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“She sustained some injuries during the blast. I’m still working on her,” Mateo sighed. “I’m having to drive the Challenger.”
The chuckles continued. “My question still stands.”
“I’ve worked out the bugs,” Mateo promised. “She’s road-trip worthy. I just want to give her a rest, that’s why I’m taking the Challenger.”
Gideon looked up from his computer. “Email me with your expenses. I’ve got you covered.”
“I can cover my own damn self. Anyway, what do I need an expense report for? Annapolis is only four-and-a-half hours away.”
“Gas and food,” Gideon answered. “Keep track and expense it.”
“I want this done right. I want Mateo to get housing up there, and ID to go with his cover. Got it?” Kostya looked at Gideon.
“I’m on it.”
“I can cover my expenses,” Mateo ground out.
Everyone in the room knew that Gideon Smith had made himself a vast amount of money when he sold off most of his company stock when he left a Silicon Valley start-up company to join the Navy. But just because he could afford to cover the cost of his adventure up in Maryland, didn’t mean he should.
“Mateo,” Kostya shook his head sadly. “If you don’t submit an expense report, Gideon’s just going to buy you a new truck or somehow put money into your account. Just deal with it and submit an expense report.”
A sudden memory of one of the closets in Gideon’s house popped into his brain.
“Gideon, aren’t you going to need all that money to replace Jada’s shoes?”
Lark barked out a laugh.
“I buy my own shoes, thank you very much,” Jada said as she looked up from her computer. “Submit an expense report.”
“Fine.” It was no skin off his nose if cancer research got a bigger check from him this year.
“When are you leaving?” Kostya asked.
“First thing tomorrow morning, since the bank is closed now.”
Kostya turned to Gideon. “Work fast.”
6
As she opened her car door, Lainey was pummeled by the moist heat of a Maryland July. Who would have guessed it would be this humid in Maryland? She thought she had left that behind in South Carolina. But at least her dress was lined, so it would keep it from sticking to her, so there was that to be thankful for. Lainey grinned. Her mother would hate the fact that she wasn’t wearing the obligatory size-two, sweater twin-set, even on a day that was over ninety degrees. Cucumber sandwiches during charity teas were never her thing. Leaving that life behind was the best thing she ever did.
She liked having a donut from time to time. And a cheeseburger. A bacon-cheeseburger. Food made Lainey happy. She bet if her mom and her sister actually ate a cookie once in a while, they wouldn’t look like they were perpetually sucking lemons.
Lainey pictured her mother and Bennett in their little Chanel suits as they sat at their garden table where they hosted their lunches at the country club, waiting for the women of the Historical Society to come to their table and pay their homage.
Ick.
That had never been her scene. She liked the idea of working and using her brain. Maybe not this exactly, but eventually she’d have the background she needed to do what she really wanted to do.
“One step at a time, Lainey. One step at a time.”
She checked her make-up in the rearview mirror. Of course, she had bitten almost all of her lipstick off. She needed to stop biting her lip. She’d had that habit all of her life, but the more her mother and sister harped at her, the more she did it. She pulled out the pale pink lipstick that was office appropriate and reapplied it.
She opened the door and gracefully stepped out. That was easily done in three-inch heels. It was when she wore five-inch heels she had to take a bit more care. Luckily, up here in Maryland, there weren’t any parties, balls, and cotillions that her mother could drag her to, and what’s more, she hadn’t found anyone she wanted to impress. Yep, three-inch heels were just fine by her.
She shut her car door and marched toward the bank. Maurice was on security duty this morning, and she gave him a bright smile. Whenever she baked scones, she brought a Tupperware container just for him.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” He smiled back.
