Page 85 of Happily Never After

“Yes, of course we will.” Claire looked at Luke, who was examining the legs on the end table. The idea of rubbing elbows with ESA made her nauseated, but she couldn’t put the safety of her family in the FBI’s hands. Claire made steady eye contact with him. She raised her eyebrows.

He sighed. “Go ahead.”

She sprinted off to the upstairs office and returned moments later with a fresh binder. She scrawled “Douchebag Convention” on a piece of paper and slid it behind the cover. “So let’s talk about this plan.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

To Do:

- Laminate douchebag plan

- Check extended forecast

- Google Food Truck Central

“Get down,”Claire hissed. “We don’t want him to see us.”

In light of the threats against Claire’s family, she and Mindy had decided to follow through with their plan to stalk Brad. They couldn’t be too careful. Barney had become her client to get closer to her. What if Brad had done the same thing?

Mindy slouched in the driver’s seat. The platinum blond wig she wore was slightly askew, but surely Brad wouldn’t notice from across the parking lot. She started the ignition.

Brad stared at his phone as he unlocked his fire-red Lamborghini and climbed in without hesitation. He didn’t duck under his car to check for pointy objects that would puncture his tires. He didn’t cast a cursory glance in the back seat. Therecould have been ten homicidal clowns stacked on top of each other back there and he didn’t even bat an eye. Typical man.

“Do we know where his gym is?” Claire asked.

Mindy shook her head. “We’ll have to hope we don’t lose him.”

“In Los Angeles. During rush hour. On a Monday.”

Mindy huffed. “I tried. The secretary wouldn’t tell me anything. How’s your mom? And Bri?”

“Mom told me she’s fine and if I didn’t stop texting her she’s going to mute me for two days. The guy from her garden’s still not talking. And Bri is shooting again this week. The studio’s assigning her extra security.”

Brad’s Lambo purred to life, and he slid smoothly out of his parking spot. Mindy followed, leaving a few car lengths between them.

“So it’s okay for Alice to harass you fifty times a day about your personal safety habits, but when the shoe’s on the other foot she loses her mind.”

Claire nodded darkly. “Like I don’t have enough to panic about. Now I have to worry ESA will send someone slightly more capable after her and she’ll be too stubborn to tell me about it.”

“You should hire a PI.” Mindy followed Brad as he took a right out of the studio lot.

“I should.” Claire slapped the dashboard. She pulled out her phone and almost searched for private investigators in Miami but stopped. “But I can’t really afford it right now. Not with the rescue and the loan repayment schedule. Everything’s tied up until after Brad’s proposal.”

“Are you sure saving the rescue needs to be your sole responsibility?” Mindy glanced at her as they paused at a red light. “You’ve done a lot for them already. You got all of the animals adopted and gave them another six months to stay afloat.”

“That was the alcohol,” Claire said, waving one hand. “If you put a bunch of drunk people in a room with adorable animals, they’re going to be adopted. It’s basic science. Besides, the rescue’s taken in three more dogs just since we’ve been in LA. It’s never empty for long. But I’m going to have a chat with them when we get back. I don’t know if they’ll go for it, but I think they should open up a doggy daycare. That would bring a steady stream of income in and take some of the pressure off. I might have already put together a rough business plan for them.”

Mindy nodded. “Um, that’s genius. Where did you find the time to do that?”

“I didn’t sleep much this weekend,” Claire said carefully. The four cups of coffee coursing through her veins were all that were keeping her going. Sleepwalking in LA was not something she could risk right now.

“Color me shocked. I admire your philanthropic spirit. So now that things are pretty much all nailed down for Brad’s proposal, can we talk about the interviews we lined up?”

“Sure.” Claire’s insides twisted. The thought of adding another team member was about as appetizing as the vegan meatballs she had had for lunch. But it was all part of the plan. Maybe they would find someone incredible.

She pulled up an email on her phone. Another bold-print item on her To Do list. “The federal background checks came back today on all four interviewees. Everyone’s clean. Well, one had a public urination charge, but it was on her twenty-first birthday.”

“That doesn’t count,” Mindy said.

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