Essie glanced down at her half-empty glass.She’d been nursing the drink for so long that most of the ice had melted.“Yes, please.Heavy on the ice.”
As the bartender reached for the bottle of gin, Essie turned her attention back to Chloe.Once upon a time, she was a beautiful woman, a former model who’d commanded runways around the world.But too many appointments with the plastic surgeon had turned her into a caricature of her former self.Now her nose was too thin, her lips comically large, with so much filler plumping her cheeks she resembled an angry chipmunk.It didn’t help that she’d chopped her long, wavy black hair in favor of a short, blocky style that could only be described as unfortunate.
The bartender placed a fresh gin and tonic in front of her.
“Thank you.Can I go ahead and settle my tab?”Essie paid with cash, because only an amateur left an electronic footprint.Glass in hand, she left her seat and crossed to the booth where Chloe sat.The other woman was so engrossed with her phone that she didn’t even notice Essie’s approach.
“Hello, Chloe.”
The woman’s gaze flicked up to Essie.Annoyance flashed over her face, but it disappeared so quickly most people wouldn’t have noticed it.She gave a small, practiced smile that came across as brittle.“I’m sorry.I appreciate your interest, but I need some personal time right now.”
“That’s a nice brushoff, but it’s not going to work because we have business to discuss.”Essie slid into Chloe’s side of the booth and set her drink on the table.
The woman shot her a glare as she scooted to the other side of the bench seat that bumped against the wall.“You need to leave.”
“Not until we talk.”
Chloe held up her phone.“Do I need to call the police?”
Essie shrugged one shoulder.“That’s totally up to you.Do you want to tell them about those idiots you hired to kidnap Sierra Page?”
Her eyes widened slightly.“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The laugh Essie gave was genuine.“Wow, you’re a terrible liar.I expected better from someone who used to be married to Chad.”
Now there was a world-class liar.She’d watched the interviews where he denied any romantic involvement with Sierra.No rapid blinking or excessive throat clearing, or any of the other tell-tale signs of deception.With that level of skill, he could make a fortune playing poker.Or running for office.
Chloe scowled at the mention of her ex-husband.“Don’t mention that name in my presence.”
It was kind of cute, how she actually thought her commands carried any weight with Essie.That was what happened when you surrounded yourself with ass kissers.
“In that case, I’ll just talk about Adamantine Tactical Security Solutions.Remember them?”
Chloe shook her head.“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Really?Because you used them for personal protection the last time you had a modeling gig in New York.You also paid them fifty thousand dollars to kidnap Sierra.”Before Chloe could deny the accusation, Essie added, “In all fairness, you didn’t pay them directly to do your dirty work.Your personal assistant, Graham Winslow, served as your liaison.”
That was an educated guess based on a series of cash deposits that the president of Adamantine received in his personal account, but the other woman’s reaction confirmed it.
Chloe downed the last of her drink and set the glass on the table.“Nice story.Good luck proving it.”
“Well, you’re right about that.I can’t prove it in a court of law, and the folks at Adamantine aren’t talking.But while I was digging, I learned some interesting things about them.”Essie sipped her gin and tonic.“Like the fact they submitted a series of fraudulent financial statements when they applied for a construction loan to build their fancy new headquarters.But those statements were totally different when they appealed the valuation of that property for tax purposes.Nobody noticed.Until now.”
Truth be told, her first impulse had been to wire their headquarters with enough explosives to trigger an earthquake.On a visceral level, it would have been more satisfying.But unleashing the law on them would be even more painful and last a whole lot longer.
“And why would I give a damn about that?”Chloe asked.
“Because they’re not going to answer your call the next time you want them to do your dirty work.”Essie opened a link on her phone, and then angled the screen so Chloe could read the headline about the arrests.The corresponding photo showed the CEO being led out of the building in handcuffs.“The state of Arizona takes tax fraud seriously.The article doesn’t mention it, but their assets have been frozen.If they get desperate enough, they might be willing to offer evidence to other crimes in exchange for a lighter penalty.”
The pulse at the base of Chloe’s throat was beating faster, but, to her credit, she gave a bored look.“Is there a point to all this?”
The waitress stopped by with Chloe’s check, picked up her empty glass, and said, “I’ll take that whenever you’re ready.”
Essie waited for the waitress to leave, even though she was one of her associates.Chloe didn’t need to know that.“You blew fifty grand trying to get revenge on a woman you blamed for the failure of your marriage.I don’t care where the actual fault lies.I’m just here to tell you to knock it off, or there will be consequences.”
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest.“Oh, and what are you going to do, give me another stern talking to?”
“No, but I did poison your drink.Don’t worry,” Essie added when Chloe’s eyes nearly shot straight out of her head.“You only drank the first half of the poison.On its own, it’ll only make you a little sick, like you ate some bad oysters or something.By now, it’s already made itself at home in your bloodstream.It’ll stay there for years, dormant, waiting.If you behave yourself, that’s as far as it’ll go.But if anything happens to Sierra, my associates will introduce you to the second half of the poison, and that’s when things get interesting.It’s not a pretty way to die.I’d give you the details, but why spoil the surprise?”
