“Lately, he’s been coming home a little late?” I asked. “Breaking dates that you two planned in advance?”
She dipped her head and stared at the table, a solemn look on her face.
I took that as her answer.
“Marjorie, I’m going to tell you something I rarely tell my clients.” I pinched my lips together and thought about whether I really wanted to admit this. Marjorie was only a potential client, not a friend or anything. As a private investigator, I’d learned the balance of divulging just enough to get the information I sought. “I was in love. Like you, Marjorie. I was with my boyfriend for six years. We got together right out of college. I thought we were on our way to marriage. My whole family thought so.”
I paused to make sure Marjorie was paying attention. Satisfied that I had it, I continued.
“Stephen was a good man, or so I thought. He was kind, intelligent, good-looking as hell. We couldn’t keep our hands off one another, even after six years. I thought we wanted the same things. After he finished his JD, he went to work at one of the top law firms in the city. He took me to all his work events, so I knew our relationship wasn’t a secret. We were perfect.”
“But I’m assuming it didn’t end that way, right?” She raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow.
“Your assumption is spot on. A mutual friend saw him out with another woman. I began following him and saw the truth for myself. It turned out, Stephen had been cheating on me for the last three years of our relationship.”
Her eyes ballooned. “Three years? How?”
I slowly exhaled, rolled my shoulders back, and straightened my spine. “I was a fool. I chalked up his late nights in the office as him working hard for our future. I believed the canceled dates and vacations were him building his legacy. His father is a huge political consultant, and Stephen had similar aspirations.”
“It was all a lie?”
I lifted one shoulder, shrugging. “Not all of it. He had those political aspirations. He’s living them now with the woman he cheated on me with. They’re married, and I imagine working on baby number two or three. I don’t exactly keep up with them.”
Marjorie’s big brown eyes filled with sympathy.
I swiped my hand in the air. “I only bring up my past to let you know that I have experience with this. Unfortunately, men cheat. Even the ones we think are good and faithful.”
Family men, like my father, had cheated, but I held back from admitting that to Marjorie.
Marjorie’s shoulders slumped, and my heart tugged inside my chest. I mentally shook off the guilt I had about how thickly I’d had to lay it on her. But the truth was the truth. The more women realized it, the better off they would be.
“How about this?” I asked after a minute of silence. “You don’t have to decide today. All I need is for you to give me your boyfriend’s name, and I can get started on some preliminary background checks. Once you make your decision, I can officially begin my investigation.”
Marjorie pursed her lips. “And you won’t start following him or anything right away? I mean, that is what you do, right? Follow whoever you’re investigating with your camera and whatnot?”
I thought about how much to tell her. “I can’t fully disclose how I obtain information. Not until you’re officially a client. Everything I do is completely legal and above board. I won’t start anything aside from basic internet searches until you give me the go-ahead.”
She blew out a breath and picked up her fork again. “You might be able to find everything you need to know online.”
I raised a brow and cocked my head sideways. Marjorie hadn’t given me much information about her boyfriend yet, which was fine with me for the time being. I knew she’d come to me for a reason.
Picking up my fork as well, I resumed eating. We made small talk, mainly about her job as an accountant with a highly respected firm in the city.
“That’s how we met.” She glanced up with stars in her eyes and a wistful smile playing at her lips. “He was a guest at the firm’s annual holiday party. He was so handsome.”
I remained silent, letting her divulge whatever she wanted, although I could feel my throat clogging with anger. Marjorie was smart, accomplished, and ambitious. Too many women like her, blessed with intelligence, beauty, and seemingly good character, got swept up in a cloud of love. Then out came the rose-colored glasses.
That was where I came in, to prevent such women from completely losing themselves before it was too late.
“How long have you two been dating now?” I asked.
“Sixteen months.” She rolled her eyes and giggled. “Who still counts months at my age, right?” She made a disgusted sound at the back of her throat, but she grinned. “At thirty-one, I probably shouldn’t count my relationship in months. But Kelvin makes it a point to give me a rose every month on the twenty-fifth, marking our anniversary. We got together, officially, on Christmas day.”
I mentally indexed all this information. “Kelvin? That’s his name?”
Her eyes darted from left to right. “Kelvin Maynard.”
My eyes widened.
