Page 18 of An Eye For Illusion

Yuck. She may have him fooled, but I know she wants to get out of their relationship.

I can hear the fake smile in his voice when he answers. “Of course! Everything is just—”

The phone starts to buzz again, silencing him mid-sentence. This time, Moore excuses himself from the table to take the call.

“I’m so sorry,” he lies. “It’s work, and I don’t think they’ll stop calling until I answer. I’ll be right back.” He stands and kisses the top of her head as he passes her. For some reason, it makes me want to throat punch him.

I shift in my seat as Moore walks in my direction with the phone pressed to his ear. I keep my back to him, taking my phone out to fake being on a call, too. He’s less likely to think anyone will hear him if the surrounding people are focused on what they’re doing.

He speaks in a hushed tone, but I catch a rushed sentence here and there. “Yeah, I can handle it,” and, “She doesn’t know anything.” He ends the call and blows out a heavy sigh.

When I hear his footsteps pass behind me, I turn slightly so I can see his interaction with Jade when he gets back to the table.

She plasters a fake smile across her ridiculously perfect face. His expression is stressed. Whoever that call was from has him on edge. His body is rigid now.

If I had to wager a guess, my bet would be that was Vinny on the phone. My curiosity is piqued. What exactly is Moore going to handle? And why does “she,”—who I assume is likely Jade—not need to know? Maybe this is the something Jade hopes I’ll find.

She reaches up and gives his shoulder a squeeze. “What was that about? You’re so tense now.”

She deserves an award for this performance.

“Just work stuff, darling. Nothing for you to worry about.” He makes no effort to return her touch. Which is just fine by me.

My opinions about their interaction make me uncomfortable. I have no reason to care who touches Jade, especially when it’s her own fiancé.

She’s a client, Colin. Get it together.

My phone buzzes. It’s a text message from Donovan. I open the message to see a video. I reach into my pocket and pull out my wireless earbuds, putting one in my ear furthest from their table. I still need to be able to hear them, too.

I press play, but all I see is Donovan’s chin and chest. What the fuck am I supposed to do with this? I let the video play, but I don’t immediately see any significance.

I go back to my messages with Donovan and see that he texted VOLUME UP after sending the video. I increase the volume and press play again. It’s loud in my ear. I cut my eyes to the people around me to make sure they can’t hear it, too.

I close my eyes and concentrate on the voice in the video.

“There’s a shipment… This is your chance… This is between us… Don’t fuck it up.”

It’s a one-sided conversation; this must be the call Moore just took. A shipment for what?

ME: Thanks, D. If you hear what the shipment is of or where it’s going, let me know.

He responds immediately.

DONOVAN: Sure thing.

I turn my attention back to the happy couple. Their meal has arrived. They chat quietly as they eat. Moore’s posture is still stiff. Jade either doesn’t notice, or she’s doing a hell of a job pretending she doesn’t.

It seems things just got interesting.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jade hisses in my ear as she stands beside me at the bar.

Moore just went to the bathroom, and I was about to get up and follow him when she stopped me. I’ve had too many people slip out the back door or make important phone calls while taking a piss. I always follow.

I look down the long hallway beside the bar where the bathrooms are and watch Moore go into the men’s restroom without a backwards glance.

I blow out a frustrated breath and turn to Jade. The action puts our faces too close for comfort, but I also don’t back away. I never do with this one.

My eyes take in her pretty green ones. There are gold flecks in her irises that turn molten as her angry gaze continues to eat me up. I can’t pretend I don’t like it just a tad too much.

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