Temptation Novel – I stood in the doorway with Tenn while my husband Joel and Tenn’s wife were cheating in the room. I heard Tenn’s wife making high-pitched, breathy moans when I unlocked the door, moans that I’d never make. They almost sounded. Child-like? I felt my stomach twist. Was that why Joel was cheating? I met Tenn’s eyes, and I could see hurt and anger in them, so I patted the back of his hand, signaling him not to be angry. It would not be conducive to our revenge to easily expose their infidelity now, so let them enjoy the last pleasure before death.
Tennessee “Tenn” Aston sat across from Ron Parker, an old friend and private investigator he hired to follow his wife in front of the Tatte Bakery and Cafe in Boston. After they spent a few minutes catching up, Tenn got to the point. “So, what did you find?” “She’s having an affair, sorry.” Ron pushed the file across the table at him. “Guy’s name is Joel Hudson. He’s a salesperson at the dealership.” Tenn flicked through the pictures, his heart sinking as he saw proof his wife was sleeping with another man. “Well, if I didn’t think it was possible, I wouldn’t have hired you.” Tenn passed over the check for his services. It was money well spent because, in his opinion, the contents of the folder were priceless. “I, uh, did some extra digging, no cost.” Ron passed over another file. “The guy is married. His wife is the head librarian at the Boston University Visual Arts Resource Library. She either knows and doesn’t care or is even more in the dark than you were.”
Tenn opened the file and saw the man his wife was cheating on him with, looking down at an attractive woman with long, thick, fire-engine-red hair. She laughed at him as they walked, his arm around her shoulders as he smooched her cheek. Tenn was sure he knew her from somewhere but couldn’t put his finger on where. “I took that picture two days ago. I don’t think she knows.” “You think I should tell her?” Tenn sighed as he contemplated that confrontation. “I don’t know what I want to do about this.” Ron leaned forward, a cryptic expression on his face. “Tenn, how long have we been friends?” “I don’t know. Ten, fifteen years?” Tenn shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?” “Have I ever steered you wrong? Trust me. Tell her.”
Tenn studied her picture again. Why did she look so familiar? Making up his mind, he nodded. He’d want her to tell him. “Thanks, Ron. I will.” He stood up to leave. “Grab a beer when you get back?” “Absolutely.” – Thirty minutes later, Tenn watched as Quinn walked into Audubon and looked around, spotting him in a quiet corner booth; she walked over and slid across from him. “Sorry, Rilla was curious about you, and I just got away.” “Rilla?” Tenn raised his eyebrow. “Girl with pink hair.” Quinn grinned at him as the bartender called out and asked if she wanted her regular; she turned around and waved at the woman. “Yes, please and thank you, Denise.” She called back. “Come here a lot?” Tenn asked when she faced him again.
“Best food on campus. So, Mr. Aston, what did we need to talk about?” “Tenn, please. You’re married to Joel Hudson?” “Yeah, you want to talk about Joel?” Quinn furrowed her brow as Denise put her drink in front of her, and she thanked her before taking a sip. Tenn decided to just show her the proof rather than try to explain things. “No. I don’t want to talk about him; we have to talk about him and my wife.” He pushed the folder across the table. She opened it, and he watched as her face dropped. With every picture, resignation slowly settled on her features, and she leaned back in the booth when she was done.
“Well. I want to say I’m surprised, but since I just gave him an ultimatum to either prove he wanted our marriage to work by putting in some effort or get out, I’m not.” She closed the folder and looked up at him. “When was the last time they were together?” “According to my PI, last weekend.” “He told me he was at a conference in New York.” “The conference was real. They shared a hotel room.” Tenn was alarmed as a red flush rose up her neck and spread across her cheeks. “Prick.” She spit out, then looked remorseful. “Him, not you.” “I figured.” Tenn smiled apologetically. “I can get you copies of everything.” “Please. Would you be interested in revenge and messing with them before we end things?” She smiled wickedly and leaned toward him, and Tenn found himself mirroring her posture before what she said registered in his brain.
That gave Tenn pause. He felt frozen and numb since he saw the evidence. They had been married for eleven years; finding out she was cheating after losing her job at an upscale hotel and taking two years off to “discover” herself on his dime while he had done his best to be supportive was a kick to the guts. She started working at the Porsche dealership after he finally pushed her to return to work when he had to move money over from his savings to pay the bills. Viki had been resentful about everything initially, but after two months, she warmed up to the job and was more cheerful at home. “What did you have in mind?” “You and your wife should come to dinner tomorrow evening to discuss your participation in my lecture series. We should hit it off and become fast, close friends.”
Her mischievous smile and sparkling eyes drew Tenn in, but he still wasn’t convinced. “You really think they’d care?” Tenn said doubtfully. “Maybe, maybe not. But we can have fun and make it awkward by doing double dates.” Quinn smirked. “What’s your address?” Tenn made a contact for her on his phone and handed it to her. He was willing to do whatever he could to get back at Viki for doing this to him. Quinn grinned at him, took his phone, added her information, and sent herself a text to add his number to hers. “Tomorrow at six?” “Sounds good to me. Do you want to tell me about your lecture series? So I know what you’re talking about tomorrow?” Quinn nodded and explained her thought process and idea.
When she was finished, Tenn found himself interested in it. “You know, if you want help with this, I’d be happy to. I know a few people who would be interested in talking and helping out.” “Really?” A delighted smile spread across Quinn’s face. “Yeah, I think this sounds like an excellent idea.” Tenn nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll make some phone calls, send some emails and see who I can get in touch with. How many speakers did you want?” “Six weeks, so six speakers?” “Not a problem.” – Tenn “We’ve been invited out for dinner tonight with a colleague of mine.” Tenn looked up from his laptop as his wife came into the kitchen where he was working. It was past noon, and she just hauled herself out of bed after not getting home until well after midnight. “I already have plans with Annie.” Viki yawned as she went to the coffee pot. “Why didn’t you come to bed last night?” “Fell asleep on the couch.” Tenn shrugged and reached for his phone.
“No problem, I’ll let Quinn know it’s just me.” “Quinn?” Viki looked up, frowning. “You’ve never mentioned a Quinn.” “She works at the University in the Visual Arts Library. We’re working on a project together.” He smiled. “We’ll be working together a lot over the next six months, and she wanted me to meet her husband, so I figured you should meet her.” “Oh. I see. Well, a little more heads up would have been nice.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and went to the fridge for cream, seemingly okay with it since Quinn was married. “You were out most of last night. I didn’t think you’d be going out again.” Tenn fought against the urge to roll his eyes. Quinn had texted him earlier that Joel never got home until midnight, so he was pretty sure Viki wasn’t with Annie. “Annie has been going through a lot. She thinks Tim is cheating.”
Viki sipped her coffee and met his eyes without flinching, and Tenn had to admire her audacity. “Huh, well, if she wants to find out, I know a great PI.” Tenn went back to his email. He was trying to contact several friends who worked in various artistic mediums for the lecture series, and it was a much more pleasant task than talking to her. “You do?” Tenn watched from under his lashes as Viki tensed up. “Why do you know a PI?” “Because he’s an old friend,” Tenn explained, enjoying her discomfort. “He doesn’t charge that much for unfaithful spouses. His wife cheated on him, so he despises them. Sometimes, he’ll even do it for free. Tell Annie to get in touch with me, and I’ll give her his number.” “Yeah, I’ll let her know.” Viki left the kitchen, and Tenn watched her go. He couldn’t wait for tonight, if only because he was looking forward to spending more time with Quinn.
A few hours later, Tenn was playing a video game in his gaming room/office when Viki came in looking sulky. “Annie had to cancel. So, I guess I’ll go to dinner with you.” “Oh, okay.” Tenn frowned as he paused the game. “Let me text Quinn to let her know.” He sent the text and snorted at her almost immediate response, shaking his head with a smile. “How long have you known this person?” Viki raised her eyebrow as she watched him. “Met her yesterday. She contacted me to see if I’d be a guest speaker at a series of lectures she’s putting together. We got a drink together, talked about it, and I offered to help her with it.” “You offered?” If her eyebrows got any higher, they would disappear into her hairline.
“Yeah, I liked the idea.” Tenn nodded as he turned his attention back to the game and went through the save process. “So, what time did you get home last night?” Viki asked, clearly trying to feign nonchalance. Funny, she’d never cared about his activities when she was out before. “What does that matter? You didn’t get home until after midnight, and I was home before you.” Tenn closed his laptop. “There’s gonna be lots of late nights with her. We’re working on this after hours.” He stood up and stretched. “Be ready to go for five-thirty.” “And if I have a problem with you being out late like that?” “Get over it?” Tenn raised his eyebrow. “I had to.” Viki started to say something, but Tenn walked out of the room. He was ready to burn this marriage to the ground.