Loyalty Test

10. Chapter Ten

~Jennifer~

Celine’s last text ran through my mind all that evening and the next morning. What did she mean that she had what she needed? She wanted to prove Gabe cheated and I told her the opposite, so why would she be satisfied? Unless he confessed to cheating? I wouldn’t entirely put it past the sweet man, even though we only kissed, but surely, he would know what that kind of confession would mean and wouldn’t let her get away with it.

I wished I knew what was going on inside his head.

However, I still hadn’t heard a word from him. I sent one more message on Sunday evening, which went unanswered just as the others had. It started to feel like harassment the more I reached out to him without any sign from him that he wanted me to, so I didn’t follow up again even though I desperately wanted to make sure he was doing okay.

On Monday, I forced myself back to work, though with none of my usual enthusiasm. Catching another guy willing to cheat only made me appreciate Gabe’s loyalty more, misplaced though it may have been. The obvious, unsubtle flirting grated on me, leaving me wondering how any woman found these men attractive in the first place.

When my phone rang mid-afternoon from an unknown number, I answered, ready for a distraction from the dark cloud that had been hovering over me all day.

“Ms Bradshaw? It’s Tara from the Four Winds hotel. ”

“Oh, hello.” Instantly, my mind ran through the possible reasons for her call. Maybe I accidentally left something behind in my room? It shouldn’t have been a problem with the payment, but strange things happened sometimes. Perhaps they just did a follow-up call with their new guests?

The reason she gave, however, was none of those. “This is a bit unusual, but I’ve had a call from Gabriel Carter. He’s trying to get a hold of you. I told him I couldn’t give out your number for privacy reasons, so he asked me to call you and give you his number instead. You can decide whether or not to get in touch with him. I hope that’s okay.”

None of that made much sense to me, but it relieved me all the same. Gabe wanted to talk to me, but if that were the case, why didn’t he just message me as he always had before?

“That’s fine,” I assured her. “What’s the number?”

I jotted down the number she gave me and as soon as we hung up, I called it, my heart racing with anticipation.

It went to voicemail.

“Hey, this is Gabe. Sorry I missed you, leave a message and I’ll call you back.”

The sound of his voice, warm and rich in my ear, made me yearn to talk to him even more. “Gabe, it’s Jen. I just heard from the hotel and they said you called there to get my number. I’m not sure what’s going on, but if you prefer to talk this way, it’s fine with me. I still have some things I need to tell you, and I want to know how things are with you. Call me back anytime.”

After leaving him my number, I hung up, hoping it wouldn’t be too long before he would call.

When my phone rang again, an hour later, I pounced on it, answering without even checking the display. “Hello?”

“Is this Jen?” a woman’s voice asked.

Definitely not Gabe.

My hope deflated, I tried not to sound too disappointed as I answered. “It’s Jennifer Bradshaw, yes. Who am I speaking to? ”

“My name is Victoria Fairbanks. I’m representing Mr Gabriel Carter and I have some questions for you. If you have the time, we could go through them now.”

My ears perked up at the sound of Gabe’s name. “Representing?” I repeated curiously, though I could guess what she meant based on the fact that Eda told me Gabe had been looking for a divorce lawyer.

She quickly confirmed I had it right. “Representing him in his divorce from Mrs Carter.”

I exhaled as discreetly as possible, relieved to know Celine wouldn’t be able to cause him any further pain. “I see. I’m happy to help however I can. Did Gabe give you my number?”

That explained why he would have wanted it, but not why he didn’t just message me to ask for it.

“He did, and I’m glad you’re willing to speak to me. Mr Carter wasn’t at all sure that you would be.”

Those words surprised me so much, I couldn’t help blurting my immediate reaction out loud. “Why would he think that?”

She didn’t answer my question, and I could hear papers rustling in the background as she dove into her questions instead. “Let’s start at the beginning. When did Mrs Carter hire you to loyalty test her husband?”

My heart stuttered in my chest, ice freezing my veins. For a long moment, I couldn’t form any kind of response. I couldn’t seem to form any coherent thought at all other than the one echoing through my mind.

He knew.

I didn’t get a chance to tell him but he already knew.

As my blood began to thaw, a million questions rushed in after it.

How did he know? How did he find out? Did he hate me? Was that why he hadn’t been in touch?

Had I lost his trust forever?

“Ms Bradshaw?” The lawyer’s voice sounded impatient as she prompted me for an answer. “Are you still there? ”

“Yes, I’m…” I cleared my throat as the words came out choked and tight. “I’m here. I’m just checking my records to get the exact date for you.”

My hand trembled as I pulled my laptop close and opened Gabe’s file, trying to ignore the burning behind my eyes as I pulled up my initial conversation with Celine and read the date off to the woman on the other end of the phone.

Somehow, I made it through the rest of the call, answering the lawyer’s questions as honestly as I could, though I left out Eda and Monica’s role. I only said that I had become suspicious of Celine’s motivations, not that I had any prior knowledge of the situation surrounding Gabe’s inheritance.

“That’s very helpful,” she said when we were finished. “Depending on whether we can settle without the need for arbitration, it may be enough. If not, we may ask you to come and give a statement in person.”

“Sure. That’s fine.” Before she could hang up, I asked one more question. “She’s not going to get any of his inheritance, is she?”

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” Ms Fairbanks said, which didn’t sound like a full ‘no’ to me. “Have a good day, Ms Bradshaw.”

The line went dead and I lowered the phone, my heart still aching over the idea of Gabe finding out about me from someone else. Why didn’t I just tell him when I had the chance? Hindsight made it all seem so simple.

He must have been so angry with me that he didn’t even bother to confront me. In my memory, I could see the bewilderment on his face as he realized Celine might be cheating on him, and I could picture that same anguished betrayal hitting him again when he figured out I lied to him. Lied from the beginning, and over and over again.

Hurting him had been the very last thing I wanted to do, but I’d done it anyway.

Winning his trust again wouldn’t be easy, but somehow, I needed to try.

~Gabriel~

After struggling through two days at home, staring out the window and trying to salvage any part of my pride, I went back to work on Wednesday morning.

Monday had been the worst. After my appointment with the lawyer, I called the hotel to try to get Jen’s contact information, and when she called me, I sat watching the phone ring before it went to voicemail, unable to face the prospect of speaking to her. It took ten minutes to force myself to listen to the message, and as soon as I hit play, the sound of her voice sent another painful stab of regret through my body.

She sounded so warm and concerned, as if she actually cared about me. As if everything between us hadn’t been a complete fabrication.

How could I feel so betrayed by someone I barely knew?

I sent her details to my lawyer, and Vicky responded to me later that day to confirm that Jen had backed up everything I said and provided some additional details. She asked if I wanted to see the correspondence between her and Celine, but I declined. It wouldn’t make me feel better but it could certainly make me feel worse, and at that moment, I was simply in survival mode. My focus was on getting through the next five minutes and I couldn’t think any further ahead than that.

On Tuesday afternoon, after I took another unscheduled day off work, Monica showed up at my door, banging on it until I let her in.

“You look like shit,” she announced, eyeing me up and down, her eyebrow arched. “Have you slept?”

“Not really. ”

“Well, it’s time to stop wallowing. I’m here to celebrate. Now that Celine’s on the way out, you can move on to greener pastures.”

She pulled a bottle of champagne out of her handbag while I groaned. “I’m really not in a celebrating mood.”

I also couldn’t think about moving on, not with the memory of my attraction to Jen still hanging around the corners of my mind.

“You’re better off without her,” she answered firmly, ignoring my protests as she popped open the champagne and poured two tall glasses full, one for each of us. “I know so many great people I can set you up with. When you’re ready.”

She added the last sentence quickly when I opened my mouth to protest, and I couldn’t even muster the energy to argue. Though I didn’t feel like celebrating, a little alcohol-induced memory loss might be helpful.

While we gradually emptied the bottle between us, I told my little sister everything, about the distance Celine had begun to put between us, my suspicions about her, and about Jen. She couldn’t hide her surprise when I explained how I kissed her.

“You must have really liked her,” she mused.

“It doesn’t matter.” My words had started to come out slurred. I couldn’t even remember how many glasses of champagne I’d had at that point. Were we even still drinking champagne? Maybe Monica had switched us to something else. The glass in my hand didn’t have any bubbles in it. “The whole time, she worked for Celine.”

“Did she, though?” Monica wondered. “Something doesn’t add up.”

Vicky had said the same thing, but to me, the facts were pretty clear. “She sent Celine screenshots of our conversations, even after we met in person and she helped me hire the private instigator… intra-skater… investigatator.”

My mouth refused to form the word properly and Monica giggled into her glass. “You’re drunk.”

“It’s your fault,” I reminded her, and she couldn’t disagree .

“But wait.” Her face scrunched up as she thought about something, not too far behind me in the getting drunk department. “She deleted your messages.”

That didn’t sound right to me. “Jen didn’t delete the messages.”

“No, not Jen. The bitchy one.”

“You mean my wife?”

Monica giggled again, everything seeming funnier to her than it should be. “That one. She deleted them, right?”

“Right.” I had no idea what point she wanted to make, and it kept getting harder to concentrate on the conversation anyway.

“So that’s it!” She raised her arms in the air triumphantly, though she hadn’t explained anything.

“That’s what?”

“The messages.”

We were starting to go around in circles. “What about the messages?”

Monica put her glass down and took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts. “Celine deleted the messages, which means she could get into your account.”

“Right.” I followed her so far.

“That means she could have seen the messages herself before she deleted them. She said Jen sent them to her, but maybe she lied. She always lies. She’s a lying liar who lies.”

Even in my not-completely-coherent state, I could see she had a point. Maybe Jen didn’t send those messages to Celine. Maybe Vicky had wanted me to see that. I could call her and ask to see the messages between Jen and Celine after all, but it would have to wait until the next day. Drunk me couldn’t focus, and the law firm had probably closed for the day anyway.

“Even if that’s true, she still lied to me from the start,” I pointed out. “Jen, I mean. She’s not who I thought she was.”

“How do you know?” Monica asked. “She could be anyone.”

I didn’t want her to be anyone. I wanted her to be the woman I’d felt that connection with, the one I’d traded stories with for hours in her hotel room, laughing and feeling thoroughly comfortable and content in her presence.

It must have been an act. No one could be that perfectly matched to me.

After promising Monica I would check with my lawyer the next day, we moved on to other topics until the conversation literally made no sense anymore and I dragged myself back to the guest room. When my alarm went off the next morning, I still felt like shit, but at least I’d slept. Monica was fast asleep on the couch, and I let her sleep. Tired of feeling sorry for myself, I showered, got ready, left a note for my sister, and headed into work.

A chorus of greetings rang out as I walked in, most people coming over to see how I felt. Most, not all, because Isaac sat at his desk, studiously ignoring me. I ignored him right back, doing my best to behave as if nothing were bothering me, just in case he would be reporting back to Celine.

I spent the first hour catching up on things I’d missed over the past two days, but at ten o’clock, when the office opened to the public, the receptionist called my office.

“There’s someone here to see you,” she said over the phone. “She doesn’t have an appointment, but she said she spoke to you about a trip recently.”

“That’s fine, send her in.” My hangover had improved to the point where my head no longer pounded, and I could do with a distraction.

My eyes stayed on the computer screen in front of me, finishing my reply to another client’s email when I saw someone at the door in my peripheral vision.

“Come on in, have a seat,” I invited without looking over, reading over my words one last time before hitting send.

With that done, I forced a smile onto my face and pivoted to face the woman who had just closed the door behind her, and a cold wave of shock washed over me.

“Jen?”

~Jennifer~

After speaking to Gabe’s lawyer, I knew I needed to talk to him and explain myself. Unfortunately, he seemed just as determined to ignore me as I was to get in touch.

First, I tried messaging him on Instagram, where we’d always communicated before, only to find that he’d blocked me. That stung, even though I couldn’t really blame him for it. If I were in his shoes, I’d have blocked me too.

After psyching myself up for a while, I called instead, but the call went straight to voicemail, not even ringing that time like it had the time before. He must have turned his phone off. I sent a text instead, asking him if we could talk. That message went unread. For the first time, I started to get an inkling of what the men I flirted with as part of my job went through when I ghosted them.

At a loss, I went to bed Monday evening with a heavy ball of guilt in the pit of my stomach, and it hadn’t gotten any lighter by the time I woke up. I tried calling again on Tuesday with the same result, and eventually, out of options and getting worried, I asked Eda to check in with Monica.

When she told me that Monica didn’t reply either, I made up my mind.

He wouldn’t be able to ignore me in person, but going to his house would be risky. Celine might still be there, Gabe might have moved out, or both. So, although I had his address from hiring the PI, using it didn’t seem like the best idea.

His office address might work, however.

Ambushing him at work might be stalker-ish, but in my head, I didn’t have any other options left. I would tell him my side of the story, answer any questions he might have, and if he wanted me to disappear after that and never contact him again, I would honour his wishes.

I just couldn’t live with the idea of not even trying to make things right.

Using my favourite last-minute travel site, I booked a cheap flight to San Francisco for first thing in the morning on Wednesday. Not long after Gabe’s office opened, I stood outside, staring up at the name above the windows and steeling myself to go in. The travel agency had a bright blue storefront in a mostly-residential neighbourhood, away from the more touristy parts of the city. A pretty, welcoming café with yellow-and-white striped awnings sat next to it, on the corner, and I could easily picture Gabe there, sipping his coffee and looking as casually handsome as he did at the market in Napa on the weekend.

With a deep breath, I forced myself to go in.

A bell chimed over the door as I pushed it open, and a pretty young woman with tight black curls and a bright smile looked up from a desk in the middle of the room. Colourful brochures of exotic destinations lined the walls, and a few more people sat at desks towards the rear of the room. Beyond them, I could see a hallway that appeared to lead to private offices.

Gabe was nowhere to be seen.

“Good morning. Can I help you?” the woman asked.

“I hope so. I’m looking for Gabriel Carter.”

My fear that he wouldn’t be there after I came all that way proved to be unfounded when she asked if I had an appointment.

“No, but we spoke last week about a trip I’m planning.”

Accepting that answer, she picked up her phone and called Gabe. He must have said he’d see me because she pointed to the hallway after hanging up. “Second door on the left.”

“Thank you.”

As I walked past her, the other people in the room gave me warm smiles too. Two men sat at the desks, and with a jolt of surprise, I recognized one of them as Isaac, the man from the photos with Celine. His eyes dropped to my chest as I walked by, which seemed about par for the course.

Once a cheat, always a cheat.

I caught my first glimpse of Gabe a moment before he saw me. Deep in concentration as he typed on his keyboard, he looked good, as always, but I could see the signs of strain too. Bags beneath his eyes hadn’t been there over the weekend, his cheeks looked far paler than they had at the hotel, and his mouth, which had always seemed ready to break into a smile during our time together, pulled downwards instead.

With one more deep breath to try to steady my drumming heart, I stepped into the doorway and Gabe spoke. “Come on in, have a seat.”

He didn’t look at me as he said it, still focusing on his email, but I did as he said, stepping fully inside and closing the door behind me.

At last, Gabe’s gaze moved from his screen to me, and instantly, any small amount of colour in his face drained away. “Jen?”

“Hi.” I offered him a tight smile, trying to gauge his reaction to my unexpected presence in his office, but his face remained blank, showing nothing but shock. “I’m sorry to show up unannounced, but you haven’t returned my calls. I owe you an explanation, and I wanted to make sure you’re doing okay.”

Two slow blinks were the only response I got, so I gestured towards the chair in front of his desk.

“Can I sit down?”

His deep inhale reminded me of the one I’d taken just before walking in. “I suppose, but I don’t think we have much to say to each other.”

“I understand why you feel that way,” I said as I slid into the chair, placing my purse on the floor beside me, and finally, a bit of life flickered in Gabe’s eyes.

“With all due respect, I don’t think you have any idea how I feel.”

Point to Gabe.

“That’s probably true,” I agreed, not looking to argue with him. “And you might not have anything to say to me, in which case, you don’t need to say anything. I, however, do have some things to say to you. ”

He didn’t reply, but he leaned back in his chair, effectively yielding the floor to me, and I did my best to stick to the script I’d been rehearsing for the past two days.

“My name is Jennifer Bradshaw, and for the past couple of years, I’ve worked as a loyalty tester. My clients, usually women, hire me to hit on their partners online because they have reason to suspect that partner is being unfaithful. Sometimes, men pass my test. More often, they don’t, and I pass the evidence of their willingness to cheat to the person who hired me. It all takes place online, and I don’t ever actually meet the men or sleep with them.”

Gabe’s lips parted for a second, and I paused, waiting to see if he wanted to say something. When he clamped them shut again, I kept going.

“A few weeks ago, Celine contacted me like any other client, and she told me she believed you were cheating. She mentioned business trips that you went on when you were out of contact with her, and she said you kept your phone locked and hidden from her.”

“That’s not true,” Gabe muttered.

“Wait, Celine lied about something? I’m shocked.” I offered him another small smile, trying to break the ice, but his cold front remained firmly in place. “She provided a bit of background information about you and your interests, along with links to your social media. Based on that, I latched onto travel as an interest that we have in common, and used it to approach you. It’s better if I can find a legitimate connection rather than inventing a whole new person every time.”

Gabe’s eyes remained wary, but he asked a question. “So, you actually do like to travel?”

“Yes. Of course.” The idea that he would think everything I said to him had been a lie made my heart hurt. “All the travel stories I told you were true. The only thing I lied about was going to Uzbekistan anytime soon. Matt wanted to go, so I knew a bit about the country, but I have no plans to go there myself.”

His lips twisted into a tight grimace. “Matt is real? ”

It felt like another punch to the gut with the insinuation that I would have invented Matt’s life and tragic death. My next words came out sounding breathy as I struggled to take enough air in. “Yes. Everything I told you about him is real.”

Forcing an inhale, I pushed ahead.

“After we texted for a while, and especially after we spoke for the first time, I told Celine I didn’t see any signs that you would be interested in cheating. She insisted that I keep trying. Obviously, now I know why, but at the time I simply found it a bit strange. I tried again, that time we video chatted and I wore my bikini, but you not only made it clear you weren’t interested, you told me that you thought Celine might be cheating on you instead of the other way around.”

Obviously, he knew that part already, but I wanted to walk him through the whole timeline with me, to see things from my point of view.

“I hadn’t quite decided what to do about all of it when I went to Napa, and I had no idea you would be at the hotel. None of that was planned, and I’ve never met someone from my loyalty tests in person before. I should have told you then about all of this, but I thought you would trust me more to help you with Celine if you didn’t know. I made the wrong choice, and I see that now. I’m so sorry for betraying that trust, Gabe.”

He thought that over for a long moment before shaking his head. “How am I supposed to believe anything you say?”

Even though he had every right to feel that way, disappointment stabbed at my stomach anyway. “You’ll have to take my word for it, I suppose. I also sent a copy of all my correspondence with Celine to your lawyer.”

His eyebrows lifted, just a touch. “You did?”

“Yes. Celine blocked me and deleted our chat on Instagram, just like you did, but I always take screenshots of everything. I have the whole conversation, which she might not realize. It might be an advantage for you. ”

He considered that for a while, and as the silence stretched out between us, I made him an offer.

“This is a lot for you to take in, especially since you weren’t expecting to see me today. Why don’t I give you some time to think about things, and if you want to talk more later, we can. I’m going to stay in the city overnight, so we have some time if you’d like to continue this conversation in person. You can also phone me. Or text me. It’s up to you.”

Gabe nodded slowly. “Alright.”

I waited for more, but no more words came, and that same disappointment from before dug in deeper. At least he heard me out. I would have to be thankful for that for the time being.

I stood up to go, grabbing my purse off the floor and heading to the door, but when I placed my hand on the handle, Gabe’s voice stopped me.

“I didn’t block you.”

“What?” I turned back to him, not sure I’d heard him correctly.

I had, though, since he repeated the same words. “I didn’t block you. Celine did. She must have had access to my account.”

His eyes didn’t meet mine, but the disappointment inside me eased a little. He didn’t want me to think he cut me off entirely, and maybe that meant he didn’t completely hate me either.

It might not be much, but at that point, I would call it a win.

“Have a good day, Gabe.”