“Well, I don’t want to be in a Lifetime movie.”
She laughed and patted my arm. “Things’ll work out, Vic.”
Work out? This mistress dispelling gig was already taking some weird twists and turns, and I hadn’t even officially started yet. I really, really hoped Penny was right.
4
The following Monday morning,baseball cap and sunglasses in place, I settled myself at an outside table at the Freshly Ground coffee shop. The nine o’clock yoga class at Breathe Free didn’t begin for another twenty minutes, which meant I had time to strategize. I ordered a dark and stormy with an extra shot of espresso and checked my intel again.
Grace hadn’t wasted any time. She’d emailed me my assignment first thing Saturday morning, which gave me all weekend to fret and plan and wonder again if I’d made a huge mistake in agreeing to this job. Finally I told myself if I failed, it wouldn’t be the first time, and if I succeeded, I’d be a quarter of the way to paying off my law school debt. I hadn’t yet told Aunt Penny exactly what my new job entailed, but I had a feeling she’d figure it out soon enough.
“You’re going to ayogaclass?” she asked me suspiciously over breakfast.
“Sure. I thought I’d give it a try.”
“Why?”
I shrugged and kept my eyes averted. “Remy recommended it.” I finished my orange juice and rushed back across the hall before she could read the lie on my face.
I bent down and ripped the tag off my new yoga mat. Then I opened Grace’s email and scanned the intel for the hundredth time.
Name: Angela Mason.From the pictures, she looked either Caucasian or possibly Hispanic. Luminous dark eyes and hair, skin untouched by age. Pretty and slim, with a brilliant, open smile.
Occupation: Waitress/Hostess.That made sense. Gave her a flexible schedule and meant she was good with people. Flirtatious, most likely. Savvy at working for tips. And a perfect way for us to bond.
Age: 26.
Marital Status: Single.
Hometown: Grand Haven, Michigan.I’d spent a fair amount of time researching the area over the weekend. It was a rich neighborhood with lots of old money. Hmm.Nota way for us to bond.
Hobbies and Interests: Fitness, traveling, and animals.A hundred bucks said her travel included Western Europe and the Caribbean, a semester abroad in London or Paris and spring breaks in the Bahamas. I highly doubted she’d spent any time in third-world countries. She probably also had one of those dogs that fit into a purse.
I checked my watch as my pulse sped up in anticipation. I’d done yoga exactly once in my lifetime, back in college when one of my roommates said itchanged her life. Yeah, right. The only thing it changed for me was the muscles in my back and legs. They screamed at me for three straight days.
I scanned the pictures on my phone again, taken by one of Grace’s undercover photographers. I’d memorized Angela Mason’s looks by now. Long dark hair, usually pulled up or back, brown eyes, breasts far too perky to be real, and a silver cross around her neck. Apparently she’d been sleeping with Congressman Reynolds for a little over two months. He was one of those up-and-coming politicians, with rumpled good looks, a beautiful wife, two preteen daughters and enough finesse that people from both political parties liked him. He’d won his last election by a landslide, and insiders were already talking about him running for President.
Thus my need to get rid of Angela.
I sipped my espresso. According to what Grace had sent me, Angela did yoga at Breathe Free at least four times a week, so this was an easy place to run into her. I’d actually walked by the studio a few times, and Remy had taken classes here, so I knew that newcomers were welcome, even clumsy newcomers like me.
There she is. I put away my phone as Angela walked around the corner. Bright blue yoga leggings and a crop top that showed off a perfect six pack. Hair pulled into a ponytail and an ass you could bounce quarters off.Hell.She definitely did more than yoga to stay in shape. This was probably her third workout of the day. The cars driving by practically collided when she stepped into the crosswalk.
My confidence wavered. Did I really think I could strike up a conversation with someone that beautiful and confident and get her to confess her deep, dark secrets? Or even give me a chance to suggest coffee or lunch or drinks sothenshe’d confess her deep, dark secrets?
“You goin’ inside?”
I jumped at the voice behind me. My knee hit the table and jostled my cup, and coffee spilled down my leg. “Ow!” I jumped up and grabbed a handful of napkins. “What the –” I turned to see Rafe standing beside me in black jeans and a black t-shirt and mirrored sunglasses. “You scared the shit out of me.” I scrubbed my leg, accomplishing nothing except leaving a trail of lint down my thigh.
“That yoga class starts in ten minutes.” He lifted a steaming coffee cup to his lips. “You’ll probably want to get inside before it fills up.”
“Iknowthat.” I dumped the remainder of my drink in the trash. For two wonderful days I’d forgotten about Rafe. I’d been so caught up in my plans to ensnare Angela that the thought he might be here, following me to yoga class, lurking outside while I tried to bend myself into unnatural shapes, had completely left my mind.
He settled himself into a chair at the next table and flipped open a newspaper. One of the baristas looked over at him, and I swear I could hear her ovaries clamor as she blushed and smiled and spent way longer than she had to sweeping the sidewalk around his feet. I squinted into the sun. I supposed he was good looking – all right, he wasclearlygood looking, all muscly and stubbly and mysterious – but he was also gruff and unfriendly and downright patronizing.Just try talking to him,I wanted to tell the barista.You’ll see.
Instead I grabbed my yoga mat and purse and strutted across the street without another word to him.I can do this. I’ll be the best mistress dispeller Grace has ever hired. I’ll be cool and convincing and set a new record for days needed to break up an affair.I lifted my chin. Grace must’ve seen some potential in me when she hired me, right?
Or maybe no one else had applied for the job.
