Homewrecker Incorporated (16 page)

"No, I haven't really thought about it, but I'm sure I'll figure something out, for the sex at least. I don't see any need to change the rest."

"After all this time, you still don't want anything more? Don't you worry about being lonely?"

"I've got you and Lydia and Bridget. Who needs a man with all you crazy bitches to keep me company?" I nudged her shoulder. Her expression was a little sad, but the emotion disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

The truth: I wasn't sure about anything anymore. I was trying to be discreet, but I'd looked at my phone about thirty times since Patty called. I still hadn't heard a peep from Grey.

"Hey, I've been meaning to tell you," Grace said, catching me looking yet again. "I got a couple of weird calls today."

"Weird how?"

"The first was on my regular cell--a guy. He just asked if I was Grace Dawson and then hung up as soon as I said yes. The second was on my burner, and whoever it was didn't say anything, just sat there for a second then hung up. Both were blocked."

"That is weird. You should have Bridget look into it and see what she can dig up."

"I'll shoot her a message tomorrow. Maybe she can get to it on her lunch break or something."

"It would probably be a good idea to swap out your burner, too. Lydia could do that for you first thing tomorrow, and then you can just leave the other one with Bridget."

"Can I just say how damn excited I am for this event Saturday?" Grace said, changing the subject.

She tugged on her earlobe, something she always did when she was upset. The calls were bothering her more than she was letting on. It bothered me, too. No one but us girls, Patty, and the people we'd given them to for the Michaels job had the numbers for our burners.

"Yeah, me, too." I tried to match her enthusiasm, but I was more worried than excited.

There was a chance Grey would be there. It would make sense, considering Elsa's foundation was running the event and G&G Components was one of its sponsors.

I could text him and ask if he would be back in town by then, but what if he took the contact as a sign of hope? The last thing I wanted to do was lead him on. Elsa's case was my priority. It had to be. Still, I wasn't entirely confident in my ability to stay away from Greyston Michaels. As much as I hated to admit it, he had an effect on me I seemed to have no control over. I was attempting to hold out hope my one night with him had its intended effect and when I did see him again, the attraction would be less potent--manageable. With another glance at my phone and thoughts of my one night with Grey heavy on my mind, it was hard to imagine anything could make me want him less.

❖

Patty had given Bobby, the investigator, and his partner Jason, who was assigned to follow Grey, all of our numbers to make things easier. She did have other clients and
homewreckers
to juggle after all.

Jason checked in with Grace about an hour after Patty called with nothing of interest as far as the job was concerned to report. Grey was still out of town. Bobby called shortly after.

"I followed my guy and that pretty wife of his to his parents' place. The other brother, the youngest, came by late with a tall blonde," Bobby said through the phone.

"Did you get any pictures?" I asked while Grace gave me a confused look. "The mystery woman is blonde, could be her," I lied. I was confident who it was, but I wanted to be sure. More than that, I wanted to know what the story was between her and Grey.

"Sure, sending them now," he replied.

The photos confirmed my suspicions. It was Ashley Slade. I found myself wondering again if she was dating Chad. I'd assumed they were a couple at the restaurant, but when I saw the picture of her and Grey, I thought they might just be friends. Still, I didn't know Chad or Ashley. Maybe Chad was the kind of guy who would date his brother's ex, and Ashley was the kind of woman who would date her ex's brother. I was in no position to judge.

After discussing the schedule for the next day, I took the opportunity to at least ensure I would be getting a heads-up before the gala.

"Listen, Bobby, can you tell Jason to text me Saturday if his guy starts heading toward the event we're attending?"

"Sure thing," he replied before ending the call.

Grace was still watching me.

"I just want to be prepared for the dynamic of the evening. It might be tricky trying to navigate the two brothers in the same room, trying to tell them apart."

"I doubt they're going to wear matching tuxes, Claud," Grace said. "Although that would be kind of hot." She giggled.

"I can't say I'd mind getting the two of them alone in the same room," I added, which made her giggle even more. The wine had gone to her head. "We should probably call it a night. Tomorrow's a big day. First day at the new job, and it's not looking as if Bridget is going to need us tonight," I said, checking the time.

"You're right. If I drink any more wine, I'm going to regret it tomorrow. Good night." Grace put her glass in the sink and headed around the corner to her room.

It was a bad idea, but I couldn't get Grey off my mind.

Me: Hey, you have plans Saturday?

His response was immediate.

Grey: Hey, nothing I can't get out of for you...

Shit. Now what was I supposed to do. He thought I was asking because I wanted to see him. Maybe I did. It might not be so bad if he was at the gala. What the fuck was I thinking? It would be a disaster if I wanted to actually do my job. I can't imagine Gregory would be interested in me if I spent most of the night dry humping his twin in some dark corner. Either way, I needed to know so I could prepare myself.

Me: I actually have plans. Gregory invited me and my friend to the charity gala.

Grey: I heard you got the job. Congrats! 

Me: Thank you! Will you be at the event?

Grey: The whole family will be attending, except Elsa and how could I resist now that I know you're going?

I smiled and then frowned. So I would see him there.

Grey: Don't worry. I'll keep my distance if that's what you still want.

Me: Thank you. I need to get to bed. First day at the new job tomorrow.

Grey: Mmm, now you have me thinking about you in my bed...

Grey: Come over

Me: That's not a good idea

I entertained the idea of going for a solid minute.

Me: It's late & I have to get up early.

Grey: I know, had to try.

Me: Good night

Grey: Good night, beautiful

I wasn't going to need that text from Jason after all. Grey was definitely going to be at the gala. I was so screwed.

Chapter 10 

"Okay, Claudia, that's it. Who are you talking to?" Grace eyed me after I checked my phone for the hundredth time since we'd arrived at the nail salon.

"Just Jessica checking in, again," I said, slipping the phone back into my purse.

"How was it yesterday?" she asked with concern.

I imagined she'd been dying to ask how I was feeling because I'd come home from my annual visit to my mom's grave the night before, but she'd resisted the impulse. Bringing up Jessica, who always went with me, opened the door on the subject.

"It was fine. I don't think it will ever be easy, but I think I handle it a little better every year," I said just as the attendant signaled our chairs were ready.

My burner phone buzzed as we sat down for our pedicures, the screen showing it was Janet. "Hey, Janet!" I said, genuinely happy to hear from her.

Much to my surprise, we'd become fast friends. My first two days working at G&G had been uneventful with Gregory in meetings and Grey out of town until Friday night. Most of my time was spent meeting the rest of the office staff, including a couple of angry women Stacy from accounting warned me about. I was grateful when I finally ran into her again, and we promised to make plans for lunch once I was settled in. Beyond that, the only things I accomplished were filling out my new hire paperwork and helping Janet sift through proposals from interior designers bidding to redecorate the executive floor. Apparently, Gregory hired the daughter of one of G&G's largest vendors for the work as a favor, a decision which resulted in a lot of laughs as Janet took me around the office cracking jokes about the young lady's rather unusual taste.

"Hey, Claudia. Gregory wants to send a car to pick you and Ms. Dawson up for the event this evening. Where should I send it?"

"Oh." Covering the mouthpiece of the phone with my hand I turned to Grace. "Gregory wants to send us a car tonight. Janet is asking where to pick us up."

"Send her to
your
apartment," Grace whispered.

She was right. We'd have to get ready at the penthouse and head over to the decoy apartment I hadn't set foot in since signing the month-to-month lease. I gave Janet the address for the building, which luckily wasn't far from our actual building, and told her we would meet the driver downstairs at six.

"Have fun tonight!" Janet said before hanging up.

"Getting ready and getting over there on time is going to be a pain in the ass," I said, rifling through the pile of magazines on the table next to me.

"It's not a big deal. We'll just have to drive over to the other place a bit earlier," Grace replied, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. I wished I was feeling so relaxed.

"It'll have to be a cab. I didn't request a parking space when I leased the other place."

"Fine, we'll take a cab. Crisis averted," she replied with a gasp. Smart-ass.

She was right, but I was so anxious about seeing Grey later that night every little thing was getting to me.

I sat back in the large chair, trying to relax as the technician massaged my calves and feet.

After our mani-pedis we stopped for a light lunch in one of my favorite cafés before we found ourselves seated in yet another salon, this time for hair and makeup. I wore mine partially up with the back hanging down in smooth waves thanks to a set of oversized hot curlers.

Grace opted for a Brazilian blow out and a sleek, flowing style.

"I still haven't heard a peep from Bridget about her date the other night," I said as I held up the small mirror the stylist gave me to inspect the back of my hair before I moved on to the makeup artist's chair. "I saw her for only a second in the office when Janet was giving me a tour Thursday."

"I haven't talked to her either," Grace said, checking her phone. "That means it either went really well..."

"Or so bad she's too embarrassed to tell us," I said, finishing Grace's thought.

"I hope it's the former."

"Maybe we should call her on our way home to get changed," I suggested, feeling guilty for forgetting about what was a pretty big milestone in my friend's life.

"It's probably better if we let her be. She'll talk to us when she's ready," Grace responded. Sometimes Bridget took a little while to open up, even with us.

We walked out of the salon at four thirty, which gave us just over an hour to get home to change and catch a cab over to my fake apartment early enough to avoid having the driver see us go in. My nerves were working overtime. The charity gala was by far the largest and most exclusive event I'd ever attended. To top it off, there was a lot of pressure for things to go well with Gregory Michaels. Now that Patty and Grace were more convinced he'd been screwing around on Elsa, they pushed for me to turn up the heat, so to speak. Getting and keeping his attention while remaining appropriately discreet was going to be tricky in a crowd like that. Especially with Grey around to distract me.

❖

"Grace, can I just say again how absolutely stunning you look?" I said as my best friend stepped out of the town car wearing a long ivory gown with a deep neckline that plunged nearly to her navel, a look I couldn't ever pull off with my large C-cups.

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied as I twirled on the sidewalk in my strapless red dress with a neckline that revealed just the right amount of cleavage. The hem fell just above my knees and it was adorned with intricate silver beading across the waist. The ensemble was completed by a pair of silver strappy heels and a clutch I'd bought for the occasion.