Page 27 of Black Sheep
She stops next to me, checking over the salads I’ve painstakingly assembled, and smirks. “I’ll finish those. Doesn’t sound like you’ll have time.”
With a steadying breath, I stop myself from flinging micro greens in her face. “Thanks. I appreciate your help, Tanya.”
The triumphant twinkle in her eyes brightens. “Don’t mention it.”
Taking one measured step at a time, I exit the kitchen and cross the floor, smiling at the club members whose gazes I catch as I approach the hidden panel.
Once I’m inside, the muted chatter on the club floor silences. Only twenty feet of red-and-gold carpet and richly stained walls separate me from the potential first roadblock in my journey for justice—Cannon Freeman.
“I’m not going to let him take this from me,” I whisper quietly so that the cameras and microphones that cover every inch of this place can’t pick up my words.
When I reach the door, I knock.
“Enter,” he calls.
I twist open the handle and step inside to be greeted by the library-esque scent of books. No matter how long I live, I’ll forever associate that fragrance with the dark-haired man sitting at the desk in front of me.
When he looks up, my palms are already sweating, which is ridiculous because I’ve been embedded with troops checking the roadside for IEDs. This shouldn’t even cause a blip in my blood pressure. But it does, because never before has any investigation been so personal. Which is probably why Ariel told me to leave it alone and pay someone else to dig into it for me. But I’m convinced no one else could handle this like I could, and I still am.
Which is why I blurt out words I don’t intend to say.
“Please don’t fire me. It wasn’t intentional.”
Cannon’s glittering hazel eyes lift to rake over my face. “Who said I was firing you?”
“Umm. No one, exactly, but ...” I pause, not wanting to throw Tanya under the bus due to some misplaced sense of loyalty I didn’t know I felt. “I was under the impression you didn’t need me to stay until the end of my shift, and the only reason I could think of to explain that was because I wouldn’t be employed here any longer.”
My explanation comes out stiffer than one would expect from someone who used to broadcast hard-hitting news reports to millions of people.
Cannon tosses the pen onto his blotter and opens a drawer. “You’re not fired, but you are leaving.” He tosses a card onto my side of the desk and waves at me to take it.
I reach down to pick up the thick red card stock, which is stamped with a name everyone in New York knows, but I’m confused by why he’s offering it to me.
BARNEYS
NEW YORK
“Go to Barneys.Sally and Britta are expecting you. I’ll pick you up at seven forty-five from the salon entrance.”
I stare at Cannon like he’s just told me I’m going on a quick drug run across the border. “Excuse me?”
“Barneys. Dress. Hair. Makeup. They’ll all be covered on my account.”
A chant starts in my head.Oh, my wig, I’m so fucked. Oh, my wig, I’m so fucked.
“But ... but ... why?”
Cannon’s hazel eyes lock onto mine. “Because we’re going on a date to save you from becoming Dom Casso’s next mistress.”
* * *
I walk outof the break room clutching my purse. A moment ago, if you’d asked me to describe the expression I saw in the mirror on the inner panel of my locker, it would have been shell-shocked.How can I possibly keep this from happening without raising red flags?
When I step onto the floor of the club, Tanya zips to my side like she’s been waiting for me to appear.
“It was nice knowing you. If you forgot anything in your locker, we’ll mail it to you.”
“She’ll be back tomorrow, Tanya.” Cannon’s deep voice comes from behind me.
