Kate only hesitated another moment. Payton’s fearless take on life was always something Kate had admired. And here was the perfect opportunity. Why not?
She lifted a glass, and realizing her mind was made up, she tapped Payton’s before throwing the fiery liquid down.
An hour later, bold from another shot of tequila, she picked up her phone and dialed Dominic’s number.
“I’m in.”
Chapter Six
“So Ms. Herrera is claiming Mark came in to her office, sat on the corner of her desk, and unbuckled his belt while asking her to…” Nicole paused as she read from Kate’s chronology. “‘Give it a pull and let’s see what comes up’?”
“According to her discrimination complaint, yes. But she also provided a written statement to the company that didn’t mention anything about this alleged incident,” Kate answered. “Seems to be a significant detail to have missed. If it really happened. Which is why I want to thoroughly review the details of that day with her.”
It was almost five Monday evening and they’d been at this for a couple of hours. And it was agony. Kate was fine with working a case with another associate and had done so many times in the past. But Nicole had that dismissive way about her. Just like Michael’s mother. No wonder they got along so well.
“I think it would be helpful to lay out their individual schedules for that day before we jump into questions about the details of their meetings rather than develop schedules after the fact.” Her tone making it clear she thought Kate was making a mistake.
“I’ll consider it,” Kate said and continued to skim Ms. Herrera’s past eight years of performance reviews.
Ava Herrera had worked at McKenna and Associates, a large accounting firm downtown, until she resigned more than a year ago. According to Ms. Herrera, her boss, Mark McKenna, made several overt sexual advances toward her during her employment.
Mark’s story, of course, was entirely different. According to Mark, Ms. Herrera had been desperate to keep the accounts she’d been warned about losing if her performance continued to slip. Desperate enough that while they were on a business trip, she’d come to his room in a long trench coat and nothing underneath. He claimed he’d sent her away immediately.
Kate had contacted the hotel, but it was their standard practice for the video surveillance footage to be purged after ninety days. However, she had kept at them and they’d conceded IT might be able to pull something off a network drive. She was still waiting to hear back.
Nicole flipped through a few more pages of Ms. Herrera’s complaint, pausing to jot some notes down. Leaving Kate to her thoughts.
Usually the details of a case, particularly at this stage, would take over her every waking thought, and sometimes even her nonwaking thoughts. But today, Kate was distracted. She wanted to get things wrapped up so she could get home.
She and Dominic had a lot to discuss if they were going to pull their ruse off.
“You know”—Kate sat back in the chair and stretched—“I’m pretty wiped out. Would you mind if we finished this up in the morning? I think we have all the documents in order.”
Nicole barely glanced up at her. “No problem. I was planning on leaving soon anyhow. Michael and I have dinner reservations at Caffe Molise for seven.”
Ouch. That had been their favorite Italian restaurant, usually going there before hitting the theater. But she refused to let Nicole know her comment had had any effect. “Well, enjoy your dinner. Don’t let Michael get carried away with the bread basket. He always feels guilty later, you know.”
Kate couldn’t help but note Nicole’s hand tightening on her pen. But she kept her attention on the file in front of her and barely nodded when Kate said good-bye.
She grabbed her notes and made a beeline for the door. She could be home in thirty minutes. She checked herself as she raced down the hall, telling herself that the excitement and nervousness she was feeling had to be because of the planning she and Dominic had ahead of them if they wanted their charade to be a success. Nothing else.
But it wouldn’t hurt to brush a quick layer of polish on her lips. She had to moisturize, after all. And if the color and shine perked up the fatigue that might be evident on her face, it was purely coincidental.
That’s right. She could be professional.
Only Kate couldn’t deny the small bubble of excitement in her chest when she saw Dominic’s truck parked in front of her house and the lights on upstairs when she pulled up. It was almost six and it was already dark outside, but her house looked warm and welcoming. Like home. She loved it.
“Hello?” she called when she walked inside, dropping the keys on the hall table.
“Up here,” he called. “Come and take a look.”
Kate found him standing at the sink in the guest bathroom with a smile on his lips and her cat curled at his feet. His light blue T-shirt was rolled up at his arms. Who knew forearms could be sexy? Or the display of muscles that were hard to miss in the fitted shirt as he crossed his arms in front of him. She almost licked her lips, which would have displaced the layer of gloss she’d put on. “Give it a try.” He nodded toward the sink.
Her fingers skimmed the shiny, cool surface of the new faucets she’d selected last Saturday. Chic. She turned the handle and waited. Usually the water took a good minute to even reach tepid, but within ten seconds, it was running hot. She smiled and looked up. “You did it.”
“You’ll find the same in your bathroom, but since we’ll be tearing out everything for the remodel, you’ll only have a few more days to enjoy it.”
“It will definitely be worth it,” she said as she pictured the bright pink-and-white tiles that ran across the floor and up to the ceiling of her master bath. They had to go. Kate looked around the small guest bath that Dominic had turned his attention to today. Even with just the small tweaks of the new faucets, towel racks, and new lighting and mirror, it looked brand-new.