The Cunning Thief (Stolen Hearts #6)(28)
“That seems pretty important.”
She snorted. “I mostly screen out the penis-related emails. Besides that, it’s a lot of calling people, fact checking, running references. Better than what I was doing before.”
“What were you doing before?”
“Well.... Nothing, I guess. I was helping to raise my nephew and waitressing to get by. Now with Slade back in the picture.... Waitressing isn’t as much fun when you’re just doing it for yourself. When I had Josh, I did everything for him. I would’ve waitressed for the rest of my life if it meant I could’ve given Josh new clothes and proper school supplies.”
Although Melissa hadn’t said all that much about her nephew, Shae noticed that her voice would go up just the tiniest bit every time she mentioned him. From the very brief recap she’d gotten, she found out that Melissa helped raise her brother’s son for about ten years when she thought her brother was dead. But, as she was finding out more and more, not everything was as it seemed. Slade was in fact alive, and off doing who knew what for ten years. Now he was back, and suddenly he was raising a son and not Melissa. Whatever happened, Melissa didn’t seem all that angry about it. Or bitter. Just... hurt. “And you like it? Working for these guys?”
“I mean.... Yes. I like it better than waitressing. I feel like, you know, I’m helping people. It’s not really a career. I can’t put it on a resume in five years. I keep on tossing back and forth the idea of going back to school. Toni and Scott are paying me way more money than I deserve, and I’ve been putting most of it in savings. I just need to figure out what to do with it.”
“If you ever want to get into real estate, let me know. I could hook you up.”
“Yeah, somehow I can’t see myself doing construction work. Last time I had to hammer anything, I ended up with a broken thumb.”
“Everyone has to start somewhere. When I told my dad I wanted to do this for a living, he flipped out. In fact, he did everything he could to make sure I didn’t succeed. Sometimes it’s about trying again and again. Remember, you never fail at anything until you give up.”
Melissa shuddered. Apparently the idea of construction work was that bad to her. She shook her head. “Enough about me. Tell me everything about you and Tristan.”
Shae’s eyes widened. “What about me and Tristan? I mean, there is nothing. I mean, he’s not—” Shae started to realize exactly how bad everything she was saying sounded.
“I know you two slept in the same room last night. Toni thinks there’s something, but Toni can be close-minded at times. I just want to hear it from the source.”
Somehow the idea of Toni gossiping about her and Tristan didn’t make her feel any better. She and Tristan were not gossip. They weren’t anything. As of right now, they were purely platonic coworkers. At least that’s what she kept on telling herself. “Tristan and I are just friends.” The lie tasted dirty coming out of her mouth. Especially after the friends talk she and Tristan had just had. Neither of them really had friends.... “What do you think about Tristan?”
Melissa raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I barely met the guy. He’s nice, though. Charming. Like, the definition of charming. He’s not annoying like Gage.”
It was Shae’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Gage is annoying?”
“Oh my gosh, you haven’t noticed? He’s the worst. He follows you around without telling you, he’s always where you don’t want him to be, and he never stops talking.”
Shae tried to remember the last thing Gage had said to her. “I think you and I have had vastly different experiences.”
“I don’t know, maybe. We met under weird circumstances. And he and my brother are oddly close at times. But give it time. He’ll get on your nerves too.”
Shae followed Toni until they reached one of the empty bedrooms. Well, not empty. It still had all of the furniture covered with dusty sheets. But on top of one of them was a brand-new shopping bag.
Toni pointed to it. “There’s your stuff for tonight. There’s a change of clothes, some makeup, an earpiece, a microphone so we can hear what they say to you, and a few other odds and ends. When you’re done, meet me in the living room.”
Without another word, Toni turned and left her alone. Shae had a feeling she was trying to prove a point. Toni probably didn’t like being forced into doing anything, and Shae’s little stunt had definitely put pressure on her to change her plans. Shae could relate, but that didn’t mean she felt bad for the woman.
She decided it would be best not to dawdle, and she leaned over to glance in the bag. Like Toni said, there was a little bundle of wires that she would somehow have to navigate through, and a change of clothes. She quickly changed out of the sundress she had been wearing for far too long and put on the sleek business suit that had been provided. Shae glanced at the label, and her eyes widened. Toni wasn’t kidding around. This wasn’t some discount, hand-me-down suit. It probably cost around a thousand dollars. Was it really that important that she fit in? The entire point was for Damask to recognize her and get freaked out.
These were questions for later. She finished getting dressed and looked questioningly at the wires. The microphone seemed easy enough. It had a clip and she’d just have to find somewhere to put it. The earpiece, however.... She stuck it into her pocket, figuring she’d put it in closer to the meeting. She couldn’t imagine it would be comfortable to wear all day. It was only when she went to leave that she discovered the door was locked.