so polite to each other when they’d shared years together as husband and wife. “You look well. How’s the job lately? Still having problems with your boss? Or did you eventually work that out?” She didn’t really care about his boss. Almost daily Drew had ranted about the man who managed his team, telling her how incompetent he was, how ridiculous his requests…the complaints were unending. But Drew never sat down and discussed his concerns with anyone, preferring to ruin their evening together by being upset by the latest offenses.
“I just got a promotion,” he bragged, his eyes lighting up as if he’d just been waiting for the opportunity to tell her that little piece of news.
She blinked slightly in surprise, but then realized that she wasn’t either happy or resentful of that news. It was just that…news. “That’s wonderful. I’m sure your company is very happy with your work. They always liked you, didn’t they?” she suggested. Drew was a computer programmer who wrote code for databases. Beyond that, she didn’t really understand much about what he did, although he would explain his projects to her in minute detail, then rail at her because she wasn’t overly interested in his programming problems.
“They’ve been very good to me now that I’m out of that other division,” he said with a sneer. Lana assumed he was talking about his previous boss, but didn’t want to raise the question, for fear that the litany of complaints would start once again. She didn’t have