Page 3 of Temptation

“Six weeks, so six speakers?”

“Not a problem.”

Chapter Two: It Begins

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.

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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.

Quinn

Quinn was making a garlic cheese loaf to go with her homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs when Joel came in, sniffing appreciatively. “Hey, Babe, what are you doing?”

“Making spaghetti and meatballs with a garlic loaf and Caesar Salad for dinner. We have guests coming.” Quinn smiled at him over her shoulder, a feat she could only accomplish by thinking about putting a fork in his eye. He hadn't come home until midnight but had crawled into bed and cuddled her, murmuring he loved her and was sorry he was out so late. She pretended to be asleep, and when he started to snore, she slipped out of bed and slept in the spare room.

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