Free The Temptress by C. J. Fallowfield, Book Cover By Design, Karen J

needs, a woman who has been forced to
seek comfort outside of the marital home. I wish to be free to be with my
lover, instead of having to sneak around behind closed windows, you
understand?’
    ‘I do,’ I nodded, not correcting her use of the
phrase closed windows instead of doors. I was too surprised that she had any sexual
cravings at all, let alone a lover. It beggared belief, but I guess the saying
that there’s someone for everyone, really was true.
    ‘I cannot simply divorce my husband without
good reason, for a woman to do this would bring shame on my family. But a man
straying? O yes!’ she nodded with a triumphant smile. ‘The scandal of a typical
horny man who cannot keep his penis in his trousers, this would be fitting, this would be accepted as a travesty. I would be the poor wounded wife, forced to
seek a divorce after such a catastrophic betrayal. The shame would be apportioned
to him, not to me and I would finally be free.’
    ‘You say your sex life with Mr. Le Grand is
none existent and you have no evidence of any affairs. Could it simply be that
he is a rare species, a man who is not driven by his sexual urges? If this is
the case, what makes you think that I can convince him to stray, that I can
produce damning evidence to support your claim?’
    ‘O, you mistake me, chérie. My husband is an
incredibly good looking man and a very sexual being. It is pitiful to see women
swoon at his feet, with no control over their urges around him. His sexual reputation
prior to marriage was legendary. But he is also an honest man. He didn’t want
me, he accepted me because he knew it would solidify his career, give him a
boost up the ladder of success. He also came to me with a wounded and broken
heart, he was not looking for love and neither did he find it, but he honours
his marriage vows nevertheless, because he believes he has to. For a
businessman like my husband, his word is his bond. He has made a name for
himself because he can be trusted. He loses that, he loses his very integrity.
I doubt he could live with himself if he cheated and once word got out his
business would take a hit. Who would trust a man with millions of pounds of
their hard earned cash, if he can’t be trusted when it comes to his own woman?’
    ‘So you’re looking for evidence to divorce him,
which you are prepared to manufacture, in order to be free of him and you want
to ruin his business and reputation too? It seems as if a divorce is not the
only thing that you are after. You appear to be looking for revenge too.’
    ‘You are the morality police all of a
sudden?’ she spat, her thick French accent punching home some of the words, as
venom flared in her eyes. ‘You take other women’s money to do the same that I
am asking of you, but mine is not good enough?’
    ‘Of course not,’ I replied, wondering what the
hell I was getting myself into with this woman. She appeared to be a nasty
piece of work. I was used to women wanting a slice of their husbands’ success,
but not to humiliate him, to try and destroy him, especially when he didn’t
even appear to have wronged her. ‘As my client, I’m here to provide you with
the service you require, I’m merely trying to ascertain the facts. It helps me
do my job to the best of my ability. A man who seemingly has a such a strong
conscience, who prides himself in his honesty and one unwilling to break his
marriage vows thus far, may take more than one appointment to break, even for
me.’
    ‘You have four weeks,’ she replied tartly. ‘That
is all the time I can give you, but I am confident in your abilities Miss McQueen.
I will pay you two million pounds to ensure that you have enough “evidence” for
me to leak the story to the press, so I can get started on the divorce
proceedings.’
    ‘Two million pounds?’ I repeated, stunned. My
cases often ran into the thousands, five digits for sure, on a very rare
occasion six, never seven. ‘I assure you that my fees will