Page 33 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

I'd come to peace with the fact that we'd definitely end up getting caught this evening. I'd already alerted David to our plan, well, part of it anyway, and told him to be on standby with bail money ready for the both of us.

And we'd already hacked into Chase's security system and put his cameras on a loop so our little escapade wouldn't be recorded. That's what he got for cutting corners with his company's cybersecurity.

Entering the lobby, I tried my best to stifle my smile at Aria's attempt to walk like a man. The way she moved with her legs apart made it look like she had a stick up her ass. And I most certainly had an even harder time not laughing when she approached the front desk and cleared her throat loudly, shifting the toolbox she carried to her other hand.

"Excuse me," she said in a low tone. "We've got a call up on the eighteenth floor with Empire Buzz's offices. Looks like they've got some clogged toilets. You know, the usual."

The security guy at the desk laughed. "What is with their damn toilets? Second time this week."

"I don't know what they're eating up there," Aria said, her voice rough.

Oh, good God, I was about to die holding in my laughter at this unexpected conversation. Literally biting my tongue, I watched in awe as the guard pushed a clipboard with a sign-in sheet toward Aria who quickly filled it out with our fake company name and number.

"Thanks," she said. "And wish us luck."

"Good fucking luck," the guy said in his strong New York accent.

And with that, we were off toward the elevator, Aria with an extra spring in her wide step. We didn't dare look at each other as we waited, the bustle of people coming and going all around us.

Once we got on, the elevator was crowded, the smell of faded cologne and stale smoke filling the space. My eyes kept going to Aria standing next to me, completely enthralled by her. When she'd suggested this whole thing, including dressing up like a man, I had no clue that she'd pull it off so perfectly.

And then, it suddenly dawned on me. I leaned down a bit, closer to her ear. "You've done this before, haven't you?"

Her bright eyes turned to me. "Unclogged toilets? You bet your ass."

My smile couldn't be stopped. So Aria was dedicated to staying in character. But without a doubt, I was now positive this wasn't the first time Aria had gone deep undercover as a man. She was just too good at it.

After stopping at nearly every floor, we finally made it to Chase's level. I'd never been to his offices before, and I could have sworn there was a pervasive stench to the hallway, something akin to the rat that Chase had become.

But Aria had clearly been here numerous times, sweeping past the nearly empty reception area with a wave and a quick hello like she knew exactly where she was going. Of course she did.

Images of her bringing lunch to Chase and of them doing God knew what in his office bombarded my mind—the absolute last thing I wanted to think about. That prick had no idea what he'd lost when he'd cheated on Aria.

She marched past offices and cubicles set up in a very unimaginative, boring way, the most bland shade of beige permeating everything. Even the few people remaining at work seemed beige, their clothes and voices muted as they ignored us walking through them.

Or maybe it was being in these clothes. We were non-existent, invisible to these assholes.

It was for the best, I supposed, as we walked straight toward the corner office that was Chase's. Aria had stalked him on social media and knew he was out of town for the next few days, so at least we didn't have to worry about running into enemy number one tonight.

Opening the door, she walked right in like she owned the place, and I shut the door firmly behind us as I took in the layout with a quick glance. A big desk, a few chairs, some geometricartwork on the wall, everything drab and monotonous. The only exceptional thing about Chase's office was the view, and that was all courtesy of Manhattan and nothing to do with him.

Aria set her toolbox down on the desk and then went deathly still. I followed her line of sight to see what had taken the air out of her sails. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see it was a framed photo of Chase and Hannah in Central Park, grinning at the camera, their arms around each other.

"That used to be me," she said in a dull voice, still staring at the picture on his desk.

"Want me to smash it?" I grabbed it, holding it high in the air, ready to throw it against the wall if she wanted me to. "Or I can stomp on it. That would work too."

She smiled then shook her head, the light slowly returning to her eyes. "No. No. If we did that, I'd be the prime suspect today. The whole point is for this to seem accidental."

I put the photo down. "At least let me draw a pig snout on his face."

Laughing, she opened her toolbox, and I got my first peek at what was inside. Aria hadn't actually revealed to me what she wanted to do up here in Chase's office, only that she had it all figured out.

She took out a screwdriver, not at all what I was expecting, then grabbed one of the chairs, pulling it over to the windows.

"Uh, whatcha doing?"

Screwdriver in her mouth, she climbed onto the chair, nearly giving me a heart attack seeing her flush up against the window like that. Not thinking about my fear of heights, I crossed the room and grabbed onto her legs to steady her as she stood on tiptoe.

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