“Then as I was saying, decide which item you want to pawn, and we’ll all meet at Queen’s Gold. This is one time you won’t want to bring your brother. Coco, well, she and he won’t exactly get along.”
“Fine, but I still don’t see the point in pawning something.”
“I want you to really think about this and answer truthfully. Have you ever gotten so angry that you did something crazy . . . like broke something or hit something? Maybe you threw a Waterford goblet, I don’t know, something, anything.”
Loren let out a little groan.
“Ah ha, you have. What’d you do?” Adeline circled her index finger.
“When I was in high school, I was waiting to turn into a parking spot. The place was crowded, there were no spots. So I’d been waiting for this spot a good ten minutes, just as the car backed out and I started to pull in, a little Sportster coming from the other direction swooped in and took the spot. The woman just got out of her little convertible, flipped me the middle finger, and walked off. I was pissed and had to circle several more times before I found a spot. When I got out of my car, I grabbed my purse and my milkshake—”
“Oh, god,” Adeline moaned, already imagining where this was going.
“As I walked past the girl’s car, I accidentally dropped my milkshake inside, but the lid wasn’t on all the way, oops. Dairy in the Florida sun sucks big time. Of course, I didn’t realize how bad until I had Noelle and she dropped a bottle of milk that I didn’t see for a few days.”
“That is priceless. Can I ask you how that made you feel afterward?”
“Vindicated.” Loren’s words were spoken with conviction.
“Did you ever regret doing it?”
“Sad to say, no, not once. That woman really was a bitch.”
“This is why we have you do this, it seems trivial, I know. But it’s the first step of moving on, and you need to feel that your actions are justifiable. And you need a little bit of absolution from a few retaliative actions.”
Riley sat there shaking his head, obviously never having heard this story or seeing this side of his sister.
Melanie was still laughing while Adeline and Riley were in a stare down . . . again. “Okay, well, I think we have everything we need for today. We’ll be in touch.” She stood and shook Loren’s hand.
Riley stopped and turned to face Adeline, a slow heat crept up her cheeks. “Tell me, do you actually do anything that requires talent? You know, besides being a pain in the ass?”
An evil smile crossed Adeline’s face. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“What?” Riley didn’t look pleased.
“What’s something that you want, really want?” Adeline arched one brow.
“Besides seeing you knocked off your fucking high horse? I don’t know.”
Adeline tapped her toe and waited.
“Fine, I want to get approved for rezoning on a piece of land that I purchased so I can build affordable housing.”
Adeline held out her hand. “Let me show you a little about my job, and I’ll help you get your property rezoned.”
Riley was slow to move, but finally, he took her hand in his and shook, instantly appearing as if he regretted it when triumph flashed in Adeline’s eyes.
Adeline left the office bouncing. Fucking bouncing. She felt as if she’d just gotten the upper hand on Riley Thomas. She may not have a lot of good qualities, she knew that she could be selfish and a bitch at times, but damn it all to hell, she was a kickass roadster. She could manipulate a car better than she could . . . Riley. Adeline let out a laugh and then silently chastised herself for being a grade-A bitch, again.
Chapter Five
Adeline
The one thing that was awesome about Adeline’s co-workers was that they each knew what to do. Sure, they talked things out, but during the day, they went their own ways and did their individual jobs. It worked really well for them.
Adeline had taken what she had learned about the interns and then set to trying to discover more about them on other social media sites. From searching Facebook and Instagram she quickly learned that besides their looks the other common denominator seemed to be location, location, location. They all had taken food shots and tagged it Capital Grille. Since there were only two Capital Grilles, Adeline decided to give them both a go, and headed to the one on International Drive first.
Adeline shimmied her shoulders then ran her hands under her breasts to make sure that the girls were nice and perky. If she were ever asked to write her memoirs, people would crucify her over the stunts she had pulled all in the name of getting an insider tip. Strutting up to the bar, she bent down to check the buckle on her strappy stilettos, confident that this gave the man pouring the alcohol a hint of her generous cleavage.
“What can I do for you?” His voice was smooth as he set a napkin onto the bar in front of her.
“What can you do for me or what can you get me? That might be two different things.” Adeline winked as she trailed one devilishly red painted fingernail along the polished surface. “As far as drinks, I’ll take a vodka cranberry with a twist of lime. Top shelf, please.”
“Coming right up.” The bartended grabbed the more expensive vodka off the shelf. “So, what is a beautiful lady like you doing here all alone?”
Adeline stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. “Would you believe me if I told you that I was stood up?”
“What kind of idiot would stand up a gorgeous woman like you?”
“You’re too kind. Someone who I thought was genuinely a nice guy but clearly wasn’t. He’s going through a divorce, maybe he decided that he just wasn’t ready to start dating, or that he wanted to stay with his wife, you know? Which, if that’s the case, then good for him. I mean, I would never want to stand between a man and true love or hinder a couple from trying one more time.” Adeline drew out the long I sound to make her words sound a little more Southern. “I want more for myself. I’m not one who would be happy being the other woman.”
“Well, if he did stand you up, then it is his loss because, honey, I’d never stand you up. By the way, did you leave your name with the hostess in case he shows up, maybe he’s just running late?”
Adeline picked up her phone and touched the screen to check the time. Amping up her act, she let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I did, but I doubt he’s coming. He said that he’d meet me in the bar forty-five minutes ago.”
“You know there are two Capital Grille locations. Maybe he’s at the other one.”
Adeline let out a small chuckle and then placed her hands on the bartender’s as he set her drink in front of her. “Thank you, that’s sweet of you to try to make me feel better, but he said he comes here all of the time, and he gave me the directions, so I know this is the right place.”
“Who was it you were meeting, maybe I know him?”
Adeline leaned in to whisper. “Greg Delaney.”
The bartender’s eyes widened in shock, then he stuck out his hand. “I’m Greyson.”
“Hi, Greyson, I’m Adeline.”
“Adeline, I hate to tell you this, but since you told me you don’t date married men, I feel it’s only right to help you, especially since I have four sisters. Greg Delaney isn’t leaving his wife, in fact, he and his wife were here last night. I mean, he comes here with a lot of different people, and yes, some of them are beautiful women, but he and his wife didn’t look as if they were on the outs.”
“But he’s the mayor. Why would he lie? Don’t people realize that he’s cheating on his wife?” Adeline wiped at her face to smooth away her crocodile tears. “My soulmate is not another woman’s husband. No, thank you, that is not me.”
“He’s usually here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they’re our slowest nights, and he sits over in that side room, so most people never see him.” Greyson fixed a drink for another person before making his way back over to Adeline.
But she had laid a twenty next to her half-empty glass and was already out th
e door. Adeline would have to send Olivia back there on Tuesdays and Thursdays to snag a slew of pictures.
When Adeline finally got home, she headed to her bedroom. Part of the company uniform was wearing dresses and heels to give that polished-lady look. But at home, they let loose, let their real character shine. In a pair of hip-hugging jeans, Adeline headed to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Beluga vodka to continue where she’d left off earlier. Melanie jumped up from the couch and grabbed four glasses while Olivia snagged the orange juice and cranberry juice. Then they all settled in the living room, where Sunday was lounging, attention riveted to whatever she was working on.
“Olivia, can you start swinging by Capital Grille on International Drive on Tuesday and Thursday? There is a small room that I assume is used for parties on the other side of the bar, look in there.”
“Will do. Am I looking for anything in particular?”
“Just a tip that Greg likes to hang out there on those days with different women that aren’t his wife.”
Melanie raised one brow but didn’t ask how Adeline got that information.
“Got it.” Olivia nodded before taking a sip of her drink. “So, are you and Riley going to be a problem? Because, I have to tell you, if you don’t get whatever feud you two have between you under control, it’s going to cause issues.”
“Nope. He’s going to cave.”
“Oh, god, Adeline, what did you do?”
“Nothing. Well . . . just made a deal with him. I agreed to help him with one of his projects if he spends a day in my shoes. Not literally, of course. But I am going to take him to Zotz.”
“Fuck, we better bring the paramedics.” Melanie shook her head.
“And vomit bags, remember the first time we all rode with Adeline on the open road? Imagine on a closed circuit.” Sunday let out a groan and held her stomach.
“I’ll pick up a neck brace in case he gets whiplash,” Olivia said before taking another, longer sip of her drink.
“Did you not get the hint that you drive like a maniac when even Siri changed your GPS directions and said, ‘Stop, you’ve arrived at your destination, now let me the fuck out?’” Everyone except Adeline gave Sunday a high-five for that comment.
“Haha, very funny. I’m just tired of his cocky attitude. Thinking that we need his money and then freaking his poor sister out. What a douche.”
“When Loren started crying, I saw something in him, it changed.” Sunday nodded.
“I saw something in him, too . . . oh, wait, that was in his jeans.” Adeline laughed and then ducked when Melanie swung a pillow at her head.
“Really? You can hate him and admire his crotch at the same time?”
“I’m multi-talented, what can I say?” Adeline shrugged. “Do you think after all of this that Loren will go back to her husband? Sunday? What do you think?”
Sunday was still fixated on her laptop when she answered, “Umm, I agree, Adeline is multi-talented.”
“Will you three grow up? I meant about Loren backing out.”
“No, I don’t think she will back out.” Sunday didn’t look up from her computer as she made that announcement.
“Sunday, what are you looking for? I swear, you spend more than half your life behind that computer screen.” Adeline pointed. “You’re going to get a hump in your back and then never find a hot guy.”
“Who says that I’m looking?”
“You can’t avoid men forever,” Adeline singsonged.
Sunday looked up from her laptop. “Oh, believe me, I can. By the way, you all need to see this.”
“What?” The ladies moved to stand behind Sunday and read over her shoulder.
“The mayor has a few land deals coming up, and one is rather large, one of the largest investments the city has made since the budget cuts. I’m trying to get more information on it because the property isn’t slated for anything; it is just being purchased.”
“Who owns the property?” Adeline asked, thoroughly curious.
“That’s what is pissing me off, I don’t know. All the records are sealed. Kind of like what Loren mentioned . . . hidden.”
“Do you think he’s selling her property to the city?”
“Don’t know.” Sunday closed the screen she was on and opened another one.
“Can he do that? If it is Loren’s, was hers before the marriage, and is slated for Noelle’s trust, then technically he committed fraud, right?” Adeline looked at Melanie for answers.
“It depends.” Melanie picked up her iPad and started Googling.
“On what?”
“On how the trust was set up, who the trustees are. But we aren’t even positive that the property Sunday found is Loren’s. Does Belle still work at the courthouse?”
“Yep, I just saw her the other day at Starbucks. She is doing great and happy that we were able to help her get rid of her crazy ex.”
“She find anyone new yet?”
“Nah, she says all the guys nowadays send dick pics. She’s waiting for one to send her a picture of his latest paycheck and the inside of his medicine cabinet. Until then, she won’t know whether he has a stable job, or what kind of fucked-up shit he has going on. She thinks those two things should be prerequisites.”
“Word.” Sunday held up her glass in solidarity.
“Have you been able to find anything, Livi?” Adeline stepped back and then moved back over to the sofa to take her seat again.
“Yes, thought you’d never ask.” Olivia set down her drink then pulled out three stacks of black-and-white photographs from the folder in front of her. She handed Melanie, Sunday, and Adeline each a set. “As you know, I’ve been hanging out at City Hall, and, well, it’s been boring as fuck until today. Our good Mr. Mayor left to go play golf, but when he arrived at the Winter Park Golf and Racquet Club, he didn’t grab his clubs.”
“He didn’t? What did he do?” Adeline asked, already flipping through the photos.
“He got into a silver Mercedes with dark tinted windows and left.”
“Where did they go?” Adeline flipped through the photos and stared at a small brick home.
“To a home over in Isle Wood off Snow Queen. Unfortunately, I have no clue who she is, do any of you?” Olivia pulled off a piece of paper and handed it to Sunday. “This is the license plate number and the address on Snow Queen, see what you can find out, please.”
“On it.” Sunday refocused on her keyboard. “I sent Piper a text with the license plate number to see if she could find out anything for us.”
“Good to have deputies as friends.” Adeline held her glass out and tapped it against Sunday’s.
Melanie hadn’t said a word, she was still staring at the photos.
“You’re awfully quiet, what’s up?”
“This woman, she looks familiar.” Melanie took a snapshot of the photo with her iPad then uploaded it to several different image-recognition programs, including TinEye, CamFind, and Google Visual Search. A second later, she let out a low whistle. “Oh, shit. I knew she was familiar.” Melanie pulled her legs up under her and sat taller on the couch. “The woman is . . . Hillary Chatham.”
“Holy fuck.” Adeline spewed her vodka. “As in Councilman Chatham’s wife?”
“That’s the one.”
“Is that their house?” Adeline was wiping up the mess she’d made.
“Not sure, the home isn’t listed in the tax records.”
“Okay, we don’t know whose home it is, nor whether something inappropriate is going on, right? All these pictures are pretty innocent.”
“Well, from what I’ve gathered, no one has ever accused him of having an affair, the man is spotless.” Sunday opened a document on her computer. “Gregory William Delaney, graduated valedictorian from Boone High School, received his master’s degree from Stetson in business, and according to all interviews, he married the love of his life . . .”
Melanie scoffed at that remark.
Sunday smiled and conti
nued. “He has one daughter, Noelle, and no criminal record . . . not even a fucking traffic citation. He won the race for mayor by a landslide, and he is known for his benevolent altruism and good intentions of increasing the wellbeing of mankind.”
“Whoa.” Olivia could not hide her surprise. “I think someone just dropped a pound of bullshit over here.”
Sunday stifled a laugh and resumed. “He also supports a handful of charities and appears to be transparent in his actions. Should I go on, or do you all have the hang of it? Publicly, Greg Delaney is the golden boy. All-American good guy.”
“The hell he is, Greg Delaney sounds like someone who has taken a lot of time and spent a lot of money to carve a good reputation for himself.” Melanie scoffed again. “Just remember that Ted Bundy was considered an all-American golden boy as well.”
“Scary thing is, he sounds like someone I’d vote for a second time.” Adeline shook her head, obviously distraught by that thought.
Olivia shrugged. “So, he’s smart and knows how to cover his ass. No surprises there.”
“Or, he has the money to hire smart people,” Sunday added.
“Sunday, can you send a message to Loren and let her know we are going to go see Coco and then I’m going to take her brother for the ride of his life.”
Everyone laughed at Adeline’s remark.
“No double entendre there.” Adeline winked, then got up and headed back to her room.
That night she had a hard time falling asleep. She tried counting sheep, but those fluffy fuckers weren’t having it. She had so much on her mind, and it all had to do with Riley Thomas. She had no clue why he got under her skin. But all she could focus on was his chiseled jaw, his crooked smile, and his strong hands. She hadn’t had sex in over a year, which was both sad and frustrating.
Even if she hadn’t been neck-deep in a dry spell, she still would have thought the man was fucking hot. Too bad the Iron Ladies had a code of ethics because, if they didn’t, she would have been all over him. But he was an uptight asshole who hated her music.
Guys like him didn’t go for girls like her. Sure, she was voluptuous and curvy, but she likened herself to a fancy sports car. Most men wanted sports cars, but they bought family cars in the long run. Adeline was all sports car.
Roadster (Iron Ladies Book 1) Page 5
