I ignore her question. “Where are your rings?” The words are out before I can swallow the question that has been running through my head since I realized they were gone.

Before she covers her hand, I notice something. The indentions usually beneath a ring are not there, and there is no tan line. Ria will often forget to put her rings back on after she cooked dinner. Even without the rings on, her finger shows the sign of the long-worn jewelry. “Forgot to put it back on this morning after my shower. I do that a lot. It makes Felix crazy.”

The answer does not sit well with me, or maybe because I hate the way she mentions another man knowing her well. It does not matter what causes the words to shoot out of me like acid, they find their mark. “Considering how lucky you are to have found a man willing to marry you, my condolences go out to your husband for your repeated lapses in being grateful for him. Flirting with a married man one day and not wearing his rings the next. Ms. Clark, those who do not appreciate what they have are destined to lose it.”

I dismiss her, then turn to my computer screen. I cannot stop myself from watching her walk away, her back stiff and head down. How much more can she take?

***

Alexa

––––––––

Tomorrow I’m putting arsenic in his coffee. Arsenic was the choice of poison by the Medici, it’s a nasty way to go, you feel like your insides are being shredded. It’s an agonizing death that can take hours, sometimes even days. Then I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. No, it’s too fast and not nearly painful enough.

Last night I finally figured it out. He’s trying to make me quit. After talking to Natalie, it was clear. Leo has never been this mean to anyone else, had never talked to another assistant the way he did to me. I don’t know why though because when I asked Natalie if it might be my weight, she said I was crazy. There were assistants who were heavier than me and Leo hadn’t blinked at their appearance.

I look down at my finger, I hated wearing the rings. They just didn’t fit right. I hated knowing they were the real representation of my parent’s love and I was using them to lie. Leo had stared at my hand for a very long time. Damn, I’m not cut out for all this lying. Leo is going to figure it out because I’m going to screw up.