Stan tiptoed to the side of the bed and leaned down over the form of his sleeping wife. He held his leather dress shoes in one hand, and with the other gently pushed a stray strand of hair off of her peaceful face. He lowered his face next to hers and placed a quiet kiss on her temple, hoping not to wake her. When she didn't stir under his touch, he moved his lips to her ear.

"I love you, Mrs. Walker," he whispered. He straightened back up and turned towards the door. He only got four paces away from the bedside before he heard Karen's groggy voice.

"Where are you going?" she asked him from the bed. He turned back towards her slowly, his face apologetic. "Stan…" Karen whined, seeing the look on his face. She sat up and scooted her back against the headboard. She knew where this was going.

"I'm sorry, darling, but I just got a call from Dapperhill in Hong Kong. One of the mergers fell through and I've got to get out there as soon as possible," Stan explained, sitting down on the bed next to Karen's hips. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and rolled her eyes.

"But we just got here."

"I know, I know," Stan apologized as he bent down to put his shoes on since he was seated. "I'll fly back as soon as I can." He finished the bow of his laces and grabbed one of Karen's hands. He looked up at her with puppy dog eyes as he brought her delicate hand to his lips and kissed the top of it gingerly. "Forgive me."

Karen bit the insider of her lip and turned her palm to cup his face in her hand in response. He reached a hand up and rested it on her wrist, nuzzling into her palm as her thumb caressed his cheek.

"Don't be too long," she quietly requested. He nodded and kissed her hand once more before standing.

"Try to have a good time while I'm gone. You can still enjoy the city. I'll call and have the maximum increased on your platinum card," Stan told her as he grabbed his suit coat off of the back of the plush armchair in the corner of the room. Karen frowned.

"I'd have a lot better time if you were here with me," she stated, pouting. Stan sighed and ignored her statement, moving to the doorway across from the bed.

"Goodbye, Karen," he told her, pulling the door closed as he left.

"Bye…" she mumbled. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She was a little lethargic, but was sure she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now that Stan had woke her up. Was he actually going to leave without saying goodbye to her? Of course he was. She bet he was pretty annoyed that she had woken and demanded an explanation from him. But, she was used to this routine by now. They would go on vacation somewhere and within 48 hours it would turn into a business trip for Stan, and she was left alone.

She was used to being alone, however, and that part didn't really bother her. But she had been rather excited about this particular trip - it was the first one the two of them were taking alone since they had been in the Virgin Islands last year. That had been a good trip, but not because of the time she had spent with Stan. They had gone there after Stan had confessed to having an affair and had hoped to make it up to Karen by promising a long, tropical vacation to talk it out. They did eventually work their problems out, but that was mostly due to the prompting of Will, whom Karen had actually spent most of her time with on the island. It had been a complete accident that he had shown up there, and a complete accident that they had fallen in love while he was there. In the end, though, they had gone their separate ways, and Karen's time with Will had reminded her just how much she loved her husband.

Karen stood from the bed and walked over to the large, sliding glass door that led out to the balcony of the elaborate hotel room. The gauzy white curtains did little to hide the bright sun of the day, and Karen felt it's comforting warmth as she pulled the curtains all the way open. The Eiffel Tower loomed large in front of her, and although it was still early, the streets of Paris were beginning to fill with the daily hustle and bustle of locals and tourists.

The silk of her robe felt cold in her hands as she slowly tied a tight knot around her waist. On the bedside table she found a banana clip from the previous day and twisted it into her hair as she moved into the living room of the penthouse suite. She started a pot of coffee and pulled out a bottle of Bailey's from the mini bar behind the granite counter that separated the small kitchen and the dining room. She twisted the lid off of the bottle and filled a dainty pink mug a quarter of the way full with the alcohol. Moments later, she was stirring in the black coffee and preparing to go sit out on the balcony and take advantage of the lovely morning.

Just then, her cell phone buzzed on the table next to her, catching her attention. She walked over and picked it up, frowning as she realized she had a new text message. She had never been good at the whole texting thing, so whenever the little envelope icon appeared in the corner of the phone display, she immediately became annoyed. She flipped the phone open and tried to remember how to get to her inbox.

Miss me yet? XO.

Karen rolled her eyes as she read Stan's message. She didn't have anything to say to him and flipped the phone closed, wanting to forget about him and how he had abandoned her for the time being. But suddenly, she was struck with an idea. Before she knew it, the phone was open again, and her thumb was slowly moving across the keypad as she searched for each desired letter.

Miss you. XOXO.

Options…address book…W…Will…select…

Send.