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First thing I did was have our people install the most ridiculous state-of-the-art camera system in history pointed at her back door. The first thing Lee did was tell John I was not to be assigned to her store—ever.
“I would hope it’s better. This is real life.” Sara looked ready to punch me.
“It’s rare that real life beats the fantasy. You know?”
“Yes, I know. Most people know. But you are literally living the fantasy. You’re about to propose to the love of your life. And I’ve never seen two people more disgustingly in love.”
I smiled at Sara; she wasn’t wrong. Life was good.
I handed the ring back to her, and she secured it to the velvet pillow and snapped the box shut.
“Don’t lose it.”
“No worries.” I unzipped the pocket on my specially-purchased-for-this-occasion running shorts and put the box safely inside. I checked the zipper three times. The ring box rested against my thigh. “I’m going straight home.”
“You better work up a sweat on the way or she’ll know something’s up. She’s smart like that.”
Chuckling, I followed Sara toward the back door where she let me out and reset the alarm. She was going to stay and get an early start on some paperwork. Now that she owned a ten-percent share of the store, the woman lived and breathed Oleander.
Lee
“Hey, Quinn, sorry to call so early. But the door alarm at Oleander was just turned off with the master code. Can you check the cameras?” I yawned and took a sip of my coffee. The access log for the store alarm was open on my laptop in front of me. Sara often came in early, but only I used the master code. She had her own.
“No big deal. You’re a paying client and it’s my day to be on call.”
Over the phone, I heard Quinn tapping away at her keyboard. Here at the house, I didn’t have direct access to the camera system at Oleander. It was some kind of advanced security measure that Simon had insisted on during the installation. He said a lot of things about air gaps and dedicated T1 connections or something. I agreed because it made Derek happy.
Quinn’s small gasp had me sitting up straighter in my chair. “What is it?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. No reason to worry.”
“I have millions of dollars’ worth of reasons to worry. That’s my store.”
Quinn grumbled something unintelligible.
“Now, Quinn, or I’m calling Smith.” I was a happy woman in love and living my best life, but no one fucked around with my livelihood. I literally had given everything for my store. And now that I’d agreed to testify against Jimmy, I was on edge, waiting for him to retaliate.
Homeland was in the process of taking down the Delgatto family and putting Jimmy in prison, but I didn’t trust it. The old man had a million tricks, and scumbags from Miami to the Canadian border owed him favors. Attacking Oleander was an obvious move. I was expecting it any day now. And doing it on the same day as my annual holiday party would be just like him.
“Can I tell you it was a fat man in a red suit?” She sounded conflicted.
“What?” I conjured up the image of a robbery crew in red three-piece suits with crowbars smashing glass display cases and cracking my vault.
“You know, white beard and reindeer…”
“You’re telling me a guy dressed as Santa Claus is robbing my store?”
“Oh, fuck my life, Lee… You’re going to get me in so much trouble. No one is robbing your store. But I think Derek is getting help with your Christmas gift from Sara.” She mumbled the last part.
I was speechless. All the worry about the store instantly evaporated, replaced by a new concern.
“What the hell do I buy him? He told me no gifts. That we’d do experiences instead. We’ve already booked our vacation to the Keys for the week after Christmas. Quinn, help. Think hard. A Christmas present for him?”
“Derek is a hard one.” Quinn smothered an inappropriate giggle.
Was that a sex joke at a time like this? Totally uncool.
“I can’t very well get him a stack of self-help books or new running shoes. Shit. Shit!” I rubbed my eyes. I hadn’t even brushed my teeth or hair yet. There was a party for two hundred people at our house tonight, and now I had to come up with a Christmas gift for Derek in the next fourteen days. I hated the holidays.
