“But this is your office,” Ella said, giggling.
David smiled and looked about him as if he needed to make sure. He actually felt light-headed. “I mean to my meeting. Can we have dinner tonight?” Then he remembered that he needed to talk to Colleen.
“I have to go home. To Irene.”
“Oh yes. Of course.”
“You can call me tonight. At home. After Irene goes down for the night.”
“Yes. I will.”
Ella nodded, feeling confused and oddly happy. They would talk tonight, and she looked forward to talking to him for many days after. She got up from the sofa, and David rose thereafter.
They were packing to leave Delia’s apartment. The movers were scheduled to come on Tuesday, and Delia was in charge of handling them. The renovations on their new apartment were finally done. The three-bedroom wouldn’t be as comfortable as his town house, obviously, but anything would be better than living in Delia’s tiny apartment another week longer. Delia also liked the new place; she’d never lived anywhere with a view, and this one was of the East River. There was a doorman and an eat-in kitchen. Ted wanted all new furniture. She’d said yes to everything. There was only one thing she cared about.
“What did Chet say? About Irene?” she asked Ted.
“He said I had a very good shot at getting joint custody.” Ted hooked the metal rod inside the wardrobe box. “I should go see her soon. I have to call Ella about that. But she’s going to be in no mood. . .” Ted made a face. He didn’t feel like dealing with her crying again.
“I’m sure she’ll let you see her.”
“Oh, I’m sure she will, too.” Ted hung up his suits neatly in the box. He kept the one he’d wear on Monday and saved two shirts.
On the other side of the apartment, opposite the coat closet, Delia folded a red parka trimmed in white rabbit fur and tucked it into a heavy-duty garbage bag. She was pretty sure she’d give it away. Ted had started his new job at Lally & Co. last November, and he’d taken her to several business dinners where wives of colleagues or clients had been in attendance, and she’d had to think more carefully about her clothes. Ted never said anything critical, but from the looks of the other women, Delia became more conscious that her wardrobe was too bright. She often wondered what Ella wore or how Ella behaved at these functions. Ted didn’t talk about Ella, and though Delia had no wish to hear anything bad about her, sometimes she couldn’t help worrying if she was doing a good job as the future wife of the head of investment banking of Lally & Co. Ted had gotten a big job—that was the phrase that his HBS friends used about his new position. Lally & Co. had recently acquired Jones Hobson and was a threatening competitor to Kearn Davis in terms of assets managed and in the underwriting business.
“Ted, I think she should get the house.”
“I found that house. I spent nearly a whole year getting it up to speed. Even with my bonus next year, it will take me another year or so to buy one of equal quality. And Ella doesn’t even like the house—”
“You said you renovated it with the proceeds from her apartment sale.”
“Yes, but I paid for the down payment and the mortgage and a good chunk of the renovation. The HVAC bill alone was—”
“You don’t want your first wife to be angry with you,” Delia said, walking toward him. “You just don’t.”
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“And you don’t want your second wife to be angry with you, either,” she said, grinning. She stood a few inches away from him and kissed him, dipping her tongue lightly in his mouth.
He smiled at her. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” he said. “I’m smarter than I look.” He raised his eyebrows. She turned him on just by talking to him.
Delia kissed him again. “I like smart men. Very much.” She pressed her body closer to him, then drew back. “I have never doubted how smart you are, Mr. Kim,” she said. “But you want custody, right? And you won’t get everything. Nobody gets everything.”
“Watch me, honey.” Ted would take that as a challenge. His intention was to get everything—to win every point.
“Do you want the house?” she asked.
“I don’t want to lose the house.”
“Oh, Ted. I don’t care about the house. We can get a better house.”
“You haven’t seen this house.”