Guilty Pleasures (6 page)

Several of her colleagues eyed her with curiosity and perhaps a bit of glee. It was a well-known fact that Flannagan never called an agent into his office to ask how the family was doing.

Lenora's eyes darted around the room. She drew in a breath and straightened to her full height of five feet four. She tucked her folders beneath her left arm and walked out.

Moments later, she stood in front of Jerry Flannagan's desk.

“You wanted to see me, sir
”

He dragged his gaze up from the papers on his desk. “Close the door, Agent Ingram.”

She did as she was told and came back to stand in front of him.

He reached behind him and turned the wand on the blinds to close them. He faced Lenora. “Now,” he smiled slowly. “Get undressed. Get on the couch … and spread 'em.”

Lenora's green eyes darkened. “With pleasure.”

*   *   *

When Lenora walked into her town house in Dupont Circle in the heart of Washington, D.C., the last person she expected to see sitting at the living room table was her husband. Stan never made it home before eight, and it was barely five thirty.

Over the past two years, she and Stan had grown more and more apart. Now when she looked at him, she couldn't find the man she'd married. He no longer excited her. He no longer appealed to her visually. He'd gained weight, was losing his hair, and the slight stutter that she found endearing during the early years grated on her nerves. He'd become stagnant in his job and no longer seemed to have the desire or the balls to claw his way to the top. She'd begun to feel that she was the man in the family. His title of VP of Financial Securities was all bullshit. They both knew it. It was a kiss-off. A way for management to pacify a long-term employee without actually giving him anything worthwhile. She saw her chance to rise to the top, and if it meant doing sexy, freaky things with her supervisor, then so be it. At least she was making the effort.

Lenora placed her briefcase beneath the foyer table, set her purse on top, and walked inside, taking off her suit jacket as she did.

“What are you doing home so early
” She plopped down on the love seat and crossed her legs.

Stan clasped and unclasped his hands.

“Are you all right
Your skin is ghastly pale. Coming down with something
” She looked left and right for her purse, got up, and retrieved it from the table. She fished inside for her pack of cigarettes before returning to her seat. She lit up a Marlboro and blew a long plume of smoke into the air.

Stan screwed up his nose and fought back a cough. He hated smoke. Lenora knew it and refused to quit. He'd once accused her of doing it just to get under his skin.

Stan struggled with his tie.

“What the hell is wrong with you
” Her tiny features pinched into a roadmap of aggravation. “You're fidgeting again.”

He placed his hands firmly on his knees. “We n-need to t-talk, Lee.”

“Really
” She took a pull on the cigarette and blew out smoke. “About what
”

He started coughing.

Lenora frowned, sucked her teeth, and got up. She returned moments later with a glass of water. Just as she was about to shove it in his hands, she glanced down at the coffee table.

The glass crashed to the floor. The water cut a path across the wood.

Stan raised pleading eyes to his wife's astonished face.

“T-they want fifty-thousand dollars in t-three d-days.”

 

4

Eva strolled along Fifth Avenue during her lunch break, perusing the high-end fashion stores, hoping to spot something in their pricey windows that would be perfect for Rita's birthday. Rita could be a real picky bitch when she wanted to, but Eva loved her to death anyway. It was always a challenge finding just the right gift for a woman who could spot an imitation a mile away.

She was fixing a big birthday dinner tonight and wanted every detail to be perfect, even if Jake's brother Jinx would be in attendance. For reasons that escaped her, Rita and Jinx got on famously. Go figure. He'd tried to hit on her once right before she and Jake got married. She told him if he even dreamed about her, she'd turn him into a eunuch. He'd been a good boy ever since, but she still didn't trust him. She'd never said a word to another soul—
definitely
not to Jake and not even to Rita.

They'd been to hell and back together, Eva mused as she stopped in front of Saks's window. Coming up as young girls with no parental supervision left them to fend for themselves. Neither of them knew their respective fathers. But they looked so much alike, the rumor was that they weren't cousins at all but half sisters, with both of their mamas having laid up with the same no-good man. Neither woman ever admitted as much, though. Rita's mother died of a drug overdose when Rita was six. Eva's mom went to the store one day and just never came back.

Their grandmother, Mary, grudgingly took them in and made it known that they were a burden and she was doing them a favor by putting a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. They did the best they could to stay out of sight and out of her way.

The fact that they'd made it this far was a testament to their resilience. They were survivors. When they turned fifteen, only two months apart, they made a pact that they'd never be poor, hungry, unloved, or caught dead in a bargain outfit again. And to this day, the pact was unbroken.

Eva smiled at her reflection in the Saks store window. She could give Tyra Banks a run for her money. Her shoulder-length hair was intentionally tousled to fall dramatically around her face and across her shoulders. The fitted black turtleneck and black pants gave her a look of sleek sophistication. Her accessories were silver: earrings, chain, wide belt, and matching cuff bracelet.

Hmmm, jewelry. You couldn't go wrong with jewelry. Rita did love white gold. Eva's cell phone chimed. She flipped it open. “Hey, baby.” She stepped away from the entrance and pressed a finger to her free ear.

“Just wanted to remind you pick up a bottle of wine on your way home.”

“Can't you get it
I'm going to have to race home as it is to get everything done.”

“We could have done this at a restaurant, babe. You're making yourself crazy.”

“Rita is family, Jake. Didn't I sit through Jinx's arraignment even though I had a deadline at work
”