Chapter 21
Tuesday, only a few minutes late for work, eStocks Enterprises
T he only saving grace was that it should be a quiet day at eStocks. Make coffee, smile, and order appetizers for that damn party. She could autopilot her way through that as much as possible while looking for the codes. This couldn’t be any worse than a party for ten-year-old boys or, even worse, preteen girls. For Kyle’s birthday party last year, Gabby had thought the kids were going to watch all three Pitch Perfect s and eat pizza. Instead, they’d divided into factions, some drama over a boy. There had been a lot of crying. She’d spent the night on the phone with various parents: “Would you mind coming to pick up your daughter?” Phil had slept through the whole thing. Mobsters couldn’t be any worse than that.
When she pulled into the office parking lot, Gabby slipped her earpiece in and turned it on. “Hey, Markus.”
“Hey, Gabs,” he said. “What’s on the agenda today?”
“The usual.” Like she’d been working there for ages, she bustled in and got everything started. Before she could add Valentina’s list of spies to the guest list, Kramer barked, “Camille, my office. Now!”
From the tone of his voice, she had done something horrible.
“Where’s the invite for that party?” Kramer’s gaze was burning her alive. She was one of those ants Lucas had burned with a magnifying glass last summer.
“Um…”
“That should have been done yesterday.”
“I was just about to pick out the venue so I can send the Evites this afternoon.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? The party is on Saturday. This should have been done the minute I told you.”
A sinking feeling came over her. “Which Saturday did you mean?”
“This Saturday, as in four days from now? What Saturday did you think I meant?” he asked, sounding like he was about ready to bite off her head. And she’d only been at the job twenty-four hours.
“I thought you meant the next one.” Even that was a tight squeeze. This Saturday was insanity. You’d have to be a professional to do that, which made her think…
“If I meant next Saturday, I would have said ‘next.’” He growled into space like an angry bear, looked down at the floor, and then back up at her. “If it wasn’t all-hands-on-deck this week, you would be walking to the parking lot with a box of your things right now.”
Gabby froze. Fear slammed into her like a freight train. She couldn’t lose this job. Smirnov would kill her if that happened. He would kill her kids.
In her ear, Markus said, “We can turn this around. Ask for a second chance.”
It was going to be Kyle’s birthday party all over again.
“I don’t even know what to do with this.” Kramer drummed his fingers on the desk. “I’m half thinking of canceling the party. Orlov and I can go out for drinks alone. Actually, that’s what I’m going to do, in which case—” He looked at her and, with emphasis, declared, “I don’t need you.”
“We need that party,” Markus said. “Convince him you can do this, Gabby.”
She couldn’t, but she knew who could.
“Mr. Kramer. I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding, but I can do this. Give me the afternoon to pull it together. I’ll have the venue locked down and Evites sent out. It’ll be the best party you’ve ever seen.”
He stared at her for a minute, letting her stew in her own discomfort before sloughing the whole thing off. “Fine. Prove it to me. If you don’t get it done today, the party is off, and you’re fired.”
The minute she got out of his office, she leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. Spying was too much.
For his part, Markus was in problem-solver mode. “Go somewhere we can talk. Let’s figure this out.”
But Gabby didn’t want Markus’s help on this one. If she told him her plan, he would probably try to talk her out of it. Bringing in Justin wasn’t a classic EOD move. No doubt Markus would be worried about her compromising her cover. The rules had been clear: “Not one word of your role at the EOD or your undercover work to anyone in your real life. All they can know is that you’re a personal assistant for a financial adviser. That is it!”
The only rule Gabby was following right now: it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It was a matter of national security, and she needed the best party planner in Hollywood. If he could plan a celebrity wedding in a month, he could do this.
“Markus, I got this handled. Don’t you worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. I just didn’t understand the assignment before.” With Markus still in her ear, she walked out to the parking lot to make a call. “Justin,” she said stepping into the sunshine.
“Gabby, is everything okay?”
In her ear, Markus groaned. “Gabby, don’t do it. We can take care of this in-house. Valentina can help.”
Sorry, Markus. There was no way she was ignoring the fact that she was best friends with LA’s top party planner.
“I have an emergency,” she said, like she was talking to 911 dispatch.
Justin gasped. “The kids? What happened?”
“No, nothing like that.” Although if she couldn’t do her job, Smirnov would make it that kind of emergency.
“I have to throw a party this Saturday. If I don’t pick the venue and send Evites by this afternoon, I’m fired.”
With a self-satisfied laugh, he said, “Honey child, you have called the right man.”
“Charge whatever you want. I’ll bill my boss.” She’d be long gone by the time he had time to complain. “I can’t guarantee he’ll be good about paying. I don’t know him well enough.” Easier to explain than “he might not pay his bills because he’ll be in jail.”
Justin immediately shifted into party-planner mode. “I want the guest list as soon as you hang up.”
“Okay.”
“I need to square away essential details in the next hour or two. When does he need the Evite by so that you don’t lose your job?”
“By end of the day.”
“You go do executive assistant things. I’ll let you know if I have any questions, but it’ll be easier if I can get this planning done on my own.”
“Thank you, Justin. I owe you.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t worry, I will be calling in so many favors.”
Just as she was about to hit END CALL , Justin interjected, “Before we hang up, do you have any thoughts? Anything I should consider while I’m putting this together?”
“None. As long as I don’t lose my job.” Her incompetency was officially getting in the way of national security. This was worse than the time she managed only one shift at Chili’s.
And the hits just kept on coming. Before she could catch her breath, the school called. Lucas had forgotten his lunch.
If it were Kyle, she wouldn’t worry, but Lucas had allergies. She hustled down the hall to the bathroom to discuss. “Markus, I have a problem,” she reported. Her voice sounded panicked even to her.
“Another one? Already?”
“I know.” This morning was coming at her full force, all after a night of almost no sleep.
“What is it?” His voice went high alert. “Do you need backup?”
She’d love some backup.
“I don’t think the EOD is available for this mission. My kid forgot his lunch.”
“What? Can’t the school feed him?”
“If only. Lucas has an anaphylactic reaction to a bunch of different foods. Eggs, milk, any tree nuts .” She said “tree nuts” like it was a nuclear weapon. That’s how it felt. Her whole world could be destroyed by a hazelnut. And Nutella was literally everywhere. Those little single-serve packages. Lucas always wanted one so bad because she wouldn’t let him have them. At the thought of all the dangers at school, she started to panic for real. Her voice started quivering, and her hands shook. How was she supposed to take care of her Lucas and do this job?
“So what you’re telling me is that this is a life-or-death situation.”
Finally, someone got how she felt. “Yes.” She’d never said yes with such conviction. The nurse and the principal and the classroom teacher all knew that Lucas had allergies, but did they feel it deep in their souls? She wanted anyone who handed Lucas a snack to feel like they had his beating heart in their hands. Was that too much to ask?
“Can he go without lunch?” Markus asked.
“Technically, that would be fine, but I know he’ll just eat something. Someone will feed him.” She said it like it was a threat.
“Let’s figure it out then.”
“It’d take me an hour of driving to get home, get his lunch, and get to school,” Gabby said.
“How about some Uber Eats?”
“The school has a strict policy about not ordering in lunch. I’ve tried that one before.” It probably had something to do with tightening campus security in light of all the school shootings. Stopping people from ordering burritos didn’t seem to be the answer.
“What about your ex?”
“He’s in Sacramento.” Phil embodied Sacramento.
“There’s only one answer then. I’m going to have to go undercover to deliver your kid lunch.” He sang the James Bond theme song. “Dum di-di dum.”
With a laugh, she asked, “Really?”
“It’s life or death, and we have to keep you on the job, so I have no choice. I’ll be in your ear the whole time, so you won’t be able to notice a difference.”
Markus could not be the mole. There was no way someone who was double-crossing her would spend an hour of his day delivering an eight-year-old an allergen-free lunch.
“He eats at eleven fifteen.”
“Damn, that’s early. I better hustle.” Sounds of Markus grabbing his keys and jacket filtered through the earpiece.
Gabby busied herself finishing the budget spreadsheet she’d started yesterday. By the time she’d finished entering the data, Markus came online. “What’s your front door code?”
For a moment she froze. Just last night, Smirnov had told her that he had someone on the inside watching her, working for him. It could be Markus. Was she trading peace of mind over Lucas’s lunch for everyone’s safety? For years, her fear for Lucas had crowded out everything else. Here she went again. She could still call it off, say she changed her mind… but Markus had already driven all that way. And Lucas needed a safe meal.
“It’s four-eight-five-three.”
“’Kay. I’m in.” The sound of Bubbles going crazy came through the earpiece.
The plan that had felt so perfect a minute ago had her questioning everything. What had she just done? Had she invited the enemy in? She had notoriously bad taste in men: Phil, Mr. Bubbles.
“Hey there, buddy.” Markus spoke low and sweet to Bubbles. “It’s okay. Wanna scratch?”
Bubbles went from loud barking to a rumble in his throat, a quick de-escalation for Bubbles. That said something. Dogs knew how to see past words and actions to intent.
“Hey, cutie, you know you want a scratch.”
She wasn’t sure how they were working on the dog, but Gabby let Markus’s words soothe her. There was nothing she could do now. She’d given the code over. She might as well relax. “I bet his lunch is in the kitchen still. It’s in a Pikachu lunch box.”
“So what’s this kid eating anyway?”
She had packed a bento box with baby carrots, grapes, and a gluten-free sun butter and jelly sandwich, all topped off with a little note: “Have a great day! Love, Mom.” Markus must have cracked it open, because he said, “Damn. This ain’t the free lunch program.”
Lucas was a little spoiled, but it was for safety.
“So where does this kid go to school?”
“Queen Palm School. I’ll call and let them know to expect you.”
Fifteen minutes later, Shamika, a woman who lived for gossip, buzzed Markus into the school. She could hear Markus introducing himself. He sounded like he was performing an official duty for the EOD rather than just dropping off food.
Shamika practically cooed in response, making noises like a mourning dove. Before long, she heard another voice. The principal joined to introduce herself.
“You’re a little more popular in the front office than I am.” Gabby cleared her throat.
“They seemed very friendly, a really engaged staff.”
“Uh-huh,” she said. More softly, she said, “Thank you, Markus. That really meant a lot.”
“No problem. I’ve got your back.”
She’d never wanted to believe anything more.