"Anyway, this one should be especially easy. The owner has a suspect already. The editor, Drew Chesney. Apparently, there's been some bad feeling between him and Clive for a while."
“Clive’s the client? The magazine owner?”
“Uh-huh, you’re due to start as Chesney’s PA on Monday,” Klarov opened another desk drawer and took out a folder. “Here’s all the information you need on the company.”
Gracie eyed the folder, not reaching out for it.
“Do you trust this guy Clive?”
Klarov pushed the folder further across his desk. “I trust his money. Clive Huang was one of Dad’s best clients. Jeez, Gracie, it’ll be simple. Just shadow Chesney, get some proof that he’s sabotaging the magazine. You’ll probably be done by the end of the week. I’ll even give you next weekend off...if you’ve wrapped it up by then.”
“Thanks,” she said sarcastically, and with that Gracie reached for the folder, accepting the assignment. She had a horrible premonition that this case was not going to be as simple as Klarov thought it was.
“Oh, and Gracie?” Klarov called as she stood to leave. “I expect your report on the Alexa Bishop case on my desk before you start at Attitude.”
There it is, Gracie thought, it was great to be back.
Chapter Two
“New job already?”Crystal asked in surprise as Gracie came back into their shared office.
“Ugh, yeah,” Gracie said, slapping the new assignment folder down on her desk. She was half-tempted to storm back into Klarov’s office and demand a bit of time off before she started her next job. Except, the folder was right in front of her and Gracie was already feeling the stirrings of excitement that came with each new assignment.
This was why she’d become a PI in the first place, the thrill of the chase, of actually catching bad guys, instead of unfaithful spouses. This was a proper assignment, even if it was a simple case of industrial espionage. For the first time in months, she would actually have a job to really get stuck into, instead of just following a cheating spouse around and snapping incriminating photos.
“What kind of job is it?”
“Undercover at some company,” Gracie said, flipping the folder open and taking a quick look through.
Crystal laughed, “That sucks!”
“Huh?” Gracie shot her a surprised look.
“Sounds like waaaay too much work.”
Gracie shrugged, her attention caught on a plastic ID card that had been made up for her. Klarov had used one of the passport photos that Gracie had given him a few months back for the picture on the card.
Underneath her photo was the fake name that Klarov had given her: Greta Jones.
“Greta!” Gracie cursed. Turning the card over, she saw there was a tiny computer chip inside the plastic; this must be a key card to get into the Attitude Offices.
Crystal smirked. “See, this is why I prefer following cheating husbands around all day. I don’t have to remember what stupid alias Pete made up for me.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, closing the folder. “PI’s had it a lot easier in the days before Google.”
Crystal gave her a blank look. Using a fake name was essential to undercover work nowadays, now that the internet gave everyone instant access to anyone else’s info. Anyone with an ounce of tech savvy could find out that Gracie worked for Klarov if they knew her real name. She wasn’t going to have a problem remembering her fake name: the only issue was how much she hated the name Greta.
Klarov always insisted on creating fake names that started with the same letter as a person’s real name. He thought it was easier to remember.
Last time Gracie went on an undercover assignment, Larov had made up the paperwork and called her Gertrude. She supposed Greta was an improvement over Gertrude.
“I'm going home to read this,” Gracie said, gathering up her bag.
Crystal waved her off cheerfully, “Night, Greta!”
“Yep, same to you!” Gracie called out. She didn’t bother letting Klarov know she was leaving.
Gracie had already been back to her apartment once since getting off the cruise this morning. But it had been a rushed visit. Just long enough to drop off her luggage. As she arrived home she remembered why she’d been so eager to leave earlier.