“When do I start?”
I keep her hand in mine as my smile grows. As soon as I’ve caught up with Griffin, I need to call Stuart.
And tell him I’ve found Mrs. Walker.
Chapter three
Harley
Ilaughadeepbelly laugh as the raccoon on my phone screen freezes like a statue, standing on his hind legs.
“Um, Miss. Distracted? These things aren’t going to pack themselves,” Suze calls from across the living room, where she’s folding up my favorite snuggly blanket I like to keep on the couch for when I’m watching TV.
“All right.” I laugh as I tear my eyes away from the video on my phone and drop it down onto the couch.
“Did you want to pack this?” Maria holds up my sloth mug that I placed out on the counter before they arrived to help me pack.
“Yes. I need that. It’s my special mug.”
“I’ve never seen you drink out of it.” Suze wrinkles her nose as she looks over at Maria, who’s holding it up with a puzzled expression on her face as she studies the cartoon sloth wearing pink pajamas.
“I don’t. It’s myspecialmug… you know?”
I look between their blank faces and let out a sigh. “It’s the one I sterilize my menstrual cup in.”
Suze’s eyebrows shoot up, and Maria carefully wraps the mug in a sheet of tissue paper and places it in a box.
“What? It’s got to be done. It’s not like the cup can go in the dishwasher.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Suze holds up her hands.
“No, you were just wondering if you’d ever been given a drink in it.” Maria laughs.
“Exactly.” Suze nods, pointing at her.
“Neither of you has, okay? Sloth knows his reason in life, and it is not for beverages,” I say as I carefully fold and pack my pajamas into the open case on the floor.
“I’m really happy you’ll be living so close.” Maria smiles.
She and Griffin live in the top floor penthouse of The Songbird private residences. They have the entire floor to themselves with an amazing roof garden and helipad. But despite Griffin’s billionaire wealth, and Maria’s thriving spa supply business, she’s so down to earth. I was so happy when she moved to New York. Until that point, I only had Suze and Will as close friends. Not that I’m complaining, they’re awesome. But it’s so nice to make another friend, someone you just click with. Especially now that Will has followed his heart and moved to Paris with his boyfriend, Fraser.
“I know,” I say. “I’ll be able to come up for breakfast with you before work. And we can get dinner together and watch movies at your place. I can wear my pajamas up in the elevator!” I grin as I plan it all out in my head.
“What about Reed?” Suze asks.
“What about him?” I close the lid of the suitcase and zip it up.
“What will he be doing while his 'girlfriend’ is out of the apartment as much as possible?”
“I dunno.” I shrug. “Whatever it is he usually does… except that,” I add as I see them both look at one another. “He told me while I’m playing house with him, he won’t be seeing anyone. The same goes for me. It has to look real.”
“Okaaay,” Suze says, not sounding at all convinced. She’s probably more jaded than me about men’s behavior since her husband cheated on her with his secretary. It’s how we met. She suspected he was cheating but needed hard evidence to force herself to accept it, so she contacted the agency who sent me.
I have a secret camera concealed in my purse to collect the evidence. Then, after the trap, they invite the client into the head office to view the footage. Suze ignored that part. She needed to see it in person, so she hid in the bar where I met her ex—father of her two kids—Curt. Afterward, she approached me, and we ended up having the best night. We talked, laughed, and danced for hours. We’ve been friends ever since.
“I’m sure even Reed can keep it in his pants if his career depends on it,” I murmur as I look around the room for anything I might have missed. I’m going to sub-let my apartment to a sweet girl from the housekeeping team at The Songbird. She just broke up with her girlfriend and needed somewhere fast and short-term to stay. It means I can leave my furniture and books, and things like that, behind, and only pack the essentials.
“Yes. He’s very dedicated when it comes to work. Griffin said it’s the only thing he was passionate about growing up.”