Page 16 of The Negotiator

Chapter Five

The next morning Kayla sat with Lauren in her office. They sipped on their takeout coffee cups from the diner down the pier where Kayla worked. That’s how they met more than a year ago. Due to proximity and over a shared love of bad horror movies.

Kayla was on a break as they both were most days at this time when Lauren wasn’t out on the boat, which was most of the time in the winter. They both kicked back, using Lauren’s desk as a footrest.

“So...” Kayla stared at Lauren over the top of her cup.

Lauren knew from one syllable where the conversation was headed. She’d spent a good portion of the night thinking about him, listening to him breathe from the couch on the other side of the room and wishing Jake hadn’t shown up and killed the mood. “Nope.”

“Hey!” Kayla banged her heel against the desk. “You and Garrett. Talk.”

“Still no.”

“I knew about the trips down here, but yesterday when you needed someone to handle Carl, you texted Garrett.” Lauren wiggled her eyebrows. “That seems big.”

Very, but Lauren refused to admit that.

She sat up, letting her feet fall to the floor. “We aren’t going to become those women who only talk about men, are we?”

“Couldn’t we be them just long enough for you to give me the scoop on what happened in the inn?”

The pleading in Kayla’s voice made Lauren laugh. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“I can’t believe Garrett let a solid opportunity pass him by. He seems like he’d be smooth. Good with his hands, if you know what I mean.”

Oh, she definitely did.

“His skills are fine. Trust me.” When Kayla started to say something, Lauren cut her off. “And that’s all you get for now.”

“You are so infuriating.”

“But you love me.”

Kayla drained the rest of her cup before setting it down on the edge of the desk. “Unconditionally.”

And she meant it. With so much of Lauren’s life revolving around chance and problems, Kayla was the one person she could count on. They talked. They hung out. They shared meals. They gossiped about the other people who worked on the pier and complained about the customers and the quirks that worked on their nerves.

Not that long ago one of Lauren’s big-money sailing-lesson clients had turned out to be someone other than who he pretended to be and tried to kill both Kayla and Garrett. The guilt from that day kept Lauren paralyzed for weeks. Neither of them had blamed her, so she’d decided to blame herself in their place.

“We should...” The rest of the sentence, whatever it was, disappeared from Lauren’s head as soon as the words trailed off. The figure in the doorway had her sputtering as she tried to remember anything other than Carl’s deceit.

“May I come in? Just for a minute.”

At the sound of the woman’s soft voice, Kayla dropped her feet to the floor and spun around to face the door.

Now they were all staring at each other. Lauren had wondered what she’d do when or if she ever met the woman Carl had run off with. Now she knew. She’d shut down, afraid that talking might lead to babbling. Her head would pound and the whole world would close in on her until every sound became muffled.

She used the silence to study the woman Carl had found so enticing. The one who helped him commit fraud and take a wrecking ball to her life. Lauren had seen photos. After all, when Carl disappeared, so did Maryanne. Her family and friends had grieved. Now she stood there, five-six or so and petite. Brown hair and brown eyes. Pretty in her oversized Nordic print sweater and down vest.

She also looked terrified. Her gaze darted around the room and wariness showed in every inch of her face. She was younger—of course. She’d been twenty-four when they’d taken off for their pretend drowning. Lauren could only hope the other woman was wiser now.

“Maryanne, this is my friend Kayla.”

Kayla’s eyes bulged as she stood up. “Whoa.”

“Wait.” Maryanne held up her hands as if in mock surrender. “I’m not here to fight. I swear.”

Lauren was pretty sure she was the one with the right to kick and scream, but okay. “Come in.”

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