The Fidelity Files (Jennifer Hunter #1)(125)

"Is everything all right?" I asked.

"I need to tell you something," Jamie replied immediately, as if he hadn't even heard my question.

I could feel my breathing get very shallow. The seriousness in his voice alarmed me. Actually, it scared the shit out of me.

"What's that?"

Jamie fidgeted again, shifting his weight around as if he were trying to get comfortable before the start of a three-hour Lord of the Rings installment.

"I've debated telling you for a while."

I swallowed hard. "Why's that?"

"Because I think it might upset you."

"Okay," I replied softly, preparing myself for what I already knew he was going to say. I knew it immediately. He was coming clean. He was going to tell me the truth. No more lies. No more deceit. No more pretending that he didn't have a wife back home. This was it. The one thing you wouldn't find in the story of a famous French king and his mistress... honesty.

But the question that spun through my mind at nearly a mile a minute was: Did I want to hear it?

At this point, would telling the truth really set him free? Could he be forgiven? Would it make everything all right?

Or was it already too late for that?

It would certainly destroy the assignment.

But then again, on any other assignment, when the subject stops the course of action to admit that he has a wife, and then politely excuses himself, it's considered a pass. It's a reason to rip up his failed inspection card. Frankly, that's only happened a few times. Most of them admit they have a wife, and then upon seeing the look on my face that says "Yeah... so?" they proceed, anyway.

But like I said before, I couldn't compare Jamie to any of the others. He wasn't like any of them. And I certainly wasn't the same girl I had been with any of them.

Ashlyn had been invited along on this trip because I had so desperately wanted her to help me through it, but she had barely made an appearance. She just didn't seem to fit into the equation.

Jamie took a deep breath and then scratched the side of his face. His mind was searching for words. I could tell.

He finally looked me straight in the eye and said, "There's a chance I might have to cut the trip short."

I stared at him blankly. What did he just say? I didn't hear any mention of a wife in that sentence. Maybe the wife part was coming next. As in, "I have to cut the trip short because my wife is expecting me." Or "Because my wife needs me to go to some dinner party with her." Maybe even "Because my wife asked me to pick up some stuff at the dry cleaner and I forgot."

So I painted on a disappointed expression and took the bait. "Oh, no! Why's that?" I asked.

He tugged nervously on his ear.

Here it comes, I thought.

"Because the client is having second thoughts about hiring our firm. Apparently, there's been a last-minute counteroffer by another company that came in far below our bid. They might pull the plug and go with someone else. And there's really no reason for me to be here if they're not going to hire us."

My mouth dropped open as I listened to him continue to ramble incessantly about the odds and ends of signing on new clients and requests for proposals and other crap that I managed to tune out.

"And they're right. I mean, there are at least three other clients back in L.A. that need my attention. You know how people can be. Completely fickle. Especially when they're spending this much money on something. One minute you're the hottest firm in the industry and the next minute you're colder than a corpse on CSI."

"What?" I was finally able to get out.

Jamie tilted his head to the side, seemingly confused as to what part of this whole thing was still unclear to me.

"That's what you wanted to tell me?"

He frowned. "Yes. Why?"

I tried to wipe the bewildered expression from my face, but it was like trying to clear your windshield with a broken wiper. "So we're going home early?"

Jamie sighed. "See, I knew you'd be upset. I'm really sorry. I should know for sure tomorrow. I would say we could stay. Just the two of us. But if they pull the plug, my firm is gonna need me back in the office right away."

I nodded numbly. "Right."

"Nothing's for certain yet. I'm just giving you a heads-up. I didn't want to mention it earlier because I thought at least we could spend a nice day together."

I managed to close my mouth and begin to gather my thoughts. "When would we have to leave?" I asked, trying to sound understanding.

"The day after tomorrow," he replied ruefully. "Of course, you're welcome to stay if you want. I just have to go back. I don't have a choice."

I was quiet. Not really sure what to say. And not really sure if it would even come out the way I wanted it to if I did have something important to contribute.

As much as I've made a living off of being able to read men's minds and predict certain behaviors, I've always said that people are never 100 percent predictable. And Jamie had proven that to me – numerous times. I had been wrong about nearly every aspect of him. And every time I had tried to predict his behavior, I was left with the same feelings I felt brewing inside of me at this very moment.

Surprise. Confusion. Disillusionment. And then, eventually, a total loss of control.