by Kacey Shea
“Break character? What, are you in a play or something?”
Kate laughed. “No, I’m a horrible actress! This is for my date.” Oh god, this was going nowhere.
“What date, Kate? Did you hurt your foot?” I hoped my direct questions would get us some real answers. Kate grinned and leaned forward with her forearms on the table. “Oh, Evie, he is so unbelievably hot. So, you know when Tate helped me out of class on Saturday after my little distraction? Well, he took me to one of the offices where Towel Boy brought me ice for my foot. Towel Boy was so dreamy and so attentive and I just couldn’t let the moment go to waste. I asked him out before he helped me out to the parking lot.” She looked away wistfully and let out an exaggerated sigh. “We’re meeting in an hour for drinks. Also, his hands are gigantic.” She winked at Jon and he rolled his eyes, his disgust apparent.
“So you’re pretending to be injured?” Jon clarified.
“Yeah, well, I can’t walk around on our date tonight like I never hurt my foot. I mean that would be weird.” I laughed at the absurdity of her reasoning. “I decided I should practice with the crutches today at work, and when everyone assumed I hurt my ankle, I just went with it. They were all being so nice, offering to bring me coffee and lunch. My boss even let me leave early. It’s just a slight sprain, by the way.” Jon shook his head at her antics but I couldn’t help but giggle. There was never a dull moment with my best friend in the room.
“So, you’re just going to lie to this guy to get in his pants?” Jon demanded.
“What? It’s okay when guys do that, but when a girl does we call her a slut?” Kate glared back at Jonathan.
“I didn’t say that. I just think you’re better than that, Kate. Besides, what do you even know about this guy? He could be a bad dude, or have an STD. Have you thought about that?”
“Ha! That’s real rich coming from you Jonathan. I’m sure you were a pious saint, spending all those years in the Army. What, are you going to act like my father now? Run a background check on every guy I date? News flash, it’s been eight years since you’ve been back. I’m a big girl now. I can take care of myself.”
“Kate. Jon. Play nice.” I tried to interject but they ignored me.
“Maybe I will run a background check on him. What’s Towel Boy’s name, or do you even know his name?” Kate’s eyes lit with anger.
“His name is not important and I may have forgotten it. What’s important is that I can spend my time however I wish, with whom ever I desire, without having to go through an approval process with you!” She was steaming mad now and Jonathan seemed to realize she was about to explode.
“Look, I just want to make sure you are safe okay? It would kill me if something happened to you.” Kate’s posture softened a little. She moved to stand.
“I’m fine. I don’t need you to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” She punctuated that last part and grabbed her crutches, but one snagged on a chair leg sending her flailing towards the floor. Jon managed to move fast enough to catch Kate just before she hit the ground.
“Yep, looks like you’ve got things completely under control.” He chuckled as he righted her. She gave him one last glare before straightening her spine and awkwardly making her way out of the restaurant. I just smiled, but once Kate was safely out the door, Jon and I couldn’t help but laugh together.
“She certainly has changed since high school.” Jon shook his head. “I don’t remember her going on a single date. Now it seems like she goes through them like skittles.”
I laughed at his analogy. “Skittles? As in she wants to taste every flavor in the rainbow?” He chuckled at me. “No, but that would probably work too. I remember in high school she loved Skittles. You two would buy this enormous bag and they’d be gone before I’d had more than a handful.”
Abby came by with our pizza and wings and placed them in the center of the table. “Enjoy!” she said before heading back to answer more phone orders. “I had completely forgotten about that. Yeah, she loved Skittles and used to make me get them every time we had movie night.” I grabbed a slice of pizza before adding, “I can’t believe you still remember that.”
Jon already had a stack of discarded chicken bones on his plate. “I remember a lot of things, Evie.” He wiped his hands before going for a slice of pizza. I took a sip of beer.
“I know you’re probably quick to make judgements about Kate and her new found love of men, but you don’t know what she’s been through. She overcame a really bad breakup in college. It’s not my story to tell, but it kind of turned her off to the whole serious relationship thing. Just try to be nice, okay? She’s still the same kind-hearted friend you knew when we were younger.” He took in my expression and nodded in agreement.
“Oh, I have some other good news! I can’t believe I forgot to tell you.” Jon started to say with renewed enthusiasm. “My buddy, Brock—you know, the one who works in private investigation back in D.C.? He said they recently upgraded a lot of their equipment so he overnighted us a box of spy wear we can use. Brock says it’s old by industry standards, but it’s better than nothing, and the cost was in our budget.”
“How much is he charging us?” I asked with skepticism. I couldn’t imagine shelling out money on this business when we barely had any clients.
“Nothing.” He beamed and I was sure my face mirrored his.
“That’s excellent news! So, what kind of equipment is it? Something cool like pens with hidden microphones or a teddy bear with a hidden camera in its eyeballs?”
“Not quite that high tech, just a camera that works well at long distances, a few bug listening devices and video cameras, that kind of thing. It may not be the latest on the market, but it will get the job done. By the way, I think I’m going to take the next few days to start tailing Tate Reynolds. I have two theories about him from the time I’ve spent asking around at the gym. One is that he’s a really boring, really nice guy. The other is that he’s hiding something. And based on my experience in the world, he’s most likely the second.”
I took a big gulp of my beer and tried to figure out why Jon’s assessment of Tate bothered me so much. He could be right, but why was I suddenly hoping Tate was just a really good guy. It wouldn’t matter since we were doing this research to report back to Stacey.
Jon finished another slice of pizza and then leaned back in the booth with satisfaction. “This may be a dive, but this is really great pizza, Evie. Good call.”
“I told you it was the best.”
“Oh, I forgot to ask. How did your PT session with Tate go today? Learn anything useful?”
“I don’t know if I learned anything useful besides how to squat with proper form, and even that is questionable.” He laughed and I continued. “We did start to build friendly conversation, but he seems to be pretty closed off about his private life. It was hard to ask him questions without being obvious.”
“You were always a horrible liar, Evie.” Jon grinned. “One of the things I love best about you.” I finished eating and we talked a little longer before heading back home.
Why didn’t I tell Jon about spending the afternoon with Tate? He would have been happy to see that I was making progress on this case, I was sure of it. However, divulging the details of our day together seemed like a betrayal of the honest and real time Tate and I had shared. I pushed down my uneasy feelings and decided it wouldn’t hurt to keep this from Jon for now. It really didn’t matter because I didn’t have any useful information to report. I kept telling myself these things as I drove home. By the time I pulled into our complex I had pacified my conscience and persuaded myself I was doing the right thing.
THE NEXT MORNING I DRESSED early, selecting a simple green blouse, black leggings and my favorite black leather boots. I pulled my hair back into a simple low bun and threw on some mascara and lip glass to complete my look. I packed my gym bag in case I didn’t have time to come back to the apartment between our client meetings and my next personal t
raining session with Tate.
I walked into the kitchen to find Jon leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping what looked to be one of his disgusting protein concoctions. He was fully engrossed in whatever he was reading on his phone screen. He looked entirely too good, wearing a pair of pressed khaki pants and a button down black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off his strong forearms. His hair was still wet from his earlier shower. He looked as if he were pulled right from a Ralph Lauren advertisement.
“Good morning.” I greeted him and moved to grab a water bottle from the fridge before we had to leave. Jon looked up from his phone. “Good morning, QT. You look nice today.” He grinned at me and then added, “Ready to gain some more clients?” I let out an exaggerated sigh.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. I just hope they won’t be as annoying as Stacey Mills-Sandoval. So what’s the plan?”
“Our first meeting is at eight o’clock at Cartel Coffee Lab over by the university; Miss Veronica Ortega is a grad student there. I don’t know exactly what she wants from us, though. She only said she needed the upmost discretion, which I promised wouldn’t be a problem.
“Our next meeting is in the North Valley at ten with a Mr. Blackman. He is a recently divorced single father of two teenage daughters. He told me he had two different projects he needed our assistance with, so that should be interesting.”
“I’m going to drive separately so I can make my PT session at eleven, or I can cancel if you think it’ll cut things too close.”
“No, if we get held up with Mr. Blackman, just leave when you need to. I don’t want to lose any momentum we can gain on the Tate Reynolds investigation. I plan on tailing him today and tomorrow after he leaves work.”
“He said he works most mornings and then goes back for the evening rush.” I remembered what Tate told me about his work schedule and hoped the information helped.
“Okay, so let’s plan to meet back here for dinner so we can strategize a plan for our new clients. We better get going, QT. Morning traffic is a bitch.” We left our apartment and headed out to meet our next clients. It was exciting that our business was already growing. I didn’t feel we had actually earned it, but with Jon as my partner, it seemed we could take on the world.
Cartel Coffee Lab had a great metro hipster vibe going on inside. It boasted the best fair trade organic and local grown coffee in the metro area. I ordered Jon and I coffee and he found us a table in the back corner, away from the rush of students shuffling in for their morning fix before tackling a day of lectures and homework. We waited a few minutes before Veronica Ortega walked in and found us. I’m sure we both stuck out in this crowd, being both too old and too mainstream compared to our surroundings.
Veronica was exceptionally beautiful, short and thin, her Latina heritage showing through her gorgeous brown eyes, dark hair and caramel skin tone. She wore a simple bright orange maxi dress with strappy sandals that accentuated her flawless skin and figure. Her hair was styled in loose long curls and she wore big hoop earnings that complimented the unique gold bangles adorning each arm.
Veronica greeted us with a nervous handshake and took a seat. Jon made introductions and I smiled reassuringly at her. Her tight smile and slight shaking of hands made me wonder if she was apprehensive about our meeting.
“What can we help you with Miss Ortega?” Jon asked, and she paused with a look of uneasiness.
“Don’t worry. Nothing you say will shock us, Veronica,” I added. This seemed to help her relax.
“I want to hire you to look into my fiancé.” At that I noticed the giant rock upon her left ring finger. “I feel horrible having to do this, but I have my suspicions that he has not always been faithful. You see, we have been together for five years now and I truly love him. He has a selfish nature, which I have always tolerated, because it is just part of who he is. I know he loves me, but I need to know with one hundred percent certainty that I can trust him.” She glanced down at her ring finger and shook her head. “You must think I’m a horrible person.”
“Not at all Miss Ortega, if your gut tells you there is a possibility of his unfaithfulness, I say trust it. We’ll do all we can to assure you of his intentions. It’ll be done in the most understated manner so nothing comes back to your name.”
“And if nothing comes back, you can be free to move forward with your engagement in the fullest of confidence,” I added to Jon’s statement, and Veronica looked relieved.
“Thank you both. You really don’t know what this means to me. My father cheated on my mother for most of their marriage. She always took it and looked the other way, but I never understood how she could stand by someone who treated her so horribly. It’s hard for me to comprehend, but she loved him and was willing to let those other women have a piece of him as long as he always came back to her.” She shook her head before continuing.
“I knew that was something I never wanted for my own life. I’m sure I’m just overacting because Anthony keeps asking to set a date for the wedding, but I want to be sure. I think if I married him and found myself repeating history all over again, it would break me.”
I nodded in sympathy and Jon answered. “Well, I’m sure you are much stronger than you think, Miss Ortega. I know you wanted extra discretion, so I prepared our contract and disclaimer documents ahead of time. Included is a questionnaire so we have the information we need to get started. You can take these with you and either email or fax them back to us. As soon as we receive those and the retainer, we will begin investigating right away.”
Veronica took the folder from Jonathan and began looking things over. Jon and I had spent some time last night putting together a welcome packet, if you will, for potential clients. I was really impressed with how everything came out. It made me feel less sleazy and more professional about prying into people’s private lives. She finished reading through the paperwork and looked up.
“I’m probably being paranoid, but I’d like to fill these forms out here and give them to you now. I don’t want to chance a digital paper trail that will lead back to me. Do you have time to wait?” I looked at Jon to answer. We had our next client meeting across town; it probably wasn’t professional to ask her to hurry the hell up and start signing.
“We have another meeting to get to, but I’m sure Evelyn wouldn’t mind waiting here while you complete the forms. I can head to our meeting now and she can meet me there.” He turned to me. “Does that work okay?” I nodded.
“Of course, I’d be happy to wait. Veronica, can I get you a coffee or some tea? I’m going to get another coffee while you start these.”
She shook her head, offered a polite, “No, thank you,” and began the task at hand. The forms were fairly basic, but the background sheet on the person being investigated was very detailed to help us try every angle possible. Jon and I stood, and he walked with me on my way back in line.
“Text me when you leave, okay? I’ll head out and start our meeting with Blackman.” I agreed and he was out the door quickly.
As I stood in line I pondered all that Veronica had shared about her family and the fears of her fiancé’s infidelity. I couldn’t imagine growing up in that kind of environment. Her obvious disdain for her father’s actions made sense to me, but her own mother’s quiet acceptance must have hurt even more.
My parents had been for married thirty-two years and not once had either stepped out on their marriage, that I knew of. The constant love they had shown each other set the bar high for my sister’s and my own expectations in a partner. The dedication, love, and laughter they showed over the years were something I wanted in my own future relationship. Anything less was unacceptable.
I wondered if Veronica’s suspicions of her fiancé came from insecurities deeply rooted by her parents, or if they were justified. I hoped not the former, and we could well assure her of his fidelity so she could move forward with her life without doubts getting in the way.
When I got back to the table, Vero
nica had most of the forms filled out. Twenty minutes later, I was in my car with the completed forms and a PayPal notification in my inbox alerting me of the transferred retainer. I put the address Jon sent me into my phone’s GPS and flew down the freeway singing along to my favorite tunes. I glanced at my phone when I heard a text notification.
Jon: Second meeting done. Just go to PT. I’ll meet you back home tonight to discuss.
Well, okay then. I had to cut across four lanes of traffic to get off the freeway and start making my way towards the gym. I drove past three separate car accidents, so what should have taken twenty minutes took over an hour. I rushed into Lift Me Up to find Tate chatting with Carrie at the front desk, saying something that had her giggling in amusement.
My irritation at being stuck in traffic must have filtered into my attitude because seeing Tate and Carrie together pissed me off. I didn’t try to hide my annoyance as I approached them both. Carrie looked up and smiled. “Hi, Evelyn. How are you doing?” My eyes flickered over to Tate’s still grinning face. “I’ve been better,” I ground out. Tate responded to my rudeness by stating the obvious.
“You’re late.” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m not late. Our session starts at eleven and it will be eleven in exactly—” I paused to look at my cell, “—two minutes.” I gave him a forced smile and he tried to hide his frustration at my answer.
“Well, you don’t look ready to workout dressed like that. As your trainer, I need you to respect my time the way I respect yours. I’m here ready to go while you obviously are not.” My jaw dropped open. Really? He was going to make an example out of me right now in front of Carrie? It wasn’t even my fault I was late. Usually, I was impeccably on time, if not early. I glanced at Carrie and noticed she was trying to ignore our conversation by looking down at the calendar in front of her.
“Look, it’s not my fault okay? I hit a bunch of traffic on my way here and I should have been here at least a half an hour ago.” I should have just apologized and made my way into the locker rooms, but there was something about his face and tone that just wound me up.
