Chapter Four Aftermath
Tenn
The drive back to their house was silent. Tenn noted that Viki seemed shaken and was secretly enjoying her discomfort. When they got home, Viki murmured that she was going to bed.
“Okay. Night.” Tenn went to the stairs to the basement, planning to send some more emails.
“You aren't coming?” She paused at the base of the stairs to the second floor and frowned at him.
“No, gonna work on a few things for tomorrow.” He wasn't planning on sleeping in the bed with her at all if he could help it. “Sleep well.” He went down the stairs, jumping them two at a time in his need to be away from her.
“You haven't even okayed any of this with me!” She followed him down the stairs, her tone both whiny and angry.
“Why would I?” Tenn looked up at his wife as he sat at his desk and woke up his computer.
“Because I might have a problem with you working all those extra hours? And to suggest it for an entire year? What the hell was that?” Viki raised her voice, and Tenn detected a definite note of panic in it.
“Remember when I took issue with you going to the clubs almost every night? Or taking off for all those spiritual retreats every weekend? What did you tell me?” Tenn glared at her, profoundly irritated that she thought she had any say in what he did with his free time. “Get over myself, get used to it, and find something to keep me busy because you didn't need my permission or for me to be okay with it. And I did for two years . I think I deserve the same courtesy, don't you?”
“I don't want you spending time with her!” Viki shouted suddenly, her panic spilling over. Tenn had to wonder if it was because she was worried she and Joel would be found out or if she was worried he would leave her.
“Seriously?” Tenn kept his voice quiet. “Why not?”
“I just don't.” Viki crossed her arms and glared at him. “I think you two are too close to have just met.”
“I have two words for you: David Grant.”
“I told you! Nothing happened with David.” She rolled her eyes, annoyance clear on her features.
“And nothing has happened with Quinn. We're work colleagues, and we're both married.” Tenn said patiently. “And I don't appreciate you suggesting either of us would do something so underhanded, selfish, and hurtful to you and Joel.”
Viki swallowed, the annoyance dropping away and the nervousness coming back; there was no guilt though, Tenn noted. “What makes you think she has the same standards?”
“It was her idea to have me meet her husband and to meet you, so we keep everything open and transparent. But if she were to make a move on me, I would put a stop to it because cheaters are cowards, selfish, and cruel and deserve all the karma that comes back to them.” He pulled up his email and began going through his contacts, looking for people who would be good speakers. “That's why there is a cheating clause in our prenup, remember?”
Viki stood there, mouth opening and closing, clearly struggling to come up with a response. “You're trying to punish me for finding myself.”
Tenn blew out a huge breath. “No. I supported you in trying to find yourself. Now, I'm asking you to support me while I do the first thing I've done for my own growth and enjoyment in three years.” He looked her over. “I thought you were sick?”
“I am.”
“Then go sleep it off.”
“Come rub my back.” She came over and tugged on his hand while she whined.
“I'll be in soon.” It took everything in him not to rip his hand away from her. Her phone chimed, and she backed off, read the text, and walked out of the room without saying anything else.
Quinn
Quinn went back to the kitchen and started cleaning up. As she scraped Viki's plate into the garbage, Joel came in and sat down at the island, watching her. “Are you feeling sick too?” Quinn raised her eyebrow as she picked up his mostly full plate and began to scrape it into a container for him. “Usually, you can't get enough of my spaghetti and meatballs; that's why I made it.”
“Watching my wife openly flirt with another man in my house right in front of me took away my appetite.” Joel's voice was very irate.
Quinn looked up at him in surprise. “What do you mean? What part of that interaction said I was flirting?”
“You were smiling and happy and a little too comfortable touching him!”
“Since when is smiling and happy flirting?” Quinn snorted. She couldn't believe they were having this conversation. “And I touch everyone; it's nothing new for me.”
“He was very comfortable in the kitchen. Are you sure he hasn't been here before?” Joel insisted.
“Considering I met him on Friday, yes.” She rolled her eyes. “I was surprised that you never mentioned Viki. What happened to Rita?” She watched as discomfort crossed his face.
“Her and her husband got back together; part of their agreement was to move back to her home state so he couldn't have contact with the other woman.” He explained, looking away from her.
“God, I can't believe she took him back.” Quinn shuddered. “He got another woman pregnant!”
Joel shrugged. “He made a mistake; she forgave him.”
“Oh, come on, Joel! Cheating is not a mistake; it's a choice. He chose to fuck another woman, and then he chose to continue to do it for a year and hide it from her. He never would have told her either. It was only when the affair partner had to come clean about her clearly Middle Eastern baby to her WASP husband that he came clean.” Quinn rolled her eyes. He would say it was a mistake.
“Cheaters are the absolute worst people in the world.” She continued as she put the leftovers in tubs and put them up in the freezer. “They don't care about the hurt and pain they cause the people they promised to love and care for. All they care about is having their cake and eating it too.” Quinn turned around and faced him, ready to drop the delightful bit of trivia she had found the night before on him. “Did you know it's still a felony to cheat on your spouse in Massachusetts? Punishable by up to three years in a state prison?” She leaned on the counter and met his eyes. “I would never forgive you if you cheated. But, unfortunately, that law is hardly ever enforced anymore, so you would only have to deal with me making it my mission to destroy your life.” She smiled at him sweetly.
“Well. That's not something either of us needs to worry about.” Joel swallowed and stood up. “You know, I'm actually not feeling great. Must be a bug going around the dealership. I'm going to bed.”
“Can I get you anything?” Quinn once again managed to fake some sympathy.
“No. I need to lie down, maybe put on a movie.”
“Okay. I'm gonna sleep in the guest room. I don't want whatever you have.” Joel nodded and left the room without saying good night.
Quinn waited until she heard the bedroom door shut and got her laptop. She logged into Joel's iCloud account that she had set up for him when he switched to an iPhone years ago and was not surprised to see he hadn't changed the password. She doubted he even remembered she could access everything. She quickly went into his messages and found his messages with Viki, or a man named Victor, in which case they needed to have an entirely different discussion that would have the same outcome. She scrolled back to when the affair started and began to screenshot the conversation and save them to a folder.
As she read through, she saw that, in the beginning, he had told Viki what a terrible wife she was, how she never cooked or cleaned, and they never had sex. She refused to have babies with him - which wasn't true; she had a genetic predisposition toward early menopause, and he had refused to try to have kids in her limited window. Also, her anorexia had messed up her cycle. Now she had less than a two percent chance of getting pregnant. She later found out he had gotten a vasectomy behind her back. She was also just a public school librarian, which got her back up because he made it sound like she wasn't able to do any better. Librarians needed at least a master's degree in library sciences; she not only had a master’s in library sciences from Simmons University, but she also had a bachelor's in Arts Administration from Boston University. Joel had dropped out of college to sell cars and had only been at Porsche Dealership for three months when she met him.
Viki hadn't been innocent about what she said about Tenn. Complaining he was stuffy, uptight, and boring. He financially abused her as a stay-at-home wife, giving her a monthly allowance of only a thousand dollars. He also expected her to keep the house spotless and cook his supper for him. He had taken on another job at the Museum on weekends and was never home, and they didn't share any interests.
Their first date was a Boston Bruins home game, and everything devolved from there. It became amusing when she got to the bottom of the screenshots as she watched texts fly back and forth between them, and Viki accused him of lying about her.
You said she had let herself go!
She's been working out lately.
I thought she didn't cook, and when she did, she burnt everything!
So, I may have exaggerated that to make you feel better. I still like your cooking more. Baby, come on. She's not that great, or I wouldn't want to be with you.
Tenn seems to think she's that great.
Do you think they know?
No. She wouldn't have invited you over if that was the case. It's a coincidence. They run in the same circles.
If Tenn finds out, I'll walk away with nothing; there's a cheating clause in our prenup.
He won't. They haven't figured anything out yet. He bought the story about your friend, didn't he?
I think so. He's been sleeping on the couch though.
Good. I don't want him sleeping with you.
Are you sleeping with her?
Yes, but I told you she hates sex and doesn't care about me not initiating. Listen, I need to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?
Okay. I love you.
I love you more.
Quinn took the last screenshot and sat there seething for a bit. There was no way he was ever going to leave her. The house was in Quill's name; he built it for her and didn't want Joel anywhere near it. He might make more money per paycheck, but her income was steady. In contrast, he had to sell a car to get a commission, and he most definitely was not the top salesman, so he relied on her to fill his gaps; at the end of the year, what went on the tax forms as they made the same amount so he wouldn't get alimony.
She decided the best revenge was living well. She was just going to get started before she left his cheating ass. She printed the screenshots and put them in a folder for Tenn, then called Rilla.
“Hey Q, what's up?”
“Joel's cheating.”
“I'll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Ril.”