Chapter 8 Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

• After exiting the hotel, he checked his time and found out he was thirty minutes late for the meeting with his wife. A rush of guilt enveloped him as he thought of her. If only he had just stuck with Elaine or tried to keep her and still had a child with Claire. He didn't think this would happen after his divorce and remarriage.
• He entered his car and drove to the restaurant where he would be meeting Claire. When he entered inside, he saw her seating at a table with their baby in her arms. She was being fed as Claire made sure to kiss her cheek at intervals.
• "Hey, babe." Jason pecked her and took a seat beside her.
• "Hey, you're late." She whined.
• "I'm very sorry. I was having a meeting with a potential client and it took longer than expected." He apologized. He wasn't exactly lying but he wasn't saying the truth either. It hunted him but he dare not say anything.
• "It's fine. I understand." She faced the baby. "Wanna hold her?"
• "Of course." He carried his daughter from her. He rained kisses on her as she giggled and Claire couldn't help but gush over how cute they looked together.
• "So, what do you want to talk about?" He turned his attention to her.
• She placed her hands on the table before speaking.
• "I got in contact with miss Lane and---"
• "Sorry, who's miss Lane?" He interrupted her. He had never heard of such a name.
• "She's a jewelry and fashion designer, resides in Bogotá but moved recently to Cali. You don't know her?"
• "Describe her please."
• She groaned and almost smacked him.
• I'm not here to do that. You can go check her out later." She scoffed. "I didn't say hit on her."
• "Of course not, I would never do that. You're my wife and I would never cheat on you."
• 'Liar, liar, pants on fire.' His conscience sang for him. He was lying smoothly when he had cheated more than twice on her with different women; two married women and one single lady.
• "You seem so sure about that." She gave him a knowing look.
• "Why shouldn't I be? I've got nothing to hide."
• 'You've got lots of cockroaches in your cupboard.' His mind was battling with him.
• "Well, I believe you. So, as I was saying, I got in contact with this miss Lane and I need your help with some money to pay her for her to design some clothes and pieces of jewelry for me."
• "Whatever happened to your money? It's your business."
• "I know but I'm going bankrupt here. My designers are not giving me what I want and I need a new one, the best. I want it to be a joint something. I'm not going to let you pay all the bills." She said with pleading eyes and toon one of his hands.
• "Please, honey. Do this for me. She told me she'll be coming over today to have me select the designs I want and we'd be meeting again after her revelation party."
• "Wait, hold up, revelation party?" He asked with a cocked brow. "What is she? Some kind of mysterious lady?"
• "She always wears a face mask. Only her eyes are noticeable and her red hair." She squeezed his hand a little. "Will you do it? I promise not to waste so much of your time."
• He thought for a while.
• "Fine, I'll do it. But you owe me."
• "Yes," She squealed victoriously. "I do, I'll do anything."
• She was elated that her husband agreed to sponsor her and that she was meeting with the famous designer in a few minutes.
• "Okay, I gotta get back to my office. Miss Lane will be coming over soon and I have to be there. I'll see you at home, sweetheart." She grabbed Nia from his hand. She kissed him goodbye, grabbed her bag, and hurriedly walked out of the restaurant.
• That was when he remembered they hadn't ordered anything to eat. Seeing her happy and thinking that she had a faithful husband pained him as he wasn't close to what he told her. He cheats and would do it again if tempted to.
• Thinking about his past marriage, he never cheated on Elaine but only did in their fifth year because he wanted a child. He could have just stuck with Elaine and adopted a child as they had planned.
• He guessed he didn't want to feel impotent and that's why he cheated. Now, he's back to it and there was nothing he or Claire could do about it.
• If only he could just tell her the truth and stop with the lies...
• *
• *
• Claire went back to her office to welcome Miss Lane. She later figured out the mysterious lady was bigger than she thought. She was worth billionaires and was worshipped anywhere she went. It was a huge privilege to be hosting such a personality.
• She even invited her friend, Rita, over. She had the cleaners clean and decorate her office.
• When she saw it was all good, a satisfactory smile appeared on her lips.
• "You've blown, girl. Lane is coming to your office. You should be over the moon by now." Rita screamed. "She rarely goes to offices unless they're worth it. You're going from booooom or kaboom."
• "I am excited. I just want to comport myself and act mature. There's no telling if she hates people who act like a simp for her."
• "Spare me that. A person like that will be very proud and might even make you bow to her feet." Rita scoffed and sat down on the seat. "I can't wait for her revelation next tomorrow. It's like the talk of the town."
• "How did she gain this much popularity that even my husband didn't notice her? The media is all about her and her crazy mad shape."
• "Leave the questioning for now and focus on the lady coming to meet you."
• The moment she landed her sentence, they heard noises from outside. They saw three cars that had driven into the compound and the workers were outside, waiting to behold the sight of the fashion goddess.
• And she didn't disappoint them. She wore an Eldridge oversize buffalo check shirt jacket, a crop top inside, and a high waist ripped jeans, accompanied by Lita shoes. She was looking hot and most men couldn't take their eyes off her, even the married ones.
• "She's here." Rita felt her breath was leaving her as she started at the beautiful woman.
• Her assistant, Stella, carried her bag as she and Nadia walked beside her.
• "Oh my God!!!"
• "She's so gorgeous."
• "The queen of fashion."
• "I'm in love with the color combination."
• Those we all the words she heard she was being led by Claire's assistant to her office.
• The assistant knocked on the door and was let in.
• Claire and Rita stood up as Miss Lane walked in with the two ladies.
• "Good day, ladies." She greeted. Her mask didn't allow her voice to come out as normal. It was almost like muffled sounds.
• "Good afternoon, Miss Lane." Rita and Claire chorused.
• Lane's assistants greeted the women.
• "Please, have a seat." Claire offered. Lane sat down but her girls stood beside her.
• "You ladies can sear over there, please." Rita ushered them to the couch close to the entrance of the office.
• "I'm going to cut straight to business if you don't mind." Miss Lane said.
• "I don't mind at all. You're a busy woman and it's only necessary you do so."
• "Thank you for understanding. Nadia?" She called her social media manager and she answered. She handed some magazines to Claire.
• "You ordered both new designs and old ones for pieces of jewelry and clothes. Pick the category you want, the particular number you want for each, and the color. If you have any special design in mind, you can let us know too." Nadia said. "If you don't get it, I can explain in simpler terms too." She smiled.
• "Oh, you don't have to worry. I get all that."
• After minutes of selecting and agreeing on designs, they closed that chapter.
• "So, what's the price?" She asked.
• "We will have to go through all you've ordered and fix a price."
• "What if it's more than what I budgeted for?"
• As Nadia was replying to her, Miss Lane got an emergency from the hospital she worked. Her eyes widened when she saw the call and the text that followed after.
• "I have to go," She stood up abruptly. "Nadia will talk to you while I'm gone." She made for the door in a rush. She opened the door and as she was about to walk outside, she bumped into a hardened wall and was about to fall to the ground when Jason's strong arms caught her.
• They stare into the eyes of each other before Claire rushed to the scene.
• "Are you okay?" She asked.
• Miss Lane quickly moved from his arms and walked out, arranging her hairs that had scattered.
• 'Who is she?' Jason asked himself as he stared at her walking away.