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Clay’s black brows shoot up.
“No, this isn’t about napkin logos. Besides, that doesn’t matter because people take cocktail napkins all the time. Did you think we called you in here for that? About disposable napkins?”
My heart sinks. The tale does sound ridiculous, come to think of it.
“Um, maybe? Or was it about the toilet paper in the women’s lounge?” I rush. “It was just one time, I swear. I’d run out at home, and you know people are still panic-buying at Costco, even now. I just took a couple rolls, and I swear I’ll replace them asap. You won’t even know they’re gone.”
The lie rolls off my tongue easily because my teenage years were spent telling all sorts of tall tales. But have I lost my touch? I have to admit that the toilet paper story, not to mention the disposable napkin thing, do sound ridiculous. Ugh. Maybe Iamlosing my touch, and the piper’s coming to claim his due.
The twins merely look at me, still appearing amused.
“Actually, you took something worth quite a bit more than toilet paper,” Casper drawls. “I think you know, Miss Hass.”
Immediately, I swerve into denial.
“I swear, I have no idea what you’re saying. I didn’t take anything.”
Clay merely grunts, obviously unimpressed. Then he swivels Nicole’s computer monitor around so that I’m able to see the big screen. Oh shit, oh shit. My heart drops in my chest as the handsome man lifts his eyebrows.
“Just watch,” he commands.
It’s my worst nightmare come true because the screen flickers to life with a grainy black and white image of me standing in the hallway. With horror, I watch myself look around the deserted area before swiping the candlesticks. Even now, I can see how my head falls back and a look of ecstasy crosses over my face as the first candlestick disappears into my body, and then the second.
“That’s enough, Nicole,” Casper growls as my manager flicks off the screen. “So Miss Hass, what do you have to say for yourself? Each of those candlesticks was an antique, not to mention worth five figures.”
“Five figures?” I squeak.
The handsome man nods.
“Each. You could probably get at least twenty thou for the pair. Maybe more, if you have the right contacts.”
I gulp heavily. Holy shit. Twenty thousand is a lot. I’d been hoping for three thousand, or maybe four, but clearly, I stole works of art and not just random decorative pieces.
“Um, how did you get that videotape?” I ask, stalling for time. “I thought there was no video in Club Z because of privacy measures. You know how some of our clients don’t like to be taped.”
The twins shrug.
“Yes, but only within reason. We don’t videotape a lot of areas of the club, but this happens to be one that we do. And you’ve been caught,” Casper drawls. “So what do you have to say for yourself?”
I gulp hard.
“Well, um…”
Clay raises black eyebrows at me, eyes glinting. “Yes?”
The pounding in my chest grows so loud that I can’t hear myself think. I decide to go with the truth, and to apologize profusely.
“I’m so sorry,” I babble in a rushed voice. “I know what I did was wrong. I swear, I’ll return the candlesticks to you tomorrow and we can pretend like nothing happened. They’re safe at home on my kitchen counter.”
But then Nicole lets out a rude snort, flipping her brown hair back. Oh shit. I’d almost forgotten she was here, considering she hasn’t said a single word since I walked into her office. The middle-aged woman fixes me with a glare, her eyes resembling cold blue marbles.
“Taylor, you know what you did was criminal, right?”
I stammer, looking down.
“I… yeah, I know, but I can return them. Like I said, it’ll be like nothing happened. I’ll even polish them up real nice so they’ll look brand new.”
Nicole grimaces with disbelief.
