“Could I use the restroom?” I asked, and she nodded with understanding. Who wouldn’t want to stall a little before having to tell their angry boss about their carelessness. She pointed me down the hall and quickly headed back to her station.
Maybe Mason’s ability to think on his feet was catching. The lack of a person’s name on the return address was devastating, but then I’d gotten a ray of hope when she’d brought up the idea of a card. And maybe a card or packing slip was in the box of Robyn’s stuff I’d seen in the office. I was hoping that Talia hadn’t been too efficient about getting it out of her office. As soon as I heard the door to the lobby click shut, I turned away from the restroom and hurried down the corridor. Talia’s office door was unlocked. I slipped inside quickly and turned on the light. The box was still there.
My breath was choppy and my heart was jumping in my chest. I had to hurry. I fumbled through the carton and started taking things out. If there was a card or sheet of paper, it would most likely have fallen to the bottom. I glanced at the photo of Robyn and the hole and set it on the desk with the other stuff. It was just the usual hairbrush kind of stuff. One thing did surprise me. A small crocheted cactus complete with a crocheted terra-cotta- colored pot was stuck in the bottom. I looked it over and was impressed by how nicely done it was. On the bottom, there were two initials done in surface crochet. I couldn’t quite make them out because they were so small, but the first one definitely wasn’t an
I snapped back to reality and realized I was wasting time and began to feel around the bottom. A stray paper clip got under my nail and poked me. I pulled out my hand and was examining it for damage when I heard voices. I quickly put everything back as it had been.
It sounded like a woman and man, and the voices were getting louder. Then I heard the man say, “Talia.” Oops, I was in trouble. I looked around the small office frantically. There was no closest, only a tall narrow metal cabinet, which looked like it served as one. I doused the lights, pulled open the cabinet door and got in, grateful for small favors. Half of the cabinet had no shelves and I was able to stand upright in it.
I pulled the door shut just in time as I heard them come in. The couple moved their conversation into the small room.
“Robyn promised me an advance on a big story,” the man said. “You took over for her. Any idea what the story is?”
“Whatever it was, she never told me. But she did have something up her sleeve. I had to connect the dots myself, though. It seemed like she’d figured out a way to shake things up. Some big surprise that would show a whole other side of Barbara and push the ratings up during sweeps,” Talia said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m in charge now. And don’t worry, I’ll give you any hot info I get.”
I hoped after that they’d leave, but instead, they seemed to settle in. The cabinet was hot and stuffy and I had the horrible feeling I was going to run out of air. I was really in trouble now.
CHAPTER 12
MASON AND I KEPT UP OUR DEMEANOR AS ANGRY boss and errant employee until we drove through the studio gate and were back on the street. Then we both began to laugh so hard Mason had to pull over and park.
“You were so convincing as the mean boss,” I said. “That girl really felt sorry for me.” I wiped a tear of laughter off my cheek.
“You have to be dramatic when you’re in front of jury and need to stir their emotions,” he said. “Besides, it would have been a little hard to explain if you’d gotten caught in the closet.”
I leaned back in the seat, realizing a lot of the laugher was release from the buildup of tension. “Thank heavens for my BlackBerry,” I said.
“And thank heavens that you thought to use it,” Mason said with a grin. I seemed to be having an endless battle with the smart phone, and for once I had come out the winner. As I was getting close to panic at the idea of running out of air, I had remembered my BlackBerry in my pocket. It was hard to type on the tiny keyboard in the dark, but I’d managed to send Mason an e-mail with enough misspelled information for him to figure out my situation.
“Ah, but you deserve the credit for knowing what to do with the information,” I said.
“It was all improv, Sunshine,” he said as he began to recount what he’d done when he saw my e-mail.
“That poor girl behind he counter,” Mason said. “You should have seen her jump when I started bellowing that Sally was taking too long and I barged through the door to the office area. She came running after me, telling me I couldn’t go in the ladies’ restroom and said she’d check on Sally.”
“I heard you charge into Talia’s office, saying you were looking for your assistant,” I said, picking up the story.
“Luckily I made such a ruckus, I caught Talia and the guy with her off guard and they didn’t have time to think. Before any of them knew what was going on, I’d herded them together with the girl from the reception counter, all the while ranting on about my terrible assistant and how I was going to fire her as soon as I found her.”
“That’s when I opened the door a sliver.”
Mason nodded. “I saw you, which is why I upped my rant. I don’t even think they realized I had moved them so their backs were facing the cabinet. I hoped you would figure out my plan.”
“Great minds think alike,” I joked. It had come to me in a flash, he’d positioned them so I could slip out behind them and get into the corridor. “And when I got in the hall, it looked like I was coming from the restroom.”
“I must have sounded like a lunatic,” Mason said. “But I had to get you out of there quickly before they got a good look at you.”
“You were more like a whirlwind,” I said. “You just flew out of the office, yelling at poor Sally that it was about time. I wonder what they thought when you grabbed my hand and we started running toward the lobby?” We hadn’t stopped until we got to his car.
“Probably good riddance, Sunshine. We make a good team,” Mason said as he put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb now that our giggles were spent. “I don’t know about you, but I need a coffee after that. Maybe even one of your famous red-eyes.” He drove to someplace called The Coffee Shack and parked.
“I’m afraid the production assistant lost her sympathy for me,” I said as we took our coffees to a small table by the window. “But luckily Talia didn’t recognize me, thanks to you.” I took a sip of my red-eye and was surprised at the red stain on the cup. At first I thought it was blood, but then remembered my red lipstick.
Mason set down his cup. “I have lots of experience of hustling clients past the news media so that no one sees their face. I just had to be a little more creative this time.”
It was only then that it registered who Talia’s companion had been. Pierce Sheraton.
“What was she doing with the entertainment reporter?” I said.
“They seemed pretty cozy. Maybe they’re a couple,” Mason offered. He drank down his coffee and made a face. “I don’t know how you drink these. The espresso makes it a little too coffeeish for me.”
“There’s only one problem with our adventure,” I said. “It was all for nothing. I found the package listed, but the return address was just some store.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “I haven’t had so much fun in a long time.”
His mention of time made me think of the real time, and I shrieked when I looked at my watch. “I have to get to work. Mrs. Shedd wasn’t happy about me missing this morning.”
“But it’s Saturday,” Mason said.
“And just another day at the bookstore.”
Mason thanked me again for our playdate when he dropped me in front of Shedd & Royal. With all our giggles, we’d forgotten that my car was still parked near the corner where Mason had picked me up.
I got a few strange looks as I walked in because of my clothes. I never wore skirts to work, let alone a
