“He works in consulting,” Kim said. “And he travels a lot so his schedule is a little weird.”
“That can work though,” Claire said. “You don’t strike me as the clingy type who needs to be with her guy 24/7.”
“Oh, no way,” Kim said with a laugh. “And he gets that. Like I said, he’s an adult.”
Claire nodded, and a pensive look drifted across her eyes.
“Although, Claire, notallbiker guys are immature,” Kim said, reaching over to brush a hand over my arm. “Pin here is definitely not of the Man-Child variety.”
Kim threw Claire a wink, making Claire’s cheeks turn red. She was adorable when she blushed. At least Kim was a better wingman than Moves.
“I got that sense,” Claire said. “I’ve heard all about the legendary biker accountant.”
“Best one in La Playa,” Kim said.
“Hey, give me more credit than that,” I said. “I’m at least the top in the LA greater area.”
The conversation continued like that for a while. Claire was charming, I couldn’t deny it. And I liked that she wasn’t throwing herself at me. It made me want her even more.
But that was a bad idea.
When her drink was low, I stood up. “Should I grab us another round?”
“Yes, please,” Kim said.
“Sure,” Claire said.
Claire was a bad idea, but one more drink couldn’t hurt?
Four
Claire
Maybe it was the second beer, or maybe it was just that I really liked Kim, but I decided I had to come clean. Based on our conversation, I was 99% certain that Kim had no clue Trey had a wife.
I could also tell Kim was tough. She could handle the truth, especially since she and Trey had only been dating for a few weeks.
As for Pin, he was harder to nail down. With his dark hair and serious eyes, he was undeniably handsome, but he seemed reserved, like he was holding a large of himself back. I figured he was into me since Moves had been pretty obvious, but Pin wasn’t exactly making any moves. Just a bit of flirtation, nothing more.
It didn’t matter. I had no intention of going home with anyone and Pin was clearly Kim’s friend. As long as Kim trusted him, I was fine with him.
I waited until Pin excused himself to go to the bathroom. Then I cut to the chase. I’ve always been direct.
“So I’ve got to confess,” I said, looking Kim right in her eyes. “I didn’t come here tonight to meet a friend. I’m actually a private investigator.”
Kim blinked and stiffened. “Sorry, what?”
“Trey is married, and his wife hired my firm to find proof of an affair,” I said. “I’m guessing you didn’t know, but you seem cool so I wanted to tell you the truth.”
“Fuck,” Kim said. “You’re fucking kidding.”
“I wish,” I said with a grim smile. “But I can show you the file.”
“Oh, no, I believe you,” Kim said. “Honestly, I knew his whole wacky schedule was a bit weird – he never slept over at mine, and I sure as hell didn’t get invited to his place.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty classic,” I said. “In my line of work, we see a lot of this.”
Kim pursed her lips and frowned down at her beer. It hurt to hear that you were being two-timed, but as I had predicted, Kim was not about to break down in tears. She did, however, look pissed.
