Exposed
Authors: S Anders
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Contemporary Fiction, #beta hero, #small town romance, #sweet heroine, #family life romance, #contemporary romance
Exposed
By S. Anders
This book is a work of fiction. Names characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book maybe be reproduced, scanned, or printed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Copyright © 2013 by S. Anders. All rights reserved.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following word marks mentioned in this work of fiction. Elvis; Love Me Tender; Rent-All; Fabric Barn; Roy Orbison, GTO
Blindsided | By S. Anders | (Read an excerpt) (available now)(Standalone novel)
N
ia Cooper couldn't believe it. She'd just gotten off work from the Fabric Barn when a man and a woman approached her in the parking lot, next to her old, rusted GTO. They claimed they were television producers for a show called
Rotten Cheating Spouses
.
Nia looked disbelievingly at the thin, forty-something woman. Nia thought her inward instincts were telling her that a woman would offer more support. She was wrong about that.
"Mrs. Cooper, wouldn't you want to know if your husband was cheating?" a man in the group asked her with a microphone tilted toward her, as a tall man carrying a big camera on his shoulder walked slowly toward them.
"Here, sign this," the thin woman urged. "So we can tape your answer." The woman held a piece of paper attached to a clipboard with a pen pointed in Nia's direction. "Just initials are fine," the woman persisted.
Nia tried quelling the sudden alarm she was feeling by rationalizing it was just a poll taken by the TV show. What were the odds of a TV show showing up in her part of town, though? The town was big enough that she'd not been on the east side in over a year.
"Yes, I think husbands or wives should be told if their spouses are cheating," she said, answering the poll question with her honest feelings. "It's a horrible thing," she added.
"Just sign this so your answer counts," the woman producer repeated, and she actually put the pen in Nia's hand and moved her fingers to the paper. Nia initialed what she assumed was her vote, and just as the last swirl was drawn, the woman producer exclaimed, "Got it!"
Lights from the camera flashed on, flooding the area in brightness even though it was daylight. Nia lifted her hand, trying to shade her eyes from the glare, as she exclaimed, "No! I don't want to be taped. I only gave my vote, is all. Please don't tape me."
"Don't worry," the man said, with a much different voice than he'd used to ask the cheating spouse question. Now his voice was unnaturally deep sounding and it had a fake sympathetic tone to it. "You'll want this documented," he said.
"Mrs. Cooper, we have some video that we think you need to see," the woman said, who now had a suit jacket on, and her glasses were gone. "Just take a look here."
A mini-camcorder screen was pushed under Nia's nose, and as she looked down at it, she heard the man say, "We are so sorry to have to reveal this to you, Mrs. Cooper, and we will offer you complete support through all of it."
Nia felt her body tensing and her stomach grew sour with terrible feelings.
Oh no.
She tried to force her eyes away from the video screen, but her husband Dan was suddenly on the screen and she couldn't tear her gaze away. It came to her, right before it was confirmed by events on the camcorder screen, what the combination might mean of her husband and a TV show called
Rotten Cheating Spouses
.
"Oh, it can't be," she whispered, and she didn't realize she'd dropped her purse to clutch the viewing screen. On the screen she saw her husband, Dan, leaning over to kiss a pretty black-haired woman. It wasn't a peck either. It was a long and lingering kiss that made her sicker with each moment it went on.
Where were they, she wondered? She was trying to place the background with the fleeting hope that the video was from before they were married. She'd much rather believe her husband than some strangers.
"Our undercover man caught this video at La Fontina Restaurant," the man was saying.
"When?" Nia demanded, drilling him with her gaze. "When was this taken?"
"Several months ago," the woman producer told her.
Then the man said, "I'm afraid we have more, Mrs. Cooper."
Who was the woman Dan was with, Nia wondered? Dan worked a lot, but she'd never thought he could be doing ...
She gasped, because now the screen showed Dan with the woman and they were both getting undressed. It looked as if the video was shot from beyond an open window blind. Tears began burning her eyes.
"That's enough!" a man's voice snapped through the roaring in her brain as she swayed. "Turn it off. She's seen enough. I won't do your show if you don't turn it off."
Someone strong steadied her waist and a broad hand clamped over the camcorder, blocking views of the up-and-down motions of Dan over the woman.
Sex.
They were having sex.
"Whoa," Jack Andersen said, putting his other hand under Nia Cooper's elbow, to hold her upright.
Man, this had been a bad idea. If Mrs. Cooper felt half as shell-shocked as he did, it was no wonder she was about to faint. And he'd seen the entire video of his wife with Mrs. Cooper's husband. Christ, he wondered how the two of them even knew each other. The word and action “drinking” sped through his thoughts, but he shoved it aside.
"You get the picture—they are having an affair," Jack said, bending close so he could say it into Nia Cooper's ear.
She nodded, saying, "I don't want to see any more of that."
"What do you think about the fact your husband is having a clandestine affair with his wife, Mrs. Cooper?"
Nia pulled away from Jack’s support with an exclamation: "
Your
wife?"
She looked up at Jack with eyes the color of mahogany, making her face appear even more waifish. Dan Cooper was an idiot, Jack thought, because Cooper’s wife was a soft, delicate, and appealing woman. She was very pretty, in a natural way.
"Yes, my wife," Jack answered, putting his hand forward to shake her hand, while trying to keep the rage and hurt he felt from showing on his face. He knew he had to be doing a poor job of it as he wondered if a handshake was proper in the situation they were in. "I'm Jack Andersen."
Nia Cooper's small hand got lost in his as he gently shook her hand, and unbelievably he heard her saying, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Andersen."
That made the hurt he was trying to control ache harder, and he knew his pain was reflected on the pale contours of her face.
Moments later, he and Nia were ushered apart from one another, while the producers explained the next phase of the “cheaters sting.” He'd been the one to call the show in the first place, because he had desperately needed a way to discover if his suspicions about his wife’s cheating were true. Especially after his wife, Sadie, kept blaming him and saying he was the one that was crazy.
To his questions she'd repeatedly said that no, she wasn't having an affair; he was just an insecure slob. It was one of the many tactics she’d used to cover her tracks.
Then when he got into the show's official SUV, he could see Nia looked ravaged as she sat crumpled on the far side of the back seat he sat on. One of the cameramen had his camera pointed from the front passenger's seat, back towards her.
Her gaze swept to him, and she whispered, "Do you think this is a good idea ... confronting them?"
Jack saw it then, on the edges of her delicate features ... fear. He silently berated himself, thinking he should have thought about this. For all he knew Dan Cooper could be a wife beater. This ambush could push Cooper beyond acceptable limits.
Jack scooted toward her while shoving his hand into the lens of the camera until he'd pushed it and the guy running it a foot toward the windshield.
"Turn if off now," Jack demanded.
"Mr. Andersen, we need this footage," Shelia said from the second set of rear seats. She was the female host of the show.
He glared at her. "You'll get enough, only not right now."
"All right. All right, Bob, shut if off for a bit. We have time."
Jack released the camera lens, and then he looked down at Nia. "You don't have to go with us to confront them, Mrs. Cooper. I can get you home."
The next phase was to catch his wife and Nia’s husband alone at his house—doing what, he did not even want to think about. He'd seen enough on the video ... his wife giving another man the sex he’d wanted. The sex he’d practically begged her for. Jack rubbed a rough hand over his face.
Then he felt Nia's soft hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, reading his pain.
"Just tell me if you want to confront them or not," he said. "I'll back you up."
He could definitely give her that for being so nice to him. Sorry? She had nothing to be sorry for.
Nia thought she'd entered a completely alternate life from the one she'd had not long ago, leaving the Fabric Barn. Even with all the video proof she could hardly believe it, and her mind kept trying to find excuses. Unfortunately, every time she looked at Jack Andersen's face, she saw the truth. How unreal it was to be sitting beside the husband of the woman Dan was screwing.
Tears burned her eyes again, and she felt Jack clamping his hand in support over the top of her hand. That he could give her that support—it nearly made her tears fall, and she swallowed hard. She felt so awful that her husband was ruining Jack’s life.
It was worse for women to cheat, wasn't it? People expected men to, but women? Jack had to be as devastated, and she felt him squeezing her hand; at the same time he held his strong, masculine features firm.
She had to know for certain, even if it killed her. She had to know why.
"I think I need to see them," she told Jack in a quiet voice.
She was close enough that as she looked up at him, she could see how shiny his deep brown eyes were. He had unshed tears, like hers. For some reason that made her tears fall. Men tried so hard not to cry, she thought.
"I know that I have to see them," he answered, with anger in his voice.
Nia swiped at her tears, looking away from Jack. She wished she had anger, like he did, to strengthen her resolve. She prayed it would come later, because at the moment all she felt was fear. Fear of losing her husband. Fear that her life was irrevocably changing and she couldn't stop it.
Then the SUVs were turning down a suburban street she didn't recognize. How had Dan met Jack's wife in this part of town
,
she kept wondering? The word "drinking" flickered through her thoughts.
"We're nearly there," Jack said, and she was grateful for the warning, but an odd type of otherworldly numbness settled over her.
Through the strange numbness she could see more tenseness settling over Jack's features, making them more chiseled. He had a soldier's face ... compelling and strong. She wondered how in the world his wife could ever cheat on him. He was a man's man. He had to work with his hands, or close to it.
Nia looked down at his warm hand covering hers. It was big and wide.
Not like Dan's
, she thought. Dan had thinner hands, and he never used them for any type of labor. Dan was a financial advisor, but he also prepared clients' taxes to shorten the gap between times when his business was slow.
Or non-existent
. Nia nearly muttered the thought out loud. It was an old discussion between them, but it had gotten her into working part-time at the Fabric Barn. She loved that. Surprised, because she'd never thought she'd enjoy getting out of the house so much.
"It's the light brown ranch-style house down that cul-de-sac. The one in the middle."
Nia glanced at the house as all the SUVs drove past the cul-de-sac.
"We're going to stage a block down," the producer announced from his seat in the rear of the vehicle. He was using his normal voice at the moment. No camera, Nia realized.
Nia saw, in the glimpse she'd gotten of it, that the house looked new and well cared for. She and Dan would never have been able to afford it. She leaned in and up toward Jack's ear.
"He's there," she whispered.
Jack closed the space between them, leaning down until their heads grazed each other. "You saw his car?" he guessed in a low voice.