Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 131459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
This was a new voice, male, and it sounded more than mildly annoyed.
I shifted my attention to Judge Oakley and saw he appeared as he sounded, and his eyes were not on Tom’s company.
They were on his fiancée.
“Yes, mon beau. Didn’t I tell you Dad was playing tennis with his new partner today?” She indicated Clay.
“No, you didn’t tell me that,” Judge returned.
“It must have slipped my mind,” she murmured, so openly lying, I nearly laughed. “But now, we can all go to the club!” she stated brightly. She beamed at Brayton, and still snuggling Venus, she held out a hand. “Hello, I’m Chloe Pierce, Tom’s daughter, and his favorite, no matter what he says. Especially right about now.”
I watched Brayton smile at her and take her hand, then I looked to Judge, but caught Tom and Jamie exchanging a glance.
I then felt something.
I turned my head the other way and caught the glance Nora wished to exchange with me.
I’d only just managed that when Chloe called, “Mika, Nora, of course you’re coming to the club with us, yes?”
I opened my mouth.
I heard Tom make a noise like a grunt.
But Nora got there first.
“But of course we are. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
* * *
I wasn’t certain what was going on.
I was certain it was making me nervous.
I didn’t often get nervous.
But now, the Davises had left to go home.
Tom had left Nora with a martini, Dru with a margarita, and Cadence with a La Croix in his living room with the cats in their zone.
And for some reason (this reason being Chloe asking me to join them), I found myself in his study with him, Jamie, Chloe and Judge.
At the club, I watched with a melting heart as Clay started out visibly—and clearly painfully—nervous to be playing with one of his heroes.
But Tom, an old hand at this, effortlessly made him comfortable to the point Clay was loose, laughing and joking. In the end, he and Tom beat Bray and Judge in the quick match they played, and when they did, Clay’s smile could have lit up an entire stadium.
It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. I wished I’d had my camera to capture it.
I also spent that time drinking sparkling rosé and listening to Nora and Chloe riff off each other while Priscilla laughed and Dru giggled as all five of the men were on the court, doing things with rackets.
But now we were back, late afternoon had melted into early evening, I was hungry, had too much wine, so was also feeling sluggish, but all the other things I was feeling were freaking me out.
Judge was still peeved at his woman.
Tom and Jamie seemed half-perplexed, half-irritated.
I was just perplexed.
And nervous.
“Have I said how much of a thrill it is to meet you, Mika?” Chloe asked me.
She had, over sparkling rosé.
She was of the generation that was one of the first to “discover” me.
She’d read everything I’d written, read about everything I’d done, and watched all my films.
Chloe Pierce was a huge fan.
This was lovely, obviously.
However.
I opened my mouth.
Judge spoke.
“Stop procrastinating,” he ordered his woman.
“Judge,” she retorted.
“Chloe,” he said.
“Judge,” she snapped.
“Chloe,” he bit out. “Spill it.” Hesitation, then a growled, “Now.”
Her eyes grew wide and angry color hit her cheeks.
“If you don’t, I will,” Judge threatened.
At that, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling before rolling them back and biting out, “Fine.”
With that, she turned to her father.
I saw he was braced.
Because he was, I did the same.
“Right, Uncle Corey left me something,” she declared.
What?
Why did I need to be in the room when they discussed family business?
Tom was now so braced, he looked carved from stone.
“What did he leave you?” he forced out.
“Not exactly something, more like someone,” Chloe said slowly, obviously buying time.
“Baby,” Judge warned.
“Ugh! Fine!” she cried. “He left me a secret operative.”
Tom’s head ticked.
So did mine.
Jamie’s brows snapped together.
“He left you a what?” Tom asked.
“His name is Rhys Vaughan, and he…”—she turned my way, her gaze pinged off me in a manner that was, from my short acquaintance with her, entirely not her, and she turned back to her dad—“I’m afraid he’s gone rogue.”
“Chloe,” Tom gritted. “Spit it out.”
She twisted fully to me.
“I was the reason you got that envelope,” she confessed.
I was already completely still, but I grew more so.
I stopped being that when I felt what was bearing down on us from her father.
I sat forward on the couch, holding a hand up Tom’s way.
“Tom—” I started.
He didn’t even look at me.
He didn’t look at his daughter.
“Judge, explain,” he demanded.
“It’s what she said,” Judge told him. “Corey left her some guy who is…”—he shook his head—“I don’t know exactly what he is. Private investigator. Industrial spy. Whatever he is, he’s good at it, very good, and he’s at Chloe’s command.”