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  I relax. Whatever emotional can of worms this guy so desperately wants to set lose feels better tightly closed.

  Then he reaches out a hand. “So, we’ll find your lamp and get it back.”

  I reach out and take his hand, shaking it. “And, just so you know, I’m going to punish the back-stabbing bitch who did this to me.”

  He winces. “That’s all you.”

  Yes, it is. Because I’ve realized something. Allie’s brother was right. Just because I saw Allie as a friend doesn’t mean she ever saw me that way.

  I was just another target for her.

  Someone to use.

  And it’s high time that Allie learned a lesson that she might be the best thief I know, but I’m too stubborn to ever let this go. Wherever she is, whatever she does, I’ll destroy her.

  She wanted to ruin my life. Let’s see what happens when I ruin hers.

  Chapter Twelve

  Owen

  I’ve called Jade about a dozen times, but still, I’ve heard nothing from the mysterious woman. And it’s driving me out of my mind.

  So much so that I’ve been distracted from work for the past three days.

  And if there’s anything I can’t afford, it’s to be distracted.

  Sighing, I drop the papers on my desk and lean back, rubbing my forehead. There’s no point in me staring at all these numbers and figures if I’m not actually processing them. Yes, it looks like our business is already doing better than I’d expected. But I needed to know how much better. Exactly how much better.

  There was no room for error when we’d gambled with our inheritance. If we used our parent’s money and flopped at this business, I’d never forgive myself.

  I’m just about to try to call the mysterious woman again and demand she respond to me, so I can finally focus the way I need to, when someone knocks lightly at my door.

  Sighing, I call out, “Come in.”

  A woman creaks the door open, and immediately she sets me on edge, for reasons I don’t understand. She looks like just about every other woman in this area. Her blonde hair is slick and highlighted with every shade of blonde. Her pale skin is coated with makeup, and she wears a skin-tight outfit, while teetering on high-heels.

  But still, I stand and plaster on a smile. “Hello.”

  She smiles back, but hers is as forced as my own smile. “Hello.”

  I stare at her, wishing like hell that Emmett was here. He’s the face of the company for a reason. Numbers make sense to me, people don’t. Emmett would already have this woman eating out of the palm of his hand. Instead, I’m just staring at her, waiting for her to say something of value.

  “I was told this was the place to go if I need something auctioned off?”

  I nod a little too sharply. “You’ve found the right place. Come in.”

  Her gaze moves over my massive office located near the entrance of the auction house. She seems to take in the two walls of books, the expensive rug that’s spread on the floor, and then my huge oak desk that dominates the room. I’m surprised by how calculated her gaze is. This one might look like the others, but she’s not.

  After a second, she closes the door behind her, then, to my surprise, teeters across the room on her heels, clutching a big purse to her chest. I’m trying not to reach out to try to stop the fall my instincts are screaming will happen. I release the breath I was holding when she makes it into the chair.

  I sit down. “So, Miss…”

  She tosses her hair over one shoulder in a move that’s too practiced. “Miss Carpet.”

  “Carpet?” I repeat.

  She gives a tight nod. “That’s right.”

  I clear my throat. “Well, Miss…Carpet, what can I do for you?”

  Her gaze darts suspiciously around the room. “I have an item of great value I’d like to have auctioned off.”

  For some reason I feel irritated. Maybe because I just don’t like this woman. “I can help you with that.”

  Her grip on her big purse is far too tight. “How does this work, exactly?”

  I almost sigh, but don’t. “You give us your item. I write up a detailed description of it and give you the receipt with all the information. Then my brother, Evan, will appraise it. He’ll tell you everything you might want to know about it, and the estimated value. And you can decide whether you’d like us to handle the sale of the item, should it be something of value.”

  For a second I get the weird feeling she’s going to bolt for the door, but then she relaxes, the bag sliding into her lap. The gaze she gives me is far too arrogant for the nervousness I’d sensed in her only a moment before. “Oh, it is an item of value.”

  I glance at her bag, waiting.

  At last, she opens the expensive-looking green purse and pulls something out. For a second I frown, trying to figure out what the hell it is, when she hands it to me. I take it, opening my hands.

  It’s…a lamp. A very heavy, very old-looking lamp.

  “It’s pure gold,” I say, realizing it even as I’m speaking.

  “That’s what I thought!” There’s excitement in her voice.

  “And the carvings on it… Where is this from?” I look at her, knowing already I’m holding something of great value.

  Her gaze darts away from me. “I’m not sure. My grandmother passed it onto me, but I never asked her anything about it.”

  I trace the details with my fingertips. This lamp is truly extraordinary.

  “So, do you think it’ll be worth a lot?” she asks, too eager.

  I nod slowly. “Yes, I think it’ll be very valuable, but my brother is the one who can tell us more than that.”

  She gives a little squeal of excitement and leans closer.

  I set the lamp slowly down and pull the paperwork out of the proper folder, then slide it to her to fill out. As she does so, I look between her and the lamp. This woman is strange, but her lamp isn’t. I can’t say how many arrogant, wealthy brats come in here pawning precious family heirlooms. No doubt she’s being weird because she knows just how bad what she’s doing is.

  But my job isn’t to be the moral police.

  I take her document when it’s done, fill out the correct areas, and give her copies. When she stands and leaves, I feel immensely relieved to see her go. Then I pick up the heavy lamp once more and carry it to the back room.

  Evan is going to be ecstatic when he sees it, but he’s got a hell of a lot to appraise before we can get to this one, no matter how exciting this might be. Undoing the locks on the door leading to our items of greater value, I go to the back, type in the code to the safe, and hide the lamp inside.

  We might have good insurance, but I wasn’t about to test it.

  Standing, I head back to my office, deciding yet again to call the mysterious woman who was driving me crazy. Being with her was the first time I felt alive in who knows how long. The last thing I wanted to do was lose her over my idiot brother.

  I just needed to convince her that as much as I loved Emmett’s idea of making a sandwich with her sweet ass, I’m not going to make her do anything. And I’m not some weird pervert who planned the whole thing.

  No, I didn’t want her to feel like I was some weird stalker, but I also thought that if she gave me another chance, I wouldn’t fuck up again.

  I just need another chance.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jade

  The last three days have been the longest of my life. Evan had promised to keep an eye out for my lamp, but until then, real life was here waiting. I had houses to clean, long days on my feet, and one bleak day that bleeds into the next to endure.

  The only sunshine in my otherwise bleak existence was that today I was cleaning Mr. Blake’s house. I might not be some rich beauty that could steal his eye yet, but one day I swore I would be.

  If I can just find my lamp.

  But when I come to his house, I’m surprised to find him not there even though he’s the first appointment of my day at the fucki
ng crack of dawn. And not only that, but his bed is still made, his clothes aren’t on the floor, and his bathroom is still freshly cleaned.

  Frowning, I make my way to his cook, Henrietta. “Hey, Mr. Blake’s bedroom still looks clean.”

  The cook, an older woman with a kind smile and a love of gossip, grins at me. “That’s because the boss hasn’t been home yet.”

  My frown deepens. “Business trip?”

  Henrietta gives a shifty look around, then leans in. “He met a lady.”

  I swear it feels like someone kicked me in the gut. “Another model without a brain?” I ask, trying and failing not to sound bitter.

  She grins. “Nah, this one’s different. Mr. Blake’s been floating around like a boy with a crush.”

  Damn, now someone’s decided to punch me in the chest. “He really likes her?”

  The older woman wipes her hands on her apron. “I think this woman might be the one.”

  I scoff. “Like hell!”

  Her brows rise. “Mr. Blake’s been trying to get to the altar and start a family forever. If he finds a woman, he’s not going to take it slow.”

  I definitely feel like Henrietta is trying to beat the shit out of my heart. “Have you gotten a look at her yet?”

  She shakes her head, crinkles forming at the corners of her eyes. “Not yet, but I think it’ll be soon.”

  I listen without hearing as she goes off about all the gossip she’s been hearing lately about Mr. Blake’s neighbors and some kind of legal trouble. I can’t believe I might find my lamp soon, and it might be too late. The vision of curling up in his bed, drinking coffee and laughing, is replaced by some blonde laughing in his bed, while I’m cleaning up her hair products.

  “I better get working,” I tell Henrietta, interrupting her even though I know I’m being a little rude.

  She shrugs, but looks at me a minute too long. “No problem.”

  I turn and return to scrubbing the house down, taking my anger out on the floors and counters. When I’m done, I’ve worked up a ridiculous sweat. I’m actually dripping, my hair matted down in my face.

  Taking off my gloves, I throw them into my bucket, breathing hard and sitting against Mr. Blake’s shower, trying to catch my breath. Trying to remember that I still have a full day of cleaning ahead of me.

  And then I hear his voice.

  Stiffening, I don’t move.

  The voice grows closer, but doesn’t enter the bathroom.

  “She’s amazing!” My. Blake says. “We share all the same interests. She’s beautiful. And she’s… different than the other girls.”

  My heart sinks. He’s talking about her.

  “Now I just need mother’s approval,” he continues.

  I don’t move, straining to hear more.

  After a minute, he says, “yeah, I’m meeting her at the Ice Palm Club in an hour.”

  More silence.

  “I do sound happy, don’t’ I?”

  My heart beats faster.

  “Talk to you soon.”

  A second later, Mr. Blake comes into the room looking hot as hell. Sin on wheels in his dapper-looking suit. He makes a beeline for the mirror, checking himself from every direction, and smoothing down his hair.

  It takes him a full minute for him to realize I’m there, and then he jumps. “Oh, Jade, sorry, I didn’t know you were there.”

  “No problem,” I say, climbing to my feet and trying not to sound guilty.

  I’m scurrying out of the room when his voice stops me. “What do you think of my hair?”

  I turn back, trying not to sigh like a princess in a cheesy movie. “It’s perfect.”

  “And my suit?”

  “Very nice,” I say.

  He frowns at his reflection. “This woman is special. I can’t screw this up.”

  I hesitate. “If you don’t mind me saying, Mr. Blake, any woman would be lucky to have you.”

  He doesn’t look at me, because his gaze is locked on his reflection. “I seriously think we might be soul mates. Fated to be together, and all that jazz, even though I never believed in all that crap before.”

  My jaw tightens. “Well, no need to rush it.”

  He turns and looks over to me as he answers. “You don’t get it. Women like her aren’t available for long.”

  When he heads for his closet and starts changing, I leave the room. Usually I live for moments with Mr. Blake, but apparently the universe was being a bitch and decided to take a huge, smelly dump on the last good thing in my life right now.

  Oh, I see you, universe…

  I’m dragging with each step I take as I head down the stairs when I suddenly stop. Mr. Blake was going to lunch today. I could actually pretend to run into him. See him in real life, if only for a minute.

  Looking down at my uniform, I’m sad it won’t be in one of my new outfits. But still, it’d be worth it for just a minute of conversation between us that isn’t just employer to employee.

  Smiling, I hurry down the stairs. I’m going to have to take the bus if I want to reach the restaurant in time. No use hanging around here.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jade

  I’m standing outside the Ice Palm Club, not too close to the entrance to look obvious, but close enough to spot Mr. Blake when he goes in. I managed to smooth down my unruly hair at a gas station bathroom, even though I couldn’t do anything about my sweat-soaked clothes or apron. So, I’m not looking great, but at least I’m not currently scrubbing a toilet with my hair flying around me like a wicked witch.

  It’ll be weird to see him out in the “real world,” but maybe kind of nice. Even if we just have a few minutes together, we can have more than just the awkward half-conversation we engage in at his house. Maybe he’ll even see me as a person for now. It could change our whole dynamic…if this goes well.

  I try to lounge casually, but I don’t look nearly as hot with the bucket hanging from my hand.

  “Do you know where Harry Spider Beach is?”

  I whirl around to see an old woman with huge glasses, squinting and frowning down at a map.

  “Excuse me?”

  She leans in closer to her map. “Harry Spider Beach, is it around here?”

  I can’t help but chuckle. “Harspear Beach. Yeah, it’s two blocks that way,” I tell her, pointing.

  She thanks me and pats my arm.

  When I turn back around, Mr. Blake is just walking into the restaurant.

  Fuck! I scramble forward, but it’s too late, I’ve missed him. Or is there another way I can run into him before his ‘perfect’ date shows up? I move around the restaurant, frowning. Ducking down an alley, I come to the other side of the building. Up above, there’s a balcony.

  My heart races as I wait. I might not get my moment with him, but it might be worth missing my lunch and taking a bus in the opposite direction of my next client, if I can just get a peek at him in his daily life. And get to see his stupid new woman. I feel relieved when I see him sit down right in my view. This is better than nothing. Scooping out the competition and all.

  “Whatcha staring at?”

  I whirl to see a lady with dreadlocks and a pipe in her hands blinking up at Mr. Blake.

  “Nothing,” I say, then decide the hell with it. “Just waiting to see what bleach blonde bitch he’s dating.”

  “You stalking him?”

  “No!” I say, sharply.

  “It’s cool. It’s cool.” She waves off my answer. “I’m stalking the guy at the end.” She points out a blond surfer with big muscles at another table.

  I raise a brow. “I’m not stalking him. I just found out when and where he was going to be and…”

  Shit. I’m stalking him.

  “Want a drag?” She hands the pipe to me.

  I shake my head and glance back above me. Maybe this wasn’t as good an idea as I thought.

  And then he stands up and hugs a woman. All logic flies out the window as I lean forward and try to get a good l
ook at her. I see a head of blonde hair and a big purse, but that’s it.

  Who the hell is this bitch?

  When she goes to sit down, she’s faced away from me.

  Ugh.

  “I guess if I’m going to do this, I need to do this all the way,” I say.

  The woman next to me says, “Good for you! Do you need a baggie to collect his leftovers?” She pulls a sandwich bag out of her pocket.

  “No, thanks,” I say, shaking my head and feeling yet again like maybe this was a mistake.

  First, see the competition, then maybe get therapy for my stalking ways…

  I scoot away from the woman on the sidewalk and start walking, adjusting my position. His date is wearing a tight pink dress. Of course she is. Expensive looking jewelry. And…I back up further and further.

  Her face comes into view, and my stomach drops. “Allie!”

  She jerks her head sharply and looks at me. Her eyes widen. I take another step back and trip over something. One minute I’m on my feet, and the next I’m sprawling in a trash can, the sound of the metal bin ringing noisily around me.

  Something splashes onto my head, and my ass feels wet.

  I glance up, hoping that no one heard the commotion.

  Mr. Blake is staring down at me. “Jade?”

  This has got to be one of the worst moments in my life.

  I look at Allie. She looks pale and freaked out. Suddenly, she scrambles from the balcony.

  Oh, hell no! If she thinks she’s going to make a break for it, she’s got another thing coming!

  Climbing out of the trash can, I race around the building, determined not to let her escape without giving me my lamp. As I reach the entrance, she’s handing a ticket to the valet.

  “Allie!”

  She whirls.

  My entire chest aches as I look at her. She’s completely changed the way she looks, so much that she’d been unidentifiable to most people who know her…but most people aren’t her ex-best friend. I’d know her anywhere, even beneath her makeup, new hairdo, and fancy clothes.. A mask she’s now wearing to…to make Mr. Blake fall in love with her. To use what I told her about him to turn him into her next mark.