Jack starts to find his footing.

Jack got perhaps six hours sleeping in Rhonda’s bed. They were fitful, with a lot of dreams that dispersed like smoke by the time he finally opened his eyes a crack.

The first thing he heard was the sound of the shower running and that helped coax him out of drowsiness just enough to glance at Rhonda’s alarm clock.

8:30.

Shit.

He sat up at once, desperately looking around for his discarded clothes. He’d need to get his ass into gear and be out the door if he wanted to be at work on time.

The sounds of running water snapped off and while Jack was wrestling with his pants, a towel-clad Rhonda came sauntering into the bedroom. She looked at him quizzically.

“The, um, shower’s free if you want it.”

Jack ceased his struggle. “No time,” he nodded at the alarm clock, “we need to get to work soon.”

“Oh that,” she smiled bashfully, “that’s 10 minutes fast. You can scrub up if you’re quick about it.”

Feeling himself calm down just a bit Jack nodded his thanks and awkwardly marched into the tiny bathroom. It was while the warm water doused his sweaty flesh that the full understanding of his actions came back to him.

He had fucked Rhonda, his assistant, his secretary. He had officially stepped outside of his marriage for the first time. The nagging feeling that he needed to check his phone came to him. Perhaps his wife had noticed his absence and had sent a barrage of messages. Perhaps she had been waiting for something like this the whole time and had divorce papers ready…

With a deep sigh he **** himself to stop spiraling. He shut off the water, quickly toweled himself off and changed back into his clothes.

His phone was still in his pocket. No messages.

Jack wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Rhonda was waiting for him in her little kitchen area, fully dressed and ready to go. She gave him an approving nod as he walked out and ushered him through the door of her apartment.

He drove them to the office and felt a breath of relief when he saw that they were 5 minutes early. They sat in the parking lot awkwardly for a few seconds before Rhonda finally spoke up.

“This doesn’t have to change anything,” her voice was measured, her eyes focused. “We both have jobs to do and we’ll do them. Outside of work….that’s no one’s business but ours, right?”

Jack nodded absently. “Right. In there, I’m your boss and out here I’m…”

What? What was he to her? Boyfriend seemed a bit sudden. Fuck buddy sounded too crass. Lover? Technically accurate, though there was an air of romanticism that maybe wasn’t entirely applicable.

“You’re you,” she finished for him, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “And just so you know, I’m glad last night happened.”

He smiled back at her. Sending a wave of contentment. “Me too.”

They walked into the office casually, going about as though it was just another day, saying hello to the usuals and getting to their respective offices. The actual work itself was tedious, but Rhonda managed to snag him an interview with a potential client and that reduced some of the stress. He felt confident that he could get the guy to sign on using his powers and from there it would be smooth sailing.

The day carried on until finally it was time to head home. Jack agreed to drop Rhonda back on his way, and they parted with an awkward hug-kiss that left them both laughing at their idiocy.

His heart sank a little as he pulled up in his own driveway and he sat in his car for a good ten minutes mustering up the strength to go inside. Perhaps he could just walk in, shower, make himself dinner and then retreat to his study? That seemed like a fine, peaceful plan.

The house was quiet when he walked in, save for some movement upstairs that he presumed was one of his daughters. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was some leftover lasagna that might serve as a decent enough little meal and he went about microwaving it.

“Where the hell were you last night?”

Sharon’s voice raked at the flesh of his back like a set of tiger claws. It was all he could do not to wince at the sound of it. Spinning around he found her leaning against the counter, arms crossed and eyes aglow with disdain.

Jack showed his palms. “Things have been crazy at work,” he offered, “I had to work late and I decided to crash in my office.”

Her lip curled and her face, otherwise very beautiful, twisted into something mean and ugly. “So, what, you slept on your office couch? Do you know how pathetic that sounds? What are you, a Japanese salaryman?”

“Work is work,” he shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about, it’s not like you missed me.”

“It’s a bad look,” she insisted. “People will see a disheveled loser like you when they come into work and it’ll reflect poorly on me. It’s embarrassing, and it’s been embarrassing for the last twenty five fucking years!”

“Then why the fuck did you agree to marry me in the first place!” He snapped back, his voice rising to a snarl. “I didn’t **** you to marry me and if you’re so fucking ashamed then why don’t just fuck off?!”

She recoiled slightly, but whatever momentary shock she felt quickly passed and she bared her teeth at him. “Oh if you think I’m the one that’s getting the boot then you’ve got another thing coming,” her voice dripped with venom as she closed the gap between them, “you’ll be living out of a cardboard box when my lawyers are through with you!”

There should have been a pang of fear. What Sharon was threatening was the very thing he had been fearing for months now, but inside he found that he didn’t have the energy to be afraid anymore. Rage had replaced it entirely within his heart, rage and a strange confidence that felt like the warmth of his powers.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” he spat back, “maybe you’ll fuck me over financially, but do you think Becca would have anything to do with you after that? Unlike you she isn’t an emotionless harpy!”

He sent a rapid fire of shame and fear in alternating bursts towards Sharon and delighted in the way the colour drained from her face.

“And Eve, do you think she’ll have the patience to put up with your shit during a long, drawn out divorce?” He felt a smirk settle across his face, “she might only come to me when she wants something, but does she even talk to you anymore?”

Fear. Fear. Guilt. Shame. Sadness. Sadness. Sadness.

“That’s…” she started, her voice croaky with emotion, her eyes glittered with I shed tears, “you’re wrong…”

Sharon seemed to collapse in on herself. Whatever rage or hatred she felt was smothered by the cold and gripping dread of depressive emotions. She gripped at the kitchen counter for support, looking overwhelmed while Jack just stood there.

Part of him felt the instinctive need to reach out and comfort her as he would have done in the early days of their relationship. But he knew that it wasn’t real. It was muscle memory, nothing more. Vestiges of a different life.

Giving her one final, disapproving look, he gathered up his food and went into the peace of his study. He sat on the small sofa and began to eat in contemplative silence.

He didn’t feel as tense as he normally did. It was like a great weight had been lifted, or if a doorway had been opened to him and he was free to move about. He didn’t need to be concerned about a lot of these trivial things anymore. They had felt like great burdens, but truthfully they were just minor annoyances now. Perhaps he had been brutal with Sharon, but these were all things that she should have considered anyway. He just opened her eyes to the feelings that would already be there. And next time she tried to attack him, he had a way to neutralise her.

But another thought struck him. What if instead of just using negative emotions as a punishment, he also used positive emotions as a reward? Could he perhaps get his wife to experience feelings of love for him again? Maybe he could use these powers to help fix his family’s issues.

His mind began to turn with possibilities…