by Linda Kage
Wow. Pissed off because I hadn’t warned her I was going to be exactly on time? This woman was a piece of work.
Hitching my thumb over my shoulder, I paused in my tracks. “You want me to come back later?” I asked before narrowing my eyes. “Like never?”
She glared right back. “Keep talking, girl. You know where that kind of insubordination will land you.”
“Fired?” I guessed, making myself sound hopeful. Then I smiled and batted my lashes playfully before adding, “Say, yes. Please.”
“Nice try,” she smarted back. “Wait right there while I fetch my list of duties I have for you to do today.”
List? Why did that sound so ominous? Refusing to let her see any of my unease, I said, “Can’t wait,” with a tone that implied, bring it. I was ready to handle whatever she dished out.
Until she turned away, and someone else entered the living room from the side hall that led down to her bedroom. I blinked, not expecting her to have company. Then my jaw fell open when I focused on who her company was as well as what he wasn’t wearing.
But oh my fucking God! Why was a shirtless Diego in her apartment right now?
“Lana, love,” he mumbled through a yawn as he scratched the hair covering his exposed chest. “Do you know what happened to my shirt?”
Lana trickled out a delighted laugh and went to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his face down for a kiss, only to pause an inch from his mouth to answer, “But don’t you remember, darling? We got a little carried away last night and ruined your shirt.”
“Mmm. That’s right. I forgot.” Growling out his pleasure, he squeezed her ass and pulled her against him so he could smash their mouths together.
“Oh God,” I muttered, cringing in disgust and throwing up a little in my mouth, unable to take my gaze off the horror show before me.
Unfortunately, my response caught their attention, and Diego pulled away from Lana to look right at me, his expression mocking and lacking all surprise.
“Gabriella,” he murmured, his eyes flickering with smug triumph. “I didn’t see you there.”
Oh, he’d seen me, all right. And he’d made sure I would see him right back.
But what a pathetic maggot licker. He’d actually thought rubbing another woman’s ass in my face would upset me? Humph. No wonder why I’d never been interested in him.
I smirked back, lifting my eyebrows and taking the high road, replying with a pleasant, “Morning, Diego.”
My lack of ire caused him to shift uncomfortably and clear his throat. “I—I’d heard you were going to start working for Lana today. Congratulations on the new job.”
I smiled graciously and nodded. “Thank you.”
New game plan: Instead of acting defiant and hateful for being conned into this job, I was just going to respond in whatever way Lana least expected.
“The pay sure beats Trudy’s,” I went on. “I’m actually pretty excited to get started.”
Lana glanced back at me, startled, her expression pinching slightly. Like Diego, she’d been hoping for quite a different reaction from me. These two were just a regular pair of peas in a pod, weren’t they, trying to hurt and upset everyone who crossed their path. I lifted my chin, silently daring them to try harder.
Keeping her gaze on me as she stepped away from Diego and waved him off, Lana murmured, “Why don’t you run along, dear, and check my closet to see if anything from my late husband fits you? Okay?”
He nodded like a good little lap dog and left us two women to continue the battle of wills on our own.
Lana waited until he was gone before a full smile broke across her face. When she tried to mask it with the fakest of winces, I almost snorted her off stage. But seriously, what an awful actress.
“Diego is such a dear, isn’t he?” she stated. “We hit it off more than I was expecting last night after you and my own son ditched out on me for supper. But, oh! I hope it wasn’t too distressing for you to see your ex with me just now?” she taunted, the sympathy in her voice so thin it was utterly transparent. “We just couldn’t help ourselves.”
This time I really did laugh in her face. “Really? You’re worried about not distressing me? And here, I was sure you’d slept with him last night with the sole intent to distress me.”
“What?” Her mouth pinched together hard and her eyes narrowed. “That’s preposterous.”
I shrugged. “Whatever. It’s honestly no skin off my nose either way.” I held up a finger. “But, uh, I should probably correct you. You see, Diego was never my ex. He was more like my stalker. Frankly, I’m glad to be rid of him, so thank you for getting him out of my hair. I really appreciate it. I mean, whew, that man does not take no for an answer. I was worried I was going to have to put a restraining order out on him. But…” With another shrug, I grinned. “I guess I don’t have to worry about that now. He finally has someone else to latch on to.”
Lana blinked once. For a moment, she looked lost, discombobulated, and a little concerned.
But then she glowered at me before snarling, “This place better be spotless by the time I return tonight.” Motioning toward the door when the bell rang, she added, “That’s probably some staff member with your new uniform. Answer it and change out of those rags immediately.” Then she spun away and stormed off. As soon as I heard a door slam shut down the hall, I burst out laughing.
“Trying to best me, bitch? Well, the joke’s on you. You just got yourself a new clingy stalker. Congratulations.”
I was so tickled that her ploy to hurt me had backfired I was still grinning when I pulled the door open.
The guy on the other side seemed surprised that I answered. Eyeing me with confusion, he held up a black garment bag and said, “I have a delivery for—”
“That’s for me,” I cut in and took it from his hand. “Thanks.”
He nodded, seemingly relieved. With a slight bow, he added, “Feel free to ring if you need anything else, ma’am. We bill all deliveries straight to the apartment.”
“Really?” Grinning, I lifted my eyebrows, impressed by the offer. “Wow, I will. Thank you.”
After wishing him a good day, I hurried back to a guest bathroom and slipped the maid uniform on. It was tight in the bust, which had me grumbling. Seriously, why couldn’t I work at a place that left my boobs some breathing room?
Once I was decked out in my work gear, I returned to the living room to await my new boss. Bless her heart.
She and Diego emerged together, smiling intimately at one another with his hand resting at the base of her spine until they paused in front of the door to face each other. He murmured something low in her ear that caused her to chuckle. Then he leaned in and kissed her for what felt like five hours, grabbing her butt the whole time.
I rolled my eyes and sighed, glancing at my watch and hoping maybe I’d be off my shift and ready to go home by the time they finished. But then Lana pulled away, patting his cheek with an indulgent smile, and dismissed him.
When she opened the door for him to leave, Diego finally glanced my way again, and the look he sent me seemed to say, see what you missed out on?
Oh brother.
I made a point to yawn, showing him how completely unimpressed I was. Both he and Lana huffed in irritation. And as soon as he was out the door, she turned to me in an uppity manner, flipping open a two-foot-long sheet of paper with all my instructions on it. After she handed that over, she gave me my keycard for the apartment. Then she snapped up her purse and keys and strolled out the door without a farewell.
“Well.” I looked around the already-spotless front room. “How hard could this seriously be?” I checked the list. “Meh.” There might’ve been a number of things she wanted done, and I mean a lot, but none of it seemed insurmountable. Looked like pretty average tasks, if you asked me. “Sweet.”
First things first, I retrieved the bag Hayden had given me, and then I got to work, returning each of the contents as I passed the ar
eas where they belonged.
I whistled while I worked, shaking my hips to an imaginary tune in my head through the vacuuming and humming aloud as I dusted. This really wasn’t so bad at all. Hell, it might be the easiest job I’d ever had.
As I went, I snooped and checked every nook and cranny for hidden recesses, searching for some place an evil woman might store damning evidence against herself. But I found nothing in the front room.
In the kitchen, the only thing I found out of place was Lana’s bra. Eww. I picked it up with the handle of a broom and dropped it in the trash because the clasp looked broken anyway. Double eww.
After mopping, cleaning the dishes, and taking out the trash, I started for her bedroom.
Not a smart move.
As soon as I entered, I nearly gagged before immediately backtracking into the hall.
“Oh my God,” I gasped.
The woman was evil. Pure evil.
I peeked back around the corner and whimpered. It was a veritable den of iniquity inside, with empty bottles, glasses, clothes, and sex toys galore. I mean, seriously. That swing, the whip, and the ball gag had definitely not been there Halloween night. I think I would’ve remembered them.
And holy yuck. Did I even want to know what that brownish-colored smear was on the dildo lying three feet away?
She really expected me to clean all this, didn’t she? What a bitch.
Chapter 19
Hayden
Nerves ate at my intestines as I approached Preston Estates after work.
I had worried about Gabriella all day, and it took everything I had not to either call or stop by on my lunch break to check on her.
Unfortunately, the Shoes department needed to finish up our portfolio for the presentation on Friday, so I hadn’t been able to leave work. But I’d been so distracted I couldn’t even tell you what kinds of decisions we’d come to. So I was inordinately pleased to see Gabby waiting for me outside at the curb when I arrived, looking completely okay.
She sat on the ledge of a concrete wall that housed flowers and plants, swinging her legs with a garment bag draped over one shoulder and her purse at her side as she sucked on a lollipop.
I swear, it was the most welcome sight I’d seen all day.
And fuck, she looked extra hot when she licked once, then winked at me before popping the sucker back in as she hopped down to the sidewalk and strolled toward my car.
Everything inside me surged with awareness. I wanted this woman. I wanted more from her than I was sure she was willing to give.
Opening the passenger side door, she slid in beside me, grinning as if she’d actually had a good day working for my mother.
I shook my head. But that was impossible.
Wasn’t it?
“It appears you survived,” I said dryly as I pulled back into traffic after she stowed her garment bag in the back, strangely disappointed that she wasn’t in any way upset. I think a small part of me wanted to sweep in and save her from something traumatic. But she’d clearly taken care of herself, which caused a completely different side of me to swell with pride.
“Did Lana give you a lollipop for being a good girl?”
With a laugh, she bumped her arm into mine. “Hell, no. I stole this off André’s counter when he wasn’t looking.”
“Devious.” I nodded my approval, only to sober. “But seriously, how bad was it?”
She shrugged. “Honestly, not at all. I don’t think she had enough time to come up with a proper list of really torturous cleaning tasks for me because it really wasn’t that awful. I’d even go as far as to say I preferred it to waitressing and having to deal with picky, messy customers all day. I could go at my own pace, take breaks whenever I wanted, not answer to anyone, and clean shit however I liked.” Then, making a face, she added, “I mean, aside from the part where she purposely left out every sex toy she owned in her bedroom, and they’d all clearly been used, it was—”
“Whoa!” I cut in, lifting my hand to stop her, all the while trying to keep my lunch from making an appearance. “No. Nope. I don’t wanna hear another word about any of that.”
Gabby smiled over at me. “She slept with Diego last night, by the way.”
I squinted. “Who?”
With a roll of her eyes, she explained, “Daffodils.”
Oh.
My eyebrows shot up. “Really?” Huh, I hadn’t seen that one coming.
“I know, right?” Gabby said, lifting a hand my way. “She did it just to get at me, too. She thought he was my ex because she tried to really rub it in my face this morning, until I explained to her that I’d never had any kind of romantic relationship with him and he’d always been more like a stalker to me.” Grinning, Gabby nudged my elbow yet again. “When I told her I was actually grateful that she’d taken him off my hands, she shut up real quick.”
“Heh,” I laughed. “The joke was on her, I guess.”
“Oh my God!” Gabby pointed at me and laughed. “That’s exactly what I said.”
I glanced over, and we shared a smile.
The tension that had been wrapped around my chest all day dissipated. As much as I would’ve loved to have been her hero, I was honestly more grateful she hadn’t needed one. A strange, insistent urge to reach out and take her fingers, just to squeeze them supportively, enveloped me. But I shut that shit down by facing the road again and concentrating on where I was driving.
Gabby continued to face me, though, turning in her seat and bringing one foot up in order to tuck it under her so she could hug her knee to her chest as she talked with cheerful animation.
“I swear,” she went on. “She must’ve given him a strip tease show or something on the kitchen island.”
“Okay, enough.” Grimacing, I lifted my hand again. “That’s more detail than I ever wanted to know about my mother.”
Gabby sent me a devilish grin. “She left a bra dangling from the coffee machine, and I cleaned what looked like a shoe’s scuff mark from the countertop, and…” Trailing off, she squinted at me. “Does Lana do cocaine?”
Eyebrows shooting upward, I glanced over. “Say what?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. There was some powdery, white residue from something on the countertop, but it was too chunky to be baking soda or powdered sugar.” Tipping her face to the side in deep thought, she asked, “Is cocaine chunky?”
I could only blink, not at all expecting this turn in the conversation before I answered, “I have no idea.”
“Oh.” Gabby seemed to think that through before she brightened. “Or maybe Lana was so enthusiastic in her strip dance that she somehow bumped the tiled ceiling and some of it flaked off and dusted the counter.” With a nod, she finished, “Yeah. That sounds more feasible. Because the way she left the bedroom—”
“For fuck’s sake!” I growled, sending her a harassed glance. “Can you please stop putting that image in my head? I don’t give a shit if my mother strip dances in her kitchen for some asshole who’s probably younger than me, but I certainly don’t want to picture it, either. I’m already fucked up enough as it is, thank you.”
Gabby laughed and lifted her hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I’ll stop harassing you about that. In other news, I found absolutely nothing involving wills or any kind of legal paperwork.”
“No paperwork at all?” I asked suspiciously. “Or not unusual, out-of-place-looking paperwork.”
“None at all,” Gabby complained. “I mean, how is that even possible? We have bills, and flyers, and receipts, and schoolwork piled up everywhere at our place.”
“Lana’s always been fastidiously clean about her paperwork.”
“Well, she has to keep it somewhere,” Gabby argued. “I mean, in a filing cabinet, or a desk, or hell, an office. But I found nothing.”
“Maybe she keeps everything in her office at JFI,” I murmured, frowning over that thought. How was I going to get past her alarm system to sneak back into her office and check there again? “
Maybe it’s a waste of time to have you search her apartment.”
“Meh.” Gabby shrugged. “I’m getting paid either way, so trust me, it’s not a waste of my time. Just give me another couple days. I’m sure something will turn up.”
Nodding, I grew pensive.
In another couple of days, I would be talking to the detective at the police department about Finley. And if he acted before I could find something concrete against Lana, she might get jumpy, lawyer up, destroy any evidence she had against herself, and slip the noose. That was a risk I didn’t want to take.
We needed to find something sooner.
“So…” Gabby removed her sucker from her mouth and drew me from my thoughts by asking, “How was your day? Busy and hectic or pretty laid-back?”
I glanced at her, confused. The last time someone had asked me how my day had gone had been—shit, I couldn’t even remember how long it’d been.
Had anyone ever asked about my day?
I was so thrown by the question that the answer eluded me at first. “Well…” I started, fumbling like an idiot who’d forgotten how to talk. “We, uh, we have a presentation this Friday to decide which designs will go into our spring lineup. So every department’s been working around the clock to complete their portfolios to show to the two heads, which means, it’s been hectic, I guess.”
Gabby nodded, taking in my answer before saying, “Cool. Which department are you in charge of?”
I glanced at her, lifting my eyebrows. “What makes you think I’m in charge of any department?”
With a laugh, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, you’re way too cocky and sure of yourself not to be in charge of something.”
I had to chuckle at her answer before I said, “Shoes. I head the Shoes department.”
“Shoes?” She wrinkled her nose as if surprised by that. “Okay, I never would’ve guessed Shoes.”
“It’s better than what Brick got,” I told her. “He was stuck with Purses.”