Homewrecker Incorporated (8 page)

"I've tapped into all the cameras on G&G's premises, so we can at least see who's coming and going. They cover the main entrance inside and out, the entire lobby, the elevators and the hallways on each floor." Bridget pulled up the camera feeds on her laptop. She'd slipped away for lunch only, so she would have to head back to G&G shortly.

I leaned forward to get a better view, secretly wishing for a glimpse of Greyston. Grey. God, I loved his name.

"Gregory would have to be an idiot to do anything obvious there anyway," I added.

"So you're on a first name basis already?" Grace elbowed me. "Did you meet him today?"

"Only for a moment in passing. We weren't even introduced. He seemed to have a lot going on at the time, so I couldn't really get a read on him."

That was definitely true; I'd barely even looked at him.

I'd been racking my brain on the ride back about whether or not I should mention anything about Grey, ultimately deciding it would be impossible to hide. Based on that slutty office manager's reaction, the news of Grey's return would be buzzing around the office by the time Bridget returned from lunch.

"I did meet his brother," I said, which didn't get much of a reaction as Bridget and Lydia hovered over the computer engrossed in technical speak about the security at G&G. We all knew the three brothers owned and ran the company. They assumed I meant the younger brother, Chad. "His twin, he's back from Japan."

It took them all a moment to realize what I'd said.

"No fucking way!" Lydia responded. "There are two of that sexy ass man running around in this city as we speak?"

"I thought he wasn't coming back for at least a year?" Grace asked, obviously concerned. "Why would Elsa not mention this?"

"She didn't know." I rubbed the pendant of my necklace nervously between my thumb and forefinger. "It seems his return was a complete surprise to everyone, including his family."

"So exactly how identical are we talking?" Lydia asked. "Say if one had you bent over fucking your brains out and the other tagged in, would you notice the switch?"

I laughed. She was always so fucking crass and I loved her for it.

"I'm not sure. I only saw them for a few seconds." It wasn't a total lie. I really did only see them together briefly, and I didn't exactly get a chance to do a full comparison.

"Shit, this could be a huge problem. If you did manage to get evidence of Gregory Michaels cheating, any decent lawyer will try to argue it could be his brother," Grace said. She was always good at looking at each case from the perspective of our mark's lawyers.

"Guess you're just going to have to say his name!" Lydia swatted my ass as I passed by on my way to the cabinet at the back of my office. I needed a drink.

My stomach tightened as I imagined being bent over the desk in Gregory's office. Unfortunately, it was the wrong twin standing behind me in my fantasy; at least the wrong one for the job. As far as fantasies go, Grey was definitely the right twin.

"You'll need to figure out how to tell them apart. Your testimony will have to be tight, and you'll need to be able to prove you're certain which man is which," Grace said as I poured myself a drink.

"Anyone else want?" I held the bottle up. "You seem pretty hell-bent on believing Gregory Michaels is a cheater, Grace. Aren't you supposed to be the more optimistic one?" I bumped her shoulder.

"I'm just being realistic. I wasn't convinced until she told us about the prenup. He had to know Elsa was getting screwed over in the deal; his lawyers wouldn't keep that from him. If he's capable of that, cheating wouldn't be much of a stretch."

"No drink for me," Bridget replied, her shoulders sagged. "I have to get back to work."

She gave a quick wave and headed out.

Grace and Lydia had no such objections to a lunchtime adult beverage.

Grace's comment about my testimony popped into my mind again. I felt ill as I envisioned myself in a room with the twins and a bunch of lawyers as I played a game of name that twin and recounted my sexual exploits with Gregory. I imagined Grey standing there, his expression full of hurt and disappointment.

Jesus. I'd really gone off the deep end thinking about a guy I barely knew being hurt by me doing my job. He wouldn't be hurt; he would be fucking pissed, for his brother and his company. If I got evidence of cheating and Elsa went through with a divorce, Gregory would have to sell a good chunk of his stock in G&G to pay the infidelity penalty. I found the small part of myself, which had been wishing earlier Gregory would be the first man to prove me wrong, had grown exponentially larger.

"We'll have to put surveillance on both of them." Lydia interrupted my train of thought. "If we can document where the twin is when you get the evidence, it will make our case stronger."

It seemed she was finally getting serious about the work. When she did, she was a force to be reckoned with. That was my moment. I should have confessed right then and there about my attraction to Grey and more importantly, his attraction to me. I could have easily made up some excuse to pass on the assistant's job, but there was no guarantee Lydia could step in and get it. What if Janet ended up giving it to one of the girls internally? It was too much of a risk; I had to stay the course.

"She's right. We'll need to keep tabs on both of their movements," Grace said. "I'll get in touch with Patty to hook us up with a couple of investigators she trusts." While Lydia and Grace were more than qualified to handle the simple tail jobs, we'd decided because we were working locally it would be better to outsource.

"I think we should hold off on the surveillance. At least for a few days until I get back in, actually meet Gregory Michaels officially, and secure the job." Or at least until I'd managed to straighten things out with Grey. Being spotted with him could be hard to explain.

Grace eyed me questioningly. "Why would we wait? For all we know he might actually be fucking that girl from the pictures or any number of other girls. Any evidence of cheating, even if it's not enough to break the infidelity clause, will make our case that much stronger once we do have the evidence we need."

"Except we don't know who took those photos. Someone else has been tailing Gregory Michaels and we don't know why. They don't work for Elsa, so what's the angle?"

"I thought we agreed it was a paparazzi ploy, like Elsa said," Lydia replied.

"I've just been thinking. What if it's not about that? What if it really is about money and they're planning to shake Elsa down. Whoever sent them is probably betting she will pay a lot of money to avoid even the appearance of a scandal." I was grasping at straws.

"Then why haven't they made any attempts to contact her with a price?"

"Maybe they're waiting for a juicier story, something she'd pay more to cover up," Bridget added. I could have kissed her.

"Exactly. The first round of photos were probably just to put Elsa on edge, to make her question Gregory. If they're waiting for more marketable photos, they'll still be watching Gregory and Elsa every chance they get."

It was actually a really good point.

"That's why we need to wait on surveillance. Risking the paparazzi thinking Elsa hired an investigator to follow her husband is like throwing chum out to sharks. There's too much on the line for us to rush into anything and risk feeding some tabloid scandal, which is exactly what Elsa is trying to avoid. Let me get in a room with Gregory and secure the assistant's job, see how he responds to me. Once I'm working with him, I'll be able to watch him closely and figure out what's really going on."

My motivations might have been all wrong, but my ideas were right. The Michaels job was different from any job we'd ever done and not just because of the rules we were breaking. There were other, unpredictable players involved, so we needed to take a different approach with the case. It had nothing to do with Grey. At least that was what I was telling myself. He was just a minor hiccup in our plan. The others, especially Grace, were already stressing out enough. I didn't need to add to it. I could handle Grey.

❖

"Okay, we'll wait until we hear back from you," Grace said, ending her call with Patty. "She's going to call Elsa to discuss the implications of the twin being in town."

"Is she concerned?" I asked.

"She didn't seem as worried as I would have expected. I'm guessing the fact we get paid no matter what has something to do with it. How about you? Are you doing okay? You've seemed off since you got back. Are you having doubts about taking a job at home?"

"I'm fine, just worrying about covering our asses." I smiled. I should have known Grace would be able to tell I was holding something back.

"Listen, Claud." Grace took my hand. I knew she meant business when she called me that. "I know this time of year is hard on you. If you're not up to this, it's not too late to try to get Lydia to interview in your place. Her approach might be different, but we both know she could handle it."

If I hadn't already felt like shit for lying to my partners and friends, I definitely did then. I'd gotten so caught up in what had happened earlier, I'd nearly forgotten about my mom's anniversary, which was coming up. Fourteen years had passed since I lost her.

"I'm fine, Grace, really. The distraction is good for me, you know that."

"Okay, but you let me know if that changes or if you need to talk." She put her arm around my shoulders. "You want to head upstairs and order some takeout?"

I still hadn't eaten lunch, but I found I no longer had much of an appetite. I was too anxious about dinner with Grey.

"Actually, I was thinking about going for a run and then taking a drive down to see Jessica. She's been calling today, and it's been a while since I've seen my niece."

It had been way too long since I'd seen little Izzy and my sister. They also provided an excellent excuse for me to be out for dinner. I almost never went out without Grace or one of the other girls when I was home, so she'd definitely be curious about me leaving. With the drive, I could spend a couple of hours with them and still make it to the restaurant by eight.

It would be a short meal and by the time it was over, Grey would no longer be a problem and everything would be back on track.

Chapter 6 

"Auntie Claudia!" Izzy squealed as she raced toward me across the lawn.

I swore my niece grew cuter every time I saw her. I closed the door of my cherry-red RS7 and I jogged to meet her.

"Hi, pumpkin." I scooped her up into my arms. At five years old she was barely the size of the average four-year-old. "Who's this little guy?" I pointed to the stuffed bunny in her hand.

"Bobby the bunny." She proudly pushed him up to my face to give me a closer look. "Grandpa Robert gave me him."

I fought the frown that pulled the corners of my mouth at the mention of my father. While Jessica respected my wishes to not talk about him, I could hardly expect my niece to understand, so I just smiled.

"Well, what a lovely little bunny he is."

The screen door squeaked and snapped shut as my sister walked out onto the wraparound porch of her classic country ranch. It was exactly what I pictured when I thought of the perfect family home, complete with a picket fence and an inviting porch swing. Around back there was an inground pool and a charming tree house Izzy was too small to climb into by herself. Behind it was a rather extensive playset with three swings, two slides, monkey bars, and rings. The house was fairly modest, considering the money my sister had courtesy of an inheritance from our mother but more so from our father who'd put a sizable amount of money in trust for Jessica after mom died. He'd attempted to do the same for me, but I wouldn't take a penny from that man.

For the most part, Jessica's trust remained untouched because Shawn was adamant about them making it on their own. I really admired that about my sister's husband. The only extravagances he compromised on were for Izzy's benefit.

Jessica walked over to us, her expression worried as she pulled us into a hug.

"I'm so glad to see you, Claudia, but I wish you'd called or at least answered when I did."

The door opened and closed again.

"If I'd known you were coming I would have asked him to leave." She placed her hand on my forearm, her expression apologetic.

My heart sunk.

"Hello, Claudia."