Page 16 of Twisted Lies 3
“I want that damn ledger,” I hissed before glancing over at Rocco. “You and Max stake out Sin’s house. No need for us to get our hands dirty on this one. Just wait for that idiot Jeff to break in and find the ledger. Snatch him when you see it in his hand.”
Ram inclined his head toward me. “And what are you going to do about Sin?”
My face hardened, and I drew up to my full, intimidating height. “Let me worry about that.”
CHAPTER 5
Sinthia
After sculpting and draping the fabric directly onto the mannequin, I stepped back with a critical eye. “Not bad,” I mumbled under my breath.
Normally, I’d sculpt directly onto my body while sitting in front of a mirror and ask my intern, Giselle, to take a picture of me to capture the shape when it was pinned to me. Draping was almost as good but a tad bit slower.
Turning around, I threw a stray piece of fabric into a wooden box with rattan trim. I couldn’t help smiling at the clothes hanging on the rows of racks in part of my four-thousand-square-foot townhouse. I was practically giddy from seeing my designs come to life right in front of my eyes.
Damn! I can’t believe my collection is almost complete.
Rubbing my stiff neck with my fingers, I longed for a soak in a hot tub of lavender-scented bath salts, which was unlikely to happen tonight. I had been working nonstop for days. It had been both exciting and exhausting. There were moments when the stress from pushing myself so hard had driven me to near breaking point, but I’d continued. It had been a challenge, but it was my dream. It was make-or-break time, and I had no intention of failing.
I had designed around twenty different outfits, ranging from shredded organza dresses with flowers at the hem, cobweb gowns fluttering from neck to floor, crystal tank tops over short sequined skirts, to peacock-print silk dresses tumbling off one shoulder. But there were five more over-the-top pieces to go.
Shit.
I needed to work faster, but I was getting sidetracked by all the small details, like checking email, making phone calls, and keeping track of upcoming meetings.
Picking up my cell, I scrolled through my contacts, stopping on my as-needed intern. She was a whiz at helping me get as organized as possible.
“Hi, Sin. Great to hear from you. What’s up?”
“Help! I’m up to my elbows in fabric.”
Giselle laughed. “Whatever you need. I’ve been waiting for your call.”
I sighed. “Things have gotten really complicated recently. The good news is I just got the thumbs-up from my business partner to hire extra help.”
“When do you need me?” Giselle posed.
I flicked through the calendar on my tablet. “Today’s already Friday. I’ll give you the weekend to rest up and get ready to start working your ass off on Monday. We’ll be working twenty-four seven, so be prepared to spend the night when needed. I have five more pieces I need to complete before I sit down with the buying and marketing teams to decide which designs will make the final cut.” I made it sound simple, but eliminating designs would be a tiring process, involving fitting sessions and making alterations to clothes when needed.
But I eagerly anticipated the final stage—when my collection would go on sale.
“I’m so excited,” Giselle squealed. “See you on Monday.”
I sat down at my workstation. “Thanks, Giselle.”
One more task was checked off my mounting to-do list, but it seemed like the more I accomplished, the more I added.
Trying to calm the anxious ball of energy bouncing around in my gut, I took a deep, cleansing breath. It didn’t help. I jumped up, pulling my hair into a tight ponytail while pacing back and forth.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Things were going exactly the way I wanted. Finally.
Then a scary thought flashed through my head. I knew exactly what was wrong.
Core McKay.
Dammit.
