I grabbed my phone and called Kami before I went crazy. Calling Kami always helped calm me down, but it also helped me to make important decisions. I knew she could talk me off this ledge I was standing on. I was so tired of my job and so tired of hating what I did for a living.
“Paige?” Kami asked.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Paige. What happened? Are you hurt?”
I laid down on the hotel room bed and sighed into my cell phone. “I hate this job, Kami.”
“You’re not hurt, are you?” she asked.
“No,” I said breathlessly. “I’m not.”
“Did something happen with your boss?” she asked.
“He’s upset because I’ve been relaying information to the client directly instead of going through him, but that’s what my client wants me to do. That’s what he’s paying me to do. And I had to defend why I was meeting up with Zach again tonight to get more information, and then my boss told me to do whatever I had to do to get the information.”
“He said those exact words?”
“His exact words were, ‘get what you can, and use any means necessary.’”
Kami made a sound of disgust. “Listen to me. Don’t you fucking do anything like that. You stick to your guns. Don’t you dare do anything stupid out there.”
“Like going to Zach’s house for dinner?” I asked.
“Yes. That would be stupid.”
“Well…”
“Kami, what the fuck are you doing?” she asked.
“We agreed he would choose the next date, as well as pay for it, and this is what he chose. The thing is, I’m not nervous about that. Not even a little bit. The more I’m around him, the more I get the feeling that this entire scenario isn’t what the client is making it out to be.”
“Do you have any evidence to back up that gut feeling?”
“Actually, yes. And because I think the client has concocted this scenario for another purpose, I’m only telling him what is necessary to paint the picture that I’m on his side.”
“This is a dangerous game you’re playing, Paige,” she said. “You can’t just do this from home? You know, just give your client what he wants?”
“If I do, then an innocent man could get arrested for something he’s not doing. I refuse to let that happen. If this is going to be my last job with this company, then I at least need to do it right.”
“Whoa. Who said anything about this being your last job?”
“I don’t know, okay, Kami?” I drew in a deep breath through my nose before I let out a shuddering breath. “I just know that I can’t take much more of it.”
“Because of what your boss asked you to do?”
“It’s not just that. I just don’t enjoy this. I don’t enjoy researching people. I don’t enjoy lying. Yes, I enjoy catching bad people doing bad things, but that’s not what’s happening here. The more I dig and the more I’m around Zach, the more I’m convinced he’s innocent.”
“Then maybe it’s time,” Kami said. “I’ve told you to do something with your painting for years. You’re good enough. You just don’t believe you are. Maybe it’s time to start researching some avenues.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I said.
“In the meantime, what is your boss expecting of you now?” she asked.
“A phone call after everything goes down tonight. He sounded like he wanted to be looped in on what I was finding.”
“Only give him what you find tonight. If he pushes for more and you don’t want to tell him, then give him the bare minimum, like you’re doing with your client.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “Fuck. How did this get so complicated?”
“When you found out your client was full of shit.”
I grinned up toward the ceiling before I sat upright on the bed. “If this is my last job for the agency, I can’t leave it unfinished. And I sure as hell can’t accuse an innocent man of doing something like this.”
“Guilty or innocent, you need evidence to support it, and you don’t have it, by the sounds of it,” Kami said.
“Exactly. So, I’ll stay here. Do this right. Then when I’m done, I walk.”
“How much money do you have saved up?” she asked.
“Enough,” I said. “One step at a time. Right now, I have to wrap this case up the way it deserves, no matter the outcome.”
“Which means you still need to be on your guard tonight,” she said.
“I know. Because he still might be a criminal.”
“You don’t have to call me tonight, but whenever you’re done, just shoot me a text so I know you’re back at the hotel.”
“Will do. Thanks, Kami.”
“For what?”
“For always being the voice of reason when I can’t be,” I said.
“Anytime. Fuck knows you’ve done it plenty of times for me. Now, go figure out what the hell you’re wearing tonight.”
“I’m thinking just jeans and a shirt,” I said.
“Sweetheart, fuck your boss, but if you look hot, this guy will be more willing to open his mouth and talk. At least slap some lipstick on.”
“Jeans, shirt, and lipstick it is,” I said, grinning.
“You’re terrible.”
“And I take pride in it. I’ll talk with you tonight.”
“Stay safe, Paige. I’m serious.”