The Staff
by Alexis Pereira
The following is a true story.
She was rich. He was not.
She was a multi-millionaire. And he acted like those millions were his.
He’d order the food for everybody at the table at the finest restaurants. The most expensive bottles of wine he could get his hands on. He had his personally tailored clothes flown in from around the world. She didn’t, though, claiming she wasn’t interested in it, though there were rumors that he didn’t allow her to.
There were rumors that he wanted to leave, too. That a few years into their marriage he felt small, useless. He had some money. She wouldn’t have married a guy with no money. He was also very handsome.
He could be a news anchor, the Spanish-speaking staff would all agree.
But she wouldn’t have it. Not that she was SO in love with him, but she was too prideful to be divorced. She told him it wasn’t an option.
"Of course it’s an option, what are you gonna do?" he asked.
"What if I gave you all my money?"
That stopped him in his tracks. They went to a lawyer and worked out a new nuptial agreement, wherein he was now in charge of her millions. He started sleeping in the main bedroom again shortly afterwards.
A few years later, there were new rumors. He wasn’t coming home with lipstick on his collar, but a staff that dotes on you 24/7 notices everything.
"El tiene otra," they started whispering to each other. "He has another."
They wondered if she knew. She certainly didn’t act any different. She didn’t seem upset or suspicious.
But one day, during one of their arguments, she stopped talking mid-sentence. And she just stared at him. He looked at her, flummoxed. His anger turned to worry.
And she started laughing.
She laughed for almost a minute, while he stared at her wide-eyed and confused.
"I’m just imagining what kind of an asshole you are to her. The shit she probably has to deal with."
He bristled at the comment, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She smiled, “You think I’m an idiot?”
She then gathered herself and walked away. The staff talked about it for months. He also quickly cut off the affair.
At least that’s what the staff noticed. They notice everything.