Page 56 of The Lies I Told
“I mean it.” He pulled out of his space and drove onto the street.
Lust. Revenge. Greed.
They are all lying.
Shit. It could have been any of the three motivations or a combination of the three.
As I turned to my car, my phone rang. Brit. My face felt numb in the cold. “Hey.”
“Where are you?”
“Out. Why?”
“Did you forget our appointment?”
“What appointment?”
An annoyed sigh shuddered through the phone. Brit was likely fiddling with one of her favorite gold hoop earrings. “I was going to have a look at your books today, remember? I’ve been reconciling them since January, and today was the big handover.”
I checked the time on my phone. “I’m only ten minutes from my place.”
“Doing what?”
“Shooting pictures. The light lured me.” Straightening my shoulders released the tension knotting my upper back. “Just let yourself into my apartment. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“I already have.”
My mind skipped to the Richards files now tucked in my desk drawer. Out of sight, but Brit liked to snoop. “Be right there.”
23
MARISA
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
9:45 a.m.
When I pushed through my front door, Brit was casually sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, sipping coffee, reading her phone. I glanced toward my desk. Center drawer was closed.
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“No worries. My first client isn’t scheduled until noon.”
“Late-start Tuesdays.” Since Brit had opened her practice five years ago, she’d taken Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons off. Good for the mental health, which Brit was always mindful of protecting.
“Have you looked at the books?” I asked. The late-winter dampness clung to my coat as I hung it on an iron hook by the front door.
“Waiting for you. Thought it’d be a good test of your memory.”
“I’ve made five business purchases in the last month and posted them all to accounting.”
“Always good to check. Plus gives us time.”
“We’ve had a lot of time together the last few months. You’ve got to be getting sick of me.” I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a fresh cup of coffee. One sip, and I knew I’d be wired all afternoon.
“You make that sound like a bad thing.” She set her phone down, blue eyes studying me.
“We didn’t see much of each other last year.”
