Even the building looked sad. The red brick seemed gray and drab in the rain, and the ivy that trailed up the side of the building sagged.
“Didn’t you hear me, girl?” Scarlet said, jerking her elbow away from me. “I have to poop.” And then she sprinted up the stairs and into the building.
She said it so loud I immediately looked around to make sure no one heard. There was a man who’d been running to his car from the adjacent building, but he’d stopped in his tracks to stare. I smile and waved, and then followed after Scarlet. I was so mortified I didn’t even see Kate standing under the stoop.
“You going to stand out there all day looking sorry for yourself?” Kate asked.
“I was thinking about it,” I said.
“Well, do it in here,” she said. “It’s warmer and more comfortable.”
“Tell me that again after Scarlet finishes wrecking your bathroom.”
Kate winced. “Maybe I should just have the building bulldozed,” she said.
“It’s definitely an option,” I said, and walked up the stairs and into the warmth.
It looked the same on the inside—the plush and expensive furniture in the lobby, the original hardwood floors, expensive paintings, and a large U-shaped desk that Lucy Kim helmed with an iron fist. It might have looked the same, but it didn’t feel the same. It felt—empty.
Kate had built a good business over the past several years. People all over the world sought her out because she was the best. I had no idea why she’d hired me other than a lifetime of friendship.
“Where’s Lucy?” I asked. “I thought she was your top contender for buying the agency?”
“She decided she didn’t want to be an owner,” Kate said, shrugging it off. She might have shrugged it off, but I could tell she was worried. “Lucy wears a lot of hats, and she was working here at first as a favor for Savage. And then she stayed because she was entertained by this line of work. I have a feeling her normal workday isn’t always so enjoyable. She only ever worked for me part-time.”
“Really?” I asked. “’Cause it seemed like she was always here. What’s her other job?”
Kate just smiled. “If I told you I’d have to kill you.”
“That never stops being hilarious,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Hey, if you want be privy to all the secrets, then you should buy the place.”
My mouth dropped open as I watched Kate walk down the hall to her office. She knew how to dangle a carrot better than anyone I knew. Of course, she’d known me since grade school and had been putting up with my shenanigans for the same amount of time. And now all I could think about was owning the agency and devouring every word of Lucy Kim’s employment file like it was a dime store romance novel.
“You’d sell it to me?” I asked, following behind her.
She laughed. “I have a feeling Nick might have something to say about the matter. I’ve seen your paychecks, so I know it’s not you who’d be paying for it. I’m very expensive.”
“I could make a joke there,” I said, taking my raincoat off and hanging on the tree stand.
“I’m sure you could,” she said. “Exactly how much money does Nick’s family have?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. A lot, I guess. He’s got a trust fund from both sides of the family, and he’s got some property here and there. We’ve never really talked about it.”
“You never looked at property records or anything like that?”
“That would be a misuse of company property,” I said, primly.
Kate laughed, a full-out laugh that made me smile. “Nothing showed up under his name, huh?” she asked.
“It’s all tied up in the trust,” I said.
She wiped her eyes and then looked me up and down. “Why are you dressed like a bumblebee? And why aren’t you home partaking of wedded bliss?”
“You ask a lot of questions for a woman who never answers any,” I said.
It was my turn to look her over. I hadn’t seen her since just after the wedding when we’d gone to see Savage in the hospital. I’d noticed the last year or so Kate had been under a tremendous amount of stress. It hadn’t helped that she’d found out about her husband’s gambling addiction, or that when she’d hired me, she’d unofficially gotten Rosemarie and Scarlet.
Kate had always been cute as a button. Her hair was blond and she’d had it cut recently so it was a little shorter than usual, but she still wore the same black headband to keep the hair out of her face. Kate was a lost cause in the fashion department. I’d been trying for years to spruce up her wardrobe and get her to wear lipstick.
She still wasn’t wearing makeup, but the line that had seemed like a permanent addition in between her eyes had disappeared. She looked—rested. It was the first time I’d seen her like that in years.
“You look good,” I said. “I mean, not that outfit though. Are you buying suits from the Hillary Clinton collection? I’ve never actually seen a pumpkin-colored suit in person before. Where’s your body? You’re young and hip. Maybe when you finally sell the agency we can have a party and burn all your ugly suits.”
“I’m not taking fashion advice from an insect,” she said.
“It’s cute,” I said, looking down at my attire. There was a blob of crème from the éclair right in the middle of my boobs. “I had pastries for breakfast and cake for lunch.”
“That would explain why you look like you’re jonesing for a hit,” she said. “Are you going to tell me why you’re sitting in my office instead of boinking your very fine husband?”
“Believe me,” I said. “There has been no lack in that department. You should see how even my tan
