Chapter 4
CHAPTER
Gina
Present
THE NEWCOMER WAS up to something.
Gina Vallot recognized the appraising look in Jordyn Lawson’s wide blue eyes when they’d been introduced. After all, Gina had infiltrated the snobby Saratoga book club herself when it had served her purposes. She had enough of a social radar to know when someone else was running the same scheme.
The question was—why?
Hastening her step to return to her Mercedes, Gina was glad she hadn’t shared a ride to the gym with Fatima. She needed to research this Jordyn Lawson person as soon as possible.
If that was even her real name.
Distracted, Gina nearly stepped into the path of an oncoming e-bike as she crossed Broadway to reach the small parking garage. The biker swore at her as he sped past, but even then, Gina’s thoughts lingered on Jordyn.
Something about the woman didn’t quite fit.
Her clothes were all wrong, for one thing, something Gina couldn’t help but notice as a stylist. Even the less fashion-conscious residents of their historic resort town favored certain brands, their clothing announcing their status even if they weren’t flattering.
But there was a definite recycled-fashion aura around Jordyn from her bag and shoes to her sweater and jacket.
She hadn’t just adopted one vintage piece among more current pieces, the way most Saratogian conscientious consumers would.
It was one thing to make a virtuous nod to the environment by upcycling a key article of clothing.
That, she could see. Virtually everything Jordyn had been wearing had been out of date by a few years, even though all of it had been in good repair.
Which made Gina think the newcomer was trying to pass herself off as one type of person while being another. Could she be a reporter?
Fear of being discovered had Gina all but diving into the front seat of her sports car, grateful for the tinted windows that would shield her from any passersby while she pulled up her social media apps on her phone.
For good measure, she reached into the back for a sunshade she rarely used and unfurled the silver screen on her dashboard, making extra sure no one could see into her vehicle while she worked.
“Jordan Lawson.” She spoke the name aloud as she typed it in the search feature of three different apps, then had to play with the spelling of the name to land on the right one.
And came up with only a couple of profiles set to private. Even the graphic arts contact information for her on LinkedIn didn’t reveal a hometown, just that she was located in the U.S.
Frustrated, Gina sent her a follow request on Instagram using a fake account of her own.
“Shit!” She pounded the steering wheel, accidentally knocking into the horn as she did. “Who the hell are you?”
Alone in the privacy of her vehicle, she didn’t bother to hide her Cajun accent, letting her Rs roll freely, the way God intended.
The sparse social media presence was a definite red flag.
When Gina had changed her name to move to Saratoga, she’d taken the time to create believable social media accounts, covering her tracks to prevent people from learning her real identity.
But even then, she could only do so much with the new profiles, since they didn’t extend too far into her past. She’d just tried to post a lot on them to keep people from scrolling deeply into her history.
Maybe she would confront Jordyn about her flimsy social media at their next book club. She would be sure to bring up the topic in front of everyone. See how Jordyn responded to the inquiry when her feet were held to the fire.
Until then, Gina would review the photos of anyone and everyone who worked at tabloid media in both New York and Louisiana, Gina’s home state, to see if Jordyn matched the image of someone else.
Publicly available facial recognition software had advanced significantly recently, so there was a chance Gina could locate the woman even if she’d dyed her hair and grown it out, the way Gina had done.
Although if Jordyn had gone as far as Gina had with the plastic surgery on her nose, facial recognition software might not help.
Gina’s plan was so close to coming to fruition after a year of hard work. She couldn’t afford for anyone to mess it up at the last moment.
Tugging the sunshade back out of the windshield, she started her car. Her hands were unsteady as she pushed the ignition button.
She had to pick up Mario, her Bernese mountain dog, from doggie daycare. Seeing her favorite being in the whole world would help comfort her a little bit. Then, later this afternoon she had a date.
That would help soothe the frayed edges even more. Not because she cared about Luke Sideris. But because of the revenge her affair with him represented. Every time she met him in secret, a wounded part of her soul rejoiced.
Every time she kissed him, touched him, drove him to the edge of sexual fulfillment and beyond, she thought about all the ways his wife had ruined her life. And she hoped with all her heart that Sophie would come to feel a fraction of the pain she’d inflicted on Gina when she’d been someone else.
But that was for a day still to come. Her plan for justice had not been fully meted out yet, but she was close.
So close.
Because a quiet, personal revenge wouldn’t be nearly enough to satisfy the gaping hole in Gina’s psyche.
Sophie had detonated a bomb in her life back when Gina had entrusted her to arbitrate a painful divorce.
Sophie hadn’t even pretended to care either.
Soon, The Clean Break host would pay for that.
Because Gina wouldn’t quit until she’d masterminded a big, public, in-your-face revenge that would humiliate Sophie the same way she’d humiliated so many other people.
People who’d put their lives in Sophie’s greedy, selfish, backstabbing hands.
Hitting the gas, Gina tore out of the parking garage and out onto the street, reminding herself that nothing would stand in the way of the revenge she wanted.
No matter who Jordyn Lawson was, the woman would be collateral damage if she interfered with the very public takedown Gina had in mind for her archnemesis, Sophie Durand.