My Wife Fired Me, So I Became Her Boss Chapter 1

The Blackwell Group was launching a new division. The chairman appointed his wife, Audrey, as its president, giving her carte blanche to build her own team.

Everyone assumed I’d be her VP. Friends were congratulating me in advance, celebrating our joint ascent up the corporate ladder.

But on the day the official announcement went out, I received a termination notice. And the intern Audrey had been so close to, the one who always seemed to be whispering in her ear, was named Vice President.

Later, Audrey tried to explain. “Leo has depression, Cole. He’s incredibly sensitive. He needs the validation more than you do.”

She straightened my tie, her fingers cool against my skin. “Besides, he’s already thought of you. He said you could be his personal driver. The pay is great, and the hours are easy. See how thoughtful he is?”

I looked into her eyes, searching for a hint of a joke. There was none. She was dead serious.

I gently removed her hands from my collar and met her gaze with the same unnerving sincerity.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll support my wife’s decision.”

* * *

The next morning, dressed in a black driver’s uniform, I had the car waiting outside Leo’s apartment building on time.

I waited for nearly an hour. Three calls to his phone went straight to voicemail.

Finally, with only ten minutes left before the workday officially began, he sauntered out of the lobby doors, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He pulled open the rear door and flopped onto the leather seat without so much as a glance in my direction.

“Let’s go.”

I said nothing, just put the car in drive.

The morning rush hour had the interstate in a gridlock.

From the back seat, Leo’s impatience grew.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know any shortcuts?” he whined. “Audrey won’t be happy if I’m late on my first day.”

We finally pulled up to the office building, thirty minutes late.

The second I put the car in park, Audrey’s call came through. Her voice was sharp enough to cut glass.

“Cole! Where are you? Do you have any idea what day it is? It’s the executive morning briefing! How is Leo supposed to command any respect when his own driver makes him late on day one?”

Before I could get a word in, Leo’s voice cut in, dripping with faux-distress.

“Audrey, don't blame Cole. It’s his first day as a driver. It’s an adjustment.” He paused for effect. “He was trying so hard to get here on time, he even ran a few red lights for me.”

That sent Audrey into a fresh spiral of fury.

“Cole! Are you doing this on purpose? Are you so bitter about being let go that you have to sabotage Leo’s first day just to make yourself feel better?”

“You are such a disappointment.”

“Forget about this month’s paycheck. You’re not getting it.”

She hung up with a sharp click.

Leo sat up. The wounded look vanished, replaced by a smirk of pure satisfaction.

“Tough break, Cole. Must sting, driving me around.”

He laughed softly and swung his leg over the center console, planting a mud-caked leather shoe on the back of the passenger seat.

They were the shoes. The custom Italian leather ones Audrey had a friend bring back from Milan for my birthday last month.

Now they were on Leo’s feet, sullied with dirt, staring me in the face.

“Guess that’s what happens when you’re not good enough,” he said, pushing the door open. He sauntered toward the building, whistling.

I sat there in the silence of the car, staring at the muddy footprint on the seat back. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

A little while later, a few of the senior managers came down for a smoke break after the meeting. They saw me in the car and ambled over.

“Jesus, Cole. You’ve got the patience of a saint,” one of them said, leaning against the window.

“Getting ridden like that by an intern? We could hear Audrey tearing you a new one from down the hall. If it were me, I’d have driven this thing straight into the river.”

Another one just smirked. “I don’t know, man. Maybe he’s got some kind of special kink for this.”

I ignored their jeers and pulled out my phone. A new text from Audrey had just popped up.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I was just angry. I have to establish Leo’s authority in front of everyone, otherwise they’ll walk all over him. Don’t take it personally. I’ll deposit double your salary into our account tonight. Your old office is gone, per company policy. Just relax in the car for a bit. I’ll come down and have lunch with you.”

I stared at the message, then deleted it and locked the screen.

Establish his authority?

Using my dignity as his stepping stone.

Audrey, you really are a wonderful wife.

She didn’t come down for lunch.

She sent her assistant with a sad-looking boxed salad, explaining that she had to take Leo out with the department heads for a ‘get-to-know-you’ lunch.

I tossed the cold salad directly into the nearest trash can.