Page 100 of Say Yes to the Death

Claire shrugged. “Extreme Sociopathic Assholes?”

Nicole tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy. “Wasn’t there a frat called ESA?”

Mindy nodded. “A super lame one next to the football house. I think they kicked you out if your GPA dropped lower than a 3.8. They only had like one party a year.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “It makes sense that Barney would have been in the lamest frat.”

As Mindy typed on her tablet, Nicole came over to Claire and put her arm around her. “How are you, really?”

“A little pissed, if I’m being honest,” Claire said, making circles on the table with her pen cap.

“I’m sorry. Have you heard from Luke?”

Claire shook her head. “Not since I spoke to him after the ice cream and pizza incident. He’s trying. The documentary was beautiful. I get what he’s trying to do, I really do. It’s not just a career thing for him like I thought. He really wants to tell their stories. But I’ve got enough going on. I’m not ready to dig into the most traumatizing event of my entire life in therapy, let alone on camera.”

“And he will respect that. Or I will murder him,” Nicole said while stroking Claire’s hair.

Mindy snapped her tablet case shut. “Okay, I emailed Professor Burke to see if she can do a meeting. I’m sure she’ll be happy to help. As for the stakeout, I will bring chocolate chip cookies and juice boxes.”

“Do the cookies have anything to do with the giant flour handprint on your ass?” Claire raised an eyebrow.

Mindy spun several times, staring at her rear. “No comment.”

Nicole laughed. “Cheesy puffs. And baby carrots. The orange essentials.”

“Good. I’ll get the wine and soft pretzels for debriefing at my place after the mission.”

They reached out to stack hands.

“Karma on three,” Mindy said. “One, two?—”

“Karma!” they called in unison.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

To Do:

- Buy soft pretzels

- Pack stakeout bag

- Call safe company about custom safe

“So, you’re sure the guest list is set for the gallery proposal? All the family members RSVP’d?” Claire munched on a chocolate chip cookie in the front seat of her car. Mindy sat next to her holding a giant tub of cheese balls. A single overhead light flickered a few parking spaces down.

“Yes, they’re all coming, and they all know not to approach until after Aaron proposes.”

“And the caterers are prepping some certified gluten-free hors d’oeuvres for Aunt Muriel?”

“Claire,” Nicole said, popping up in the back seat where she had been taking a light snooze. “Is this a stakeout or a board meeting?”

“You’re right, sorry.” Claire glanced at her watch. “It’s 7:45. He should be leaving any second.”

“You really think she’ll do something shady when he leaves?” Nicole reached a hand into the front seat and fished around in the cheese ball barrel.

“I just have a feeling. I know she cheated. I just need to know how she did it.” Claire tightened her grip on the binoculars she had borrowed from Kyle. There was movement in the window of Wendy’s apartment. It had only taken five seconds of Googling to figure out where the award-stealing hag lived.

The back of Claire’s neck prickled. It just wasn’t fair. What kind of universe allowed a woman to steal a fiancé, sue her competition, and unfairly win an esteemed professional award? She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Luck hadn’t been on her side this year. But maybe—just maybe—the universe would throw her a bone tonight.

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