AMB~she~OUS

TWENTY FIVE

"Sorry, I'm late." The raggedy looking man muttered as he took a seat in front of me.

This was my first time meeting him but the person who had recommended him said he was one the best in the business.

He didn't look the part though. Curly brown hair flying all over the place, glasses sitting on his freckled face and a boyish smile on his lips. Nobody would ever guess that he was one of the best PI in town.

"Don't worry, I didn't wait long. So what have you got for me?"

I knew I had stalled Mitchell enough and I had been thinking about my conversation with Nick the whole flight back home. Part of me wanted to leave it and let Mitchell meet up with her nephew and stop trying to run my stepson out of the company.

But I couldn't quite leave it without at least knowing who she really was.

"Well, there isn't much about that woman you asked me to look up, Mitchell Thomas. Most of what she told you checks up except being related to your stepson. There is no kinship, not by a long shot. She is however related to some guy who used to attend the same college as Daphne but that's how far the connection goes."

It didn't exactly make sense why she would pass herself off as Nick's aunt when there was barely any connection between her and Daphne or Craig.

"Maybe she was so close to Daphne that she became an aunt of some sort?" I questioned the man sitting in front of me.

"Hmmm that's possible but I have a crazier theory, I just need a few more days to gather some more information" He told me.

A waitress approached our table and settled down two cups of coffee. Today was a bit chilly and this was my second cup in the past hour. I wasn't a huge fan of caffeine but I knew I needed it if I was going to get through the amount of work sitting on my desk and deal with all the other stresses I was dealing with.

Finn sipped his coffee quietly before clearing his throat to regain my attention.

"I hope you don't think I called you here to give you half-ass information."
He said suddenly a bit more serious than before.

"Since 'half ass' information is what you've given me, I don't know what you want me to think." I threw back.

"That's not why I asked to meet with you. I have information that I thought would interest you that has nothing to do with Ms Thomas." He withdrew a small pale envelope from his satchel and passed it to me slowly.

"What's this?" I asked my hands reaching for the envelope.

"In PI circles you hear a lot of things. We got people working for gossip magazines too but fortunately for you, I got this before they did and it wasn't easy or cheap either." He winced at the end of the sentence.

I rolled my eyes at him, he was going to make more money than he made in a month working for me so I didn't see what the huge deal was.

****************
I was like a zombie on my way back home after seeing what was inside that envelope. I don't even know how I drove through the New York traffic back home without hitting someone or something cause I was so freaking out of it.

My mind could not work around what my eyes had seen. I didn't know what it meant but I knew the damage it would cause if it ever got out.

Damn, what did that even mean for me, for my marriage?

I walked inside the bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom. I needed a shower, a cold one because I felt hot all over.

I couldn't quite decipher what I was feeling but it was a terrible mix of anger and disbelief.

Angry at the situation and disbelief because this was the one thing I didn't see coming and God knows I hate being blindsided like this.

I let the harsh cold waterfall on my skin for a good thirty minutes whilst the screws in my mind turned. I didn't know what I was going to do but I had to do something.

Moments later, the door opened and my husband walked in. I watched him carefully in the mirror as he shrugged off his jacket and moved in my direction with a small smile on his face.

"Hello." He spoke and gave me a small pat on my shoulder, an alien move or was it I just never noticed till today.

"Hie, how was your day?" I asked slowly pretending to rub lotion all over my arms but in reality, I was watching every one of my husband's actions and I sure as hell didn't miss the way his lips curled up in a wide smile when I asked him about his day.

"Splendid."

"Oh really? What did you do?"

"Just hung out with some old friends and went to a couple of meetings to ensure that our old clients are comfortable with my son running things."

It felt so weird to have someone lie to my face the way he had just done. I wasn't an idiot and his lies were confirmation of what I had seen in that envelope.

"So I'm planning a brunch this Saturday, to celebrate the contract. We could invite a couple of our old friends and associates."

In reality, I wasn't planning anything. The lie had spilt out of my mouth before I could even stop it.

"Oh, this Saturday?"

I nodded.

"I can't, I need to be out of the country for an important function but I'm sure you can host the brunch perfectly without me."

I sat stunned. It was like he was a different person, completely different from the Craig I had married and I was only realizing it now.

A few months ago, my husband would've never missed even a simple dinner no matter how tight his schedule was but now...

My eyes trailed to my handbag where the envelope from earlier was safely tucked. I didn't know what to do with it, it felt like having a whole deck of cards in hand but not knowing how to play.

I was in a dilemma. A big one and for the first time in my life, I was unsure of what lay ahead of me.

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It seems kinda obvious what's going but what's Kate going to do about it and will it blow up in her face?

I really hope it does.