Courting Gossip

by Kimberly Dean

  ‘Go,’ she said when he hesitated. ‘Manage the chaos. I need to go home anyway. I haven’t been there for ever, and I need to see the place.’

  To be precise, she hadn’t seen her rowhouse since the break-in had been discovered. The repairs had been completed, and her cleaning service assured her that everything had been tidied up. Still, she needed to go home. She needed to put that whole fiasco behind her.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want me with you when you go in there?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ll be OK.’ It was time to put things back on an even keel, and she wanted privacy to think about a few things. ‘I need fresh undies,’ she teased.

  The corner of his mouth looked like it didn’t know what to do, go up or down.

  ‘All right.’ The frown won, but there wasn’t time to argue about it. He shoved his hand into his pocket and surprised her by pulling out a key. ‘If anything goes wrong or it doesn’t feel right, go back to my house. Just let me know where you end up.’

  She smiled softly. ‘Are you giving me the keys to your place, Brody?’

  ‘Or you could go to my office. It’s closer.’

  He pulled out his keychain and began to remove another key, but she stopped him. She went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. ‘I’ll make keys for you, too, but for tonight I’ll be fine.’

  The muscle in his temple ticked. ‘Text me to let me know how things are going.’

  ‘I will. You too.’ She pushed him gently on his way. ‘Go, do your thing. Fix things for that poor woman.’

  * * *

  The house looked normal when Genieve finally made it home. Dusk was heavy as she drove down her street. Everything looked so ordinary, yet so eerily quiet. Some of her neighbours were still out and about, but no reporters waited to snap pictures of her. The yellow police tape was gone, and the only police car she’d seen was a cruiser on patrol a few blocks back. She smiled in surprise at the flowers blooming in the window planters. They looked to have thrived without her.

  She turned at the corner and then again at the alley. Coming from this direction made her more uneasy. This was how Maggie had approached. She’d come up from behind and had broken in the back door. Genieve tried to shake off the heebie-jeebies as she took her spot under the covered parking. She hurried to collect her things.

  Her back door looked different as she approached it. The colour matched the old one, but instead of a door with a window it was a solid panel of steel. Oh, it was moulded with fake panes and a bold trim to look pretty, but the thing was impenetrable.

  She hurriedly dug her keys out of her purse. The landscaping stone had been replaced. It looked identical to the one that had been used to break her old window, but this one didn’t have the weathering of the adjacent stones. She wondered where the old one was…down at police headquarters as evidence?

  The little differences looked big to her, and she worried about what she’d find inside. She pulled her roller bag over the threshold, and the wheels clattered. She hit the light switch and quickly locked the door behind her.

  Inside the kitchen, nothing was out of place. That almost disturbed her more. Her cleaning service had gone overboard. They’d left the place spotless, yet for her they’d done too good a job. She walked further into the room, almost afraid to touch anything. She remembered peering around that young cop and seeing lab techs swarming everywhere.

  She nearly jumped out of her shoes when her phone binged. She pressed a hand to her heart as she dug the phone out of her purse.

  ‘Did you make it there? Are you OK?’

  She smiled softly. She’d barely made it inside the door. ‘Everything is good. You?’

  ‘Crazy here. It’s going to be a while.’

  ‘I’ll wait up.’

  She put the phone away and straightened her shoulders. ‘Get it over with already,’ she told herself.

  She headed to the living room, turning on lights as she went. The room had been left untouched in the break-in, but there wasn’t so much as a speck of dust on the furniture. Dreading what she would or wouldn’t find, she headed up the stairs to her bedroom. By the time she made it to the last step, her fear had dissipated and her anger had returned.

  This was her home. Margaret Harris had had no right to come in here and do what she’d done. Genieve would be damned if she let the woman destroy her sense of safety in her own home.

  She strode into her bedroom as if she owned it – because she did. It had been cleaned and polished, too, but her gaze settled on the empty space on the wall where the oil painting had hung. The break-in had happened, but it was time to get over it.

  She had other things to worry about.

  She dropped her purse on the bed and sank down beside it. She looked around at everything. Her life had changed in the time she’d been away – and it couldn’t go back to what it had been.

  What was she supposed to do now?

  She couldn’t go back to being an escort, not even one of the non-exclusive variety. Brody wouldn’t be able to stand it, even if she just went to book readings and Capitals hockey games. She wouldn’t like it either. She loved going out, but she only wanted to do those things with him, her outwardly stoic, inwardly passionate man.

  The heaviness around her heart squeezed. She’d been mulling over the problem for days, but she still didn’t have an answer. She couldn’t work for Luxxor any more, and there weren’t that many more odd jobs around Brody’s house. She had to work; being idle drove her nuts. It was time to look for a new way to support herself, a new diversion that focused on her strengths and not her weaknesses, but what?

  She laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Luxxor had brought her to this point. It had given her opportunities. In the end, though, it had also attracted the attention of Kevin Murphy and Maggie Harris…but that little twit would have been angry whether she’d been escorting Samuel Gunderson or just looking at him cross-eyed.

  ‘Uggggghhh.’ She covered her face with her hands and rubbed her temples. She’d figure it out. She had to.

  Her phone started making noise again. Brody was worrying about her. She felt for her purse and pulled the phone out of her pocket. ‘You’re starting to hover,’ she said.

  ‘Genieve?’

  Her eyes popped open. It wasn’t Brody; it was Nina. She draped her arm over her forehead. Had she summoned her? She wasn’t ready to talk about this, not yet. She hadn’t even made decisions for herself. ‘Hi, Nina. I just got back to town. I guess I should have called. Is everything OK?’

  ‘Can you meet me at the Apple Tree Grille? I want to talk to you about something important.’

  Now? Genieve looked at the time. What could Nina want to talk about that she couldn’t say over the phone? ‘Sure.’

  The restaurant wasn’t that far away, and Brody had said he’d be late.

  ‘I’ll see you there soon.’

  ‘OK.’ Genieve sat up with a frown. Had something gone wrong with Maggie or Murphy? No, Brody would have told her. Was it something with her friends? Dane or Rielle? Sienna? Jasmine? Casey?

  Or had Nina found out about the steps she and Brody were taking against Kevin Murphy? Uneasiness prickled up and down Genieve’s neck. They weren’t trying to sabotage any measures Nina had taken, but they should have spoken to her first. She hoped they hadn’t screwed anything up.

  Worried, she stood and brushed off her clothes. She’d worn the jeans and clingy top back from the beach, but the restaurant wasn’t fancy. She went to the bathroom to freshen up and texted Brody before heading out to her car. ‘Meeting Nina at the Apple Tree.’

  His response came as she was putting on her seatbelt. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Don’t know. I’ll tell you when I see you.’

  ‘Be safe.’

  ‘You too.’

  * * *

  The dinner rush was over when Genieve arrived at the Apple Tree Grille, but the place was still busier than it had been in the wee hours of the night. She looked around for a famil
iar face. Nina wasn’t there, so she asked for a booth. The waitress put her in the same one they’d had by the window during their late-night visit, and she sat down to wait. That night seemed long ago, and the incident at the Emissary was fading from her memory – or she was pushing it out – although that was when she’d first begun spending more time with Brody…

  ‘Can I get you something to drink?’ the waitress asked.

  Genieve snapped out of her reverie. ‘Water, please. With lemon.’

  Part of her wished they were still at the beach.

  The door to the restaurant opened, and heads turned when a new customer arrived. It had to be Nina. The clip-clop of heels was a dead giveaway, yet even Genieve did a double-take when her boss came around the corner.

  ‘Wow,’ she said. The heels were cherry red with a single wide strap around the ankle. She lusted after them. Bad. They matched a clean-lined, stunning red dress that showed off Nina’s slim figure. ‘What’s the occasion?’

  Her boss slid into the booth seat opposite from her. ‘An event at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.’

  ‘Oh, the astronaut gig,’ Genieve said, wiggling her eyebrows. Some jobs were just sexier than others.

  ‘Yes, the astronauts.’ Nina tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘Josh has a burr under his saddle about them.’

  ‘Josh?’ Genieve asked carefully.

  She was stunned to see Nina’s cheeks turn pink.

  ‘Hot tea with honey,’ she told the waitress when the woman dropped by.

  Genieve waited patiently.

  ‘Yes, Josh Morgan.’ Nina straightened the silverware on the table before her. ‘My detective. We’ve been seeing one another.’

  ‘Oh, Nina. I’m so happy for you.’ Genieve laid her hand over her friend’s on the table. She truly was excited. Nina was such a private person, but she needed somebody strong enough to match her, and the detective deserved to go weak in the knees. ‘I think you two are really good together.’

  ‘Thank you. Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.’

  ‘Your relationship with the cop?’

  Nina nodded. ‘I think you can help, but first, how are you?’ Her boss’s brown eyes took on the observant cast that nobody could escape. ‘You were upset when you called me wanting to cancel your contract, but then when we spoke about Kevin Murphy, things appeared to be better?’

  Genieve glanced out the window. People were still walking by. The Metro station was only a block away. Lights in neighbouring buildings showed others were burning the late-night oil. She wondered how Brody’s work was going.

  ‘We had our first fight,’ she said quietly. Even thinking back, it hurt. She roused herself and gave Nina a wink. ‘Then we made up.’

  Nina wasn’t as easily manipulated as Darien had been. ‘Is it just a fling, or is it serious?’

  Genieve bit her lip. Was it time to be honest? She didn’t think the situation was going to change. She knew it wouldn’t from her end. ‘Very.’

  ‘Oh, good,’ her boss said, relaxing back against the booth. She smiled politely when the waitress brought her drink, and she put the tea bag in the hot water to steep.

  ‘Good?’ Genieve ventured. ‘I didn’t know if you liked him or not.’

  ‘If you like him, then I do, too.’ Nina touched her earring. ‘And I’ve noticed the thawing in his cold exterior. He gave me a heads-up that the two of you are going after Murphy?’

  Genieve winced. She should have thought to do that. Luxxor had as much at stake as they did. ‘I hope we didn’t step on your toes.’

  ‘Not at all.’ Nina’s smile showed the icy steel that was at her core. ‘Feel free to take your shot at the bastard.’

  Genieve nodded and drank some water.

  ‘Brody’s not cold,’ she said quietly. Not when you knew how to read him. ‘Trust me.’

  ‘He’s protective of you.’

  ‘So is your detective. How did you get him to drop the investigation into Luxxor?’

  Nina tilted her head. ‘You took away any probable cause he might have had.’

  ‘Something tells me he didn’t want to look too hard for more.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Nina dunked the tea bag up and down. Finally, she removed it and added the honey.

  Her movements were so crisp, Genieve knew something was up. Her boss had called her out in the middle of the night, and she’d arrived looking like Cinderella at the ball. This wasn’t like Nina at all. It felt like impulse. It felt like something big.

  ‘Do you love him, Nina?’

  ‘Yes,’ her boss said throatily. Her eyes seemed darker when her gaze pinned her from across the table. ‘Are you in love with Brody?’

  ‘Desperately,’ Genieve said.

  ‘He calls you Jenny.’

  She nodded, too choked up to say how much she loved that.

  ‘OK,’ Nina said. She took a deep breath and sat back in her seat. ‘Here’s how I see it. I’m the madam of an escort service, and I’m involved with a Metro PD detective. You’re Luxxor’s top escort, and you’re seeing a DC political operative. This isn’t going to work for any of us.’

  Genieve sagged in relief. She didn’t have to explain it. Nina was three steps ahead of her, as always. ‘I know. I don’t want to quit on you, Nina, but I can’t do it any more. I need to get out of the escort business.’

  Nina stopped with her tea lifted halfway. ‘Not totally out, I hope.’

  ‘I’m open to ideas.’

  ‘Well, I have one.’ She took a drink and set the cup back down on its saucer. ‘I’ve been contemplating it for a while, but tonight at that event everything suddenly became crystal clear. I still need to work out the details. I probably should have waited, but I wanted to run it by you first.’

  ‘Me? Why me?’

  ‘Because it’s a proposal for you…’

  * * *

  The curbside parking was filled when Brody finally made it to Jenny’s rowhouse. It was nearly midnight as he drove down the alley. Her car was in the covered parking, but her visitor spot was open. It was a tight space like most parking in the city, but he took it. He called her so he wouldn’t startle her.

  ‘I’m here, at your back door.’

  He didn’t have to even knock. He was still judging the sturdiness of the new door when she pulled it open.

  He frowned. ‘You need a security chain on that.’

  She hadn’t even looked out the window before she’d let him in.

  ‘You called me, silly.’ She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside.

  He loosened his tie as he walked into her kitchen. The repairmen and the cleaners had done a good job. He’d wanted the place to say nothing but ‘home’ when she returned.

  He ran his hand down her side. She was dressed for bed in another of her skimpy nighties. This one was snow-white with lace. It woke up his tired body fast.

  ‘Everything OK?’ he asked. She seemed hyped up. ‘What did Nina want?’

  ‘In a minute.’ She led him into the living room and tugged off his jacket. She tossed it over a chair. ‘Did you fix the situation with the runaway?’

  He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘For the first time ever, I just resorted to telling the press to back off.’

  ‘Did it work?’

  ‘It did, because I reminded them that this was a kid.’ He shook his head. Usually the complexity of his job filled him with energy, but tonight it had drained him. ‘They need family counselling, but I think I got the press off of them.’

  ‘You helped, Brody. I know you did.’

  ‘Yeah? Well, I think I had the easy part.’

  He watched her closely. Something was up with her. He could feel nervous energy coming off her in waves. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were bright, but the nerves weren’t all good. She was wearing a hole in the carpet, and she wasn’t pacing. ‘OK, spill. What was the deal with Luxxor? Is something up? Do I need to get on something?’

  ‘Sit.’

  She
pushed him back towards the sofa until he complied. Still, he sat on the edge.

  ‘It’s not anything bad,’ she said. ‘It’s just something I never expected, and…it’s a lot and…I’m not sure what to do.’

  ‘Jenny, calm down and tell me.’

  Her shoulders lowered, and she shook out her hands. She nodded and fixed her gaze on him. ‘Nina made me a business offer.’

  His chin came up. ‘So you wouldn’t have to be an escort any more?’

  ‘You’ve been thinking about that, too?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Thinking, debating, strategising and considering all-out begging…‘What’s the offer?’

  Her chest rose and fell. ‘She wants to sell Luxxor to me.’

  Brody rocked back in his seat. ‘Her company? The whole thing? That’s…Why?’

  Was Luxxor still under investigation? Had somebody higher up than Detective Morgan taken on the case?

  ‘Because she doesn’t want to put herself at odds with Josh any more, and she’s starting a new business – a matchmaking service for elite clients.’

  Brody stopped. A matchmaking service. It wasn’t that big a step away from an escort service, but there was one huge difference. ‘She’s going clean,’ he said in astonishment.

  Genieve nodded and unconsciously rubbed her stomach. ‘But she doesn’t want to leave her employees or her clients in the lurch. Luxxor is an established company. It’s profitable and powerful…’

  ‘And dangerous.’ He was beginning to pick up on her reservations.

  ‘It’s got good policies in place to protect itself, and, after this whole thing with Kevin Murphy, I’ve got some ideas on how to improve that.’ She was gesturing wildly with her hands, and she’d begun a kind of pacing, only in a three-foot area.

  ‘So you’re interested,’ he said.