“Not at all. What if I’m making it all up in my head? I could destroy our relationship by asking him if he’s cheating on me. Mike is big on trust.”
I laid my arms flat on my desk and looked Randy in his eyes. “In that case, I have to be honest with you. I’m very skilled at what I do. If you ask me to dig around in your boyfriend’s closet, that’s what I’m going to do. I need you to make sure you’re ready for any skeletons that may fall out.”
A range of emotions crossed his face. Most clients often went through this after I gave my speech about skeletons and closets. My responsibility was to get to the truth of their significant other’s fidelity.
By the time most people came to me, they were already suspicious and simply needed it confirmed. Some clients need verifiable proof so that they would have a reason to file for divorce or contest a prenup due to breach of contract.
“Does that mean you’ll take me on as a client?”
With a tilt of my head, I said, “I won’t make any promises yet. I need to do some background checks and then get back to you.”
I rarely accepted clients at our first meeting. I always covered my ass by doing background searches on the individual hiring me to ensure they didn’t have any ulterior motives for requesting my services.
“I’ll do what I need to do on my end and get back to you by early next week. How does that sound, Randy?”
We both stood, and he his lips spread but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“That’s fine. Thank you.”
We shook hands, and I watched him as he exited.
I retook my seat. Randy Carson was a handsome man. At six-feet-tall, well built with dark brown hair, and a neat appearance, he didn’t look like he’d have any problem in the dating arena.
Anyone can be suckered by love.
An image of Don’s smiling face danced around in my mind. I brushed it aside and picked up my phone to call Hallease.
“Hey, how’d it go?” she asked.
“Decent so far. Can you begin doing the background research on Randy Carson?”
“Already started. I figured you’d want that first. I’ll have what I find to you by the end of the day.”
“You’re the best. Oh, and don’t forget I’m going to be out of the office on Friday afternoon. I’m starting my first tail for the Marjorie Williams case.”
She let out a breath. “Okay.”
I disconnected the call without saying anything further. Hallease was still hopeful that Marjorie’s boyfriend, Kelvin, was faithful.
I’d let my assistant remain in her fantasyland bubble where fine as hell, multimillionaire NFL players were loyal to their significant others.
I still had a job to do.
Chapter 14
Jocelyn
A few days later,I sat in my car across the street from one of the most expensive hotels in the city of Williamsport.
The Samuel Winston Hotel boasted of suites upwards of three thousand dollars per night. The fifteen story building was difficult to miss as it took up much nearly a full block. Large white columns lined the entrance, that looked a bit more like a runway than a simple doorway. However, it wasn’t the décor or price point of the suites that interested me.
It was the man standing outside of the front entrance. More specifically, Kelvin Maynard, who I’d tailed from the sports arena where he was supposedly working out.
Holding my camera up, I zoomed in and discreetly snapped a photo of Kelvin Maynard as he embraced a woman dressed in a blue and white skirt suit. The woman’s back was to me, so I couldn’t make out her face. Kelvin’s girlfriend, Marjorie, wouldn’t be returning to town until late that evening from a work trip, so it was safe to assume it wasn’t Marjorie he hugged.
I snapped more photos of the pair from my driver's side window. Thankfully, the tint on my windows made it more difficult to see inside my vehicle. However, the distance I had to park from the hotel easily obscured my line of sight.
“Shit.” Passing traffic caused me to lose sight of the couple. When the street cleared, I saw Kelvin and his mystery woman enter the hotel. “Dammit.”
