Lust, Love And The Investigator

Adeline’s POV I swallow harshly, bringing the phone under the table at once. My fingers tremble as I swipe at the screen, unlocking the phone. Another message comes almost immediately. “I found a voice recorder. You might want it back before someone else finds out about it.” My eyes dart to Jason, who is across the room, in deep conversation with a waitress who has way too much lipstick on. Usually, I would be bothered about it, but not right now. I look at the screen of my phone again, taking in the message. I didn’t realize I left the recorder at SECRETS. I took it along with me to the meeting just in case I needed to take notes. It must have fallen out of my bag in Isaiah’s office. The chair screeches on the ground as I get on my feet. My husband’s eyes find me from across the room, concern etched in them. He angles his head in a silent question. “I need to use the restroom,” I mouth, already moving. “You okay?” he asks, still with the waitress. “Yeah,” I nod. “I’ll be quick.” I feel his eyes at the back of my head as I saunter into the restroom, and I hold my shoulders squarely until the door is closed behind me. Only then did my hands find the edge of the sink, clutching hard as my breath comes out in rage. Bringing my phone up, I take in the message again. My heart isn’t racing because of the recorder I left behind. Instead, it is the signature at the bottom of the last text. “I.R” Isaiah Reed. “f**k,” I whisper, trying to calm my breath. I look at my reflection in the mirror, red patches plastered on both sides of my face. I look flushed, and there is no way I can get back out there to face Jason looking like this. He is going to ask questions. Questions I won’t have answers to because I am a terrible liar, and he has been nothing but kind to me today. Why didn’t Isaiah contact me through his secretary? Why reach out directly? I hate the fact that I feel this way, that the mere sight of his name makes me remember the things I have put away from my mind. Swallowing, I lean away from the sink, my fingers typing on my phone before I can think twice. “Keep it. I don’t need it. And I don’t need your services any longer.” Isaiah’s reply comes almost immediately, like he has been staring at his phone, waiting for me. The image pops into my mind and I shake my head at once. I can’t. I can’t do this. “Are you sure about that? Because someone else came looking for it.” My eyes widen suddenly, and my reflection in the mirror looks drained of every droplet of blood. “What do you mean someone else came looking for it?” I think I know the answer to that even before the response comes in. “Your husband.” I should have known. He came too soon, too smooth. There is no way he could have just bumped into me on the road. Jason wasn’t looking for me. He was searching for something else. The door to the restroom suddenly pushes open, and my phone almost falls from my hands. My eyes widen with panic as I push the phone behind me, and Jason steps inside. The men’s and women’s restrooms in this restaurant have a connecting corridor. He angles his head when his gaze falls on me. “There you are.” His eyes take all of me in, flicking to my hands still behind my back. “Are you sure you are fine? You have been jumpy since I saw you today.” I shake my head. “I just needed some air. It got really dense in there.” Jason steps closer, and for a minute, I think he is going to walk into the women’s bathroom. But he halts, a smile gracing his lips. “Adeline,” he calls smoothly. “You know that if you ever want to talk about something, you can come to me, right?” Although his voice is smooth and measured, I hear something else underneath it. Something dark. The first thought that comes to my mind is my daughter, Amanda. The girl whom everyone thinks is my younger sister, including her. The girl who belongs to Isaiah, even though he has no idea of her existence. But it’s impossible. The only people who know who she really is are my mother and Mallory, my best friend. And none of them could have told him. I have nothing to worry about. At least, not where Amanda is concerned. “I know,” I whisper. Just then, his phone beeps, the sound echoing in the space. When he glances at the screen, I see a smile that has not been directed at me in years. But it disappears when he looks up again. “I need to take this,” he says. “Will you wait for me outside?” Jason doesn’t wait for my response, walking into the men’s restroom immediately. I wait one more minute after he leaves before bringing my phone to my face again. My fingers quiver as I hit the keypad. “Where are you?” Isaiah replies immediately again. “Outside, right across the street from the restaurant.” Shock hits me, but with it comes a tinge of thrill. The knowledge that he came all the way here to give me the recorder. I try not to think too much of it as I walk out through the back exit, even when I know I shouldn’t. I could have told him to send it directly to the office, or to the house when Jason isn’t in. Yet, something warm fluffs in my belly as I cross the street, heading towards him. I tell myself that I am going to terminate the contract still, but when I see him there, leaning against a black sports car, with droplets of water in his hair, I forget what I was going to say in the first place. “Isaiah…” He stands straight, easily towering over me. “You shouldn’t have texted me.” I don’t know why I feel this way around him, breathless and dizzy. Almost drunk. “He was here,” he says simply. “Before you came over. Your husband also hired me to investigate you.