"They're all wealthy?" I asked, my obvious curiosity getting the better of me.
"Oh yes. This is no Sugar Daddy agency. All our ladies and gentlemen are... independently wealthy, shall we say? It's very important for our clients not to feel like... targets." She took a breath at that as Solomon and I exchanged glances. Targets, indeed. Helen obviously had the same thought as we. Clearing her throat, she continued, "Poor choice of words, perhaps now that we suspect one of our male clients is targeting the ladies here. Solomon tells me you'll pose as a client to gain access to our clientele."
"It seems the best way to accomplish it," I agreed, filling the sudden silence as Helen clearly expected me to say something. "A hands-on approach."
"We'll build a profile for Lexi, itemizing what makes her the most attractive prospect, based on what has attracted the thief so far. All you have to do is supply those details to your male clients and we'll take it from there," Solomon told her. "There will be minimal involvement from you, and none from your staff. It will be very discreet."
She leaned forwards, placing her hands on the desk, and sighed. "That's very important to us. To me. Like you, I prefer the hands-on approach. Madeleine is my only staff member and I haven't informed her of my suspicions. If word gets out that our clients are being targeted by thieves, our subscription base will disappear. In short, we'll be ruined. No one wants a date with a gold-digging thief."
Everyone, that is, except me. Yippee. Being single never seemed so appealing as right now.
"Are you ready for this, Ms. Graves?"
"You bet."
"Lexi's cover story will be ready to go within the next twenty-four hours," Solomon told her. He stood up, extending his hand for a parting handshake. I followed suit. "The thief won't see her coming."
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that," said Helen. "Let's get the ball rolling. You'll see to it that Ms. Graves is suitably briefed about the requirements of the job?"
"Of course." Solomon nodded as he looked towards me. "She's Montgomery's newest, most eligible millionaire, and everything about her will reflect just that."
Everything? Gulp.
~
There was only one closet I knew of that was consistently better stocked than mine. Actually, there were probably an awful lot of closets with better clothing than mine, but only one belonged to my sister, Serena. And by one, I mean she had one hell of a closet. Working in my favor was all the baby fat she still had to lose. As I handed Victoria back to my sister, I mentally thanked my baby niece for fattening my sister up. Most of her clothes hung unworn and pristine while Serena sported a shirt that had a suspicious looking glob dried midway down the front. Serena caught my eye, raised one eyebrow the barest fraction, daring me to mention it. I bit the insides of my cheeks, watching as her eyebrow edged upwards a hair's depth before thinking better of it. No point antagonizing the beast, especially when I still had a favor to ask.
"Please can I borrow a really nice dress?" I asked between blowing kissy faces at Victoria. Victoria wriggled in her mother's arms, puffed out her chest, and let rip an enormous belch, then smiled lazily, her cheeks pinking with delight.
"Don't you dare high five her," snipped Serena as my hand began to rise on its own accord. I let it drop. "What do you need a dress for? You have a whole bunch of dresses."
"Yes, but you have really nice dresses and I only have moderately nice." She was also a total clothes horse and had really good taste, but I didn't want that to go to her head. We'd only recently started getting on and I wanted to keep a sense of equality in the relationship somewhere.
Serena nodded as if to agree that was perfectly reasonable, then persisted, "Why?"
"I have to do this undercover thing and I have to dress..."
I searched for the word, but Serena beat me to the punch with "Better?"
I shrugged. "Yup."
"I guess so," Serena agreed, turning and striding from the family room of her big house towards her bedroom. Victoria rested her chin on Serena's shoulder and watched me as I followed them. I blew more kisses and Victoria answered with a raspberry. She was definitely my favorite niece. I couldn't wait until she started speaking. "So what's the undercover thing?" Serena asked, glancing at me over her shoulder.
"It's an, um..." I mumbled, coming to a stop and glancing around the bedroom. Serena was in the process of getting a divorce from Ted Whitman-the-boring-Third and while she got to keep the house, he most definitely had a field day removing all the furniture. Her bedroom looked particularly sparse.
"He's taking the bed too, but he's welcome to it," said Serena, watching me noticing. "I have a new one on order."
"Good?"
"You bet," she replied cheerfully. "And I'm turning the guest bedroom into my office. The business is going well so far. I have clients! Actually, thanks to your suggestion, I'll be able to work from home and look after Victoria."
"Good for you! Mom's really pleased that you started the business."
"Thank you." Serena passed Victoria to me, who wriggled around until she found a comfortable space in my arms, settling down as we entered the large walk-in closet. I looked at the glass racks of jewelry suspended on the walls, purchased during Serena's more affluent days. I considered draping them over Victoria. I caught Serena looking. Maybe not. "What's the occasion? Business? Date? Really, who knows what your boss has you cooking up? Did you know he had Antonio doing surveillance dressed as a homeless man for a whole week? He couldn't even shower. Day four, I told him not to come over until the job was in the can."
"I'm definitely allowed to shower." Come to think of it, I probably should smell really nice. I wondered what perfumes Serena might have lying around. "It's for a meeting with a..." I made a noise that sounded like “Burble Burble Agency” and hoped it would be left at that.
"At a dating agency?" Serena gaped. "What for? Is this really work? Or are you trying to find a boyfriend? You should, you know. I've never been happier."
"It's for work!"
Serena gave me a suspicious look. "Are you sure?" she asked, pursing her lips like she caught me in a lie.
"Yes!"
"I really don't think you need a dating agency. What about your boss? Solomon?"
While I was fully prepared to accept Serena's assumption, I didn't need a dating agency, was a compliment of sorts, I couldn't help pulling a face at the thought of my boss. Solomon and I always had chemistry, but only recently had that chemistry gotten naked while doing an undercover job, posing as husband and wife. It was a cover Solomon clearly took very seriously and our faux-marriage was most definitely consummated. Even as I thought about it now, my heartbeat sped up and my hands got clammy. Since then? Nada. Zip. Zero. And as for my ex-boyfriend, from whom I was on the rebound when the Solomon thing happened (several times), he was definitely a no-go subject. Nope, I was as single as single could be, and as long as I didn't think about it too much, I felt perfectly fine with that.
"Huh," said Serena. "I'm glad I'm not telepathic. Your face just went through twenty emotions."
I checked my reflection in the floor-length mirror. "And I'm still damn pretty!"
"Bright side. Okay, ‘meeting,’" she said, making skeptical bunny ears, "with a dating agency. How about this... this... and this...?" She pulled out three dresses, one after the other, turning the hanger hooks around and looping them over the rail so I could see them. One was a plain navy shift with a demure cowl neck. The second had a slightly flared skirt with a delicate floral print; and the third was a pale blue shift with matching cropped jacket.
"No to number one, maybe to number two, though I'm not sure it's warm enough yet, and yes to number three if it fits."
"It'll fit. Try them on." Serena held her hands out for Victoria, who gave a tremendous wriggle and pretty much launched herself from my arms. "There's matching shoes, but I don't think they'll fit you. Fortunately bags fit anyone, and they're on the shelf above. I have to feed this one, but call me if you need a
nything," she said, while Victoria tried to latch on through Serena's shirt.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it. Just dry clean and return everything when you're done." With that, Serena swept from the room, leaving me like a kid in a candy shop in her closet. It was all I could do not to rub my hands together in glee, before throwing all her belts and scarves on the floor and rolling on them.
~
Solomon and I stood looking at my VW in the Solomon Agency parking lot. Fortunately, the interior was clean, and all the traces of my last surveillance job were gone. However, the trunk was crammed with borrowed items from Serena's closet. Most were actually job-appropriate, while a couple I just really, really liked, including several purses. There was only a small chance she wouldn't get them back. Okay, a big chance. Eventually, I knew, she would hunt me down and force a return.
"Nope," he said, after several long moments of silence. "That won't do."
"Could have told you that without all the quiet contemplation," I murmured. Really, I could have told him via text if he told me why I was summoned to the office, and saved us both the bother. That would have given me extra time to go home to bed and catch up on my beauty sleep.
Solomon gave me an arched eyebrow in response. He looked so hot when he did that, not that I meant to think about it at all. No. My boss had to remain off limits. Not least because he hadn't given me any intimation that he was, er, available, in recent weeks. Or even interested. What was it with him? And me? The less interested he seemed in me, the more I wanted to know why. It was so annoying.
"I know a guy," he said.
"And there I was, thinking you were the Lone Ranger. All cool, but no friends." Actually, even though I was joking, it wasn't far from the truth. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Solomon socialize with anyone outside the office. Even with my colleagues, I never got the impression they all hung out after work. That is, except with me. I'd been to dinner before at his smart Chilton townhouse, and that evening had a distinctly date night feel. Of course, we hung out during our undercover case at Fort Charles when we posed as a married couple, but that was work, really. Except for the sex stuff. That was definitely off the clock... and off the charts.
"You think I'm cool?" The corner of Solomon's mouth edged upwards and his eyes sparkled. I probably made the last bit up, but whatever, he had really nice eyes.
I shrugged. "Nah."
He smiled then. "You think I have no friends?"
"I know Captain McAuley is your friend," I said, recalling how Solomon was drafted by his old buddy to solve the murder at Fort Charles, a local army base.
"Anyone else?"
"Ummmm..." I paused.
"I have friends." He turned to look at my car again. "We'll get you wheels to suit your new heiress status. You have any more of those dresses?" He gave my pink dress another appreciative glance, one that left me thoroughly confused. I could have been making that glance bit up too. Nevertheless, I intended to go with it because it gave me a tingly little boost. I thought of Serena's closet and the many expensive garments she no longer wore, now that she was a work-from-home mom. It seemed such a shame to waste. Thank heavens, several of them were in my trunk. "I have access," I told him.
"The dating agency will cover any reasonable costs," Solomon continued. "You'll have to go deep cover to make this work. You okay with leaving your life behind for a couple weeks?"
I thought about what might happen over the next month. Oh, wait, nothing. "I'll make it work... hold on... deep cover?" Last time I went deep cover, it was at the aforementioned Fort Charles case. This time, at least I knew that I was posing as a single woman, and could rule out any Solomon-sexy-times, so what did that leave? No friends, no family, no life? Maybe this case wasn't as cool as it first appeared.
"The thief is being careful. He's only targeting rich women from whom he can steal high value items and cash. He's a pro. It stands to reason he's back-checking the stories of anyone he might potentially date. If he sees your apartment and car, he's going to smell a rat. They are not millionaire accoutrements. So, we set you up with a new home and car while you're on the case, both of which say money."
"Okay, makes sense. I can manage the wardrobe, but where am I going to get a new house at such short notice?"
"My neighbors are taking an extended vacation in Europe and they need a house-sitter. I volunteered you. You'll say you're renting it, as you haven't found a place yet, so it won't matter that your name doesn't come up in any searches."
"Your neighbors know why I'm really house-sitting?"
"They know you're my employee so you’re vouched for. Plus, it's the ideal set-up. I can wire the house and monitor it from mine so there will always be someone on hand if there's any trouble."
My newly knitted broken arm, received in the line of duty, twinged, although it could have been psychological. "Should I expect trouble?"
"So far, nothing indicates that the thief is violent, but you never know if he will get desperate and escalate, so we can assume nothing. The homes are burglarized while the women are out, so I think you'll be safe, but we need to monitor the house at all times."
"Okay, but no cameras in the bedroom."
Solomon inclined his head and smiled, making me wonder if the thought crossed his mind. "You'll know where all cameras are and I'll give you a remote to shut them off." He turned away, but not before I heard him say, "Besides, I've already seen you naked."
I shivered. "You have. But Delgado, Fletcher, and Lucas haven't, and I'd like to keep it that way. Flaherty, too."
"Me too," agreed Solomon as he turned on his heel, walking towards the stairwell.
I didn't watch him leave, mostly because I found the way he walked mesmerizing and I didn't want to start getting any funny ideas in the lot. Instead, I mostly pouted at my VW. It might not be the most awesome car in the world, but it blended in and got me from A to Z, and all the stores in between. I wondered what kind of vehicle Solomon would provide for my cover story, as images of an Aston Martin Vanquish, or a sleek Viper flashed through my mind. I should be so lucky! All the same, as far as assignments went, this could be a fun one. I wouldn't have to stay at the Chilton house the whole time, surely?
I imagined I’d spend some days and nights acting as a wealthy woman, living in a super cool neighborhood for a couple weeks, driving a fancy car, dressing up in nice clothes that wouldn't get dirty from hiding in bushes and trawling through trash, and dating an array of rich, handsome, albeit possibly criminal, men. As my arm ached some more, I had to remind myself there were worse jobs in the world... and I'd done most of them in my previous career as a serial temp.
Chapter Four
"For how long?" Lily's face crumpled as soon as I told her of Solomon's plan to install me in the house next to his. "Ohh!" Her face lit up. "Do you think he plans to tunnel from his house and ravage you in the night?"
I pondered that. I pondered it for a whole one million minutes at light speed.
"You live in hope, right?" Lily pressed.
"No!" I pulled a face. Okay, it wasn't like it didn't cross my mind, but Solomon was the consummate professional. Plus, he already consummated this professional. Arf.
"Not even a little bit?"
"Not even. It's just convenient that his neighbors are vacationing and he can monitor the house from his, right next door."
Lily gave me her skeptical face, but I ignored it as I returned to the rentals section of the current edition of the newspaper. Since Lily waylaid me the moment I opened our front door, a half hour ago, I scoured the section, hoping for an improvement on the previous edition's offerings; but, so far, very little caught my eye. Only the thought of having to move in with my parents while I searched for a new home, or begging Janice Markowitz to lease me her place, motivated me to circle some of the properties.
"Besides," I said, returning to the original topic of the duration I'd be away while working the case, "it's not for too long, and we're
moving soon anyway, and I don't know where I'll be. Think of it as training wheels for when we don't share the same building."
Lily pouted. "You could still move in with Jord and me."
"Nope. You need your couple time in the months before the baby arrives. Not couple time plus Lexi, third wheel."
"Sometimes third wheels are good things. I mean, look at tricycles!"
"And how many of them do you see on the mean streets of Montgomery?"
"Not many," Lily conceded.
"Exactly. Listen to this one. Apartment with access to garden and reserved parking. Large living room, separate bedroom, bath, kitchen with dining nook, video camera entry system. Harbridge. I know the building. It's near Maddox."
04 - Shock and Awesome Page 4