Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 357

“Ambitious, aren’t we!” Jared scoffed at him.

“So what are you doing all this for, then?” Hanley shot back, not willing to let it go.

“Come on, what did we always say back in the day?” Jared replied, almost theatrically. “To make a name for ourselves, to stand head and shoulders above everyone else, to be somebody in this world!”

“Then what’s your excuse for being so off your game today?” Hanley pressed, grinning slyly. “Don’t tell me you went home and fought with Nita last night, and now she’s giving you the silent treatment?”

“Me? Worried about her giving me the cold shoulder?” Jared snorted, dismissing the thought. “She’s already walked out. Wants a divorce. Thinks she can get to me that way. What a joke. If we actually split, there’d be a line of twenty-something girls dying to marry me. Who’s going to want her?”

The truth was, he had been distracted during the meeting, but it wasn’t because of Nita. His mind was elsewhere, caught up in other problems.

“Jared, that’s not really the point…” Hanley started.

He barely got the words out before Jared cut him off. “Oh, isn’t it? Hanley, let’s be real. You let yourself get walked all over. Every time we go out, your wife’s blowing up your phone, telling you to get home. And you just put up with it! You bring in the money, not her! For once, how about having a mind of your own?”

Hanley just shrugged. “That’s the thing—I don’t really have a mind of my own. And honestly? I kind of like it that way. At work, I follow you guys. At home, I listen to my wife. I hardly have to make any decisions. So now, when you guys are all busy having opinions about everything, what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to keep this company going on my own?”

Theodore said nothing.

Jared grew impatient. “There you go again, Theo—spacing out! Don’t tell me you’re still stuck on why we’re even working so hard in the first place?”

He could still hear Cathie’s exact words: If you ever start acting like them, don’t think you’d last two seconds with me.

But Jared spoke up before Hanley could put his thoughts together, jabbing a finger at Theo. “Wake up, man. Emma doesn’t even want you anymore.”

Of course, Jared didn’t stop there.

“Pathetic! A man becomes successful, has a few women on the side—so what? As long as your wife’s position is secure, that’s respect! It’s you guys, spoiling them, that makes them so entitled!”

Hanley turned to Theodore. “Theo, honestly, I don’t get you. You don’t love Emma, right? And you two never—well, you know, you never lived like a real couple. When Cici came back, I figured you’d divorce Emma and finally get together with Cici. Sure, it would be a bit underhanded, but I’m your friend, I’d back you up. I always thought you and Cici were meant to be. But now? Look at you…”