Chapter Thirty Three
“He wanted me to pee on him,” Lori says. “Jesus Christ, he wouldn’t shut up about it. He kept ordering bottles of water to make sure that my bladder was full.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Why do you always get sent to trap the weird ones?”
“I have no idea.” She covers her face. “But now I can’t stop picturing him whenever I need to pee.”
“I bet he would be so turned on by that.”
She shudders. “I was thinking about ordering a take-out for…” Her eyes go wide when she spots the dress draped over a chair. “Did you change your mind about the dress?”
“No.”
“I thought you went to return it this morning?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And I ended up in his hotel, half naked.”
She jumps up and down. “Oh my god! It’s happening!”
“Calm down, nothing is happening. It’s not half as exciting as what you’re imagining. Somebody spilled coffee on me so I went over to the hotel.”
“What is it with you and drinks these days?”
“Right? It’s a sign. A bad omen. It must be the universe punishing me for being a bad person.”
“Or,” Lori says, “Maybe it’s the universe pushing you to get naked in front of Mason. Maybe it’s written in the stars and you need to stop fighting it.”
“I’ve been hired by his wife to catch him cheating. I’m pretty sure it’s not written in the stars.”
My cell starts to vibrate next to me. “Unknown number,” I tell Lori.
“Oooh, maybe it’s the universe calling.”
“I’ll make sure I ask for next week’s lottery results. Hello?”
“It’s Emily.”
I cover the mouthpiece. “I told you I’m being punished. It’s Emily.”
“How did she get your number?”
I shrug. “Are you there?” Emily asks.
“I’m here.” Unfortunately.
“I got your number off of Kristen.”
“I think it’s best if we communicate via her.”
“Why? You work for me now, not Kristen. I think it’s easier if we talk directly.”
“And I think we should stick to the contract.”
“Speaking of which, I want an update.”
“There’s not much to report. We went for drinks on Friday and nothing happened.”
“Kristen has already told me about Friday. Have you spoken to him since then?”
I suddenly feel defensive and even a little protective of Mason. “No. Kind of.” I don’t want to tell her that he stopped by the house. “I saw him in passing earlier today. I was running through the park and he was outside the hotel with his sister.”
“How do you know it was his sister?”
“Because he told me who it was.”
“So you spoke to him?”
“Yes. Somebody spilled coffee on me. He saw it happen and came over to help.”
“How very helpful of him,” she says sarcastically. “Did you take a photograph of the woman?”
“No. I didn’t have my phone with me.”
“He could have been lying about it being his sister.” I guess she’s right. I didn’t even consider that he could have been lying. My gut instinct is usually always right and I’m pretty sure he was telling me the truth. “What did she look like?”
“Tall, slim, blonde hair.”
She sighs. “That doesn’t really narrow it down. I guess it could have been Indiana. Take a photograph next time.” I don’t respond. “When are you seeing him next?”
“I don’t know.” It’s the truth.
“He’s hosting a charity event at the hotel on Friday. You should go.”
“Wouldn’t it look suspicious if I just showed up to one of his events without an invite?”
“No, it wouldn’t. Hundreds of people attend and he has no involvement with the invites. He wouldn’t even question it. He probably wouldn’t even notice you were there but obviously we want him to notice you.”
“Do we?”
“Yes, we do. That’s the whole point of this, Sophia.”
“I thought the whole point of this was to test if he was willing to cheat on you. Surely you would rather him not notice me.”
There’s a long pause, long enough to make me look at my cell to see if she has hung up. “You don’t need to worry about my desires or motivations.”
“Are you sure about that? Why didn’t you tell me that you and Mason have broken up?”
Another long pause. “Mason is my husband. We’re still married.”
“But you’re not together. Don’t you think it was worth mentioning?”
“No, I don’t. All couples go through rough patches. We took vows; for better, for worse. I need to know if he’s willing to brave the storm or if he’s just going to give up.”
“So that’s all it is? A rough patch?”
“Of course. We’re just taking a little breather.”
“So you think you’ll get back together?”
“Yes, I do. Why? Has he said something different?”
Yes. “No. He mentioned that you were separated and I was caught off guard. I’d rather have full disclosure so I know what I’m dealing with.”
“Full disclosure? Okay, let’s do that. For your information, he’s just been to visit me. We talked for a long time and he said that he wants to try more therapy.” So one of them is definitely lying to me. Based on past experiences, I would say that Mason was the liar but something feels different this time. “This is no different to any of your other traps,” she says as though she can read my mind.
“As long as you’re both on the same page. It wouldn’t feel right trapping somebody who believed there was no hope.”
“It wouldn’t feel right? Oh, please. You break up families for a living. Don’t pretend to have morals all of a sudden. Stop questioning everything and do your job.”
Ouch. “Actually, I expose cheats for a living. If that leads to their family breaking up then that’s on them, not me. From now on, we communicate via Kristen like it says in the damn contract.” I hang up before she can respond.
“When this is all over and done with,” Lori says, looking contemplative, “I think I’m going to pay her a little visit.”
I laugh. “Pay her a visit? Who do you think you are, The Godfather?”
“In San Francisco, women are more dangerous than shotguns.”
“Was that supposed to be an Italian accent?”
“Sicilian.”
That evening she ropes me into watching The Godfather but I can’t concentrate on anything other than Emily’s words.