They watched her step around the car and approach a sporty Lexus. A car door opened and a man in a sharp suit climbed out of the driver's seat. They smiled and greeted one another with a short kiss on the lips. The man wrapped an arm around her tiny waist and escorted her into the restaurant.
"What. The. Fuck?" Derk spat. "Why the hell would Courtney cheat on her husband, who she knows would not only kill the guy but probably kill her?" Derk demanded aloud.
Naturally, he received no response from Smith. When he turned to look at his partner-in-crime, Smith's features had changed to a scary ass vision of fury.Tapping his hand off the steering wheel, both their gazes trained on the front door of the restaurant. Neither knew what to do. Out of his peripheral vision, Derk saw Smith pull out his cell. How the hell had this mission changed from catching a traitor to snitching on the boss's wife in a matter of seconds?
Out of nowhere, taking Derk and Smith by surprise, Courtney Murphy stood in front of Derk's parked SUV, hands on hips, smirking. Yep, she was too fucking smart. Her awareness was something she’d gained over the years. Being married to a crime boss tended to have that effect on a spouse.
"Man, I'm in love with this woman," he confessed, even though seemingly something shady was happening.
Smith slowly nodded.
They watched her actually stalk the SUV then knock on Smith's passenger side window. Quickly Smith hit the automatic button to lower the window.
"Are you following me?" she barked.
"Guilty of something?" Derk retaliated.
Her eyes narrowed. "Fuck you, Derk."
"Language. Wouldn't want Mr. Murphy to know about that potty mouth that's slipping around behind his back," he challenged. Of all the shit the men, who were employed for the inner circle of the Murphy family, went through because of Courtney, she had no business giving him hell. He personally logged in too many hours tracking the woman down when she always disappeared, even if it was for only hours. Now she was having an affair?
"Watch it," she snapped. She jerked her head. "Come on, I'll show you what you're following."
He and Smith refused to divulge they weren't actually tailing her. They happened to stumble upon her little tryst. Man, Derrick Murphy was going to lose his shit.
They scampered out of the SUV and followed her across the street to the small Italian restaurant. Inside, Courtney waltzed to the back of the place. Seated at a small table for two, sat the extremely good looking man. He looked to be in his forties, and his eyes were trained on Mrs. Murphy as soon as she came into his view.
"What the fuck?" Derk mumbled.
Courtney whipped a glare over her shoulder. She approached the table and the man stood, beaming at her.
"Thank you for waiting, Carlo," she said and kissed him on each cheek. "Security.” She waved at him and Smith. “Don't mind them."
"Of course not."
All four sat at the table, after Derk and Smith pulled chairs up close and made room by crowding Mrs. M. They watched Carlo set a medium sized black box with a silver logo on top on the table and slid it her direction.
"Here's your finished product," Carlo said, his Italian accent prominent.
"Carlo, this isn't a product, it's a work of art," she praised.
They watched the man blush like a teenager. "You are too kind."
"No, you are for putting up with my demands and constant changes. I can't thank you enough. My husband's going to love it." She nodded. "May I?"
"Please," he answered, his eyes lit up like Christmas.
Courtney opened the box and inhaled, her hands going to her chest and her eyes watering. Derk and Smith slid each other questionable glances.
"Oh, Carlo," she whispered. "It's gorgeous."
She threw her arms around the man, who returned her embrace.
Smith cleared his throat and reached for the inside of his suit jacket, his face tight with anger. A rare form of any sort of expression from the man.
Courtney pulled away and subtly grasped Smith's hand and squeezed gently. His friend literally stiffened. She let go and swiveled the box for them to look at the contents.
"I've been working with Carlo to design a watch for Derrick. We've been going over it for months, perfecting it," she explained.
"Mrs. Murphy has wonderful taste. She wanted only the best for her husband. We imported most of the material," Carlo said proudly.
Derk leaned over and gave a low whistle. "Sweet."
Courtney beamed. "You think?"
"Yep," he approved. Now this made much more sense. Fuck, they jumped to the entirely wrong conclusion.
"It's for his birthday next week," she said. "He has everything. Carlo's watches are seen on the red carpet on every Hollywood actor, so I figured getting my hands on one of his designs would be the perfect gift. This watch is one of a kind. Only Derrick will ever own this design. I also had it engraved."