---- Eventually, even my casual gestures of care and affection earned nothing but his annoyance. "Yeah, | got it" "Stop bothering me." Our marriage had turned into little more than a business arrangement. Ethan grabbed the phone and, right in front of me, snapped at Maddie. "Maddie, you're just an assistant at this company. From now on, call me Mr. Hartington" "And by the way, it's work hours. If you keep slacking off, you're out." With that, he hung up and turned to me, his gaze nervous. "Vivian, if you don't like her, | can fire her right now!" | almost laughed at how absurd this was. How could someone switch gears so quickly? Not long ago, he was holding Maddie in his arms, coldly telling me he'd fire me instead. | turned over, my back to him. "Don't bother. I'm tired. Just leave." Why fire her now? ---- She might still come in handy.