Now that I’ve had a taste of Nora, I want her always.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CORMAC
Text conversation between Pansy and UNKNOWN NUMBER
I just spoke with Dean Whitaker.
Sounds like you kept the ring he gave you too. Are you forming a collection?
WTF do you want from me?
What do you want from José?
Look, you want me to break up with him?
Fine.
He’s been a disappointment anyway.
I have an exit strategy. I just need time to work it out. Give me a couple of weeks.
Micah says you never got engaged to him, but you DID convince him to pay off your student loans and thendumped him.
Fuck you
On the Monday of the double date, I have a check-in call with Kenji. I have to admit I haven’t been as focused on our project as I should be, particularly since I’m leaving for San Francisco tomorrow. My attention has been elsewhere.
Nora, namely. She actually stayed over last night. We barely talked about the double date, but she did say she’s been sensing tension between Pansy and José ever since our first double date. She thinks we’ll be “golden” if we find the “straw that broke the camel’s back.” When she said that, I admitted I have always hated that particular metaphor, which only makes sense on a nonliteral level yet leads to some very disturbing mental images.
Her response was to kiss me.
I have also been embroiled in my supersecret secondary mission—digging a hole for Jonah Price to bury himself in.
Perhaps this is a bit of an overreach, but I conducted further research into his life and discovered he has several wealthy older clients—the kind of people who might have basements or attics full of “junk” that would not be missed if it were sold on eBay. I in turn did a few searches for these individuals’ names in connection with the goods Jonah is selling.
The one item that popped up is a vintage, mint-condition Cabbage Patch Kid, still tucked away in its box. It seems inevitable that he must have stolen it from the owner, an eighty-two-year-old woman living on her own. Her daughter, who posted about the theft extensively online, seems very agitated over the loss. Apparently the old doll, which has never been played with, has great sentimental worth.
Who knew.
It may go nowhere, but I compiled all of the research I conducted into a portfolio and submitted it anonymously to the authorities, which seems to be the extent of what I can docurrently. I could, of course, destroy his credit score. It’s possible, though not likely, that could be linked back to me, however, and I refuse to let his misfortunes be laid at Nora’s door.
I have not told Liam anything about my special project—nor have I told Rob or Travis—but doubtless Liam, at least, will know I was behind it if justice takes the proper course and the fool is arrested.
“And have you thought any more about my offer?” Kenji asks.
Right. I’m talking to Kenji and probably shouldn’t be daydreaming about a woman who’s not technically my girlfriend.
“Your offer?” I repeat.
“To move you here.”
Into the house he purchased for his parents. They barely ever stay in it, given their primary residence is in New York City.
Cookie, who doesn’t appreciate lengthy phone calls, stands in front of me and barks until I scoop her up into my lap.
“You still there?” Kenji asks, his tone amused. He knows all about Cookie and her demands.
