Greta understood early on that Peter's attachment to Matthew could ruin everything her husband had so carefully planned before he accepted the job at Wallaby. Time was wasting, she observed; she knew that the stronger Matthew and Peter's friendship became, the farther Matthew would stray from the original plan. She had had to act swiftly, otherwise Matthew might have had a change of heart altogether.
To start the ball rolling, Greta had told Matthew that she did not want Peter in their home. How Matthew was to accomplish this without offending Peter was his problem; if he really cared about her, he'd spare her the company of the bratty wunderkind. She followed through by feigning anguish whenever Matthew mentioned Peter, and by pressuring him to get on with business: When would he tell Peter about the development strategy? Why was he stalling? She knew that once Matthew revealed his strategy, the young man would withdraw from her husband. And perhaps that was why he had taken his time - he was enjoying too much their friendship. Matthew's transformation plans were hideously contrary to Peter's renegade spirit. It had been painful to hound Matthew constantly, but she had no choice. He would never have dealt with Peter and put his plan back on track if she had not intervened. A few weeks was all it had taken to re-focus Matthew. When he explained to Peter his hopes for the company - a profound strategy for leading Wallaby into Big Business - the two men had their first falling-out, which seriously upset their formerly flawless courtship. Matthew had persisted in attempting to sway the young founder into understanding his strategy, but each time he faced argument and resistance. Greta had forced Matthew to confess that as long as Peter was in control, the secret plan would never materialize. Finally, Peter expressed doubt in Matthew's overall vision and qualifications, saying he was personally hurt that Matthew could even hypothesize such a thing for Wallaby. That said, Matthew halted his friendship with Peter, and drew heavily from his wife's support to rebuild his confidence in the secret plan.
She felt wanted again. However, her expectation of spending more time with Matthew was unfulfilled. Instead of spending weekends with her, he spent more time than ever in his little home office, next to the library. And when he wasn't holed up in there, he was constantly reading about big computers and the latest technologies, his face often closer to the pages of a book than to his wife's face when they were in bed.
After tomorrow, after Peter was truly invalidated, she knew that Matthew would start spending more time with her. She had to believe that. After all, it was she he had to thank for rectifying his temporary shortsightedness. At least that was how she saw things.
Raising a glass of wine to her lips, she heard the automatic garage door open. He was home. She twisted the knob of the recessed ceiling-mounted quartz lamp to full intensity. The salmon bowl sparkled.
He appeared at the living room entrance, hands at his sides. She pretended not to notice his arrival.
"Greta."
"Oh, darling," Greta said, pretending to be surprised.
Without remark, she quickly took in his tired expression. His eyes seemed half closed, as if the reflection thrown off by the glittering object were blinding. Studying him, she searched for the foundation of the man she had married, the man with the strong and sinewy build, the confident posture, the sharp aristocratic features. Today his cheeks appeared blanched, his stance tentative. With her glass of wine in hand, she strolled casually across the room.
"What's that?" Matthew said.