by Ashley Papa
“Just the time, baby. I’m kind of getting sleepy,” I politely replied.
“She’s probably checking her emails! The girl doesn’t have a life. She’s always working,” Walter interrupted.
“It’s like all women these days. They should be home taking care of the kids and cooking dinner,” Rodney blurted out.
Richard and Walter laughed in agreement. Liam shot his gaze back at the mayor and forced out a smile. I could tell it hurt him to do so. A Jersey boy in nature never lets another man insult his woman. In any other situation, I’m sure he’d uppercut a man in the nose for talking like that.
“Well, I can tell your wife does A LOT of cooking for you,” I snapped back at Rodney.
Walter and Richard burst out laughing. They knew I was referring to Rodney’s massive indulgence gut. My snarky response even got Liam and the passing waiter to giggle.
“You’re a feisty one. Don’t mess with this girl! That’s why I love New Yorkers and being the mayor of this city,” Walter arrogantly stated while aiming a wink directly at me.
Dinner finally came to an end around midnight. The five of us stumbled out of Chez Régine. I didn’t think any of my male companions, including Liam, would be able to make it home without a stop at the ICU to get their stomach pumped. Since I had switched from wine to water two hours ago, I had sobered up and decided to go back to my home and put Liam in an Uber back to his place. We all stood outside like an awkward date determining how to say goodbye.
“You folks sure you don’t want to go out for another round?” Richard loudly offered right as their giant tinted Suburban pulled up.
“Nah. I think I have to call it a night, boys. I’m ready for bed,” I said as Liam continued to drape his arm over my shoulder.
“You know. I think you have the right idea, sugar. Fellas, I’m ready to go to bed with Paige too,” joked the mayor.
My stomach churned. Liam looked down at me through the corner of his eye as if to ask, “Do you want me to kick his ass for you?” I had to play along. The fact that Walter would make such a comment in front of my boyfriend showed just how careless of a man he was. So, in an effort to tease and give the mayor a little something to remember me by, I made sure to give him a little cock-grab during our hug goodbye.
“Whoa, now. I hope you didn’t take my comment that serious. But if you’re interested…” he whispered into my ear. I slowly pulled myself away from the hug and gave him my fake “I want you” eyes.
“Goodnight, sir. Looking forward to working with you,” I smiled and returned to Liam.
“You’re welcome in Dallas anytime!” Rodney yelled just before shutting the door of the taxpayer-funded car service.
Anytime?
The air felt light and crisp, like right after a day of showers as Liam walked me to my car. I grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze.
Did the mayor act like this all the time? Did Victoria have ANY idea he was like this? Should I even mention the way he acts with me?
The questions raced through my mind as we approached the garage. Conflicting thoughts ransacked my brain as I went through all I had heard tonight, and at the same time I was experiencing a surge of chemicals I hadn’t felt in a long time. Despite being in a parking garage, that didn’t stop Liam and me from engaging in clothed and vertical sex acts against the Jeep. He had me up against the driver’s side. I could taste the fine wine on his lips the more intense his kiss became. With one hand grabbing my lower back and the other on the back of my neck, he pulled me even closer. With every light grind against my pelvic region, I could feel him getting even more excited.
This is the worst possible time for this. He’s drunk and you’re in a parking garage and now you have to get up super early!
“I should let you go,” I whispered.
He didn’t budge, just let out a little moan. I gently pushed his hands down and off my hips.
“What?” he innocently asked. “Are you okay?”
“Yes…I’m just…I don’t want to do this, yet.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a deep breath and releasing me from his grip. “You’re right. This isn’t the time or the place.”
“Soon,” I said and gazed back into his hazel eyes.
He came in for one deeper hug. With my face smashed against his North Face jacket, a huge part of me didn’t want him to let go.
You smell like cookies and puppies.
We took one more kiss before parting. I watched as he walked out to the street and into his Uber. How could I feel so elated and overwhelmed at the same time? It was a very successful night. I owed that mysterious caller a bit of gratitude for tipping me off to his location tonight. Whoever was feeding me hints obviously wanted the mayor to be caught…doing something.
I should’ve been more tired than I was at 1 a.m. driving home. Perhaps I was still revved up from the night. Getting closer to the Roches would be key in my investigation. As the mayor’s friends and business partners, they had to know stuff about him. While I pretended to be distracted on my phone at one point in the night, I overheard them talking about money, real estate, and oil. It made sense to me now. Mayor Wilcox had investments in the Roches’ oil and real estate businesses. It was apparent he was sitting on a pile of money that Victoria had no idea about. He was, at minimum, having a financial affair.
As I pulled down into the garage under my apartment, I heard my iPhone vibrating intensely from inside my clutch. Expecting it to be Liam wishing me “goodnight” when I saw the word “Unavailable” on the screen, I nearly drove straight into the garage wall. My heart raced in anticipation of the text.
Unavailable Mobile (1:13 a.m.):
How was dinner? Fun boys aren’t they?
Hope you have a good pair of cowboy boots.
Dinner? Cowboy boots?
Shivers ran up and down my spine. Whoever this was knew that I had ended up eating with the mayor. While still locked inside the Jeep, which was now parked underground, I dialed Adam. After four tries he finally answered.
“Adam! You won’t believe the night I just had,” I gushed. “I’ll explain it all tomorrow morning on the flight.”
With the exception of a faint groan like I had just waked him, Adam remained quiet.
“I need you to book two tickets to Dallas ASAP, leaving tomorrow morning, first class, any airline,” I requested. “I would do it but my phone is about to die and I’m not up to my place yet.”
“You’re still not home? Can’t wait to hear about the night. I’ll forward you the flight info as soon as I book it,” he muttered.
Maybe it was the anticipation of Dallas, the mystery caller, or learning that Adam charged nearly $9,000 on two first-class tickets to DFW that sent my insides into a tizzy. I was still without a plan of what I was going to Dallas for and where I was specifically going to look. Sometimes not having a plan puts me in a better spot in the end. I was just so confident that shadowing Walter away from the confines of The Big Apple and his administration could reveal some juicy information.
“What’s the matter? You look rattled,” Adam observed while shoving his carry-on as much as he could under the seat in front of us.
Watching him maneuver his bag made me realize I had forgotten to pack underwear and a toothbrush. I looked at him.
“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe I’m still in shock over the flight costs, tired or…maybe it’s just something else.”
“What did you want me to do? We’re lucky there were seats left,” Adam defended.
“It’s not the money. I guess my intuition is trying to tell me something and I can’t figure out what it is. Like it’s saying ‘Don’t go’ or ‘You’re going to find out something huge.’ ”
We sat back in our cushiony leather seats that cost me $4,500 each. As people continued to board, I quietly detailed the n
ight to Adam. In code, I told him about seeing the mayor at the restaurant and drinking with him and his Texas friends. I felt inclined to leave out the part about me grabbing Walter’s junk and Liam and I getting hot and heavy in a parking garage. Adam tended to cringe when I brought up using sex to bait an alleged suspect, but understood that seeing the mayor in a state like that and getting new assets for the case is like finding a leprechaun standing in a patch of four-leaf clovers under a rainbow. It’s hard to get that lucky.
Four hours and 34 minutes later, I was awakened by what I thought was violent turbulence, or perhaps a terrorist on the plane. To my relief, it was Adam’s aggressive shaking.
“We’re here, Paige. Can’t believe you fell asleep.”
I didn’t remember much from the flight. I must have passed out right after takeoff. Even Adam knew how rare it was for me to fall asleep on a plane. I always liked to designate myself as the onboard air marshal should anything happen, like the captain passes out or someone tries to storm the cockpit.
“What has Liam done to you?” Adam sarcastically asked.
I turned my head slightly towards him and gave him a groggy glare.
Adam and I bolted off the plane as soon as we got the green light from the crew. I always insisted on sitting in the first three rows of the plane with a carry-on under our seat—not over our heads—so we could always make a quick escape.
“Where exactly are we going?” Adam asked while hustling behind with his Herschel backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Not sure yet. Those Texans I told you about live in Fort Worth and work in downtown Dallas. I think I’ll just have a cab take us to The Westin Dallas Downtown for starters.”
The Texas sun was scorching hot as we stood outside waiting in the taxi line. I was not as prepared for this kind of heat in the middle of March and neither was Adam. We were both way overdressed in our morbid black fashion that New Yorkers knew how to rock so well. I could feel the beads of sweat penetrating my dark gray T-shirt, I quickly shed my leather bomber jacket and threw it in my tote. There was absolutely no breeze and the sky looked a bit ominous. Every now and then, a whiff of cow dung—from feedlots nearby—would waft through the air.
“Welcome to Dallas,” the cab driver said with a deep Texan drawl. He immediately came around from the driver’s side and with a tip of his Stetson, proceeded to help Adam and me with our bags.
“Thank you, sir. We’re heading to The Westin Dallas Downtown,” I kindly stated.
“The Westin it is. And please, call me Chet,” he ordered with a smile as big as my forearm.
Chet held the door open for us as we climbed inside and he ran back around to the driver’s side.
“I’m Paige Turner and this is my assistant, Adam McKay. Nice to meet you, Chet.”
We were now cruising towards Dallas. Chet was quietly humming to the tune of Toby Keith playing on the radio. Remembering that the Roche brothers had given me their business card, I dug around for it in my purse. Buried underneath my Ray-Bans and a reporter’s notepad, I pulled it out. As torn up as it was, all I cared about was that the phone number was still legible. I immediately texted the number in hopes of a quick response.
Maybe they were here by now. That is, if they made it out of New York City.
Less than a minute after hitting SEND, Rodney’s name appeared on my screen to signal his incoming call.
“Rodney, baby!” I answered. Adam quickly looked up at me from his laptop.
“Paige Turner. You just couldn’t get enough of us Texans that you had to fly your pretty self down here,” he boasted.
His voice was so loud through the phone I thought Chet would be able to hear the entire conversation.
“You bet. I told you last night that I was also heading to Dallas today. You offered me a ride on your jet but I told you I didn’t think you’d actually make the flight because you guys drank so much,” I lied.
I knew I could tell him anything because the likelihood of them remembering was near impossible.
“Wow, I had way too much to drink. I don’t remember any of that. I remember you being really pretty in that blue dress. And you had that boy with the funny accent with you,” he continued.
“Ha, you better watch what you call ‘funny.’ That’s New Jersey, for your information. I was hoping we could continue that excitement this weekend while I am in town. What are your plans for the weekend?”
It wasn’t the case of actually wanting to hang with the guy, I needed to; he was a treasure trove of information.
“Well, we have some meetings today. Then probably going to the Mavericks game later if you want to come. We have a suite at the American Airlines arena.”
“That sounds perfect! What time is the game?” I exclaimed.
Basketball was a sport, so naturally I hated the idea of wasting hours of my life watching really tall men run back and forth trying to throw a ball into a net.
“My assistant and I are staying at the Westin Downtown. How about you send us a car so we don’t end up late?” I subtly suggested, thinking he probably would.
I turned to Adam, who had been watching me speak with Rodney the entire time. His eyes widened at the sound of “Mavericks,” especially since they were playing the New York Knicks tonight. Adam had a child-like obsession with Carmelo Anthony and held a nerve of resentment towards me for busting the former coach in a cheating scandal two years ago. It was rumored that former Coach Darvey was sleeping with the wife of the star player on the Golden State Warriors, Antonio Rush. The Warriors’ owner hired me to conduct an infidelity investigation. It was one of the easiest busts of my career in vow enforcement, as Darvey took no caution in trying to hide his affair.
After hanging up with Rodney and with a glowing Adam by my side, we flipped through some of the pictures I had snapped so far of the mayor and categorized them. We both observed how Walter seemed to pal around with the same men, all the time.
As we were going through the pictures, I felt an intense vibration coming from my phone, which had fallen in between my legs. It was Liam.
“Hi, baby. I was just thinking about you,” I answered. My face got warm and I could feel myself blushing like a little girl crushing on her first boy.
“I was thinking about you. I had to take the day off. I am so hung over.”
His voice was scratchy like he had an oncoming cold. In a way, it made him sound sexier. We chatted briefly. I knew I had to keep it short. He had no idea I was in Dallas.
“I’m thinking tonight…you come over, we watch Netflix, I cook you some meat or pasta,” Liam started before I quickly cut him off.
“It’s really not a good night for me. My assistant and I are neck deep in material we need to go through for this ca…I mean story I am working on,” I interjected in the most sorrowful voice.
“Oh…okay. I didn’t realize you even had an assistant. How about Sunday?” Liam continued while trying his best to hide his suspicions.
“Sunday is fine,” I agreed. There was a brief moment of silence, as if he wanted to ask or say something more, but didn’t. “I hope you feel better. If I were there, I’d help nurse you back to good health,” I teased.
“Ha, alright, alright. Enough or I’m going to have another problem in my pants,” he joked. “Have a good day.”
We hung up just before approaching the hustle and bustle of the downtown area, or at least what’s considered a hustle in Texas. The buildings were far from what I considered skyscrapers.
After dumping our luggage in our suite, we decided to hit up a local BBQ favorite nearby. There was a food truck within walking distance from the hotel. It had to be good given the line and the aroma of barbequed meat, which was downright intoxicating.
“So, what’s the plan for tonight and tomorrow?” Adam asked, breaking the silence. He took a big sip of his lemonade.
“
The Texans I met last night, they’re good friends of Walter’s. They know stuff, Adam. I can probably get them to divulge even more. The one seemed to really love me.”
“Well, who wouldn’t?” Adam sarcastically replied. “I’d be concerned you were losing your game if at least one of them didn’t fall for you by the end of this.”
“I’m sure they’ll treat us very well here. I got you into that game tonight. No other boss would do that for their staff, F-Y-I.”
My unexpected gift to Adam gave me a sense of relief for dragging him down here so last minute. He didn’t say it, but I knew he would be missing his first rehearsal with his old band that had been contemplating performing together now that all the musicians were out of college. I caught an email exchange between him and three of his bandmates. They wanted to bring back their old hit songs like, “I Knew from Day One,” “Rainy Day Swell,” and “Manhood.” Knowing I made him miss that and he didn’t even give me an ounce of complaint verified once again how much of a saint Adam was.
The car that Rodney sent to the hotel arrived right on time. Adam was ready and waiting for me inside the suite while I threw all that I needed for a good night of fun and snooping into my purse.
“How does my ass look in this skirt? I haven’t worked out in a while,” I asked just as I stepped out into the living room, where Adam looked worrisome at his smartphone.
“Everything alright? You look concerned.”
Adam looked up, not realizing what I said. He didn’t say anything, just held up the screen of his phone. I walked over and grabbed it from his cold hand. Within the two hours after finishing our late lunch, he had been texted three times from the “Unavailable” number again. The first text asked how the flight down was.
How did this person know we had arrived?
The second text asked if I had fucked a Roche yet.
What was this person implying and how did they even know my scheme?
The last text simply said, “See you tomorrow.”