Lisa Gardner - Touch & Go

Except, of course, it wasn’t.

Chris became suspicious in January. Over the holidays, it became clear that Kate had a new boyfriend. She kept sneaking off to check her phone, blushed when anyone asked about her job, hell, was so obvious about trying not to be obvious that even Chris had teased her a couple of times.

Then, just two weeks later, Lopez had walked into the travel agency to arrange for a couple of plane tickets and saw them: his boss, Justin Denbe, leaning over Kate’s desk, and Justin had this smile and Kate had this look on her face, half dazed, half dazzled, and just like that, Chris knew.

“Not the first time,” he said bitterly. “Justin? Shit. You gave me a hard time”—he shot Tessa a look—“but I just talk a good game. Hell, I travel three hundred and forty days a year and spend the majority of my waking hours with a bunch of hairy-backed guys who are barely evolved enough to walk upright. I only wish I could find a good woman who’d want me. But Justin… What can I tell you? That apple didn’t fall far from his old man’s tree. Justin liked women. Women liked him. But my niece? I mean… My twenty-year-old niece ?”

Lopez sounded extremely offended.

No, he had not confronted Justin. What could he say? Instead, he’d cornered Kate, trying to get her to listen to reason. Justin was married. Justin was never leaving his wife. This whole thing would only end in heartbreak.

Kate hadn’t cared. She was special. She was the one. She just knew it.

Which, slowly but surely, started to piss Lopez off.

“You gotta understand,” he said, “my niece…she may not have a brain in her head, but she’s sweet. She’s trusting. She’s not looking at Justin the same way he’s looking at her. He’s twice her age and twenty times more experienced. For him, having his cake and eating it, too, is more than a lifestyle choice, it’s gene pool. Like a fucking family legacy.”

This caught Tessa’s attention. “You mean, Justin cheated on his wife the way Justin’s father used to cheat on his mother?”

“Yeah, and being the other woman was no great shakes in Dale’s world, either. Just ask Anita Bennett.”

“What?”

Tessa stared at Chris Lopez. She noticed that beside her, Wyatt appeared faintly smug.

“Anita’s youngest kid,” Lopez extrapolated. “You know, the son who doesn’t look anything like Anita’s husband but could be Justin’s younger brother? The boy who five years back was the recipient of Denbe’s first and only full-ride college scholarship? Come on, you haven’t figured that out yet? I thought everyone in the company knew.”

Tessa composed herself quickly. Of course. Anita Bennett and Justin’s father. Just as Wyatt had predicted. He kicked her lightly under the table. She kicked him back.

“But the thing is,” Lopez was saying, “Justin’s mother was known for being a drunk. Maybe she drove the old man to it; not my place to judge. But Libby? She’s beautiful. She’s talented. She’s gracious. You know how many nights I’ve been to their house? I don’t know. Because it’s been that many. The entire team can be fresh off planes, still coated in mud and reeking of five days on a job site, and Libby will welcome us through her doors. How are you, nice to see you, how’s the build, how’s the family, how’s the kids. Hey, who needs a beer, or boys, are we drinking wine tonight?

“That’s Libby. He doesn’t fucking deserve her.”

Tessa had stopped petting the dog. She was too busy staring at Lopez, who was obviously madly in love with his boss’s wife.

Well, well, well.

“Is that why you decided to text her?” she asked quietly. “You thought she deserved to know the truth?”

“Yeah. I just…couldn’t take it anymore. It was only a matter of time before Justin broke Kate’s heart. Figured it was only fair to mess with him first.”

“Did it work?”

“Libby booted his sorry ass,” Lopez said, but he didn’t sound convinced. His gaze dropped. He scuffed his foot against the subflooring.

“Justin never found out I dropped the dime,” he said. “Best I can tell, he thought Libby had finally gotten suspicious, checked his cell. He and Kate had been texting. Stupid thing to do, and he knew it. There was a big scene. Yelling, screaming, drama. He got to move to the basement.”

“He told you that,” Wyatt pressed quietly, “or Libby told you that?”

“He did. Libby didn’t know I was even part of this. I bought a TracFone to text her. Hell, just because I was ruining their marriage didn’t mean I wanted to be part of it.” His lips twisted dryly.

“But Justin talked to you about the home situation?” Wyatt said.

“Yeah. To the whole team. It was clear something had happened. Justin showed up the Monday afterward, totally off his game. I mean, it’s funny. When it comes to women, he’s always been so…slick. I guess I didn’t even take his marriage that seriously. But when the shit hit the fan… The dude actually appeared remorseful. Claimed he’d been a total idiot, no better than his old man, but now he’d seen the light and would do anything to get his wife back.”

“Did he?” Tessa asked.

“He dumped my niece,” Lopez said flatly. “Like a hot potato. And trust me, that I got to hear about. She called me five, six, seven times a day, crying hysterically, demanding to know what she should do, how to win him back. Christ. I had to start turning off my cell just to go to work. I’m lucky she didn’t rat me out.”

“How do you know she didn’t?” Wyatt again.

“Justin would’ve confronted me. He’s not a beat-around-the-bush sort of guy. He’s got a problem with you, you know it. No stabbing in the back. Just a direct hit, full-on to the jugular.”

“Did Kate get him back, or did the relationship truly end?” Tessa asked, because based on her conversation with Kathryn Chapman, she wasn’t convinced the girl was totally forthcoming. Some things, at least, had remained unsaid.

“Best I know, over and done with.”

“Bet she must’ve had some opinions about the wife,” Wyatt commented. “Not easy to lose your first big love like that.”

“Oh, leave Katie out of this. She’s just a stupid kid. Trust me, she wised up soon enough. Probably tried a couple of foolish stunts to get Justin’s attention, and when he knocked her back down, took the hint. It was June when this whole thing blew up. And trust me, my sister can tell you, Katie spent most of the month sobbing in her room. But by July, not so much so. And August… She’ll have a new boyfriend, soon enough. She’s a pretty girl, and getting smarter all the time.”

“You think she ever went after Libby?” Tessa asked.

“Not that I ever heard.”

“And Libby, did she track down Kate?”

“Not that I ever heard.”

“What about a divorce lawyer?” Wyatt spoke up. “Did things get that far, for either him, or her?”

Chris Lopez looked up at them. He suddenly smirked. “You don’t know, do you?”

They didn’t answer.

He leaned forward, crossed his arms on the table. “I can’t tell you if Libby actually called a lawyer, but I can tell you what would happen if she did.”

“Enlighten us,” Tessa said.

“Prenup. Justin’s bragged about it several times. A simple one-page document that Libby readily signed. In it, she renounced all claim to any share of Denbe Construction, in return for being entitled to fifty percent of any and all personal assets accrued during her marriage. Sounds reasonable enough, right? Company was Justin’s to begin with, inherited straight from his father. Except, then you get to the fine print, which is…”

He paused a beat, eyed them expectantly.