Yvonne had been there from the beginning. She was the COO of Mistress, and Madison’s right-hand woman. From a business perspective, Yvonne essentially ran the company. She had better business sense than Madison, a former journalist, so Madison deferred to her in that department. Generally, Yvonne didn’t work well with others, but herself, Madison, and the three others who ran Mistress made an excellent team.

Yvonne reached her office and sat down at her desk, settling in. She had several emails to send, and only half an hour before the Monday morning meeting started. She and the four other women who made up the Mistress executive team held a meeting every Monday morning so they could catch up on everything, business and personal. They were a tight-knit group, most of whom had been friends long before they’d started Mistress Media together.

By the time Yvonne finished with the most urgent of her emails, it was almost time for the meeting to begin. She headed to the conference room. Through the glass walls, she spotted a slender brunette sitting at the head of the table. Of course Madison was the only one of them who was already there. This was despite the fact that it had been Madison’s bachelorette party they’d been in Vegas for over the weekend. Madison had still shown up at work on time and looking none the worse for wear.

Yvonne opened the door and strode inside.

Madison gave her a nod. “Good morning.”

“Madison.” Yvonne sat down at the table. “Recovered from the weekend already, I take it?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t go as crazy as the rest of you.”

“Speaking of the rest of us, where are the others?”

“I saw Lydia earlier,” Madison said. “She should be here soon. I’m assuming Gabrielle and Amber are still recovering, but I’m sure they’ll turn up. By the way, did you take care of whatever it was you needed to do in Vegas?”

“More or less.” Yvonne had told the others that she needed to stay back in Vegas to take care of something. She’d needed time to work out how to break the news of her ‘marriage’ to her friends. However, she still hadn’t come up with a way to do so.

“What exactly did you need to take care of?” Madison asked.

Yvonne folded her hands in front of her on the table, stalling for time. She didn’t realize her mistake until Madison’s eyes fell to Yvonne’s hands.

Madison tilted her head to the side. “Is that… a wedding ring?”

Yvonne rearranged her hands. “Yes.”

“And why are you wearing a wedding ring?”

“Because I’m married.”

“What? Since when? And to who?” Realization dawned on Madison’s face. “Did you get married in Vegas? Is that why you stayed behind?”

“Yes,” Yvonne said.

“Yes? That’s all? Aren’t you going to explain yourself?”

“What is there to explain? I got married to a woman in Vegas. Her name is Ruby.”

“And?”

Yvonne gritted her teeth. “It’s a long story.”