The Private Investigator

Chapter 6: Adultery

1,2,3,4... 1,2,3,4." The dance instructor chanted as Paul struggled to dance the steps properly and on que. "I must admit Paul, you are getting better!" she smiled, "Ok, lets take a short break and then we will go over it all one final time and call it a night!" she continued. "Ok, I'm going to call my wife really quick to let her know I will be a little late getting home." He stepped out into the hall and dialed his wife's number on his old Motorola flip phone. Angela was just stepping into the house for the first time since that morning when she answered the phone, she had just got home from a very busy and stressful day at work.

The house smelled of fresh cucumber melon glade air freshener, the automatic sprayer hung on the wall two feet from the door and had just released its latest timed sprits as Angela pulled into the driveway, it was her favorite scent. "Hello?" She said quickly answering the phone without checking the caller I.d. "Hey dear, I just wanted to let you know I'm running a bit behind, but I will be home soon!" Paul said in a loving, chipper, and almost apologetic tone.

He hated sneaking around behind her back because he felt like he was lying to her. When they began their relationship years ago, they promised to never keep secrets from each other, to be completely honest and open, but he was breaking that promise and he felt horrible about it, even though he thought it was a good reason to do so just this one time. For the last three months he had been coming home late and Angela assumed it was because of work. Paul didn't tell her he was staying out late not for work, but to spend time with a beautiful dance instructor.

Angela had grown suspicious of why he was staying out late for the last couple of months only when she realized he had been packing extra clothes to work with him. He thought he was being sneaky by hiding the clothes in the trunk of his car, but Angela had sat and watched him through the bedroom window late at night when he thought she was sleeping. "Ok sweetheart, I will see you when you get home." She said trying to play along.

After a short conference meeting Cheyenne walked back to her office with Jim following close behind, she sat down at her desk dropping a stack of heavy paperwork down in the chair beside her. She turned her computer on preparing to check her email when she heard a slight grunt behind her. "You dropped your pen." Jim said as he turned his back to her bending slowly to pick it up like a woman in a short skirt would do in front of a man wanting him to glare at her bottom to tease him.

Cheyenne turned to look and immediately rolled her eyes and pulled her attention back to her computer. "What are you doing?" She asked with an irritated tone. "Picking up your pen for you!" he responded acting clueless to her tone. "No, I meant what are you doing in here, you have your own office now."

"Yea, but its missing something."

"What, what is it missing? Please tell me so I can get it and get you out of here and into your own office!"

"You!" He said shinning his sparking white teeth in an enchanting smile. Cheyenne didn't know how to respond to his remark she simply turned away from him and resumed checking her email. "You know, this relationship is not going to work if you don't play along." He said scooting his chair closer to her desk. Cheyenne chose not to respond to the comment and began ignoring his existence.

By the time Paul returned home Angela had already prepared dinner, fixed him a plate, cleaned up the kitchen, showered, and was in bed. Seven-thirty seemed awful early for her to be in bed already, so he immediately began thinking something was wrong. 'Maybe she is sick.' He thought to himself. She had her back to the door and had cried herself to sleep, she found one of Paul's workout shirts in the laundry that should have smelled of sweat and body odor from a hard workout, but instead it smelled of sweet peaches perfume with a slight scent of sweat. Paul had a routine of hitting the gym after work, he was a large muscular ma and enjoyed 'pumping iron' as he would say, but lately he had been so busy at work trying to close a new deal that could push his company straight to the top that he really didn't have time for exercise, or at least that's what he had told her. Plus, he had taken a break from it due to a pulled hamstring from his last visit to the gym, doctors orders were for him not to return to the gym until after his next checkup which wasn't for another week, and if he was going to the gym his clothes wouldn't smell like peaches.