Page 43 of Say Yes to the Death

“You’re killing me.” Claire collapsed into the chair at the head of the conference table. She didn’t want to go on a trip. She definitely didn’t want to go on a trip with the infuriatingly egotistical man who repeatedly lied to her.

What truths would she uncover on a weekend trip with Luke? Did he have a hoard of children with different mothers? Maybe some problems with recreational drugs? Sure, they were on slightly better terms after the break-in. But the more time she spent with Luke, the more she realized she didn’t really know him at all. And what was the deal with the secret brother?

“Where are we going?” she huffed.

“I understand you’re emotionally fragile right now,” Mindy said, “and some asshole is leaving notes under your pillow, but you’re being a bit of a bitch. Your smokin’ hot boyfriend is whisking you away to a romantic location for a long weekend. Suck. It. Up.” She jabbed Claire’s arm with freshly manicured fingers.

“Fine.” Claire pulled out her phone. “But it’s not Africa or the Caribbean, right? I may want to start a family within three-to-five years, and nobody knows how long Zika stays in your system.”

“There’s mosquito repellant in your luggage.”

“You thought of everything.”

“I always do.” Mindy, apparently satisfied that Claire was not going to barricade herself in the office, opened her laptop and sat down at the conference table. She kicked her kitten heels off, dropping them to the floor as she sat cross-legged in her chair.

Claire ran a hand over the cover of Tyler’s proposal binder. “Tyler and Ericka are good together, right?”

Mindy lifted her eyes from the screen. “Of course they are. Remember that Skype date we recorded? She adores him.”

“And Tyler. You think his feelings are genuine?”

Mindy snapped her laptop shut and placed her hands on either side of her, leaning forward to stare at Claire. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Doubt yourself. Do not give Barney that control.”

Claire’s voice wavered. “Mindy, I helped a serial killer propose to his girlfriend.”

Her friend’s expression softened. “He had everyone fooled, even his fiancée. She lived with him and had no idea.”

Sure, that much was true. Barney was an elite-level con man. But how could Claire have spent hours just steps away from a serial killer and never felt even a hint of danger? Her inability to recognize evil had cost them dearly. They had upgraded their client screening process to include criminal background checks, which were not cheap.

She gripped the back of a chair. “Our whole brand revolves around our success rate. And he absolutely destroyed it. I’m obviously not as good at reading people as I thought. All our clients are probably destined for divorce. I obviously have no idea how to have a functional relationship if my fiancé left me for my archnemesis and my boyfriend withholds every detail of his life from me.”

Mindy whipped a spray bottle out of Rosie’s overnight bag and blasted Claire in the face with a stream of water.

“Stop it,” she ordered as Claire sputtered and wiped at her face. “You are a wonderful human being, a great boss, and smart as hell. You are wound so tightly right now that I am slightly concerned about a complete mental breakdown, and I really think you need to get laid, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are the best.”

Claire smiled, but she didn’t feel it inside. She was putting all her energy into a losing battle. “Thank you for saying that. Strangely enough, I feel almost comfortable leaving you in control.” She reached across the lacquered surface of the table and squeezed Mindy’s hand.

Mindy raised her eyebrows and drew her dark braid over her shoulder. “After three years, you should be.”

“We are a pretty kick-ass team,” Claire mused aloud. She squared her shoulders and tried to push the lingering feeling of doubt out of her mind. Tyler wasn’t a murderer.

She jumped when the side door by the end of the industrial shelving flew open. She reached for her Taser, but it was on the other side of the conference table. Damn it, Mindy.

Luke sauntered in, leather jacket tossed over one shoulder. Every part of him appeared to be casual, but even Claire’s extremely nearsighted sister Charlie could have picked up on the stress in his shoulders and the way his eyes continuously darted around the room, probing corners and shadows. Why did he insist on opening doors in such a dramatic fashion?

“You ready?” He picked up Claire’s suitcase and dropped it almost immediately. “What the hell is in here?”

“Mindy packed it. It’s probably full of vodka and romance novels,” Claire said.

“She’s not wrong,” Mindy said as she typed furiously on her laptop.

“You’ll remember to sing her the song?” Claire asked Mindy as she turned to her dog. She dropped to her knees in the middle of the warehouse floor and opened her arms.

“Of course,” Mindy commented as a fawn-colored rocket sprinted toward Claire and into her arms, nearly knocking her over. Claire’s black outfit was now covered with a cloud of ginger fur, but it was worth it.

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