‘Oh, he doesn’t like physical .?.?.’ Zola began.
But Ethan held his hand up and embraced Katy. ‘It’s fine. I have a sister just like her,’ he said, patting Katy’s back until she was ready to let go.
‘So, wait, how are we going to get into the building?’ Zola asked. ‘They’ve probably revoked our access cards after the Met debacle, and that place is harder to get past the front desk than into my local GP’s surgery!’
The four of them thought for a few moments.
‘There’s a lift in the basement,’ Ella said. ‘Jimmy and I used it one night. Would you have access to it?’ she asked Ethan.
He hummed. ‘Sure. All board members have access to that parking lot, but I prefer to ride my bike to work.’
Zola shot him a stare, as if to say,dude, you can break your routine this one time.
‘But tomorrow I will borrow my mum’s car,’ he conceded, his eyes rolling slightly at the inconvenience.
The three of us smiled at his reaction, and Katy pushed back her shoulders. ‘So, we finally get to the bottom of this tomorrow then?’ she asked.
‘Too right.’ Ella smiled. ‘Yep!’
Zola grinned, striding towards Ella’s bedroom door. ‘So, let’s get the heads down, guys, and finally catch this bastard!’
Chapter Forty-Six
Ella
The following morning, Katy, Zola and I were huddled together, standing outside the apartment, trying to avoid the coolness of the fresh New York day as we waited for Ethan to arrive. I had spent most of the night awake with nerves, wondering who the culprit was, or even if we’d know them. The possibility that it could be anyone at Flirtify, from a cleaner to Jimmy’s best friend, kept me on edge. Katy, however, was now convinced that it was Travis after his shifty behaviour the previous evening. Zola didn’t have a specific suspect but was eager for justice. All three of us waited in the cold car park, at close to 8 a.m., each of us unintentionally dressed in black. Katy wore a black woolly beanie, black leggings and a black sweatshirt. Zola had on a black Calvin Klein lounge suit, and I wore a pair of Skims leggings and a matching top. We looked like we were about to rob a bank, which made me worry whether our clothing choices would actually attract more attention.
Ethan eventually pulled up in a Prius, and we all squeezed into the back. He was wearing the smallest pair of glasses I’d ever seen and a pair of leather gloves.
‘What’s with the gloves, MJ?’ Zola asked as the three of us shuffled in, trying to find extra room.
‘They are driving gloves,’ he stated bluntly. ‘They allow a better grip of the wheel.’
We giggled slightly at his attention to detail with absolutely everything he did. There was such straightforward directness radiating from Ethan, and I was so grateful we’d managed to recruit him to help us out.
‘Are we organised then?’ I asked.
‘Yes.’ He swallowed, not taking his eyes off the windscreen. ‘We will arrive just before nine and the board meeting is at ten, so that will give the system more than enough time to detect the employee number.’
I felt a shaky breath leave my body. This felt even worse than the long-ago Who Shot Phil Mitchell saga. Someone had it in for Jimmy, for us, but maybe if I somehow managed to save his company from being taken away from him, I could leave New York with my head held high.
We all gazed out at the passing city as Ethan drove, then he turned into the parking lot. Zola, Katy and I immediately ducked our heads in the back and Ethan threw an old blanket over us. Pressed up against Katy’s mouth, I pinched my nose. ‘Have you brushed your teeth?’ I whispered.
Katy’s eyes pinged open in anger. ‘Yes, actually,’ she hissed back. ‘Have you?’
But I pulled my face back. ‘What with? A fucking jobby stick?’
Zola began to laugh hard, just as Ethan pulled down the window, and she slapped her hand across her mouth to stop.
‘No bike today, Ethan?’ we heard a security man ask.
‘No,’ he replied as bluntly as ever.
We sat tight as the car paused for a few seconds, the barrier lifted and then I felt us tilt down slightly as we drove into the underground car park.
Zola sat up first, adjusting her braids, and then Katy and I joined her. I noticed the lift just to the left of Ethan’s car and smiled at the memory of Jimmy and me dry humping inside it after our first date. Now, we glanced around, making sure no one was about.
‘Ready?’ Ethan said. ‘Go!’
