Homewrecker Incorporated (15 page)

She was absolutely right; it was good business, just not in the way she thought. There would be an obscene amount of wealth in the room, powerful men with mistresses and jilted wives who were potential clients we could pass along to Patty.

"Thank you, Janet. I guess I'm going to need to go shopping before Saturday."

Chapter 9 

"I'll only go if you let me drive your car." Bridget folded her arms over her chest. 

She was pissed that we persuaded her to leave work early Wednesday and lured her to our penthouse to drag her along on our shopping trip to buy gowns for the gala on Saturday night. Unable to avoid Josh Slade after I'd seen her on the elevator, she agreed to dinner with him, so we were going to get her a makeover and a killer outfit for the occasion.

"Come on, Bridge. You know that car is my baby!" I replied, gripping my heart.

"Yeah, and you know I hate shopping and I don't want to go on this date at all," she responded, her voice melting into a pathetic whine as she finished the sentence. "I don't know how to act around him. He's so good-looking and confident. Why the heck does he want to eat with me? I'll probably spill something on myself or, oh God, on him!" she said, working herself into a panicked frenzy.

"Chill, girl." Grace handed her a glass of wine. "You'll be just fine and if you're not, just shoot me a text and I'll make the infamous bad date bail-out call to give you an excuse to leave."

"Fine, I'll let you drive, but that means only one glass of wine for you," I said, pouring myself a second glass with a smile.

Two glasses later, I slipped in front of Grace into the passenger seat of my RS7.

"Just take it easy," I said as Bridget adjusted the driver's seat.

I had to admit the early birthday present I'd bought the month before looked like a midlife crisis, although I was still way too young for that. At the time, I just needed something new and exciting, so when the sensible sedan I'd been driving for half a decade was paid off, I finally gave in to the constant requests from the dealer I'd bought it from to come check out the newer models. I'd intended to get the new version of my old car, but when I walked into the show room, I fell in love for the first time, and with a redhead, no less.

Seeing Bridget's excitement as she navigated the streets of Chicago was well worth the stress of letting someone else handle what was easily my most prized and most expensive possession. The prior distinction actually belonged to the sterling silver necklace, which had hung around my neck for the last fourteen years. It was an eighteenth birthday gift from my mom. The last of my birthdays she was around to help me celebrate. My heart squeezed tight at the thought of her.

"Is it too late to change my mind?" Bridget whined, putting the car in park in a garage across the street from the exclusive boutique Grace made an appointment at. "That drive was much longer in my head."

"Sorry, Bridge, a deal's a deal." Grace laughed as she slid out of the backseat.

"How fast have you driven this thing anyway?" Bridget closed the door. "I bet my little old car tops out at around eighty."

"Ha, we all know that's by choice. Thanks to Lydia you have more money than any of us did at your age. You just refuse to spend any of it." I took her hand and practically dragged her through the garage to the elevator.

Although I teased her, I admired Bridget's frugal nature and wished mine was better developed. Thanks to my investment in Homewrecker Incorporated and Lydia's talent for day trading, I'd done rather well financially and had quite a lovely nest egg. With a cheaper apartment, a few less pairs of designer shoes and a less sexy car parked downstairs, I probably would have been able to afford my vineyard in Tuscany a lot sooner.

I was reminded of the trip that sparked my dream as we waited for the crosswalk signal to change. The time in Tuscany with my mom had been one of the best of my life. Dad had gone to Italy on business for several weeks, and one day Mom decided she missed him too much. It was completely spontaneous, and while Dad pretended to be furious about Jessica and me missing school, we all knew he was thrilled to have us there. At least that's what we believed at the time.

❖

Several hours and an obscene amount of money later, Grace opened the door to our apartment. True to form, Bridget made a beeline across the open living and dining room space to the glass wall overlooking both the lake and part of the city skyline.

"The only thing I can see from my living room window is my neighbor's blinds," Bridget said wistfully.

"As I said before, your choice, Bridge."

"Not entirely. Neither of you could afford these digs on your own," Bridget replied with a hand on her hip.

"You could always room with Lydia," I suggested, only half serious.

"Yeah right, I can't keep up with her," Bridget responded. She was right. Lydia was a partier and often
entertained
late at night. Living with her would be complicated for Bridget, to say the least.

"Okay, come on, Bridge. Let's see you in your dress again." I clapped my hands like a giddy teenager.

She'd already had her hair and makeup done during our excursion. Both the hairdresser and makeup artist had done exquisite jobs making her look well put together, but in an understated, natural way that was in-line with who she really was.

While Grace helped Bridget shimmy into the emerald green dress, which really set off the color in her eyes, I made my way to the kitchen. With an open bottle of my favorite Cabernet and three glasses, I stopped by my room to grab a pair of heels I'd had in mind when we bought the dress. One glance and I was certain they complimented it as well as I'd imagined.

Returning to Grace's room, I found Bridget already changed. She somehow managed to look absolutely stunning while simultaneously appearing uncomfortable for a beautiful woman wearing a designer dress. So much so I almost regretted roping her into it, but it was for her own good.

She was so lonely; we all knew it. If we didn't give her little pushes now and then, she would likely stay that way forever. It wasn't that I wanted to change her. I loved that girl, and I'd be damned if I let any man near her who wouldn't love her for who she was. That didn't mean we didn't need to bait the hook a little. If there was anything I knew, it was how to get a man's attention. Of course, she'd already managed to capture Mr. Slade all on her own, despite her best attempts to hide her beauty with baggy clothes and messy buns. A little bit of fun with a sexy and successful man like Josh Slade would do wonders for her confidence. Who knew, maybe it would turn into a relationship. Since I'd had zero desire to keep the men I attracted around beyond the scope of my jobs, that wasn't really an area I could help her with. I wondered what Grey was doing for the evening. I hadn't heard from him since he'd sent me the good luck message the day before.

After a heavy-handed pour I handed Bridget a glass, knowing the wine would help her loosen up and adjust to her foreign attire and the idea of going on an actual date more quickly. With the second glass in her hand, Grace herded Bridget into the bathroom to take a look at the full effect for the first time.

"Wow, I look really good." She covered her mouth as if she was embarrassed by paying herself a well-deserved compliment.

"You look amazing, Bridge. Mr. Slade won't know what hit him," I said. Something was familiar about that name, but I couldn't quite place it. The buzzer sounded on our intercom.

"Your car is here," Grace said after answering.

"Just relax and be yourself. He already likes you. Now you just need to figure out if you like him. That's all this is." I helped her slip on a light shrug. "If you decide you don't or you need an out, just text one of us and we'll get you out of there, okay?"

She nodded and reached for the door. "Thanks, for everything," she said softly before taking off on what was probably the scariest adventure she'd had in a long while.

She'd hacked into sophisticated corporate networks, even a few government databases, but that was all done behind the safety and anonymity of a computer screen. If our business taught us anything, men were far more dangerous than computer viruses and firewalls.

❖

"How long do you give it before she calls?" Grace asked as soon as Bridget was gone.

"I don't know. She might make it through the night. You should see this guy; he's pretty hot."

"Aw, our little baby is growin' up." She utilized her Southern accent to the fullest. We both had a good chuckle.

"Maybe we should have had
the talk
with her before she left," I said, turning our chuckling into a full-blown fit of giggles.

"Oh. My. God. I can't. Breathe!" Grace choked out.

My phone vibrated on the counter.

"Shit, it's Patty," I said, trying to stifle my laughter to take the call. "Hey, Patty. What's up?" I asked before putting the phone on speaker.

"I'm sending over a file from the investigator right now," she replied. "Check your e-mail. Mr. Michaels had a very busy day."

I opened the file on my laptop. It contained several pictures, which were taking their time downloading.

"Okay, they're coming through now," I said as Grace huddled in next to me for a better view.

"It's the woman from the other photos," Grace observed.

"Yeah, they met at La Cara for lunch, but it was cut short," Patty said through the speaker. "According to Bobby, she seemed pissed. Tried to touch his arm before he yanked it away. Then she showed him something, and he threw some money down on the table and stormed out. She looked pretty upset. If I had to put money on it, based on the pictures and what Bobby witnessed, I'd say it looked more like a breakup than some paparazzi setup."

"That's great for us," Grace chimed in. "Maybe he was clearing the way before his time with Claudia at the gala Saturday night."

"Here's hoping," I said, trying to sound pleased, although the knot in my stomach told another story. Going into the job, there was a chance Gregory wasn't a cheater, and I wouldn't have to go as far as sleeping with him to get Elsa the answers she needed. If Grace was right, that chance was growing slimmer by the day.

"Yes, I'd say it's excellent for us," Patty added. "If he was already cheating with that woman, Claudia shouldn't have any trouble getting him to do the deed on camera."

If Patty only knew how misplaced her confidence was.

"Where's Gregory now?" I asked.

"Bobby had just followed him to his house when we spoke. He went back to the office after his little date with the mystery woman. But get this, on his way home he stopped at a florist and came out with one hell of a bouquet, presumably for Elsa." Salving his guilt most likely.

"He's covering his tracks," Grace added.

"Looks that way. I'll be in touch if I hear anything more from Bobby. Good luck on your first day at the new job, Claudia."

"Thanks, Patty. We'll talk to you soon."

"I have to admit a part of me was kind of hoping Gregory Michaels would prove us wrong." Grace studied the photos Patty sent more closely. "You can hardly blame him, though. This chick really is something. I'd kill to have the whole "sexy no matter what I'm doing vibe". Kind of like what you have going on girl." She smacked me on the ass while I poured another glass of wine.

"You're plenty sexy, woman. You certainly don't have any trouble putting asses in the seats, and I'd kill for that whole exotic vibe you've got going on, so quit it with that shit."

"You ever think about what you're going to do when we're done with all this shit? I know you want the whole Tuscany thing, but what about the rest, what about an actual relationship? You've always had a pretty healthy appetite, you know, sexually, but I can't remember you being with a guy who wasn't a job since we started this."

She was right. I hadn't slept with a man who wasn't a mark since college. We'd stayed busy enough with clients that the itch was scratched often enough for me to get by. She and Lydia didn't follow the same line of thinking, but the men Grace saw were few and far between simply because of the nature of our business, and Lydia's never lasted more than a night or two. What we did for a living wasn't exactly something that could be shared with a boyfriend lying in bed at night. Telling a man, "Oh hey, I sleep with other guys for work every once in a while," probably wasn't a good way to move a relationship forward.