Guilty Pleasures (11 page)

He nodded slowly. “I know. But we're going to have to find a way to trim and still make it all work.” He pushed up from the chair. He put the cigarette in his mouth, took it out, and used it as a pointer as he paced in front of her. “Next week we're going to have to do a visual and paper inventory. Look at the forecast sheets and see where we are. Take a look at what's on order and where we may be able to make some cuts.”

She swallowed over the dryness in her throat. Cuts. Inventory. Her head pounded. “Sure. But I can take care of that. You need to concern yourself with finding another architect. There has to be someone else out there. Uh, maybe I can start hunting down some designers.”

Sebastian grinned. “Always willing to jump in and help. That's why I love you.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He straightened. “You have enough to do managing everything and everybody for Fashion Week. I can handle the inventory. I'll pull in Tara to help.”

A trickle of sweat dribbled down her spine. “Whatever you think is best. But you know you can count on me.”

“I know.” He checked his watch. “Gotta run. I have a dinner date.”

Eva smiled. “Is she cute
” She winked.

Sebastian blushed. “Very. If things work out, I'll invite you and Jake over for dinner to meet her.”

Eva stood and took his hands. “I hope it does work. You deserve someone good in your life.”

He grinned; his brilliant blue eyes sparkled. “Yeah. I do, don't I.”

She walked him to the door.

“I'll see you next week, and we can get started.”

She nodded. “Enjoy your dinner.”

Sebastian headed down the short walkway that led to the open studio floor.

Eva squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms. “Shit, shit, triple shit!”

 

7

Rita had a small workroom set up down the hall from her bedroom. To the casual observer, it looked like your basic office space. But this was where she created her masterpieces. She had three top-of-the-line computers, two scanners, digital cameras, printers, ink, and parchment paper that she had shipped to her from Europe and all the programs most forgers only dream of. She could create anything she wanted, from a simple birth certificate to passports, designer labels to federal identification.

The whole forgery thing was born of necessity. With her mother half-drunk or strung out on drugs most of the time, someone had to put a signature on her school forms, her report cards, permission slips. By the time she was in seventh grade, Rita had a little hustle going. For five bucks, she would forge a parent's signature for a classmate. All she needed was a sample and the money.

She used the money to buy food, keep the lights on, and take Eva with her to the movies on Saturdays. And if they needed something extra, Eva would just pick a pocket or two. Man, that girl was good at lifting wallets, watches, anything that wasn't nailed down. She was the fucking Houdini when it came to making shit disappear.

Rita shut the door to the room and stepped inside, shaking her head and smiling at her train of thought. She removed her robe and took a seat in front of a worktable in her underwear. On the table was a list of all the items she would have to recreate: ship IDs, passports, ship letterhead, and, of course, a suitcase full of counterfeit bills.

The bills would take the longest, and they couldn't look like Monopoly money. She put her headphones on, turned on her iPod, and went to work.

*   *   *

Eva stopped at her favorite wig store on Thirty-fourth Street and purchased wigs for herself and Rita. Then she walked along the streets of the Garment District picking out the accessories that they would need, as well as some additional fabric. After Jinx got the photos of the ship and the crew, she would know better what else they needed in terms of uniform. Nothing could be out of place.

She treated herself to an ice cream cone and headed home with her packages.

*   *   *

Jinx signed for the UPS package and shut the door. Once inside, he ripped open the envelope and dumped the photographs on the table. He smiled and rubbed his hands together. The crew, the captain, the interior and exterior of the ship—it was all there. He took the pictures into his bedroom, where he kept his computer and scanner. He scanned all the photos, imported them into his computer, and then enlarged them. No detail was missed. Eva and Jake would need everything. He printed out the colored photos and put them in plastic sleeves. Damn, it was good to have friends.

*   *   *

Jake looked up when Eva walked in. He hurried over to take her packages. “Whatcha got there, girl
” He kissed her on the mouth.

“Supplies,” she murmured against his lips, then walked inside. She looked at the floor plans spread out on the living room table. “I see you've been busy.” She walked over to the bar, fixed herself a drink, then brought it to the table. She sat down on the couch and kicked off her shoes.

Jake sat beside her, lifted her legs, and put them up on his lap. He massaged her feet while she sipped her drink.

“The alarm system … it's a tough one.”

Eva's glass stopped midway. She looked at her husband. His eyes were focused on the lines and boxes on the paper. His jaw flexed. Damnit, if Jake got a case of the nerves, they were screwed.

“Tell me what it is, baby,” she said her voice even but firm.

“I … I've never gotten into a safe like this one. And I don't have enough time to practice.”

“Then you're gonna have to make time. Simple as that.” She reached over and took his chin, forcing him to look at her. “This is your thing, baby. It's what you do.” She pressed her lips together into a smile. “It's what we do.”

He flashed a wicked grin. “Oh, this safe thing,” he chuckled, “I figured it out about an hour ago,” he lied smoothly, not liking the worry in Eva's eyes. “I'm just going to play around with the mechanisms on the computer. I set up a program.” That much was true. He just hadn't gotten it to work yet.

She reached behind her for a pillow and threw it. “You bastard!”

He snatched it before it made contact with his head, grabbed Eva, and pushed her down on the couch. He stared into her eyes. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest.

“I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it,” he said, inches away from her mouth. “Whatever I need to do to make this happen and get us out in one piece, I'm going to do.”

Eva put her hands behind his head and pulled him toward her. “Too much talking…”

Jake grinned. He pushed his hand up her dress and pulled her panties down over her hips while she tugged on his belt and zipper.

Their rapid breathing and fits of lusty words and laughter filled the room. Eva draped one leg over the back of the couch and planted the other foot on the floor for leverage. Jake put his hands beneath her and lifted her hips. The head of his penis brushed against her soft hair, and just as he was ready to dive in, the phone rang.

Neither of them moved. The answering machine kicked in, and Lenora's voice stretched across the room.

Jake jumped up, nearly falling headfirst with his pants tangled around his legs. He grabbed the phone.

“Hello!”

“Good thing you answered, Mr. Kelly.”

Eva came up alongside him and pressed her ear to the phone, trying to listen.

“Pay close attention. Here are your instructions.…”

When Jake finally hung up, he turned to Eva. “She's good.”

 

8

“Okay, so where are we
” Jake asked, leaning back against the couch and taking a long swallow from his bottle of beer.

Every night after their respective day jobs were over the team met at Jake and Eva's house to plan, bringing each other up to date on their progress and sharing any glitches they'd run into.

Eva, Rita, and Jinx sat around the living room table, photos, sketches, and schematics spread out across it.

“The uniforms are just about done,” Eva said. “I should be finished in another day or two, and then we can all have a fitting and I can make any adjustments.”

Rather than take a chance on pinching fabric from the studio, Eva made her fabric purchases from the wholesale district, using her job identification for the discounts but paying in cash. Each of them needed ship employee uniforms, and they had to be exact—down to the buttons. She worked until the wee hours of the morning sewing the uniforms.

Jake checked uniforms off his list. “What about the switch
”

“The delivery is at the office. I have to find a way of getting them out without anyone noticing. It won't be a problem.” She had yet to tell Jake that she had no clue how she was going to be able to take the time off from work. Sebastian would be furious.

Jake nodded and checked that off the list. “What about you, Rita
”

She opened her leather Gucci pouch and pulled out the passports. They all reached for them.

“Wow,” Jinx said. He turned his over in his hands and flipped through its pages. “This Paul Young is a world traveler.” He grinned. The passport included stops in the Far East, London, Spain, and South America.