Matchmaker (Empire High Book 4)

by Ivy Smoak

  Tanner pulled out a notebook that I hadn’t seen a minute ago. “Good to know that they’re discreet.” He jotted down the note. “That’s definitely a plus.”

  “Tanner, you let the waiter think that we were dating.”

  “Of course. We need the full couple’s experience. I need to know what it’s like to go on a date here.”

  I sighed.

  He made an overexaggerated sigh to mimic me. “If I recall correctly, you owe me,” he said.

  “For finding dirt on Mr. Pruitt? Because as far as I can tell you have nothing. Besides, you made it seem like you were doing me a favor because we’re best friends.”

  “Best friends? Ha. Wait until Robert hears about this confession.”

  Before I could say anything, Tanner kept talking.

  “And as my best friend, you can also do favors for me. And tonight I need you to pretend to be my gay date so we can figure out if this is a suitable place to send couples from the club.”

  “I don’t understand why these couples aren’t just going on dates at the club.”

  “If you’d attend an event, you’d understand.”

  “I’m not interested in finding true love.”

  “Oh yes, dear,” he said really loudly. “Because you’ve already found it.”

  The waiter appeared next to our table with a tray full of appetizers.

  I forced myself not to roll my eyes. It didn’t hurt me to be his gay date for restaurant scouting purposes. It wasn’t the first time Tanner had asked me to do this and it wouldn’t be the last. And it’s not like he was going to go over the top with the acting and kiss me or something. He was as straight as me. He only ever greeted strangers with mouth kisses if he got super drunk and started talking in a weird accent. Something about his schooling overseas. I think it was a French thing. I knew all this, yet tonight my patience was wearing thin.

  Tanner silently started to taste test the appetizers when the waiter walked away.

  “Are you seriously just going to sit there and eat?” I asked.

  “They’ll get cold.” He pushed the sampling tray closer to me.

  “Tanner, tell me what you found out about Mr. Pruitt. You said it was good. Tell me.”

  He patted a napkin against his lips. “Oh, it’s good. I feel like we need a drumroll.” He looked around like he was expecting a drummer to magically appear for his whim. And when it didn’t happen, he jotted another note down in his notebook. “Well, you won’t believe what I found.”

  Just freaking tell me! “What is it?”

  “It’s so good.”

  “Tanner I swear to God.”

  He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward slightly. “You’re going to laugh so hard.”

  “Wait, what?” I wanted dirt, not to laugh.

  “So get this. I was following him…”

  “Did he see you?” For some reason my heart had started racing. If I got Tanner tangled up in this mess too, I’d never forgive myself.

  “Of course not. I’m as discreet as our waiter. I followed him into this old timey theater that shows classics during the day. And in my humble opinion, Titanic is pushing the whole classics thing since it feels like that barely happened a year ago. But this theater is particularly lenient in their classifications. I think they were even airing…”

  “Tanner, focus.”

  “Right. The theater doesn’t matter. But what happened at that theater?” He shook his head with a laugh. “I saw the unthinkable. I mean, I’d been trailing the guy all day. He’s a little rough around the edges. But as he watched Leonardo DiCaprio let go of that wooden door? He started bawling.”

  I blinked. “That’s the dirt you dug up? That he cried during the Titanic movie?”

  “Like a baby. Buckets of tears.” He waved his hands in front of his eyes to show me like I didn’t understand.

  “Yeah, I got you. But how does that help me out of this mess?”

  “It doesn’t. But it’s hilarious. Come on. Picture Richard in his crisp little suit all stoic watching a romantic movie. And then crying at the end when everyone I’ve ever known is sensible enough not to go on a floating death ship. The propaganda around that boat. I don’t know why anyone bought into it. I still don’t trust cruise ships.” He shook his head. “Regardless, Richard was clearly embarrassed about the whole ordeal. And I got a firsthand witness of the events.”

  “How the hell am I going to use Mr. Pruitt crying during the Titanic against him?”

  “Well, I’m sure he’s embarrassed, or else he wouldn’t have been all alone in the middle of the day in a theater so far away from his apartment.”

  “Tanner, I have a freaking woman following me everywhere. And Poppy threatened Scarlett. I need leverage. Or answers. Not…whatever that is.”

  “You have to admit it’s funny.” He popped an appetizer into his mouth. “Almost as funny as this poor excuse for foie gras.” He started writing in his notebook again. “Titanic.” He laughed to himself. “You should have seen it.”

  I tried to picture Mr. Pruitt crying during a movie. And I…couldn’t. Mr. Pruitt was heartless.

  “Buckets,” Tanner said with a giggle.

  And I couldn’t help it. I started laughing too. Not just at the thought of him crying over a romantic movie. But also just over the whole situation. Should I really be so worried about Mr. Pruitt? He’d had years to do something to me and he hadn’t. Why was I still scared of him? The man cried over Titanic for God’s sake.

  “See,” Tanner said. “Hilarious. Now I have an important question for you. What do you think this restaurant’s nudity policy is?” He looked around like he thought a streaker was about to run by.

  What? “I’m assuming they don’t allow it. It’s a restaurant.”

  “That’s a darn shame.”

  “Tanner, is that really it?” I asked, hoping to steer the conversation back to whatever he found out about Mr. Pruitt.

  He looked down at his notebook. “Well, I have a few more questions, but the nudity thing really is a bummer. The food is really going to have to make up for that deficit.”

  “I’m not talking about the restaurant’s nudity policies. I’m talking about Mr. Pruitt. Is that really all you found? There has to be something else.”

  “Oh. Well, yes. But the rest isn’t quite as funny though. I think it’s more of an after-dessert kind of discussion, if you know what I mean.”

  “If you don’t tell me right now I’m going to leave before we even eat.”

  Tanner sighed. “As you wish. But I did warn you. This might ruin your appetite altogether. “He pulled out a few pictures from his notebook. “Before Richard went to the theater, he had some sketchy meeting. I couldn’t get inside the old warehouse to see what was going on. But I did see one of the men that came out afterward.” He poked the top image.

  I stared at the image of a guy with a deep scar under one of his green eyes.

  “I did some digging. His name is Isaac Russo. He’s a known hitman. Richard recently paid Isaac a large sum and there was another equal amount that popped up.” He moved the picture of Isaac to the side to show another intimidating hitman. “This is Isaac’s brother, Antonio. He’s been in and out of prison over the last two decades but no verdict ever sticks if you know what I mean. I’m pretty sure he’s killed at least eight people. I think Richard hired him too.”

  My heart was racing. But this was good news, right? Bad news for whoever the hit was against. But good news for me. The person trailing me was a woman. “Well at least Scarlett isn’t really in danger. Or me. Maybe we can use that money trail to pin a few murders on Mr. Pruitt?”

  “Yeah, maybe. Although, I got all this information illegally, so probably not. And I wouldn’t say you and Scarlett are in the clear yet. The Russo brothers are good at what they do. But not great. Or else Antonio never would have even stepped foot in a prison. The real problem is that there’s one more hire. The worst hitman of all. Or should I say hitwoman. You
know…because she’s a woman.”

  I swallowed hard. “Where’s the picture of her?” I pushed the picture of Antonio to the side but there was no other printout.

  “No known images of her I’m afraid. But she was paid recently too. So she’s definitely going through with a hit soon. And I’m assuming she’s really good because Richard dropped double the amount on her.”

  “The woman that’s following me? Do you think that could be her?”

  “All I know is that she’s a woman. And she’s good at her job. That’s probably why I couldn’t find a picture.”

  Shit. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this last night? I could have been killed.”

  “Richard’s been pretty insistent that he wants to speak with you. I doubt he’ll go through with your hit before you’ve given him the last word.”

  Maybe that was true. But that had nothing to do with Scarlett. “I have to go.”

  “We haven’t even gotten to the main. I heard the lobster really is quite lovely. I still can’t believe I wasted so many years of my life not eating lobster.” He shook his head.

  I didn’t have time for Tanner to tell me for the tenth time that lobster had only recently become a delicacy and that he was making up for lost time by eating loads of it. He never made any sense. My parents had served lobster for years. It hadn’t just recently become a delicacy. “I need to tell James everything.” I stood up and pulled on my coat.

  “It’s about time you told him you’re still upset about what happened with Brooklyn. I’m surprised it’s taken you this long. I really think harboring all these feelings of resentment and bitterness aren’t doing you any favors.”

  “Not that. I’m talking about Poppy’s threat regarding Scarlett. I should have told him right after it happened. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “Oh, yeah. You should really get on that. Let’s just finish up here…”

  This was a little more important than a fake date night. “I’m sorry Tanner, but I have to go. We’ll do dinner another night.” I was already hurrying out of the restaurant before he could respond.

  The valet looked up at me.

  “I’m in a hurry,” I said.

  “Bad date?” he asked as he looked for my keys.

  Something like that. Why was he taking forever? I could see my keys from here. “Top right, one row down.”

  “Ah, here we are. Let me just go…”

  I grabbed the keys from his hand. “I can get it.” I pressed the button and heard a beep somewhere to the left. I took off running. It didn’t take me long to find my car and hop in. I started the engine, pulled out onto the street, and almost ran right into a pedestrian.

  My foot slammed onto the brakes just before my car collided with…Tanner? Where the hell had he even come from so quickly? Had he jilted the waiter with the check instead of me?

  Tanner patted the front of the car and shook his head. He ran his fingers down the front of his peacoat and straightened the to-go containers in his hands that somehow hadn’t ended up on my windshield.

  He walked around and opened the passenger’s side door. “Mechanical beasts,” he huffed. “I got our food to-go. Very fast service.”

  Crazy fast. Our main courses hadn’t even arrived at the table yet. But I guess maybe that had saved them time.

  “We can warm it up after we go air out all our dirty laundry with James. If he’s well behaved I’ll let him eat some of your lobster.”

  “I’m not talking to him about Brooklyn.”

  “We’ll just see how the night progresses.”

  “You don’t need to come,” I said.

  “I’m already committed to this.” Tanner pulled on his seat belt. “What are you waiting for? Gun it.”

  Chapter 21

  Monday

  As each minute ticked by, I started to panic more and more. What if I was too late? What if something had happened to Scarlett? Why the fuck had I taken so long to tell James about Poppy’s visit?

  “It’s going to be fine,” Tanner said as the elevator doors closed. “I’m pretty sure you would have heard if Scarlett had been abducted by one of Richard’s crazed relatives.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly be the first person James called if something went wrong.”

  Tanner frowned. “Of course you would be. You’ve been friends for forever.”

  Fine. If I was in trouble I wouldn’t go to James first. Which is how I wound up not telling him this very important information for a week. What was wrong with me? First I’d been flirting with his wife. Now I was trying to get his children offed? And how long did this elevator take to get to the top floor? I hit the button again.

  “This is exactly why I think it would be good for you to talk to James about Brooklyn. Secrets have a way of festering until they tear one apart.”

  I didn’t need pretend-psychologist Tanner right now. He was making me feel worse not better. “I should have told him right after Poppy stopped by my office.”

  “You really should have.”

  “You’re not helping!”

  “Hm. Maybe you’ll be singing a different tune when James tries to kill you and I make sure that doesn’t happen. You’re welcome.”

  I winced. “He’s going to try to kill me, isn’t he?”

  Tanner shrugged.

  The doors dinged open on James and Penny’s floor. I ran over to their door and banged on it with my fist. Again and again until it opened. But no one was there. A chill ran down my spine. Why the hell was their door just open like that? Fuck, I was too late.

  “Hi, Uncle Matt! Hi, Mr. Tanner.”

  I looked down and saw Scarlett smiling up at us. Oh thank God. “Kiddo, you’re not supposed to answer the door. How many times do your parents have to tell you that?” What if I’d been Poppy? Or my stalker? Or Mr. Pruitt himself? Scarlett could have easily been snatched. Or worse.

  She pressed her lips together. “Maybe they need to tell me one more time.” She smiled but the corners of her lips instantly fell when I didn’t smile back. “Please don’t tell them, Uncle Matt. I didn’t mean to do it. But you knocked. So I answered the door.”

  How was that not meaning to do it? “Where are your parents?”

  “Mommy’s putting Liam to bed and Daddy’s in his office.”

  I sighed and ran my hand down my face. Scarlett was okay. That was the important thing. But she was going to give me a heart attack at this rate.

  “Am I in trouble?” she asked.

  “Nonsense, why would you be?” Tanner said.

  I glared at him. We weren’t playing good cop, bad cop here. And even if we were, I didn’t want to be the bad cop. “You’re a little in trouble.”

  “I am?” She blinked up at me.

  “That depends.” I crouched down to look her in the eyes. “Do you promise not to answer the door again?”

  “Yes?”

  “Scarlett, you’re going to have to sound a little more affirmative than that.”

  “But I don’t know what affima…formitative…I don’t know what that word means.”

  “Say it with conviction,” Tanner said.

  She shook her head, not knowing what that word meant either.

  “Kiddo, I just need you to promise me. For real this time. Promise me you won’t answer the door by yourself ever again.”

  She looked down at her socks. “Okay. I’m sorry.” She sounded like she was going to cry. “I didn’t mean to, Uncle Matt. It was an accident.”

  She was such a dirty little liar. But I hated when she was upset. I put my arms out. “It’s alright.”

  She ran into my arms and hugged me. I stood, lifting her up with me. “Where did you say your dad was?”

  “In his office.” She pointed toward the hall as if I’d never been here before.

  The three of us walked to James’ office. I knocked on the door before opening it. “Hey.”

  “Matt. What are you…oh, hi, Tanner. What are you guys doing here?”


  James usually only wore his glasses when he wasn’t getting enough sleep. He looked tired and stressed. He looked how I felt. And clearly Tanner was wrong about my friendship with James. Because something was clearly wrong and he hadn’t come to me for help.

  “I need to talk to you,” I said.

  James nodded and then his eyes fell to Scarlett in my arms. “Scarlett, you’re supposed to be in bed. What are you doing down here?”

  “I got thirsty.”

  “Give me one second,” he said to me and lifted Scarlett out of my arms. “Pumpkin, it’s called bedtime for a reason.”

  “I don’t know what bedtime means,” she said.

  He laughed. “Yes you do.” He disappeared down the hall.

  Tanner stepped into James’ office and started wandering around. He stopped at a picture of Mason, Rob, James, and me while we were at Harvard together. He picked it up and laughed. “That haircut is no good.”

  “That surfer shaggy kind of style was in.”

  He looked over at me. “But you’re not a surfer. Have you ever even been out on a wave?”

  I hadn’t. And I was pretty sure he knew that.

  He put the framed picture back down. “I’ve been through many a bad haircut as well. You wouldn’t believe how frequently popular haircuts come and go. It’s impossible to keep up with the times.”

  Okay. I was pretty sure Tanner hadn’t changed his hairstyle once since I’d known him. Unless you counted the fake sightings Rob had of Tanner prancing around the city in fluorescent suits and a man bun. There was no way his hair was long enough for a man bun. I think. I shook my head.

  “Scarlett opened the door for you guys, didn’t she?” James asked as he came back into the room.

  I didn’t want to betray Scarlett’s confidence. But her safety was more important. “Yeah, she did.”

  James sighed. “She’s as impossible as she is adorable.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “So what’s going on? I’m assuming the two of you didn’t just stop by to get Scarlett in trouble?”

  “She said it was an accident,” Tanner said.

  James laughed. “How was it an accident that she opened the door?”