Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Mason led the way into the conference room, then gestured to the table. “Please, have a seat.”
Mrs. Morrison slid into the seat closest to the door, her entire body tight with tension. Taking the seat across from her, Mason set the manila folder on the table between them. Her eyes were drawn to the folder, and he watched as her knuckles turned white where she clutched her purse in her lap.
He slid it her way. “I was able to do what you asked.”
Inside the folder were dozens of photos he had captured of her husband last week in the arms of his secretary.
In the car, outside her house, in the hotel bar; they weren’t terribly selective of where they chose to hook up, nor did they find any apparent need to keep it secret.
Mrs. Morrison flipped open the folder and stared at the first photograph.
In the passenger seat of her small SUV, Jackie Newell straddled Tom Morrison’s lap, stripped down to her bra.
Mrs. Morrison’s face didn’t change as she flipped to the next photo.
Then the next. Finally, after a few minutes of tense silence, she closed the folder and shook her head. “That’s not Tom.”
Mason stared at the woman. “Ma’am, I can assure you, that’s him. I took those photos myself. I—”
“That could be anyone.” She stood, her gaze still fixed on the folder. “The angle is terrible and it’s all grainy.”
Mason tried again, unable to fathom that she refused to believe the evidence he had placed right in front of her.
She had hired them to find this very information, but she chose to stick her head in the sand and pretend it didn’t exist. He hated cheaters above all else, and he couldn’t stand to let this woman be degraded by her husband.
“As you can tell from the photos, he’s been with Ms. Newell several times in various places, and—”
She shook her head and gestured agitatedly toward the folder on the table. “It could have been edited, or…”
“Mrs. Morrison?” The sound of Vivi’s voice drew their attention to the doorway, and she offered the older woman a small smile. “The photos are yours to keep. Why don’t you take them home and if you need anything else from us, just let us know.”
A brittle smile curved the woman’s lips and she snatched up the folder, then strode past Vivi.
“What was that?” Mason stood slowly, and Vivi’s gaze returned to him.
Sympathy lined her face. “She wasn’t ready to admit it yet.”
“You know those photos were real,” he said, pointing after the woman.
“You know what else is real? What she’s going through,” Vivi said. “Can you imagine how she feels right now? The man she loves has been sneaking around behind her back for God knows how long.”
Yeah, Mason knew exactly how that felt. “Even more reason for her to nail him to the wall.”
Vivi shook her head. “You can’t just tell people how they should feel. She’s hurt. Betrayed. It’s easier for her to deny it than accept the fact that the man who promised his life to her couldn’t keep his word.”
Mason let out a mirthless laugh. “Newsflash, Virginia, people lie all the time. Especially when they’re in relationships. She should move on and forget about that idiot.”
“It’s not that easy,” Vivi argued. “She loved him before. She probably still does.”
“Don’t be na?ve.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s a cheater, and she’d be better off without him.”
“I’m not disputing that,” Vivi returned. “But you can’t just flip a switch and turn off your love for someone. It doesn’t work like that.”
“And how did he return the favor? By his secretary, right out in the open where anyone could see.”
Annoyance flared in her gaze. “What he did was wrong, I’m not denying that.
All I’m saying is, from her perspective, this is a huge shock.
Even if he wasn’t faithful to her, she was loyal to him.
She trusted him never to hurt her, and she’s not willing to believe her love could have just been thrown away like that. ”
Mason scoffed. “Love is a joke.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
Her words sent a little pang through his heart. Without another word, she turned and left the room. He took a step, already going after her before he realized what he was doing.
Vivi truly believed what she said… and he hated to admit that she might be right.
He’d never known that kind of trust. He thought he’d loved Samantha.
He thought they would get married and live happily ever after.
Instead, she’d written him a Dear John and told him he’d been replaced.
He expected other women to be the same. It was easier to turn off his emotions and focus solely on finding temporary pleasure instead.
If he never let anyone in, then he couldn’t be hurt again.
He thought about what she’d said. A decade ago, he’d believed in love. He’d believed in trust and honesty. He would admit that he was jaded, and that was no way to live, either. Was he happy with his life? Sure. But it felt like something was missing, and it was more than just mutual attraction.
He thought back to Vivi’s reaction, her defense that love did exist. He hadn’t kissed a woman since he broke up with Samantha ten years ago.
It was too intimate, too revealing. There was an emotion in kissing that he couldn’t afford to offer another woman.
At least, he hadn’t. He’d never been more tempted to kiss a woman than he had Vivi.
She made him want things he didn’t think were in the cards for him.
Growing up, he thought he’d be a normal guy.
He’d get a job, get married and have a couple kids.
But the first three decades of his life had quietly slipped away and he had nothing to show for them.
Maybe it was time to move on, to leave the past behind.
God knew he wanted Vivi. But could they ever have more?
Would she ever truly let him in after everything that had happened?
Would he ever trust her enough to find happiness?
He wanted to ask all of those questions and more, but Vivi still wasn’t inclined to give him the time of day.
He needed to talk with her—really talk with her—and see where she stood.
Did they have a chance at all? He knew they’d only spent one night together, but he truly enjoyed Vivi.
She was quirky and funny, and this most recent conversation revealed to him a side of her he didn’t know existed.
If Vivi gave herself to someone, she would do so wholeheartedly. And it surprised him how desperately he wanted to be that man.