by Mandy Harbin
“Good eye.” She whipped the car around, and Shelby grabbed the oh-shit handle.
“You’re gonna get us killed,” she groaned.
“Quit whining. Were you sick the day they taught defensive driving at Quantico?”
Shelby laughed. “It was more than one day, and I highly doubt the bureau would be pleased you’re using the skills you learned to chase down the bad guys to get a close parking spot for your Saturday shopping.”
Viola smirked as she pulled the car into the spot in question and killed the engine. “Technically, this is bureau business, so we should’ve gone yesterday on the clock instead of on personal time. We should get overtime for this.”
“Good luck with that.” She’d rather get an all-expense paid trip to an island rather than time-and-a-half for her efforts. “We’re duty bound. We’re not in it for the money.”
“Tell that to my husband.”
They got out of the car and headed toward the shop Viola had mentioned. Because of Shelby’s keen eye and Viola’s mad driving skills, they were inside within minutes.
“Wow. I haven’t ever been in here,” Viola said, taking it all in.
“It’s popular here during prom season. Gone are the days of traditional sequined gowns.”
“Pfft. I wore silk to my prom.”
When Viola picked up a red rubber-looking dress, Shelby shook her head. “I don’t think a concerned friend would show up wearing that. In fact, you should probably wear something normal now that I think about it.”
“Oh, hell no. I want to dress up. I need this.” She went back to scraping the hangers across the rack as she analyzed each piece of trashy clothing. She seemed too intent, too focused, and Shelby got the feeling it wasn’t because of their case.
“Hey,” she said softly, drawing Viola’s attention. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, why?”
But her eyes flicked to the side, a tale-tell sign of avoidance. Something was definitely off. “Are you and Dave having problems?” Shelby stepped closer to her. “Is that why you volunteered for this? To see if he’d be interested?”
Viola’s shoulders slumped. “Kind of.” She took a deep breath, but Shelby was already shaking her head. This was a bad idea. Viola needed to focus on the case and not some scheme involving her husband. “Just listen to me. Dave has been distant lately. I don’t know what it is. He has to go out of town a lot, but he always has. It’s not like either of us are working any more than before.”
“Viola, I don’t think this is going to be the time to light his fire. What if he doesn’t like it?” Another thought slammed into her. “Is this something you’re interested in?” she whispered.
Viola blushed. “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it before this case, but for the last few weeks I’ve been doing a lot of research. I’m intrigued. Like, maybe it could be something to try if Dave’s game. No way would he go to a club like this without a reason, but if I can get him there for work and we both check it out then maybe he might open up to it.”
“And what if you don’t like it once you get there?”
She chewed her lip before finally saying, “Regardless, I think it’s worth a shot.”
“I don’t know—”
“Look, Shelby. It’s perfect. I’ll be there working—and I will be working—and Dave gets exposed to something he otherwise wouldn’t. If I approach him with the idea out of the blue, he’d think I was crazy…or worse, take offense. If I get him in the club and let him absorb it on his own, then maybe he’d be open to experiment a little.”
Slowly, Shelby nodded. Viola had thought this through, and what she said made sense. Except for one detail. “And you’re dressing up because?”
She flicked her blonde locks and turned back to the clothes. “Because I’m not stupid. If we go and Dave sees me wearing jeans, it’ll be harder for him to fantasize about me. I need to look the part so his brain will be willing to cast me.”
“What about Showalter?” Her throat tightened around his name. She hadn’t said his first name aloud since he’d reprimanded her. She was torn between wanting to use it because of the closeness it represented and not wanting to use it because that was Mason’s wish. Regardless of her verbalizing it, he’d still be Mason to her in her mind.
“What about him? He’s your objective, not mine.” She shrugged her shoulders and kept searching.
“True, but it doesn’t make sense for my overprotective friend to show up dressed for sexing and not chaperoning.”
Viola turned and put her hand on her hip. “I’m your friend. I’m not dead below the waist. It’s completely plausible for me to dress up to come to this club. Hell, from what you said about the night you met him, you’d dressed like a Domme in your attempt to look the part of someone into the lifestyle. It’s probably common practice for patrons to dress for the occasion. As your concerned friend, I’d be more worried about being kicked out because of some dress code violation if I show up in my sneakers. Your friend wants to blend in.”
Though it wasn’t as ideal, Shelby knew it had the potential to work. She’d told Mason at their first scene that Viola would come busting in if she didn’t meet her afterward. As far as he knew, her friend was crazy enough to do it…and crazy enough to show up dressed in an outrageous outfit because she believed that was what people wore to clubs like his. “Okay, but maybe you should be one hundred percent the pissed off friend. If you talk to him or any of the partners, you could even complain about whatever you have on.”
Viola wagged her eyebrows. “Does this mean I wear something really outlandish?”
“Whore it up, baby. Whore it up.”
Viola squealed and rushed over to another section of clothing while Shelby hid her smile. They spent the next forty-five minutes rummaging around, looking for the perfect ensembles. She didn’t have any luck finding an official French maid costume, but she did find a short Alice in Wonderland style dress that she could use. The right accessories and a feather duster, and no one would be expecting a White Rabbit to pop up anywhere around her.
But it was tame compared to what Viola had picked out. It looked as if it was made with belts and nothing else. Very bondage-inspired.
After they paid for the haul, the girls headed to Viola’s car to drop off their goods before grabbing a bite to eat. Shelby felt her phone buzzing in her purse, but had her hands too full to fish it out. Once they got to the car, she felt it go off again, but this time, she heard the sound alerting her of the text message she’d received. She shoved her bags into the backseat, pulled out her phone, and gasped.
Mason had called.
Mason had sent the text.
“What is it?” Viola asked when she saw Shelby staring at her phone, not moving.
“Showalter.”
Viola rushed around the car. “Let me see.”
Shelby yanked the phone back out of her grasp. “I haven’t even read it yet.” She was almost too afraid to see what he had to say.
“What are you waiting for?”
She shook off her stupor and entered her password. As she read it, she frowned. “Just that he has a meeting Tuesday afternoon and might be late.” She looked up at her friend. “He said to wait for him and not to leave.”
“Okay. I guess it’s good he gave you a heads up. Should you call him back?”
“No.” She couldn’t talk to him right now anyway. She didn’t know what to expect when she saw he’d reached out to her. A little part of her had hoped he’d apologize for how things ended and maybe even make plans to see her outside the club. That same part of her that was being stupid because he’d done neither. To do so might encourage her to believe there was something more going on between them, and he’d made it clear that was not the case.
At least on his side.
The jury was still out on hers.
He should’ve sent her flowers.
Roses.
Yes, he should’ve sent her roses. Two dozen long-stemme
d ones. That was what men did when they royally fucked up with their women. But Shelby wasn’t his. She couldn’t be his, not right now. He had too much shit going on at work to get carried away with her. He knew that. By God, he did, but it didn’t make it easier.
Nor did it mean he couldn’t explore something with her once he got William taken care of. But for that to happen, he needed to find a healthy balance between keeping her at a distance for now without her feeling completely dismissed by him. That felt too much like playing games, which he hated, but it was the best compromise he could come up with.
He’d realized this on Saturday, after the second night of no sleep and spending every daylight hour holed up in his office. If he couldn’t be with her, he’d work, and he did, but his thoughts belonged to one long-haired brunette.
Mason had been so distracted by thoughts of Shelby he’d almost missed seeing William logging onto the system Saturday afternoon. What had made it stand out was William had connected from his office at the firm, not remotely from another location.
Why had his boss come to work on a Saturday? It hadn’t made any sense. William spent as much time at the office as Mason did during the workweek, but the man never came in on the weekends.
Almost as quickly as William had logged in, he’d logged right back off. Although Mason had been exhausted from lack of sleep, he’d acted quickly, dragging his tired ass away from his desk to intercept his boss.
He’d succeeded in his efforts.
William hadn’t been quick enough to hide his shock at seeing Mason at the office. That had told him William was doing something specific, possibly in a hurry, and hadn’t been aware of anyone else being in the building or online. But what had been the strangest thing of all was William hadn’t been alone.
Mason hadn’t recognized the man with William, and his boss had fed him a line about leaving his access card to the country club in his office and needing it because they had a two o’clock tee time. Mason hadn’t bothered asking him about accessing the computer network, rather, he’d made a mental note to check the logs for anything suspicious.
When William had asked why he wasn’t out enjoying his Saturday, Mason had said he was looking for leads on the matter they’d discussed before. Mason didn’t go into details in front of the stranger, but William understood he was talking about Carl. Before rushing out with his mystery guest, William mentioned he’d be scheduling a five o’clock conference call Tuesday afternoon with their Tokyo counterpart since it would be first thing in the morning their time.
Mason had much more important things to do that night, so he had fought down any immediate retort. That meeting was likely to last hours and would definitely interfere with his plans with Shelby.
No way was he canceling. He’d tried calling her to let her know he’d be late, but she hadn’t answered. He’d immediately wondered if she was ignoring his calls, but didn’t blame her if she was. He didn’t like it, regardless, but everybody had a defense mechanism. He was sure hers had been activated.
Now it was Monday, and he still hadn’t been sleeping worth shit. He hadn’t found anything new on William or his involvement with the Culpepper Hedge Fund. From everything he could see, it all looked legit.
Too much so. Almost as if someone had made sure everything was in crisp order. That in and of itself had to be a red flag.
After seeing William at the office on Saturday, Mason had pulled out his special phone and relayed the details of his strange encounter to his silent partner. The man had been grateful for the information and was going to look into it immediately, but Mason hadn’t heard back if they’d found anything viable. Unfortunately, that wasn’t saying much. He was doing all the digging without much in return. It was as if he was on a need-to-know basis, and someone had decided he was on the ass end of that arrangement.
A meeting reminder popped up on his computer screen, and he rubbed his temple. He didn’t have time to fret about any of this right now. He had work to do and a status report to give to one of his clients. So that’s what he’d do. He would push the other stuff aside and give his all to his job. His real job here…making people money.
But the last thought he had as picked up his phone to make his scheduled call was that Jedrek had better be right about whoever this guy was helping him. His newest business partner was the one who’d suggested Mason contact him in the first place.
Chapter Thirteen
Shelby was a nervous wreck! She’d taken the afternoon off to get her hair and nails done before her scene with Mason tonight, but instead of calming her, it made the night seem that much more ominous. Rather that enjoying her fresh look, she’d dwelled on the fact that yes, she’d be naked, but at least her hair would look good. As if anybody would be looking at her hair when her boobs were going to be the main event.
“You’re late,” Viola said once Shelby rolled down her window after pulling up beside her car at their rendezvous point down the road from the club. Dave sat quietly beside her. He didn’t seem too thrilled at the moment, and Shelby really didn’t have time to provide any reassurances.
“Yeah, yeah.” She dug in her glove box for a napkin and shoved it into the collar of her dress to wipe away the sweat. As she stuffed the soiled napkins into the door’s compartment, she said, “Let’s go.”
She pulled out, and they followed her to the club. Yes, she was running a few minutes late, but hopefully it wouldn’t matter since Mason wasn’t supposed to be on time. At least she hoped that hadn’t changed because if he was there waiting on her, he might punish her for tardiness.
Then again, maybe he would stand her up, and she wouldn’t have to go through with this. Frankly, she was okay with that idea at the moment.
They arrived at the club all too soon, and she got out of her car while she tugged her dress. The ruffled bloomers she had on left little to the imagination. The white collar and apron and bun would fuel any left, but the panties added a nice little touch to the costume.
Not that anybody at this club would be forced to guess what was under them. She shuddered at the thought. She’d put a lot of effort into dressing up tonight as requested, and she probably wouldn’t be wearing it for long.
“You ready?” Viola asked.
“Oh crap.” She dove into her backseat and grabbed the feather duster. “Am now.”
Dave’s eyes raked over her, but he didn’t verbalize what he was thinking. He still didn’t look happy, so she didn’t feel the need to ask. What he thought of tonight didn’t matter. He was here for show.
A nervous laugh escaped her. She was the one here for show tonight.
“Uh-oh. You should’ve had a few shots of to-kill-ya before coming here. You’re shaking like a leaf.”
“Tequila wouldn’t help.”
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Viola protested. “We’ll both get drinks when we get in there.”
“We’re working,” Shelby hissed. They both needed their wits about them tonight. Neither could afford to be in a drunken stupor.
“And we need it. If Showalter isn’t here yet, then it’ll look odd if we’re not drinking. It’s a bar, for crying out loud.”
“Yeah, okay.” A drink sounded too good to pass up, so Shelby wasn’t going to argue with her. She rubbed her hands on her short skirt and headed for the front door of the club.
They entered the club and paid the outrageous cover charge. Except for Shelby. She’d been informed she was on Mr. Showalter’s guest list and didn’t have to fork over the hundred bucks.
“Drink time,” Viola said. “Grab us a table, babe. I’ll get you a beer.”
The area around the bartender was crowded, but that wasn’t a deterrent for Viola. She grabbed Shelby’s hand and yanked her along. She smiled and squeezed her way through the group to get to the counter. Shelby hunkered down behind her as she forged her path. Once they made it, Viola ordered several shots for the two of them and a light beer for Dave.
“There’re a lot of people here.” Way more tha
n there usually was. Lord, she didn’t know if she could let herself be on display.
“Just breathe. You’ll feel better with a little liquid courage.”
They watched as the bartender poured their shots and beer. Viola handed him her card, and Shelby clutched the tray of drinks. When she turned, though, she came face-to-face with someone she hadn’t expected to see.
She blushed as Master Jedrek crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her. Damn, he was intimidating.
“Hello, Sir.”
“Shelby. Are those your drinks?” he asked, skipping the pleasantries.
“Their ours,” Viola said, stepping up beside her as she tucked her card back into her minuscule purse.
Jedrek’s nostrils flared, and his gaze heated when he looked at her partner in crime…and work, technically. That was more of a reaction than he’d ever shown Shelby. Jedrek gritted his teeth as he continued to look his fill. He wasn’t being overtly obvious, but the time she’d been around him was enough for her to grasp that he wasn’t one to express himself…at least not like this. It was too bad. He was barking up the wrong tree if he was interested in Viola. Thank God Dave wasn’t standing here watching this man drink up his wife.
“And you are?” he asked, his voice dropping.
Viola didn’t seem fazed by his response to her. Maybe being blissfully unaware was a side effect to marriage.
“I’m Shelby’s friend, Viola.”
“My married friend,” Shelby specified. Viola looked puzzled, but the heat in Jedrek’s expression slammed shut. Shelby swallowed. “Um, Viola, this is Master Jedrek. He’s one of the owners of the club and a Master Dom here.”
“Jedrek. What kind of name is that?”
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally, but Shelby noticed his agitation. The man was scary with a capital scare. Why was Viola being so blunt with him? Hell, Shelby knew Viola got flack for her name, so one would think the woman wouldn’t comment on someone else’s.
