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“Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay, sweetie.”
“Oh, Dad?”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“You know that client of yours, Varden? Do you know much about him?”
He set down his pen. “Varden Gallaher? I know a lot about him. Why?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “I ran into him downtown,” I lied.
Dad smiled and his suspicion went right where I thought it would. “He’s a ladies’ man, Saffi. Set your sights on someone else.”
No kiddi
ng.
“What else do you know about him?” I asked.
He paused. “Well, he’s very successful. Probably one of the richest men in San Francisco. Very hard working and has a lot of integrity. The business he’s in does not always attract the most scrupulous people. But from what I’ve seen of his dealings, he’s very trustworthy.”
“Huh. Okay.” I hadn’t expected to hear such high praise. If he only knew…
Confusion crossed his face. “Why are you asking?”
I shrugged with an innocent smile. “I don’t know. Just curious, I guess. And nosy.”
“All right. Have a great night.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
On my drive across town, I practiced what I’d say to Miss M when I arrived. She’d probably be on my ass, asking questions like she usually did. But thanks to Varden’s warning, I knew to be careful.
I could just tell her I was working on a story for the Post. What was the harm at this point? If she were smart, she’d cooperate and participate. That way, her perspective would be part of it.
That’s what everyone wanted, wasn’t it?
I had to admit, in spite of everything else, Varden’s warning was a blessing. It was a generous gesture and he’d done me a huge favor. And I sure hadn’t thanked him for it. For a moment, I thought about un-blocking him from my phone. I owed him that, didn’t I?
I arrived at the club, and before getting out of the car, looked around. From the street, one would never suspect any sign of life beyond the club’s heavy wooden door, much less all the sexiness that happened there.
And I knew all M wanted to do was protect that. I couldn’t blame her.
I stuffed my trench in the trunk and ran as fast as I could in my heels. As usual, fog billowed down the San Francisco street, leaving me covered in goosebumps by the time I reached the door. For a change, a bouncer opened it. Where was M?
I scanned the room, finding the party in full swing. Couples, threesomes, and small groups sized each other up, enthusiastic about the promise of an erotic encounter.
I figured I’d probably run into Varden—or was it G?—at some point. It was just as well, I needed to level with him, take some responsibility for all that went down. But at the moment I was here to work. If M were on to me as Varden had said, it might be my last time in attendance. But for tonight, the plan was to branch out and talk to some different people to see if I could learn anything new. And from the looks of it, it didn’t seem it would take long. A man and woman were eying me from the other side of the bar. I nodded back, and they approached.
But before they could reach me, there was a hand on me shoulder.
M.
Big surprise.
“Hi!” I said like I was greeting a long lost friend.
