Page 36 of Money Reigns
“One and the same,” I say dryly. “Still up my ass. Still eager to please. If you want him, he’ll help you, but don’t expect trade secrets. He’s as loyal as the dog you think he is.”
“Fine by me. Thank you,” Brooks says, his voice clean and easy. Like this is just business.
Thank you?
How soft.
Weak.
Here I thought, we were two sides of the same coin.
“Then we’re done here.”
I end the call.
The silence after tastes sweeter than the deal.
Broderick will be out of my hair. Brooks will owe me.
And Olivia Baker’s life is in between my fingers in the form of a single stolen key.
***
The lock clicks too easily.
Herlock.
Her door.
I step inside Olivia Baker’s apartment, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.
It smells like her. Not just her perfume, but her skin.
Maybe her soap.
A trace of flowers cling to the air, sweet but thin, like it’s trying too hard to be something it isn’t.
I move slowly, deliberately, letting my eyes adjust to her space.
One-bedroom. Secondhand couch sagging in the middle. A throw blanket folded neatly on the back, worn at the edges.Books stacked on the coffee table, spines cracked, pages dog-eared. All lived in.
Allordinary.
I cross down the hall into her bedroom and open the closet.
A small row of blouses in muted colors. Black, navy, pale blue. Cheap polyester that will pull at the seams after a dozen washes. A couple skirts that would wrinkle if you so much as breathed on them. Shoes lined up in pairs, scuffed at the toes, worn down at the heel.
Poorly made.
Cheap.
She needs better.
Better clothes. Better shoes.Better everything.
I slide open the small dresser drawer, sift through folded fabric. Cotton underwear, plain bras, nothing meant to be seen.
Nothing meant for me.
