Page 53 of You Owe Me

Eliza just smirks, popping a piece of gum into her mouth like she didn’t just drop a nuclear code into my lap. “Watched him unlock it, counted the digits. It’s burned into my brain now. 051295. You’re welcome.”

“Are we sure that’s not a nuclear launch code?”

“Only if the launch is targeting Maverick’s sanity.”

I exhale slowly, heart rattling against my ribs. “Okay. Okay, that’s good. If we can get to his phone?—”

“Big if,” Eliza cuts in, tossing the gum wrapper in the trash. “He hasn’t let that thing out of his hand all night. I tried to snag it when he got distracted talking to the guy from the finance board, but nope. Kung fu grip. Like it’s holding state secrets. Or his nudes.”

I wince. “Please don’t put that image in my brain.”

Eliza leans in as she reapplies her lip gloss like she’s prepping for battle. “Okay. So, how do we get the phone?”

“I don’t know,” I hiss, pacing a tight circle in the bathroom like I’m planning a bank robbery—which, let’s be honest, I basically am. “He’s glued to it. I’d have better luck stealing a kidney.”

“We need a distraction.”

“Unless I chloroform him and run, there’s no way to grab it without him noticing.”

Eliza snaps her compact shut. “What if he gives it to you?”

I blink. “He won’t.”

“But what if he gives you the jacket it’s in?”

Silence.

And then, very slowly, I turn toward her. “Okay, evil genius. Go on.”

“You complain about being cold.” She waves her hands like she’s conducting a criminal orchestra. “He gives you his jacket like the narcissistic gentleman he thinks he is. Then you createchaos. Big, dramatic, run-through-the-ballroom chaos. Boom. He’s separated from the jacket. You disappear with the phone.”

My jaw drops. “I love you.”

“I know.”

“Okay. So I say I’m cold…”

“Damsel in distress but make it gala-chic,” she says. “And you’ll need a dramatic exit strategy. Something disruptive enough that no one notices the coat disappearing.”

My eyes land on the glowing red box by the door.

“Eliza.”

She follows my gaze to one of the candles burning on the bathroom counter.

“No.”

“Eliza.”

“That’s a felony.”

“That’s a future me problem.”

She sighs like a long-suffering villain sidekick. “I’ll stall the board members. You run like hell.”

I press a hand to my chest. “I’ve never loved you more than in this moment.”

“Just remember to look shocked and innocent when the alarms go off. Maybe throw in a little damsel flailing. Add drama. Confuse the security footage.”

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