ChampagneCravings

by Ava McKnight

  I said, “I don’t envy you the position you’re in. I wouldn’t know what to do myself. You can’t have your employees running amuck and divulging your trade secrets, yet…”

  “Yes,” he agreed, following my train of thought. “I can’t destroy them financially either and still sleep at night.”

  “What about Olivia?” I asked, though I knew it pained him I brought her up.

  “She’s coming in as well, with her lawyer.”

  I thought back to my conversation with her and said, “She told me everyone watched her package the makeup and hand it to Biel. Cal and one of his men were eyewitnesses.”

  “And Piper Levine,” Cal added off-the-cuff.

  My head snapped in his direction. “No one told me Piper was in the lab at that time.”

  He didn’t seem to get my shocked disbelief over not knowing this tidbit. “Piper’s always with Biel,” he said. “She won’t allow anyone else to do her makeup.”

  “But Olivia told me she was the one to test the waterproof products on Biel. Not Piper. No one mentioned Piper,” I reiterated as my pulse kicked into high gear.

  In a very slow, deliberate tone, Cal said, “Piper had no contact with the products in the lab. But she did Biel’s makeup at the hotel.”

  I scratched the nape of my neck as a prickly sensation made the hairs stand on end. Recalling I’d seen surveillance cameras in the lab, I asked, “Can I see the footage of the packaging?”

  He shot me an incredulous look. I’d most definitely stepped on his toes this time. But I didn’t care.

  Nor did Mav. He said, “Cal, whatever Lacey needs to continue her investigation, please… Assist her.”

  Cal shoved his chair back and stood. “Of course.” He cooperated to placate his boss. I, however, was the recipient of his icy tone and glare.

  To Mav, I said, “I don’t have a motive for Piper but I can certainly look into this. I know you want Olivia off the hook.”

  I considered whether Piper would go to the extremes of hurting Biel and her career just because she was paranoid about their relationship. It didn’t really jive. For one thing, the sabotage could have done irreparable damage to Piper’s reputation as a makeup artist to the stars, as much as it could have harmed Biel’s career. And Biel had been emphatic when she’d told me Piper loved the limelight—and didn’t mind sharing her girlfriend with the masses. So there was nothing for me to cling to except for the fact Piper was a royal bitch. But that wasn’t exactly a reason to believe she’d switched the cosmetics.

  I followed Cal to his office. We made ourselves comfortable at a large console with a multitude of screens, currently displaying active footage from around the building. His fingers skated deftly over the keyboard as he pulled up last week’s tape from the lab. He showed it on the main screen and I watched the entire incident, from the moment the small group arrived in the lab, which had been cleared out—save for Olivia—to the time they left.

  An hour later, I watched it again. And again.

  Cal’s assistant ordered lunch for us and we munched as we ran through the footage one more time.

  I finally turned to Cal, disheartened. “Nothing.” I was quiet a moment as I contemplated the dead end. Then I said, “My um, boyfriend—” The word stuck in my throat and I had to clear it. “He’s a private investigator and I could have had him run fingerprints for me, but I knew we’d find Olivia’s, Piper’s and Biel’s prints on the plastic bag and bottles, so what would be the point? Except, maybe there’s another party we’re not considering?”

  “I don’t think so. No one had as much access to the product as these three,” he reluctantly said. I learned why he suffered through these hours of repetition with me when he admitted, “I don’t want Olivia to be the culprit you’re looking for. She’s a great person and the heart and soul of that lab. She helps to create what Mav and the others envision and I think she’s brilliant.”

  My shoulders slumped. “I like her too. And I don’t even really know her.”

  Cal gave this some thought as I ate my sandwich. Finally, he said, “I’ve looked at the scene from different camera angles. There’s nothing there but Olivia testing the makeup on Biel and then sealing it and handing it over to her.”

  “So maybe we’re back to dissecting how the switch could have happened outside the Elan building.”

  “I was with them the entire time. We swept the hotel room before the makeup was applied. I’m telling you, not out of arrogance, but out of loyalty to this company, I was deathly thorough.”

  I patted him on the arm. “I don’t doubt that for a second. In fact, I’m incredibly impressed by the lengths you’ve gone to. And I’m sure you want to know what happened as much as everyone else does. I appreciate how much time you’ve invested with me.”

  “I want you to solve this, Lacey.”

  I stood and paced his spacious office. We discussed conspiracy theories that started out simple and then expanded to ridiculous scenarios that made us both cringe. Or roll our eyes at how idiotic we sounded. Time passed and all roads led back to the three main characters in this situation.

  Returning my attention to the screens, I said, “Maybe we should look at the other angles.”

  He brought them up without protest. We spent hours pouring over the videos. My eyes were fried and I needed to check my email and also get a move on it so I could rush home, change into a dress and get to Biel’s party.

  But I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. I asked, “Can you isolate Piper during this entire time?”

  He worked his magic and gave us as much of Piper as he could from all angles. But Biel stood too close to her, clouding some of the shots with shadows or her body. The lighting in the lab did nothing to help our plight. All the fluorescents weren’t on.

  I was at a loss. Yet I asked, “Again?”

  Cal didn’t hesitate, silently telling me he hoped I was barking up the right tree with Piper. He replayed the footage and, this time, I didn’t watch her. I watched everything around her, including Biel. At one point, Biel was perched on a stool while Olivia tested the cosmetics.

  My stomach plummeted as I noticed something peculiar. Biel’s hand reached for Piper’s and Piper very casually turned her body away—a huge slight only someone in the know would understand.

  “Hey, can you back up a frame and press in on Piper?”

  He did. While I was specifically cataloging Piper shunning Biel’s intimate gesture, I caught the corner of a plastic bag sticking out of Piper’s open Louis Vuitton tote, slung over her shoulder. Her turning away from Biel brought the tote into better view. I pointed it out to Cal.

  His eyes narrowed. He knew where I was headed with this. “Different angle,” he muttered.

  He worked the keyboard and we had another shot of Piper, but the shadows cast across the frame didn’t help to reveal anything specific. Cal continued to replay and push in and shift angles.

  Sometime later, I leaned toward the screen as my breath caught in my throat. “There,” I said, adrenaline shooting through me. My fingernail touched the monitor and I said, “Look at the table.”

  He did a series of rewinding and playing, rewinding and playing. Then he hit pause and sat back in his chair.

  I eyed him with lifted brows.

  Cal said, “There were two rolls of security tape on the table in the first frame.”

  “But not in the second frame.”

  We couldn’t get a clear shot of Piper slipping the tape into her bag. It happened when she turned away from Biel and the front of her tote and her right hand were concealed. There was no camera in line with her at that moment and Biel and Olivia were preoccupied.

  I didn’t have concrete evidence, but my gut told me Piper had somehow made the switch before applying Biel’s makeup at the hotel.

  “This is very disconcerting.” And deeply disturbing. Suddenly, another thought occurred to me. “Jesus, what time is it?”

  Cal consulted his watch and said, “Eight-fif
teen.”

  “Crap. The launch starts at nine and I don’t have time to get back to my apartment to change.” I spared a glance at the cream-colored Donna Karan suit I wore and figured it would have to do.

  Cal, who had sent his two best men with Biel and Mav to the hotel—along with an Elan makeup artist—said, “There are plenty of gowns in the studio.”

  I recalled Biel had a walk-in closet full of clothes in her dressing room.

  My new partner said, “Why don’t you change and I’ll have a car brought around. I’ll go with you.”

  He was already dapper in a black suit. With a nod, I said, “I’ll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes.”

  I scooped up my purse and rushed to the elevator. I could freshen my makeup in the car. As I hurried down the hallway of the studio, after gaining access to the area, I placed a call to Biel. She didn’t pick up. I continued trying, though I suspected she was either on the phone with birthday well-wishers or she’d turned it off to focus on the launch.

  “Damn it,” I muttered.

  I didn’t want to arbitrarily send her a text to tell her about Piper. That felt cold and impersonal. Plus it would freak her out—not necessarily a friendly thing to do when she was probably stressing over what might go wrong the second time around with the launch. Since Piper was in LA, I might be able to hold off on revealing what I knew until the morning. But I wasn’t sure that was the appropriate way to play this either.

  Stepping into Biel’s dressing room, I plowed through the long line of gowns she’d obviously worn for her Elan photo shoots and TV ads, which had yet to air because Elan had yet to prove the waterproof makeup was, indeed, waterproof. Unfortunately, the first wave of print ads had already hit the street.

  I selected a floor-length lavender dress that didn’t look too revealing. Thank God Biel had some curves. The gown fit, though snugly. I located shoes to match and then scurried down to the lobby. The media had cleared out—they were likely at the Montlimiere.

  Cal stood alongside a sleek black sedan and opened the back door for me. He climbed in next to me and the driver whisked us over the hotel—relatively speaking, of course, given this was New York City.

  We made our way to the festivities in full swing on the rooftop. Cal, being much taller than me, scanned the crowd for Biel. He nudged me and my gaze followed his. She stood poised on the lit platform surrounding the pool, though she clearly hadn’t reached the point where she’d repeat the dive-in stunt. That bought me some time.

  She wore a sensational, simple satin gown that looked like shimmering, liquid gold flowing over her long, shapely body. Sipping champagne, she was as regal and sensual and beautiful as a supermodel should be. And she easily garnered the kind of attention she deserved.

  Fortunately, Mav was with her. I could kill two birds with one stone.

  Weaving my way through the throng—less dense than previously, though no less glamorous—I reached the steps and carefully ascended them, a little out of breath from all the racing around I’d been doing the past hour or so.

  “Lacey!” Biel squealed with joy. Jesus, I hated to be the one to burst her birthday bubble.

  “Hi,” I said as we exchanged a quick hug. Seconds later, a waiter appeared with a silver tray full of champagne glasses and handed one over. I needed it. I took a sip, then told Biel and Mav, “I have news.”

  I glanced around to see if Cal had tagged along with me, but found him checking out the event, wandering the outskirts looking for anything suspicion. Perhaps in the form of Piper Levine?

  Which prompted me to ask Biel, “Hey, have you heard from Piper? Is she coming tonight?”

  My stomach twisted at the mere thought. But Biel put me at ease. “I haven’t heard a peep out of her.”

  “That’s for the best,” I mumbled under my breath. Both Biel and Mav heard me, though. She gave me a skeptical look. His expression was full of anticipation. So I told them, “Cal and I scoured video footage of the lab when Biel was in there for the testing and sealing of the makeup. Piper was there too. I hadn’t known that previously.”

  Biel’s sculpted brows drew together. “I’m sure I mentioned it.” With a frown, she added, “Maybe I just assumed you’d know she was always with me.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” I told my friend. “I was never overly suspicious of her to begin with. Mostly just pissed off at her for your sake.”

  Biel smiled. Mav asked, “Are you telling us you’re suspicious of her now?”

  The supermodel’s smile faded. “Lacey?”

  I drew in a deep breath, loathing the reality of the situation—and the fact I was about to hurt a woman who had quickly become my best gal-pal. I said, “I’m so sorry, Biel. It’s just that…”

  Ugh. I’d suddenly become the asshole who was about to further break her heart. But what choice did I have, really?

  Okay, just tell her!

  Gearing up for the inevitable, I said, “Cal and I both saw in a couple of security tape frames from the lab that the table Piper was standing next to had two rolls of tape on it, then just one. This was while Olivia was testing the makeup on you, before she’d done any packaging. We couldn’t actually see Piper put the roll in her tote, because of the shadows that blocked our view, but one second it was there, the next it wasn’t.”

  “That’s not enough,” Biel insisted, though there was panic in her voice.

  “She also had a plastic baggie sticking out of her tote that was identical to the ones used to seal your cosmetics. She lifted the packaging materials, Biel, and used them to secure the non-waterproof makeup she later applied in your hotel suite.”

  As Biel’s face drained of color, Mav said, “But how’d she make the switch?”

  I shook my head. Biel looked even more stricken.

  “I was so nervous,” she said in a slow, suddenly remorseful tone. As though something dire had just occurred to her. “I was really anxious about the launch. There was so much riding on it.” Her eyes flashed to Mav. “I wanted to pull it off perfectly. For you. For the company. You trusted me to do it and you’ve been so good to me.”

  The adoration in his eyes caused something to click in my brain and I instantly put two and two together. Mav had been her guy-experiment.

  Bingo! Motive!

  Provided Piper had unearthed the affair, that was.

  While I reeled from this unexpected turn of events, Biel continued. “I drank a couple glasses of champagne before I came up here that night, to calm my nerves. Right before Piper applied the cosmetics, I used the restroom in the suite. She followed me in. I didn’t think anything of it—we were inseparable. We were always together.”

  “Where was the makeup?” I asked, pushing myself out of the shocked realm I floundered in over these new revelations—particularly related to Biel and Mav.

  “I still had it,” she assured us. “I held on to the bag with a death grip, even when I peed.” She seemed to run the entire bathroom incident through her mind, her shoulders slumping as she did. “Oh my God. Mav, I am so, so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Biel,” he was quick to say as he rested a hand on her arm. “I know you didn’t do anything maliciously.”

  “I had to wash my hands afterward. The towels were hanging on the far wall. I turned my back for, like, seconds. I swear.”

  “Leaving the bag of cosmetics on the counter?” I ventured.

  With a shake of her head, she said, “Piper couldn’t have changed the bags out that fast.”

  “She lifted the security tape from the table that fast,” I reminded her.

  Biel frowned again, in apparent distress. From the look in her emerald eyes and the defeat in her stance, I knew she was seeing the situation for what it was. Finally, she said, “Piper used the restroom when we first arrived at the hotel. She could have left her package in there.” Biel spoke as though in a trance, reliving that evening. “Since she’s always had contact with my makeup, she could have easily had access to the small bo
ttles we used in the studio, when I wasn’t wearing the waterproof line for shoots.”

  “All she had to do,” I said, helping her along, “was drop the wrong variety into the baggie and seal it exactly as Olivia had, then swap one package for the other.”

  “I’d never notice the difference, because the containers don’t say waterproof on them.”

  Mav groaned. “It’s on the outer packaging. Meaning the mascara tube itself doesn’t delineate from waterproof and non. Damn it.”

  A marketing snafu. Boy, that VP was under serious fire these days. But that wasn’t my concern.

  I discreetly consoled Biel with a quick squeeze that only involved my arm around her waist for a brief moment. Then I said, “Are you sure the makeup you’re wearing tonight is right?”

  “Yes. We tested it before I stepped into the elevator. I’m one-hundred-percent confident it’s waterproof.”

  “Okay,” I concluded. “I guess you two ought to do your thing.”

  Mav still simmered, but did his best not to let his fury echo in his voice. “I have an announcement to make to the guests. We may as well get underway.”

  He led me down the three steps as we left Biel to prepare for her stunt. The cameras swooped in to get her in shots that didn’t include Mav and I. Locating Cal, I stood off to the side as Mav moved to another platform with a podium. A large projection screen had been erected once again in the far corner, reflecting his image as a sound tech from the hotel killed the music.

  The illustrious and refined CEO of Elan silenced the throng with his mere presence. I tore my gaze from him and spared a glance at Biel, who did that chin lifted, shoulders squared, make eye contact with everyone gathered about business, as though last week’s disgrace had never occurred. She also masked the obvious pain of Piper’s deception and betrayal. Provided I was right about her being behind the cosmetics switcharoo.

  As usual, I admired Biel’s resilience. I’d tried to employ that tactic with Mike last night and the love letter I’d written him. I was dying to check my email but it was hardly the appropriate time. I’d turned my phone off on the drive over to the hotel, wanting to focus solely on this re-launch. My reputation as a corporate fraud and abuse investigator was on the line, given I’d potentially made a wrong accusation with Olivia Benedict.