Page 17 of An Eye For Illusion

We end the call. I look up the name of the bar online and send Donovan a screenshot of the address and picture of the building.

Time to get this show on the road.

Chapter 7

Colin

I underestimated how much it would get under my skin to sit here and watch Jade have dinner with a man. A man she’s engaged to be married to.

Hell if I know why it bothers me so much, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off of her. She’s stunning in a sleek black cocktail dress. Its high slit shows off her long, lean legs, and those fucking heels she’s wearing drive me insane every time I see them.

I watch her throw her head back, laughing at something stupid Moore said. My eyebrows furrow. For someone who wants out of her little engagement as much as she seems to, she sure is playing up the lovesick, doting fiancé bit. Her hand reaches out to stroke Moore’s arm as he smiles back at her.

The scene churns something deep in my stomach. It’s an uncomfortable, foreign feeling. I don’t like it one fucking bit. I turn away, sipping lightly on the coke I ordered when I got here.

Luckily for me, the restaurant they picked isn’t so upscale that getting a seat at the bar was an issue. I timed my entry for just a few minutes before they were set to arrive and paid the hostess off so they would be seated at a table I chose. For myself, I picked a seat off to the side of the bar, where I have a clear view of their table as well as the exit and bathrooms.

I forwent alcohol tonight, but from how clenched my jaw is while I watch and listen to the two of them together, I may need something strong.

I discreetly placed a listening device in a plant by their table. I have the receiver in my right ear. It’s an invasion of privacy and all that jazz, but there is no privacy when I’m on a case. That’s what makes me so damn good at my job. If Jade has a problem with that, she shouldn’t have hired us. It’s all in our contracts. We do what it takes to get the answers the client seeks.

I’m close enough for the receiver to work, but not close enough that Moore could make me. It took Jade a few minutes to spot me, but when she did, her body stiffened slightly, and the fake smile on her face slipped. Moore didn’t seem to notice the change at all.

Shocker.

Let’s just hope Jade is as good of an actor as she appears to be. Moore is distracted with the server taking their drink order, and Jade uses the distraction to make eye contact with me.

Her gaze is sharp as it locks on me, and all I see is that now familiar fire she has every time we’re around each other. I smirk and raise my glass in her direction. Her eyes narrow in response, and her lips thin into an irritated line before her attention goes back to Moore and the server.

Boy, do I love riling her up.

Once they place their drink order, Moore tells her about his day at work. Boring shit, really. It’s all fluff, and he speaks to her like she isn’t one of the most powerful women in the city. To my surprise, however, Jade hmms and ahhhs in all the right places in his story.

I groan at how fake it all feels, how underwhelming the whole damn conversation is. What in the hell did this woman get herself into? Why is she pretending when she could simply call the whole damn thing off?

It isn’t my job to answer those questions. It’s my job to find the answers the client seeks, and I need to remember that with her. It doesn’t matter how damn pretty she is or how much she makes my cock jump.

She’s a client.

An annoying one at that.

I’m sure it seems odd for me to follow Moore when he’s scheduled to have dinner with the client who hired me. I mean, why should I? It’s unlikely he’ll do anything to clue Jade into whatever he’s been up to. Then again, sometimes, that’s when you find the biggest clue.

On nights like tonight, Moore will be off guard, relaxed, and confident because Jade is playing the clueless, loving fiancé perfectly. All he sees is love and trust reflecting back at him. Weakness. That’s when they make the biggest mistakes, and I need to be here for it. Moore could say something that Jade wouldn’t realize is a clue.

But that’s what I’m trained for, to pick up on those small inconsistencies that add up to a full puzzle piece.

Plus, if he doesn’t go home with Jade, I need to be here to follow him. My stomach churns at the thought of the two of them going home together. It’s a feeling that I quickly push to the side.

I’ve never had such a vehement reaction to a client before—such anger, passion, and/or aggravation—but something about Jade evokes all those emotions tenfold.

Moore’s phone buzzes on the table. He lifts it, checks the screen, then lays it back down on the table, face down. He barely takes his hand off it before it buzzes again. If Jade weren’t sitting there with him right now, I’d assume it’s her since she likes to call incessantly to the point of instigating rage like she does with me.

Or did, I suppose. At least until I pissed her off earlier today.

He doesn’t pick it up this time. He presses the side button and sends the call to voicemail. Jade seems to take notice of the change in his demeanor.

She places her hand over his. “Is everything alright, honey?” Her words make me wrinkle my nose.

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