“Oh, that’s marvelous. It . . . might be worth it,” Beatrice said on a sigh.
“Travis can afford it,” Emily repeated.
Sam shook his head and threw up his hands in resignation.
Hours later,the women were sitting together on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, just staring at the living room.
“It’ll kick ass with the plaster,” Beatrice murmured.
“I’m thinking a taupey color,” Caitlin said dreamily.
“Hmm . . . if you’re going to spend that money, don’t choose a boring color,” Emily said.
“Taupe is not boring, it’s quite complex.” Caitlin flipped through her paint cards. “It could be a bit warmer. Add more yellow.”
Emily shied away from the paint cards. “Uh-huh, I’m not saying yay or nay on this one, girl. All I’m seeing is twenty-thousand dollars.”
“Aw, Em, you were excited earlier.” Caitlin flipped back the fan deck and laid it on the coffee table. She shifted on the sofa to face Travis’s assistant.
“With that money, you’ll have someone who has the experience,” Beatrice said. “More than a security consultant, an executive assistant,” the redhead eyed Caitlin. “And a hacker.”
The girls burst out laughing.
Caitlin jumped up. “Okay, what are we doing for dinner tonight? Pizza?”
Emily groaned, “We had that yesterday. And we ate the leftovers for lunch.”
“Sam!” Caitlin hollered.
Her bodyguard walked in from the TV room.
“Do you know where Travis is?”
“He just called. He left his last meeting for the day. He’s en route,” Sam said.
Caitlin grabbed her phone and called her husband.
“Hey, babe. Heard Beatrice is helping you choose wall colors.”
“Do you mind if I change the walls?”
“The color? No problem. Do what you need. But you know we can’t have contractors come in until this threat is over, right?”
“Yes. I know. Can you pick up dinner?”
“Sure. What do you want?”
“I’m thinking Peruvian chicken. Is Nate coming over tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Then get three whole chickens and six sides. Fried yucca and Mexican rice sound good. Oh, extra sauce.”
“How was the rest of your day? Did you work on the files at all?”
“No.”
“Sunshine, we’ve talked about this. The sooner we give them what they want, the sooner this will be over.”
