Page 91 of Temptation
“Six.”
“He cheated or attempted to cheat on you seven times that we know of. You had to get tested for STIs... Did you get that back, by the way?”
“Yeah, we were both negative.”
“That's a relief.” Rilla smiled. “He took her away for a weekend in Atlanta. You caught him fucking her in your bed. He possibly bought her a Porsche but made you buy your own, and you didn't even want it.”
“Okay, I'm pissed again. Let's go do this.” Quinn nodded and stood up. “You got the PowerPoint ready to go?”
“Sure do.” Rilla grinned. “I spliced in the information you sent me about the lecture series first.”
“You're amazing.”
“Aw, no, you are.”
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Quinn found Deedee standing with Ron in the living room, chatting as they watched everything. “Okay, so we'll have Joel and Viki stand at the front of the room with us. I will announce their support, and you will hand them the envelopes. Rilla will play the PowerPoint, starting with information about our lecture series, then switch to the other stuff.” She looked at Ron. “I know Tenn has given you a job, but I'd like an official 9-1-1 caller if things get out of hand.”
“Absolutely. Don't worry, Quinn, we have your backs.” Quinn nodded gratefully and moved over to where Tenn was talking to Quill and Bishop.
“Hey. Are you ready?”
“So fucking ready.” He grinned, and they stood in front of the wall the projector was set up on. Tenn put his fingers to his lips and let out a deafening whistle, grinning when people winced and looked around.
“Quinn and I want to thank you all so much for coming out and celebrating this with us this evening. When she approached me about her plan two weeks ago, I had no idea it would change my life as completely as it has. It's been an incredible two weeks of discoveries and plans, new connections and friends. But rather than listening to me drone on about it, Quinn and Rilla have prepared a PowerPoint that dives into detail. So, grab a drink and some food and find a seat. It's about twenty minutes long.”
“But before we get started, can we have Joel and Viki come up here, please?” Quinn waited as they came up, avoiding looking at each other. “You guys have been so patient and supportive of us over the last two weeks, and it's about to get worse before it gets better. So, we got you something so you don't have to worry about us anymore. Deedee?” A smile spread across Quinn’s face as Deedee brought up the envelopes and handed them over to Joel and Viki. “Don't worry about opening it now, and don't worry about it being tickets to all the lectures. We haven't printed them yet. It will make sense at the end of the PowerPoint. Rilla, if you don't mind?”
Bishop shut off the lights, and upbeat music played as the slides for the lecture series began. Three minutes in, just as people started shifting in their seats from boredom, the music switched to Sam Smith. The first photo of Viki and Joel appeared on the screen. It became completely silent. Tenn and Quinn stood facing the group and watched as Joel and Viki froze.
Chapter Forty-Eight: Dramatics
“What the fuck are we going to do?” Viki’s tearful voice from the night they fell out of the window played over the instrumental part of the song
“Wait for your husband to leave and for Quinn to go to bed. She'll sleep in the spare room if she thinks I'm sick.”
“Won't she want to come in and get ready for bed?”
“Fuck.”
“Why did you think this was a good idea? If we're caught, we're both fucked.”
“I thought it would be hot. Apparently, you disagree since you were faking.”
Joel and Viki both looked at each other and then around the room. Everyone was watching the screen. Some people were obviously fighting back laughter, while others looked disgusted. Joel's mom was hiding her face in her hands, and Viki's mom looked like she was about to be sick. Irreplaceable began to play, and Joel finally met Quinn's eyes.
“Quinn.” He whispered hoarsely. “I can explain. Just turn it off, please.”
“I already know the explanation.” Quinn shrugged. “That's on here too.” Joel swallowed as Viki began to cry. She turned to Tenn and started apologizing and trying to minimize her part of it.
“He made me. I didn't want to do it!” She gripped his arm and pleaded with him. “He said he’d tell Rhyme to fire me.”
“Oh, fucking Bullshit!” Joel yelled suddenly, very obviously not wanting to go down on the ship alone. “You chased me! You're the one who insisted I leave Quinn and fucking got me drunk and practically raped in the hotel room over the weekend!”
“Oh, you were so fucking into it! Should we play that video?” Viki screamed back, and Quinn and Tenn slowly stepped back, letting them put themselves on blast. Quill appeared next to Quinn, watching the scene with narrowed eyes. “Or any of the other ones I took over the weekend? All you had to do was leave her and be with me like you wanted, and none of this would be happening!” Quinn had been keeping an eye out for Viki’s cell phone in the mail, almost racing Joel to the mailbox every day, but now realized that Viki had lied about sending it to her and sent it to herself instead.
“ENOUGH!” Joel roared, turning and taking a determined step toward the projector. “TURN IT OFF!” Bishop and Del immediately positioned themselves on either side of the projector, crossing their arms and glaring at him.