Chapter Thirty Seven
I call Kristen once Lori and I have fine tuned our plan. “Speak of the devil. I’ve just had Emily in my office. Did you really have to insist that you communicate via me? She’s a pain in the ass.”
“I told her yesterday that I had no updates for her.”
“I know. She wasn’t here about you.”
“Well why else would she visit you?”
“She was looking through the portfolio.”
My blood runs cold. “Why?”
She sighs. “She’s thinking of hiring more girls.”
“For what reason?”
“Because there’s more chance of her trapping him, apparently. No more contracts, just a couple of one-off traps. Just in case one of them catch him on a good day.”
“Are you joking? You can’t let her involve more girls.”
“I told her it’s too risky but if she pays me then I can’t say no, can I? There’s nothing in your contract which says you’ll be the only one to try and trap him.”
“I thought the whole point I’ve got myself into this huge mess is because he won’t be stupid enough to have a one night stand.”
“I know but this is Emily we’re talking about. She seems a little…”
“Crazy?” I offer. “Psychotic?”
“Unhinged. Just now she was bragging about pawning some of Mason’s stuff.”
“What do you mean pawning some of his stuff? What stuff?”
“She said she took a little trip to the pawn shop yesterday. Poor guy, they’re not even divorced yet. She’s a viper.”
I groan. “A viper? More like a monster. I can’t believe we’re involved in all of this.”
“I know but it’ll all be over soon.”
“I need you to ask her to do something for me.”
“Do I have to?”
“Mason’s holding a charity date auction on Friday. I need her to add me to the list of people being auctioned.”
“Okay, I’ll ask. What’s your plan?”
“Lori’s going to pay somebody to bid on me so we can leave straight after.”
“What do you want me to tell Emily?”
“Tell her it’s to try and make Mason jealous. Tell her anything you want, just make sure she gets me on the list.”
“Got it.”
“Now tell me exactly what she said about the pawn shop.”
“Where have you been?” Lori asks.
“Walking.”
She looks at her cell. “For four hours?”
“Pretty much.”
“Are you okay?”
I sigh. “No. I want out.”
She walks over and wraps her arms around me. “Aww sweetie, I know you do.”
“She pawned his stuff.”
“What?”
“Emily. She pawned Mason’s stuff. And a load of her own jewellery that he probably bought for her. There was a painting and a watch and some silverware. I couldn’t afford to get it all back.”
“What do you mean get it all back?”
I lift the small box out of my purse. “I could only afford the watch.”
Her eyes widen. “How much did you pay for that?”
“Not a lot. Three fifty. Everything else was at least triple that.”
“Sophia…”
“Don’t bother with the lecture. I tried to walk away but I couldn’t. What am I supposed to do? Send him an anonymous letter and enclose a map with a big cross over the pawn shop? This watch is old. It was different from the other stuff. The guy at the store said it’s probably more of a sentimental piece. She’s trying to ruin his life and what’s worse is that she’s using me to do it.”
She lifts the watch out. “How did you find out about it?”
“Kristen told me. I went to four different pawn shops before finding the right one.”
“And how did you know which things were Mason’s?”
“I showed the owner a photo of Emily then gave him fifty bucks to tell me what she had pawned.”
“Mason is going to be a hundred times better off without her.”
“A thousand times better off.”
“He needs somebody like you.”
I raise my eyebrow. “I agreed to work with her which makes me almost as bad as she is.”
“You agreed to do it without knowing all of the details. Now you’re doing everything you can to stop her from screwing him over. She’s the villain in all of this.”
“Then what am I, the sidekick?”
“Did you not listen to a word I just said? You’re the hero. You’re just undercover.”
I laugh. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better.”
“We’ll get through this, I promise. How many times does it say you need to see him in the contract?”
“Twice a week.”
“Okay so that’s only another ten times or so. You could arrange to go for a run with him, that way there shouldn’t be too much talking.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“And we can do things as a group. You, me, Mason and Buzz. At least you won’t have to be alone with him.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course I would. In fact, Buzz asked if we wanted to see a movie tomorrow night. I didn’t think you would want to so I told him I’d think about it. It might be a good opportunity. The movies plus the charity event would meet your quota for the week.”
I nod. “It sounds like a good plan.”
“But?”
“But I’d rather not involve you in this mess.”
She laughs. “I’m already involved. You’re my best friend. If you’re in a mess then I’m right there with you, shovel in hand.”
“A shovel? To dig my grave?”
“No, smarty pants. To shovel all the shit away.”