Page 113 of Unmasking Mr. Crown

Miranda stood and dropped her napkin on the seat of her chair. "I'm going to make a quick trip to the ladies’ room and when I return, we're going to lock down every aspect of this surprise party and we're going to do it in record time. I know there's a million things you'd rather be doing than sitting here with an old broad like me."

The woman gave her a supportive pat on the shoulder in passing. Natalie turned her attention to her half-eaten piece of cake. Miranda's cell phone pinged with the delivery of a text. A minute later, the phone lit up with another one. Even with the screen facing away, Natalie could see the name of the sender, thanks in part to Miranda’s maximum text size.

Noah?

What the literal hell?

Natalie looked over her shoulder and across the restaurant toward the hallway leading to the restrooms. No sign of Miranda. The phone pinged a third time.

What exactly are you up to, Mr. Barton?

Natalie stole another stealthy glance over her shoulder. Something seemed off. In fact, the whole vibe of the meeting felt weird. She’d met with countless uber-wealthy clients over the course of her career and not a single one had ever tried to engage her in deeply personal conversations. Or martinis. Or chocolate cake. She tapped her pen on the table as she read back over her notes.

-Thom and Amy

-Met nine months ago

-Live in separate states

-Gardenias!

-Amy: coffee ice cream

-Thom: sweet tooth

Like her teen TV sleuth hero, Veronica Mars, Natalie snapped the pieces of this unexpected puzzle together with expert precision, shocked at the picture they created.

You’re a clever rabbit.

Thom’s a bit of a sly fox.

“Holy shit,” Natalie whispered to herself.

Her heart pounded a rhythm that would impress Phil Collins himself. She stabbed the slice of cake with her fork, wheels in her head spinning at breakneck speed as a forgotten conversation with Kate replayed itself with surprising clarity.

There was this woman. Miranda something. Loaded. She knows Cookie. Buys a lot of his up-and-comers. Well, this woman was there with this handsome man …

Oh. Em. Gee.

“Forgive me father, for I am about to sin,” Natalie said to herself as she did the unthinkable, rotating Miranda’s phone with the tip of her finger. With one last check over her shoulder, she swiped the screen.

Noah: Is everything ok? Are the traps set?

Noah: Text me as soon as you've fully snared Rabbit and I'll report back to Fox.

Noah: I’ll let Kate know too.

Noah: Who knew Cloak and Dagger could be this much fun?

Natalie gently pushed Miranda’s phone back into position. Her thought bottled-necked, now the equivalent of rush-hour traffic the Friday before a holiday weekend.

Does this mean what I think it means?

Kate and Dash ended things?

Well, clearly, they did … and now she’s working with Noah to help him surprise you?

Oh my God, he’s doing all this just for me.