#countermeasure

That night is not much different than the one before or the next. He burns the roof of his mouth with the first slice as he’s fixated once more on her. The cameras catch her every move as she wafts around the large house like forlorn wraith. The lens gives him a direct line to her loneliness. 

She’s in her silk black robe and matching nightie. They hug her curves perfectly as furry slides cling to her feet. She’s as refined in her leisure as she is standing by his desk asking for an update. 

Nano is a good boss. The first manager he’s had that even understand his job. He delved into her extensive background in development and backend management. She really doesn’t look like the stereotype. But he does. 

She pours herself a glass of wine. The censor for the davenport triggers. He redirects his attention to the white SUV pulling in. Late is not so better than never. Jake is never late. Never for her. 

He switches back to the kitchen where she leans on the square marble island and sips. She’s unaware, or even indifferent, to her husband’s return. The cabernet usually signals that she’s headed for bed. 

She sits up as she hears her husband enter. Andy is in no hurry as he unlaces his shoes then shrugs out of his jacket. Jake should’ve placed the camera on the other side. This angle is awkward. Well, he had limited time when he wired the house. 

She looks over as Andy enters the kitchen. She doesn’t say anything. He mutters and goes to the fridge. He takes out a bottle of beer. 

“Long day,” he pops the cap with his hand. 

“Tell me about it,” she says as she puts the stopper in the bottle and sets in back in the rack. She takes her glass and struts off. He remains and drains half the beer before he follows. 

He finds his wife upstairs. Why he even made her that is a mystery to Jake. He doesn’t treat her like one. Not like a husband should. 

She sits in bed and balances her wine and her ebook. She’s working her way through an interesting fantasy series. It surprised him to know she was so far into it. He always thought she’d be into those romance rags or the bestseller thrillers. 

“You’re mad?” Andy asks as he strips off his blazer. 

She hums. 

“Like I said, long day. Work was a lot.” 

“Andrew,” she doesn’t look up from her book. 

He’s silent as he unbuttons his shirt. He peels it down his arms and drops it in the hamper. He nears the bed as he looks her over. 

“What’d I forget?” He asks. 

She clucks, “you tell me. For once, Andy,” she drops the ebook and empties the glass before slamming it on the night stand. “I’m not your goddamn secretary, I’m your wife.” 

“Honey,” he sighs. “Work--” 

“I work too,” she flicks him away with her fingertips. “But I guess I don’t work as hard as you. Oh, the leftovers are in the fridge. Take them for lunch so they don’t rot.” 

She rolls onto her side and pulls the duvet to her shoulders. Her husband shifts. He shakes his head and continues to undress. 

He comes up beside her and nudges her. She ignores him. He’s persistent. He stretches out behind her and wraps her in his thick arm. 

“Honey, I’m sorry I missed date night. No more excuses,” he purrs as he caresses her cheek. “I love you. I don’t want you to go to bed angry.” 

“Well, I am,” she sneers. 

He kisses her hair and whispers. She doesn’t react. He continues to nuzzle her as his hand roves her body. 

Jake puts the pizza aside. His appetite dissolves. Don’t let him do it. Don’t. He doesn’t deserve it. 

She shimmies over and rolls onto her back. Andy kisses her. She lets him. She lifts the duvet over him and he angles his body over hers. Jake sighs but doesn’t look away. 

He’s hard even if he is burning with jealous. Andy grunts as he shifts around under the duvet. She bends her knees so they poke up on either side of his thick torso. The duvet slips.  

Andy strokes himself as Jake resists the same. Her husband grows frustrated as he struggles to get inside her. She grips his shoulder and reaches down to help him. He huffs and shoves her away. 

He growls and gives up. He bounces off of her and sits on the edge of the bed. He clutches his head as he hunches. She drops her legs. 

“Sorry, I must be tired,” Andy utters. 

She hums derisively. She pulls the blankets over her again, “next time.” 

“Yeah,” her husband scoffs and stands up. 

He crosses the room and rips his robe away from the hook behind the door. He leaves her in a dark cloud and she hangs her head. It’s a while before she moves again. 

She reaches into her drawer and pulls out the little rose gold vibrator. She shuts off the light and he listens to her breathing and her moans. He’s sad for her. She deserves more effort than that. She deserves to be cherished. 

Another camera activates. He hates to look away from the writhing figure on night vision. Andy is in the front room. The glow of his phone is cradled in his hand, his other is... 

He hasn’t seen Nano since the day. She didn’t come back before he finished up for the day and he didn’t stick around because the meeting. That meeting that turned into nearly a whole night of anxiety.

‘How are they?’ Peter asks.

Jensen’s relieved at least one other person has a semblance of stability. Peter is asking the questions that need to be asked. The ones he’s too tired to think of.

He looks at her door again. She found out. Jensen saw the footage. The suit jackets shredded with scissors and the paint poured over the white SUV. He just needs to figure out his next steps. She’s going to be emotional, vulnerable. He has to be understanding.

Heels hit the floor like a hammer. Jensen glances over as Nano stomps up and unlocks her office. She doesn’t look at anyone but her expression is vacant. She’s not giving anything away. He admires that in her. Admires and empathizes with it.

She’s strong. So strong she doesn’t let herself feel what she needs to. She locks it all up inside as she works herself hollow. She doesn’t need to do all that. He will make her see that she deserves better. She deserves him.

His stomach is doing somersaults. He still doesn’t have a plan. He can’t just go in and offer her a shoulder to cry on. She’s not the type anyway. No one would guess that her life is shattered to pieces.

Another set of footsteps approaches. Jensen sits up and cranes around. He nearly chokes on his surprise. What is he doing here?

Jensen’s only ever seen Andy in person a few times. He doesn't come around often, not to surprise his wife with flowers or even just a bit of attention. Well, it’s all out know. He’s a cheat, scum, useless. And he’s head right for her office.

Nano won’t like that. She doesn’t bring the personal to work. It’s entirely inappropriate but Andy is the type to force it. Why did they ever get married?

Jensen is up on his feet before he realises what he’s doing. He quick steps in front of Andy, blocking him with his arm, just a foot from Nano’s door. The slimy lawyer sneers at him.

“Excuse me, I’m here to see my wife,” Andy growls.

“She’s busy. She said no one gets in.” Jensen lies. He’s been doing a lot of that lately.

“She’s my wife,” Andy steps closer but Jensen doesn’t budge.

“I know but she’s working. She has a very important project. She’s not to be disturbed.”

“Would you get out of my way? I need to talk to my wife,” Andy snarls.

“Not happening, dude,” Jensen crosses his arms.

“Get out of my way, dweeb--”

“I’m not a dweeb,” Jensen bristles. He thinks of how this idiot took her for granted. How he threw away a marriage with the perfect woman. How he hurt her so deeply. “And she doesn’t want to see you.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what my wife wants--”

“I think you do, considering you can’t be bothered to give it to her. No, you’re fucking that intern.” Jensen scoffs. “So, no, you’re not going to get past me because she doesn’t need you ruining her day more than you already have.”

“Mind your own fucking--”

“Jake,” Nano’s voice drones flat through her husband’s grit. “Is there a problem out here?”

Jensen backs up and turns to see her. He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck. His eyes ping between husband and wife. She looks at Andy.

“Oh,” she utters grimly. “Talk to my lawyer. Jake, in my office. We need to discuss your last report.”

“Nano,” Andy calls after her.

“You have their number,” she doesn’t look back.

Jensen grins smugly before he follows her. He shuts the door as she goes around her desk and sits. She stares at the monitor.

He meekly nears the desk and stands across from her. She sighs. She looks at him as her jaw ticks.

“How do you know?” She asks tersely.

He blinks, stunned by the venom in her voice.

“Know…?”

“About the intern. About my husband.” She scowls.

He gulps, “I…” he looks down. He shakes his head and shrugs. “I know a few people from his office…”

“Shit,” she hisses. “It’s barely been a day.”

He eases the breath out of his nose, a sigh of relief. He peeks up at her nervously. She’s focus on the computer again.

“Please, don’t tell anyone else.”

“Sure. I’m sorry. I was trying to help.” He says.

“Thanks,” she huffs. “Back to work.”

“Oh, alright,” he says, disappointment drowning him. “Just… if you need anyone to talk to--”

“No. No. Talking is the last thing I need,” she says. “Goodbye, Jake.”

He winces. Her voice is ice. She’s never spoken to him like that. It hurts.

Shoot. What if he ruined this? What if he just built a wall he can’t get through?

He turns and slowly leaves. He glances back at her one last time before he shuts the door. She’s exhausted, rigid, and dazed. Why wouldn’t she be? Cheating husband, demanding job, isolation…

She needs more than this. She deserves more than this. She’s so used to just bulldozing through everything that she can’t see what’s so obvious. There is better. He’s better.

She hurts right now but once he gives her everything, she’ll forget about all that pain.

He sits at his desk and opens the discord. His thumbs hover for a moment as his thoughts race. His lips twitch. He’s so close.

He just needs the opportunity. He’s always alert, always aware of the ins and outs of her day. His desk is at just the right angle to see her office door. 

His phone buzzes. Again. He sighs. 

Jake never meant to take on the role, he only made suggestions and the others went along with it. No one else had any other idea so now, he’s the unspoken leader. He books the community room for their meetings and he moderates the discord.

There’s been interest in adding new members but he’s starting to think there’s more than enough. Some of the guys even weird him out.

He ignores the vibrations. He knows without looking it’s them. They can wait. He has a top priority mission. 

His eyes dart over as a figure struts past the other developers. Hm. It’s Fowler. He looks at his phone as he walks. His eyes are slitted in intense concentration. He isn’t in Nano’s calendar... 

Fowler stops at her door and knocks. She calls for him to enter. They exchange terse greetings. She’s been unhappy. The nights haven’t gotten better. Her husband is later and later. And Jake has figured out why. 

He just needs her away from her computer. That’s it. She usually goes off for a coffee by now. He’d offer to get her favourite; vanilla latte, half-sweet, but that would be contrary to his end game. 

“Today?” She marches through the door as she pulls on her long blazer over her dress. “Fowler, you said next week in the email.” 

“Timelines change,” the dark-haired man says nonchalantly. 

“You couldn’t get Isaacs?” 

“He’s on vacation.” 

“Mm,” she hums with the same disappointment as when her husband rolls over, soft and useless. 

Jakes leg bounces under his desk. He stills it and watchers her go. She continues to chide the man who disturbed her peace. If she could even find that any more. 

Wine and her ebook. Those seem to be her only solace. He could be so much more than that. But first... 

He doesn’t want to do it like this. He should wait for things to unfold but Andy is smarter than he seems. He is a lawyer. He probably picked up a few tricks from the criminals he deposes. Fucker. Literally. 

It wasn’t easy. Embarrassing really. Jake dug out his old bike courier uniform and strolled right into the law building. Those suits are so important, they don’t notice a minion like him. As proud as he could’ve been for his efficiency, he felt rotten about the results. 

His suspicions were confirmed easily. Andy and an intern. She’s young and bubbly and fits perfectly under his desk. He regrets putting in the mic because some of the noises make him sick. He doesn’t need to keep watching, does he? 

Alright, here he goes. He’s done it before but never felt bad. He only ever peeked at her schedule, nothing too intrusive. Just keeping track. That’s all. She is his boss and he wants to his job well. He can’t do that, if he doesn’t know what she has on her plate. 

He goes into her files. He needs to put it somewhere obvious but not too obvious. Maybe disguise it as something else... He can make the icon look like a spreadsheet but then the video would open. Is it too much? That is her husband. Would she believe anything but the truth in front of her? 

Her mirrored desktop bings. Shit. It’s him. She’s logged into WhatsApp on her PC. That’s not responsible use of a company device. Not his business. 

He reads Andy’s message; ‘you still mad?’ 

He wants badly to click and read it all. No, he has lines. He watches but there are some things that are even too much for him. He leaves the file and exits out of the window. Another message blips up as he hovers over the button to confirm his exit from remote access. 

‘Let’s go on a trip. Just us. Together.’ 

Huh. That’s a development. He clicks confirm and his access ends. 

He looks around, face hot, hands tingly and cold. He swipes up his phone and locks his computer. He sets off for the bathroom. Hopefully Duncan didn’t get the Taco Bell breakfast again. 

He shuts himself in and presses his thumb to the censor. He quickly goes into his cloud app. He scrolls through the files and selects this morning’s recording. He plays it at double speed as he chews his thumb. 

The usual. The intern brings in the coffee, smiles, wiggles her hips, and goes back to her own desk. Andy waits until she’s gone and his hand disappears under his desk. Then, about twenty minutes later, she comes in with a file full of blank paper and closes the door. 

This time doesn’t go the same as the other days. He slows down and turns up the volume. 

“When?” She demands. 

“Honey, I told you, it’s complicated,” he reaches for her. 

She slaps his hand, “I’m not fucking you again until she’s gone. People are starting to catch on. I’m gonna get canned once Nancy catches wind.” 

“You won’t. People wouldn’t believe it. They know me.” 

“Oh yes, you’d never do anything wrong like cheat on your fucking wife,” she scathes. “It’s just that slutty intern coming on too strong--” 

He shushes her, “keep it down.” 

“No, make up your mind. I’m young but not that young. You tell her you’re leaving or I will--” 

“You fucking won’t,” he steps closer, hands in fists. “Do you hear me, you little fucking slut? You’re exactly right. No one will believe that it wasn’t you. So you shut your fucking mouth or I’ll go to HR right now and tell them a story they’ll believe. I’ve been ADA for long enough, the will know which truth is best for optics.” 

She gasps. Jake almost does too. She steps back then towards him again. She slaps him and it echoes. He touches his cheek and growls. 

“Fine, I fucking quit.” She spins and storms to the door. “And I’m going to fucking tell her anyway.”