by Marie Astor
Laskin smiled. “I guess you were right. The invitations should be arriving next week. It would mean a lot to both of us if you could come,” said Laskin.
“Of course we’ll come,” Janet assured him. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Well, we’ll get out of your hair now, Peter,” said Dennis, rising from his chair.
“Goodbye, Peter. Thanks for everything. Congratulations again,” Janet added.
“Good luck on that investigation of yours.” Laskin shut the door behind them.
As Janet followed Dennis out into the hall, she couldn’t help noticing that Dennis’s back was unusually tense.
“Why were you acting all weird in there?” Janet asked once they were outside.
“Weird? How was I weird?”
“You didn’t even congratulate Peter.”
“Sure I did.”
“No, you didn’t. I was there.”
“I just think he’s jumping the gun, that’s all. They haven’t even been dating a year. How can he be sure that it will work out?”
“I guess he just knows that it will. Maybe he feels it in his heart.”
“I sure hope he’s right.”
Janet said nothing. Dennis had his reasons to be cautious on the subject of marriage. A broken engagement entitled a man to a certain degree of wariness, but did it mean that he was going to have perpetual cold feet?
Dennis took her hand. “I didn’t mean to be so short. Aileen and Laskin make a great couple. I’m just worried about the case, that’s all.”
“Yeah, me too. I thought Laskin was going to come through for us.”
“Well, I guess that makes you our only hope,” said Dennis.
“Does that bother you?”
“Bother me? Why would it bother me?”
“I just don’t want you to think that you’re on the sidelines. This is our case, Dennis. I can’t do it without your support.”
“I know. I’m always here for you, you know that.”
“Like you were last night.”
“I said I was sorry. I overreacted. It won’t happen again.”
“I don’t want this to come between us.” Janet looked up at him. “You are much more important to me than getting a case lead. Libby and Kovar can both go to hell as far as I’m concerned.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I would never hold you back, you know that. I’m sorry for being such a jerk. I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
“Thanks. That’s what I needed to hear.”
“You know it’s true. Hey, how about I meet you after work tonight? Walk you home, give you a foot massage, rub your shoulders. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get to do a few more things besides me tucking you in bed.”
“I like the sound of that. Do you think it’s safe for you to meet me at work?”
“I’ll meet you on the side street by the south corner of the building. I’ll make sure no one sees me.”
“All right, it’s a date. I have a shorter shift today, so I’ll be off at ten p.m. See you then.”
***
Janet checked her watch; it was finally ten p.m. Her shift was over. She had been running between tables like a chicken without a head all night. Mila was pushing more clients her way to bump up her tips; this night Janet had made another six hundred dollars in tips. Mila would be glad. Janet rushed downstairs to change. A few minutes ago she was on the brink of collapse, but now she felt a surge of energy. In a few moments she would see Dennis, and the entire night, or what was left of it, would belong to them. No more Panther, Mila or the Kovar brothers; well, at least not for another day. Janet was off tomorrow.
Janet shrugged out of her dress and slipped into her jeans and top. For a moment she regretted that she hadn’t chosen fancier attire, but then she suspected that Dennis’s plans for the evening would not involve her wearing clothes.
“Hey there, Janet!” Mila appeared in the doorway just as Janet was about to go up the stairs. “Did you have a good night?”
“A great night. Here’s your share.” Janet handed Mila the money.
“Thanks. I was beginning to worry you were going to ditch me.” Mila started counting the money.
“Friends don’t do things like that.”
Mila looked up sharply, and Janet worried that she might have overdone it. “That’s right. Friends look out for each other. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
Janet climbed the stairs two at a time. Just a few paces away Dennis was waiting for her; in a few moments she’d be in his arms. She was about to reach for the front door when Roman intercepted her. “Leaving early?” he asked, eyeing her with a proprietary air.
“My shift is up,” Janet replied in a clipped tone. She found that the best way to deal with Roman was to ignore his advances.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Roman moved in a little too close for her liking, swinging open the door with exaggerated gallantry.
“I’m off tomorrow,” said Janet, looking straight ahead. “Good night.” She walked out, her back straight, sensing Roman’s lustful gaze devour her. Just like an animal, Roman smelled fear, and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
A male silhouette moved swiftly towards her. “Who was that?”
“Dennis, what are you doing here?” Janet hissed.
“We had a date, remember?”
“I remember, but you were supposed to meet me around the corner.”
“Yes, well, you were late, and I got worried.”
“Come on! Let’s get out of here before anyone sees you.”
But they weren’t quick enough; the front door opened and Mila sauntered outside, a cigarette propped between her long fingers. “Hey there, Janet.” Mila lit her cigarette, eyeing Dennis curiously. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Dennis, my—”
“Cousin,” Dennis cut in. “I’m Janet’s cousin, visiting from out of town. Just got in tonight.”
“Oh,” Mila exhaled a trail of smoke. “Where are you from, Dennis?”
“Chicago, Illinois.”
“I hear it’s a beautiful city.”
“Well, if you’re ever in my neck of the woods, ring me up. I’d love to give you a tour.”
Janet threw a sharp glance at Dennis. She guessed what he was trying to do, but her work dedication only went so far. She had already sacrificed her sleep and dignity; she wasn’t going to sacrifice her man.
“Why, thank you. What is it you do, Dennis from Chicago, Illinois?” Mila purred in her faintly accented diction.
“I’m a private investigator.”
“Oh?” Mila’s eyebrows lifted. “That must be so exciting.”
“Not really. I spend most of my time behind the desk, but now and then I get some action.”
“You don’t say. Well, Dennis, how about I give you a tour of New York?” Mila asked in a sultry voice. “How does tomorrow work for you?”
Janet could scarcely believe her ears. This was going too far. “This isn’t Dennis’s first time in New York,” she snapped. “Besides, tomorrow’s Grandma’s birthday.”
“Unless you have plans of course,” said Mila.
“I’ve got the whole afternoon free,” Dennis assured her. “You don’t mind, Cousin Janet, do you? I promise to be on time for Grandma’s party.”
“No, of course not, Cousin Dennis. Just please don’t be late for Grandma’s party; remember, it starts at six p.m. sharp. You were always Grandma’s favorite, so please don’t disappoint her.”
“I promise to have him back on time,” Mila purred. “Here’s my number.” She slipped a piece of paper in Dennis’s front shirt pocket, her hand lingering over his pecs. Just when she had the time to scribble it, Janet had no idea, but then women like Mila probably had their phone numbers ready to be handed out to strangers at a moment’s notice.
“Until tomorrow, Dennis from Chicago,” said Mila, s
waying her hips as she disappeared behind Panther’s door.
“What the hell was that?” Janet exploded once they were several blocks away from Panther.
“What? It’s an undercover opportunity. By the way, thanks for giving away my real name.”
“Well, excuse me! I didn’t think you were going to take her number.”
“Oh, and that nonsense about Grandma’s party was priceless! Where did you come up with that one? Are you trying to put me on a curfew or something?”
“I improvised; I thought I was doing you a favor by giving you an excuse to bail out. I wasn’t prepared for this situation. We never discussed this.”
“We never discussed you getting a job at Panther either, but you did it, and you don’t hear me complaining.”
“You complain plenty. Is this what it is? Is this your way of getting back at me or something?”
“Janet!” Dennis grabbed her shoulders. “You know that’s not true. The opportunity presented itself, and I went for it. I didn’t think you’d be this upset. You know that me going out with Mila doesn’t mean anything, don’t you? The only thing I’m after is information, and let’s face it, right now we could really use an inside scoop.”
Janet remained silent. She wanted to think that it meant nothing, but it still hurt to think of Dennis and Mila going on a date, even if it was a pretend date. There was no denying that they were behind on their assignment and needed information desperately, but she supposed she just wasn’t big enough to put her personal feelings aside.
“If it upsets you so much, I won’t call her. I’ll throw away her number right now, look!” Dennis crumbled the piece of paper Mila had given him, about to throw it onto the curb.
“Stop it! You know you want to do it, and I won’t stand in your way. You love being in the limelight.”
“That’s not fair. I only went along with it because I think we can get the information we need quicker this way. Time is ticking, and we’ve got to get some leads on Libby. Wouldn’t it be great if we could also find Muller’s money as a bonus?”
“So you don’t think I can do it on my own?”
“I never said that. Two heads think better than one, right? Why can’t I help?”
“Because—”
“Are you jealous? Do you actually think I like her?”
“She’s gorgeous. How can I not be jealous?”
“For crying out loud, the girl is a walking cliché!” Dennis’s voice softened, “Janet, honey, you know that there’s no one else for me but you.”
Before Janet could say another word, Dennis drew her toward him, locking her lips in a long, passionate kiss. Enveloped in his warmth and masculinity, she felt reassured. Dennis was home, and it would take more than a flirtatious restaurant hostess to threaten what they had together.
Chapter 9
Janet stared at her desk. Even though Ham had approved her working from home for the next two weeks, she found it impossible to sit around her apartment, knowing that this very moment Dennis, her Dennis, was out with Mila Brabec. The thought of Mila using her cheap charms on Dennis literally made Janet sick. Sure, she trusted Dennis, but that didn’t make her feel any better about the knowledge of that tart Mila being around her man. Janet had no choice but to curb her resentment, for tomorrow she’d be back at Panther, and she’d have to be as pleasant to Mila as ever. She would probably even have to listen to Mila’s account of her date with Dennis with an interested smile on her face and tell her how happy she was that the two of them hit it off; for if she knew Dennis at all, Janet was sure that he would find a way to hit it off with Mila. Of course it wouldn’t be real. He would only be feigning attraction to Mila to solve the case; that’s what Dennis had told her, and Janet was determined to believe him. She did believe him.
Last night was all the convincing she needed: the way his arms held her tight, his fingers caressing her points of sensitivity he knew so well, the way he moaned when she kissed his neck, grazing it with her teeth, just the way he liked it. The intense look on his face, as their bodies came together in ecstasy that was almost too intense to endure, her fingers digging into his back. Afterwards, as he lay next to her, his face burrowed in her shoulder, she heard him whisper her name followed by a word she couldn’t quite make out. She thought she heard him say that he loved her. She was about to ask him to repeat it, but he had already drifted off to sleep. That had been yesterday, and today, after a breakfast that was way too quick, Dennis was off sightseeing New York under Mila’s tutelage. Janet smirked. Although not a native New Yorker, Dennis knew his way around the city better than most native New Yorkers she knew. It was he who had shared with her the city’s hidden gems: the roof garden of the Metropolitan Museum, The Campbell Apartment bar at Grand Central Station, live jazz at Hotel Kitano, and the list went on. Now Dennis would be dragged around the city by some floozy whose only qualifications as a tour guide were her long legs and pouty lips.
“Janet?” Ham Kirk poked his head through the door.
Janet shifted in her chair. “Hey there, Ham.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here today. Dennis said you were doing some fieldwork.”
“I was. I am,” Janet corrected herself. “I had a day off today, so I thought I’d come into the office and catch up.”
“A day off?” Ham asked.
Janet regretted her choice of words. Now she’d have to tell Ham about her gig at Panther.
“You don’t have to tell me. I know that I gave you both complete autonomy on the Libby investigation.” Ham drummed his fingers on the doorframe, waiting for Janet to fess up. When she didn’t, he prompted, “Any luck so far?”
“Nothing concrete so far.”
“So there is something?”
“Dennis and I both think that Julius Libby may have ties to Petr Kovar, but we don’t have any concrete evidence to prove it.”
“Petr Kovar? The international gangster and racketeer? Why haven’t you told me about this?”
“Because Dennis thought it was too early in the investigation. He didn’t want to alarm you.”
“Well, what do you have so far?”
“Libby is living beyond his means. His office records are clean, but there are some strange circumstances around the source of his wealth: his investment in a startup company ….” Janet proceeded to summarize what she and Dennis had found on Libby.
“You don’t call this concrete? It sounds pretty concrete to me. Just imagine the scandal when Libby’s opponent’s campaign gets wind of this information. I just hope they haven’t beaten us to it.”
“Right now all we have is circumstantial evidence. We need more information.”
“How do you plan to obtain it?”
“I got a job at Panther restaurant to get the scoop on Kovar. I must admit that I haven’t gotten very far yet, but I can feel that I’m getting close.”
“You got a job as a waitress?”
“When we couldn’t get any other leads, I thought it was worth a shot.”
“That’s very imaginative of you, Janet. I must say I didn’t expect it, but I like the initiative. Still, I wish we had more time. The party is going to announce Libby’s nomination in three weeks. Either you and Dennis hurry up, or I’m going to have to go to the client with what you’ve got.”
“We’ll get the information, sir. You can depend on us.”
“I sure hope so, Janet.”
After Ham left her office, Janet burrowed her head in her hands. She knew that she should be spending her time trying to dig up information on Libby, but instead she couldn’t help wondering what Mila and Dennis were doing right now. Were they strolling through Central Park, Mila’s hand brushing Dennis’s, eager for his touch? Or maybe there were exchanging flirtatious banter over a cup of coffee, Dennis glancing intently into Mila’s eyes. Or maybe Mila was playing tour guide, escorting Dennis through Times Square or the financial district. It was a good thing Dennis had a good poker face; he would need it, or at least J
anet liked to think so.
Janet drummed her fingers on her desk. The day stretched out tediously before her, the idle waiting filling her imagination with all sorts of unwelcome scenarios. Dennis had promised to be at her place at six p.m., the time of the invented grandma’s birthday party. Last night they had a good laugh about it, but this morning it upset Janet to think that even though the whole thing was a joke, on some subconscious level Dennis might now associate seeing her with an obligation to be on time to an ancient relative’s birthday party. Well, at least she wouldn’t have the chance of obsessing about the idea uninterrupted. In an act of divine intervention, Katie had scheduled a dress fitting at noon. Even though normally Janet would rate a dress fitting somewhere on the same scale as getting a root canal, right now she wholeheartedly welcomed the distraction. She checked her watch: it was a quarter to noon. She rose from her chair, grabbed her handbag, and headed for the door.
Twenty minutes later Janet climbed out of a cab in front of Bloomingdale’s. Once inside the store, she navigated her way through the crowd to the bridal department, the location of which she now knew by heart. This was her third trip to the place; Katie’s dress had required numerous alterations, and she had insisted that Janet be present at each fitting. Today, Janet would also be trying her maid of honor dress, and she sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t require as many fittings as Katie’s. Not that she wasn’t happy about Katie’s wedding, she was. She had never been one to fuss over weddings, and neither had Katie, until her own nuptials had transformed her.
“Nice of you to show up,” Katie greeted her just as Janet was about to step off the escalator.
“The traffic—”
“Save it!” Katie raised her hand and stalked off toward the bridal salon.