Private Affairs(14)
Preston was quiet for a moment, his thumb running back and forth over the side of his glass. “So you think he’s cheating, and you need me to get proof so you don’t walk away empty handed?”
“I already have proof,” I stated quickly. “What I need you to find is solid proof. Irrefutable proof.” I leaned closer to him. “I refuse to walk away with nothing. I’ve spent the last seven years supporting him, helping him build his business, being the picture-perfect wife, and I’ll be damned if he gets to keep everything.”
“Careful,” he said quietly. “You’ll start to sound like the bitter, jilted wife.”
“Maybe I am the bitter, jilted wife.”
“What does the contract say about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what are the stipulations regarding your extramarital affairs?”
“Same. If he walks away for any reason other than adultery, he forfeits everything to me. Except, if I cheat on him, I’m on the line for punitive damages. I’d be left with nothing except a bill for one hundred thousand dollars.”
“And what if you can prove he’s cheating?”
“Half. Of everything.”
“So, he cheats you get half. You cheat you owe one hundred grand.”
“That pretty much sums it up.”
“So, have you?”
“Have I what?”
“Cheated?”
“That’s none of your business, and has no bearing on what I’m hiring you to investigate.”
“Yeah, but I’m interested as fuck.”
Hearing him say ‘fuck’ sent shocks of electricity through my veins – another primal reaction to him I desperately wanted to ignore. But I wanted to hear him say that word over and over again, wanted to watch his lips caress that word. I crossed my legs under the table, trying to relieve some of the pressure that was starting to build there. He watched me squirm and I might have seen his eyes shift from curios to aroused.
“Well, you’ll have to live in your curiosity, because my sex life is none of your concern.”
“Fine, have it your way, sweetheart,” he said as he took another sip of his scotch. “You say you’ve already got proof of his infidelity. So why, exactly, am I here?”
“All I’ve got is my word, and if I’ve got nothing and he’s got everything, he’ll be able to hire lawyers to tear me and my word apart.”
“And what’s your word?”
“Pardon?”
“You say you’ve got your word? What does your word say? What’s your proof?”
“I saw him.”
“Saw him?”
“Yes. Derrek hasn’t been coming home lately, been staying out late or not coming back to the house at all. So a few nights ago, my girlfriend and I followed him when he got off work. We tailed him to a house about an hour out of the city where he was met by a woman with two small children. The children looked to be very familiar with him and he looked very familiar with the woman as he kissed her right on her porch.”
“You’re right,” he stated flatly.
“Right about what?”
“That story would never get you anywhere.”
“It’s not a story, it’s the truth, but you’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know. I need more proof.”
“You think the children are his?”
I thought about the little girl running and jumping into his arms and him lifting her over his head, his beautiful smile pulling across his face at her laughter. A lump caught in my throat and I nodded. “Yeah, I think they’re his.”
“So, he isn’t just cheating on you, he’s got a whole other fucking life.”
My core clenched again at the word ‘fucking’ passing over his lips. My body’s reaction to him was ridiculous, and even though I tried my hardest to fight it, I felt my cheeks flushing, my skin heating. My body should have been reacting to his proclamation, the fact my husband had another life, another woman at his side. Instead, my thighs were clenching together trying to calm the pulsing between them.
“That’s what I’m hiring you to find out,” I whispered. He was quiet for a moment as he stared at me over the table. His face was unreadable. I had absolutely no idea as to what he was thinking. But his stare was heavy and with every second his eyes burned into me, I felt my pulse race faster.
“The retainer’s two thousand,” he finally said, coldly. I swallowed then blinked.
“That’s fine.” I reached into my purse and pulled out my checkbook.
“You can’t write a check. Your husband would figure you out in a heartbeat. Can you get a hold of cash?”