The Billionaire's Kiss(5)

"Get in," someone said from inside.

Callie looked up and down the street, but she saw no sign of Gavin or anyone else. She opened the car door and got inside. "Rich, I thought for sure he was going to find me."

"Do you have the drive?"

"Yup," Callie said. She belted herself into the passenger seat and leaned back as Rich sped off into the night.

"Why the hell aren't you wearing shoes?"

"Heels aren't exactly made for running."

"Well, the laptop is set up already. Load the file, and see what kind of decryption we're dealing with here."

"Sure thing," Callie said. As Rich wove through the streets of DC, making sure no one was following, Callie plugged the thumb drive into the computer. "Looks fairly standard," she said.

"Run the decryption program, and we'll know what we have before I get you home."

Two minutes later, the computer pinged. It was time to see what kind of dirt Gavin really had. There were a few other files, but she guessed that the one titled "Wyatt" would have what she was looking for. Callie clicked through the photos. The pictures were fairly standard hidden camera stuff, nothing she hadn't dealt with before. At least they now knew what they were dealing with.

"Let me check that out," Rich said. He pulled the car over and took the laptop from Callie. He shook his head as he went back through the photos. Then he went back through the files. Callie watched as Rich's eyes grew wide. "Holy shit," he said under his breath. Callie could hear his excitement. "You'll never guess who else this guy has photos of. God, there’s a video too. Your sister is going to flip."





Two

The clack of Callie's high heels against the hardwood floor echoed through the room as she paced back and forth. She had to think of the perfect way of saying this. "Amy, I know that this isn't the best time to tell you this, but I can't really see any other way. I need to take some time for myself, a few days out of DC to clear my head and just get away from all of this."

"Bravo, sounds great, now can I go back to bed?" Charlotte replied. She was curled up on the couch, the rheum of sleep still in her eyes. She didn't look too thrilled to be playing the part of Callie's older sister.

Callie frowned and handed her roommate a warm mug of coffee. "No, not until I've practiced this. You've met my sister. Every time I try to ask her for something — a vacation, a promotion, anything — she finds some way to get me to back down. And now, she's pregnant and even harder to talk to. I need to practice."

"Is there a reason why you have to practice at 6 AM? What time did you even get home last night?"

"Late. I was walking around for a while trying to clear my head."

"Date night wasn't a success?"

"It wasn't a date. I was seducing a blackmailer."

"You what?"

"It's nothing really. I stalled him while someone went through his place looking for a hard drive."

"Do you know what I did last night?" Charlotte asked. "I read a book and drank half a bottle of red wine. So, was he handsome?"

"He was a blackmailer."

"That can be kind of hot."

"He was a creep."

"Hey, I'm living vicariously through you and Jane Austen, and only one of you dragged me out of bed at 6 AM on a Saturday to role-play a vacation request."

"I also made you coffee."

"And the coffee is good. If I play along, can I go back to bed?"

"Yes."

"Try one more time. Remember, just because you're related to her doesn't mean you can't ask for your basic rights as her employee. Just walk in and say, 'Amy, I need some time off. This last case got to me, and I could use a few days to clear my head.' Callie, you'll be fine."

"That's what I said before."

"Yes, it is. Now I'm going to crawl back into bed before it's far too late."

"Or I could make breakfast, and you can help me brainstorm vacation ideas."

"Do you have use of your brother-in-law's private jet?"

"No, why?"

"Why not? That would be a vacation of its own. Let's quit our jobs, borrow the jet and fly to Paris. What do you say? Hell, I'd fly to Newark if it meant spending the day in a Gulfstream."

Callie laughed. "If I quit the job, I doubt they'll lend me their private jet. And I think I want to get a little farther away from DC than New Jersey. I was thinking somewhere with a beach, maybe a few handsome men who can rebuild my faith in human nature."

"You're not thinking of going all Eat, Pray, Love on me, are you? Callie, you're not going to find yourself by doing yoga. Besides, I happen to like the current version of you, even if it means occasionally getting dragged out of bed to role play a vacation request."