Previews A Poisonous Echo by Mai Griffin | Page 11

Mai Griffin
feeble-mindedness had landed him!
Rather than a torrid romance, it had been a spasmodic
affair that drifted on for three years before Joyce began
to press for more of his time, then marriage. Her first
hints had come almost jokingly and he’d ignored them –
fool that he was! He had come to regard her as a modern,
independent woman using him no less than he was using
her. Even had he been free to do so, he would never
marry anyone so brittle ... but there was no way anyone
would understand how their association had survived
without his wanting it!
His wife certainly would never appreciate how, once
established, Joyce’s hold had been difficult to break. He
really had tried to shake the girl off at first but had,
understandably, relaxed when he seemed to be getting
away with the deception; the belief that he was keeping
two women happy with such little difficulty boosted his
ego!
Now, he faced the fact that he had been a fool,
expecting it to last forever. Yet, even so, he still felt more
persecuted than culpable. He reflected that his wife was
actually more at fault than himself for making him go to
that wretched party without her, and felt a momentary
surge of resentment towards her, too. Then he shrugged
and tried to pull himself together. He must think clearly if
he were to come out of this unscathed.
If Joyce really did intend to keep away for a few days
she would have had to inform somebody so, at last,
common sense took over; he contacted the personnel
department. The assistant was amazed he didn’t know;
Miss Hamilton had booked leave for a week, to attend a
wedding in Oxford. She asked, “Has your temp not arrived
then sir?” ...and at that moment, there was a timid knock
on his open door.
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