Her husband had been moody and detached

Ever since telling her about his favorite author

She was tempted to tell him everything

Living a secret life is hard lonely work

She had amassed a secret fortune

Far greater than he could ever earn

The next day he travelled to a three day conference

Opening the opportunity for her to meet Jack for dinner

Her agent sent a driver pick her up 

Jack had chosen an expensive restaurant

The wine flowed and she was enthralled by him

His foundation of secret entrepreneurs was rich material for her new book

Jack held her hand and told her of his plans

He wanted her to meet his contacts in places like Rome, Paris and London

She would get to interview each of them in private

Jack and her would have lots of quality time together

Visiting all those romantic places was on her bucket list but she was trapped

She was both excited and reticent at the same time

Jack was a real gentleman and he could tell she was in quandary

Please think it over and email me your decision he said

She went home to an empty house but not sleep well that night

Her writing was fulfilling but she needed more in her life

Jack had appeared at exactly the right moment 

Her heart was pounding as she hit send on her email to Jack

Her husband came back from the conference

She finished her second glass of wine

Staring at the man she married many years ago

It was time for her to confess 

I have aways loved you and have something very important to tell you she said 

He quickly replied that he had figured out long ago she was his favorite author

I hired an actor to play the roll of Jack he said, I am so glad you turned him down

She smiled, kissed him passionately and whispered start packing for our world cruise

Her agent told her all about Jack

He lived a regular life and worked a nine to five job

But had made a secret fortune inventing medical devices

And built up a network of similar people worldwide

Each of his contacts led simple lives 

But were amassing fortunes from their clandestine activities

He had founded a charitable foundation

And his group were channeling Billions into it

Her agent wanted her to meet Jack

Jack’s secret life was exactly what she needed to research

She told him to set it up soon

Then rushed to buy food for tonight’s meal

Her husband was more grumpy than usual over dinner

She asked if work was worrying him

No its just as boring as ever he said

I have been trying to meet the author of my favorite books

She froze in anticipation of his next words 

I guess she is too busy writing to meet boring old me he sighed

Perhaps best to let it drop she said

She is probably not the person you are expecting

He was unusually quiet the rest of the evening

He did not read in bed 

He tossed and turned all night

She wondered if he was having an affair

She checked her emails

Her agent had set up a meeting with Jack

At a neutral venue with some back-up staff for her security

Researching was as much fun as writing for her

She met Jack the next day

Quite a handsome fellow with a charming manner

He insisted on telling his story in more detail over dinner

She hesitated but accepted his invitation

She listened to his workday complaining over dinner

Like a good sympathetic wife

Telling him to watch TV and relax

While she cleared the table and tidied the kitchen

He fell asleep in front of the TV

She pulled out her laptop

Checking her emails while he dozed

Looking for messages from her agent

She found a bunch of them

Urging her to go public

Go on a book signing tour

He had TV shows lined up for her

Her last novel was getting great reviews

Her agent had negotiated a huge advance for her next book

Big fat royalty checks filled her accounts

Her husband snored louder

She had a theme for her next book

But more research was needed

Some of it could be done on line

But she had to interview people face to face

Their stories fueled her writing

She had a talent for making her characters come alive

She read more emails while her husband slept

Her agent was forwarding requests to meet her

One fan letter caught her eye

From a man called Jack

Claiming to have read all her books

Wanting to meet her and tell his own incredible story

Her husband started to rouse

She returned to doing daily household chores

Pulling the empty lunch box from his briefcase

She discovered he was reading one of her books