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Vanessa no longer heard the voices playing out of the laptop speakers. She only heard the roar of the engine and her lungs about to be destroyed.
The agent turned off the audio. The van pulled into a gated parking lot. Vanessa’s eyes had been open for so long that they dried in front of Agent James, who finally took pity on her.
“Your partner put on such a convincing show for Lister that they eloped in Hawaii this morning.”
Vanessa collapsed the moment the van was put into park. When she eventually got up again, it was either to address every grievance she had against Candace Lister or to be arrested for intervening in an FBI investigation. There would be no in between now that she frothed at the mouth.
Chapter 25
Asnightfellonthe shores of Oahu, Mitch prepared herself for the inevitable.
Candace had not been particularly flirty over dinner, since she had encountered some less-than-stellar conditions during her surprise inspection of a local restaurant she owned. Once that ire faded, though, she turned her attention to Mitch, who recorded everything they said.
“You’re a very busy woman,” Mitch said after Candace apologized for not giving her any attention mere hours after they were married. “Don’t worry. I harbor no fantasies of long vacations, romantic honeymoons, or whatever other girls care about. I like to live in the here and now. Whatever moments we can steal with each other is fine with me.”
Candace was more than amused by that statement. “Good. Because I am not a romantic woman. Stolen moments, indeed.”
“Perhaps we’ll finally steal a moment tonight?”
“Perhaps. We’ll see.”
Is it possible she’s actually not interested?Had Candace repressed herself for so long that she no longer knew how to act on sexual desire? Or was she never interested to begin with?Being around her own stink has jaded her to everything else.That could work in Mitch’s favor. Or it might mean that Candace’s appetites were so hardcore because it was the only way to feel anything anymore.
“You know…” Mitch had to speak before Candace noticed the thoughts crossing her mind. “You asked me what I wanted for a wedding present, and I gave you a nothing answer because it was all I could think of at the moment. Well, I think I know what I want. Assuming you can give it…”
“I’ll give you whatever is in my power to give, and I have quite a bit of power if you haven’t noticed, Michelle.”
“Naturally.” Mitch gathered her thoughts as she ran her finger around the rim of her wineglass. Everything Candace gave her, Mitch drank with the assumption that it could be drugged. Or poisoned. Who knew what this woman had in mind for her?For all I know, she’ll ship me off to another country and auction me off to some foreign prince. Everything is a show.Including the so-called marriage. “I’ve already told you that I want to help with your thriving business. All day while I’ve been alone, I’ve thought about what I can contribute to what you do. Everything brings me back to the fact that I need to know… exactly how it works. I’m afraid I can’t bring my best if I don’t know what it is the business lacks.”
“You’re kidding me.” Candace hooted in more amusement. “You request that I tell you the ins and outs of the business? Michelle, I took you being a much more interesting woman than that. You could have asked for any luxury, any sexual favor, and I would have made it happen tonight. But you want to know about… money.”
“Don’t take me for a gold digger, Mistress,” Mitch gently chided with a wide grin. “I simply love the idea of what you have going on. Vanessa… ah, I know we’re not supposed to talk about her tonight, but you’ll have to give me some grace for the next few days. It’s still raw, you know. Anyway, I never helped her with her work. Then again, ‘work’ in that house meant staring at stock portfolios and thinking to herself. I couldn’t stand it. Soboring.” Unfortunately, there was some truth there. Mitch did think Vanessa’s work dreadfully boring, but she had no interest in helping. One of the biggest perks of being with her was never having to worry about work again. Mitch had plenty to amuse herself with when they weren’t traveling or attending events around town.
Candace didn’t need to know that, though. If Mitch were to get her new wife to implicate herself, it had to sound like Mitch had nothing else that interested her. Besides sex, anyway.
“Your eagerness to get started is admirable, Michelle, but first I have to know exactly what you can do. Personally.”
“What are we waiting for?”
“For food to digest, preferably.”
Mitch didn’t bring it up again. And she wasn’t going to get much information here in Hawaii, where Candace’s residence was scrubbed clean of personalityandbusiness. Mitch had looked. No wonder Candace didn’t think twice about leaving her alone here for most of the day.
“Ms. Lister.” The maid walked out onto the balcony where they ate. “You have a call from the San Francisco office.”
“Whatisit?” Candace snatched the cordless phone out of the maid’s hand. “Don’t people psychically know that I’m trying to relax?”
Mitch picked at her food as Candace argued with someone over the phone. The only interesting tidbits were, “What do you mean she’s sick?” and “I thought I paid for that stupid surgery to stop her so-called nausea. She even agreed to add it to her debt!”
When Candace hung up, she spat out the first thing to come to mind, “Some whores simply don’t know how to behave.”
Mitch wrapped her arms atop the table. “I know how to behave, Mistress.”
“Cute. I’m not in the mood right now.”
“Trouble with work?”
It appeared at first that Candace wouldn’t say anything. Then, “You pay all this money to help these girls, and all you ask is that they work for you to pay off their debt. You don’t even add the costs of clothing and food while they’re living under your roof.” She gazed off toward the ocean, reflecting upon things Mitch could not quite comprehend. “Naturally, if I’m paying for someone’s surgery, I add that to the debt. It’s only a bit of interest. Fifty percent.”
