Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(81)
Oliver shut his door and revved the engine. I quickly got in.
“Who is she, Oliver? Are you having an affair? Are you cheating on Camille?” he asked, racing across the street.
Oliver nearly missed hitting him as we pulled into traffic. He groaned. “They always find me. I swear they must have tracking chips in my shoes.”
“Have you ever had your cars checked out?” I tied the scarf back over my hair and secured it again. “They could have put something under your car.”
“My normal guy looks over my cars regularly. They’ve never found anything. These people are damn parasites.” He shook his head and checked his mirror. “Damn it, so much for privacy. He’s already behind us. He probably knows I’m going back home so he’ll be along for the ride. He won’t be able to get past the first guard into the neighborhood at least.” He briefly took both hands off the wheel and ran them through his hair.
“You all right? They’ve really gotten to you this time.”
“It’s going to cause a problem I don’t want to deal with. It is what it is though.” He exhaled through his nostrils and sucked on his teeth. “It’ll be published on the internet within the hour, guaranteed.”
“Is it that out of the ordinary that you’d be seeing a lawyer? I bet you see them all the time with contracts and movies and what not.”
He sighed. “These aren’t just any lawyers.” He muttered a few other obscenities under his breath, hit the gas again, and we soared down the freeway. Oliver didn’t try to lose him like he had before; the damage was done. The photographer kept up with us but didn’t make it through the community gate. We pulled back into the garage, and Oliver shut off the engine.
“Thanks for handling him and pushing him back,” he pulled the keys from the ignition and sat with his hands on the seat.
“No problem. I wish I could have punched him for you.” I balled up the scarf and placed it back in the glove box.
“I’m glad you didn’t. You would have had assault charges slapped against you before we arrived back here. Those people are itching to sue.” He picked up his documents from the center consol. “We should grab a little something to eat. This is going to be a long day.”
As soon as Oliver’s soles hit the marble floor inside, Camille’s voice called from somewhere deep inside the house. Oliver closed his eyes, and his shoulders sagged as he let out a deep breath. He placed the documents in a cabinet above the refrigerator. An impressive display of food was set up on the island. Sandwiches were stacked on a platter, various fruits piled in bowls, salad, a full selection of dressings, and plate after plate of different kinds of sushi. Camille continued to call.
“Please, have something to eat while you can.” He looked down at his watch. “We’re going to need to leave in about an hour. I have to speak to Camille.”
“Sure. I’ll find Vance.”
He left the kitchen, and I went back to the living room only to find Vance whispering to Cici. She was tucking her hair behind her ear, leaning into his lips. She had on a cute, black satin cocktail dress that stopped just above the knee. I cleared my throat, and their heads turned my way.
“There’s food in the kitchen. Oliver said we should grab something now before we need to leave in about an hour.”
“Yeah, I know,” Vance answered, not bothering to look my way. “We’ll be there in a second. We’re just discussing something.”
“Fine.” I spun on my heels and stomped back to the kitchen. I helped myself to a small sandwich and a few pieces of a California roll.
I sat at the kitchen table as a couple of new people entered the room. They had bags slung over their shoulders with various things sticking out of them like they’d packed up in a hurry. I assumed they were part of the hair and makeup crew. They dropped their bags on the floor out of the way and grabbed a couple of plates.
A brunette with a messy bun and sticks poking out of her head looked over the food, plate in hand, wide-eyed and wincing. “Whoa, that was about to get ugly. Glad we got out of there.”
“Why do you think he was at that lawyer’s office?” A well-manicured man with a soft, feminine voice said. I think he had more makeup on than I did.
“There’s only one reason why you visit them. I heard they handled the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce. They’re supposed to be the best.” She’d placed a few items on her plate and waited for her friend to finish dressing his salad.
I picked up my chopsticks and stuck a bundle of rice and seaweed in my mouth. The smear of wasabi on top singed my nostrils as I began to chew. I coughed, and my eyes welled with tears. I twisted the cap off my bottled water and downed it. It extinguished some of the heat, and I wiggled my nose until the full brunt of the burn passed. When my vision cleared, the two who’d been chatting up at the island were at my side.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” the man asked with a hand on my shoulder.
“Basil, of course she’s not okay. Can I get you something?” She patted my back.
“No, I’m fine. I just put the sushi in my mouth wrong. The wasabi went up my nose.”
Basil threw his hands up. “Oh honey, that sushi is from Gen’s. Their wasabi is nothing to mess with. I’ll put all kinds of crazy stuff in my mouth, but that’s not one of them.” He chuckled to himself.