“Is what true?” I snapped.
“Scott told me you were sleeping with your boss’s secretary.”
“Is that what this is all about?” I asked in astonishment. “You started an affair with Scott to get revenge on me?”
“I’ve seen her. She’s so beautiful I figured you couldn’t resist her.”
“I hate to break it to you, but not everyone has the same morals as you and Scott. For your information, I have always been 100% faithful to you.” I stared at her and shook my head in disgust. “I can’t believe you took the word of a . . . a salesman!”
Her head went back down and she began to cry piteously.
I got up from the table, grabbed my keys and went out to get myself some dinner. When I returned, I found that Callie had packed her personal things and left.
I felt so sad listening to him. “That must have been just awful for you, Peter!” I said when he had finished. “How are you doing now?”
“To be honest,” he said quietly, “my emotions are all over the place. I feel a lot of bitterness toward Callie for cheating on me, yet I can’t help feeling depressed that my marriage is ending. I’m glad that Scott got what he deserved, but I feel wrung out by the whole experience. More than anything else, Jess, I just feel exhausted.”
“I know it’s bad, Peter, but I promise you that it will get better,” I said.
Although the executives tried to keep a lid on the circumstances leading to Scott’s ignominious dismissal, there were too many people who knew at least some of the facts, and the story was the number one subject of gossip for the next few weeks. Ironically, it was Scott’s old team that was the most eager to dish the dirt, perhaps in revenge for the way he had treated them as their boss. Peter’s team members generally kept their confidences, but it was clear they felt like they were delighted by the outcome.
Unfortunately, the back-story about the role Scott had played in Peter and Callie’s divorce also became common gossip in the halls. No one asked Peter about it directly, but whenever he left the room, furtive comments and hushed conversations began. I hated that for his sake, but there was nothing I could do to protect him. Knowing as much as I did, I could only keep quiet on the whole matter. I did try to keep in touch with Peter as often as possible to make sure he was doing okay. I found myself looking for excuses to drop by his office during the day or to eat lunch at the table with his team.
Every so often, Marge would come by and take me to her favorite tavern after work. In her position as the CEO’s assistant, I expect she probably knew almost as much about what had happened as I did, but she never brought up the subject at our little outings. She did make a point of asking me how Peter was doing, and I tried to keep her posted on what I’d seen and observed. She also kept asking how I was doing, which seemed odd to me because I had been only peripherally involved. But she always asked and I always reassured her that everything was fine.
About four months later, I got a call one afternoon from Debby, the woman who had run the control desk for Peter during Expo. She told me that his team was holding a little surprise celebration for Peter after work and wanted to know if I’d like to join them. When I asked her what the occasion was, she told me that Peter’s divorce had just become final. Of course I told her that I’d be there.
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