appreciate it, Guy. We’ll talk soon.”
“Indeed.”
He hung up.
Ten years in this business have made me a cynical, suspicious bitch. Whenever someone caves too easily for no apparent reason, I wonder what he’s hiding. Try as I might, however, I couldn’t see any downside for me in Guy’s postponing the wrap-up for Dorothy’s next deal. Assuming I went out on my own, and assuming Dorothy was still my client, then Guy was giving me a huge ace to play against Bardwright. Such things don’t normally come free, and Guy isn’t the kind of man to offer something for nothing.
Hmm.
Maybe Saleema is harboring dreams of stealing Dorothy away, and she’s convinced Guy to wait until her schemes bear fruit. After all, if Cosima gets the deal, then we all lose.
I thought about it and then did something I hadn’t done in a very long time.
I called Saleema’s cell number.
“It’s Tess,” I said when she answered. “Don’t hang up.”
Saleema was silent, and then she said, “What do you want, Tess?”
Her voice was butter smooth. She still had an erotic hint of an Indian accent, despite all her years in the States. I could picture her face clearly. A tiny, gorgeous firebrand.
“I thought we could bury the hatchet,” I said. “But maybe somewhere other than in my head.”
I thought that was funny, but Saleema didn’t laugh.
“Who are you sleeping with these days, Tess?”
I was taken aback, and I didn’t answer. She said it as if she knew something. But that was impossible. Emma was as loyal as a palace guard, and Darcy and I had plenty of reasons to keep our mouths shut.
“Look, I’ll tell you I’m sorry a few more times if it would help,” I said.
“It wouldn’t.”
“Ah.” I didn’t know what else to say. “So where are you? You sound faraway.”
As in, are you in London, you scheming bitch?
“I’m in the toilet in first class on a seven forty-seven.”
“You know you could be interfering with the aircraft’s communication and navigation systems.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
I was looking for something, anything. The truth is, I really did want to put the past behind us. I missed her. Of course, I knew it was a lost cause. Once you’ve pricked your skin and become blood enemies, you don’t change.
“I really miss you, Saleema. If I could go back and do things differently, you know I would. I wish I could make things right between us.”
I heard a long pause, and for a moment, I thought maybe the relationship we had shared in the beginning might peek through. But no. “You made your choice, Tess.”
“Will you be in London anytime soon? We could talk.”
I heard a smile in her voice as she replied. As if, somehow, she knew that I knew. She had been in London yesterday. With Guy.
“I never know when my plans will take me to London. Sometimes it’s on short notice.”
“So call me next time.”
“I don’t think so, Tess. Good-bye.”
She hung up on me.
I didn’t learn anything from the call, other than what I already knew. Saleema still hated me. Five years hadn’t softened her. I didn’t know if she and Guy had plans with regard to Dorothy, but as far as I knew, I was still bulletproof. They were handing me Dorothy’s deal on a silver tray. Sometimes the bad guys do the good guy a favor, even if they don’t want to.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear my office door open.
When I looked up, my other enemy was there, framed in the doorway, the dark office behind her. Thin. Arrow straight. Hands on her hips.
The wicked witch. The new head of the agency.
Cosima.
9
MY BOSS .
I have worked with Cosima Tate for three years, and I have known her as long as I’ve been in the industry. Everyone knows her, in the way that you know war, pestilence, and plague exist in this world but you hope they don’t come to your neighborhood.
For twenty-five years, Cosima ran her own agency. She was one of the most successful female entrepreneurs
“Indeed.”
He hung up.
Ten years in this business have made me a cynical, suspicious bitch. Whenever someone caves too easily for no apparent reason, I wonder what he’s hiding. Try as I might, however, I couldn’t see any downside for me in Guy’s postponing the wrap-up for Dorothy’s next deal. Assuming I went out on my own, and assuming Dorothy was still my client, then Guy was giving me a huge ace to play against Bardwright. Such things don’t normally come free, and Guy isn’t the kind of man to offer something for nothing.
Hmm.
Maybe Saleema is harboring dreams of stealing Dorothy away, and she’s convinced Guy to wait until her schemes bear fruit. After all, if Cosima gets the deal, then we all lose.
I thought about it and then did something I hadn’t done in a very long time.
I called Saleema’s cell number.
“It’s Tess,” I said when she answered. “Don’t hang up.”
Saleema was silent, and then she said, “What do you want, Tess?”
Her voice was butter smooth. She still had an erotic hint of an Indian accent, despite all her years in the States. I could picture her face clearly. A tiny, gorgeous firebrand.
“I thought we could bury the hatchet,” I said. “But maybe somewhere other than in my head.”
I thought that was funny, but Saleema didn’t laugh.
“Who are you sleeping with these days, Tess?”
I was taken aback, and I didn’t answer. She said it as if she knew something. But that was impossible. Emma was as loyal as a palace guard, and Darcy and I had plenty of reasons to keep our mouths shut.
“Look, I’ll tell you I’m sorry a few more times if it would help,” I said.
“It wouldn’t.”
“Ah.” I didn’t know what else to say. “So where are you? You sound faraway.”
As in, are you in London, you scheming bitch?
“I’m in the toilet in first class on a seven forty-seven.”
“You know you could be interfering with the aircraft’s communication and navigation systems.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
I was looking for something, anything. The truth is, I really did want to put the past behind us. I missed her. Of course, I knew it was a lost cause. Once you’ve pricked your skin and become blood enemies, you don’t change.
“I really miss you, Saleema. If I could go back and do things differently, you know I would. I wish I could make things right between us.”
I heard a long pause, and for a moment, I thought maybe the relationship we had shared in the beginning might peek through. But no. “You made your choice, Tess.”
“Will you be in London anytime soon? We could talk.”
I heard a smile in her voice as she replied. As if, somehow, she knew that I knew. She had been in London yesterday. With Guy.
“I never know when my plans will take me to London. Sometimes it’s on short notice.”
“So call me next time.”
“I don’t think so, Tess. Good-bye.”
She hung up on me.
I didn’t learn anything from the call, other than what I already knew. Saleema still hated me. Five years hadn’t softened her. I didn’t know if she and Guy had plans with regard to Dorothy, but as far as I knew, I was still bulletproof. They were handing me Dorothy’s deal on a silver tray. Sometimes the bad guys do the good guy a favor, even if they don’t want to.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear my office door open.
When I looked up, my other enemy was there, framed in the doorway, the dark office behind her. Thin. Arrow straight. Hands on her hips.
The wicked witch. The new head of the agency.
Cosima.
9
MY BOSS .
I have worked with Cosima Tate for three years, and I have known her as long as I’ve been in the industry. Everyone knows her, in the way that you know war, pestilence, and plague exist in this world but you hope they don’t come to your neighborhood.
For twenty-five years, Cosima ran her own agency. She was one of the most successful female entrepreneurs
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