Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
After pocketing my phone, wallet, and keys, I went downstairs and found my landladies drinking wine with some friends in the living room. Yolanda and JoJo introduced me to their guests, and a woman with very short purple hair told me, “That’s a nice suit.”
“Thanks.”
“Hot date?”
“Actually, I’m on my way to crash a party in Marin County, so I can hit on my ex-boyfriend’s dad.”
All six women absorbed that for a beat, and then the one with purple hair nodded and said, “Awesome. Good luck with that.”
It had been surprisingly easy to find the location of the party. All it took was a little digging through social media. The guy hosting the event had recently bought a big, flashy house in Sausalito, and he’d been vain enough to provide a link to the real estate listing, so everyone could see he’d dropped six-point-two million dollars on this place.
That listing had included the address, along with a floorplan and photos of all the rooms. Now, as I stood across the street and gathered my nerve, I frowned at the Georgian-style estate and thought of all the things I’d do with six-point-two million dollars, none of which involved buying a house that was clearly designed to show off.
The host had provided valet parking for his guests, but I’d decided it was best to park around the corner. My rusty, 1978 Fiat didn’t exactly sell the idea that I belonged with this crowd. When a car pulled up out front, I jogged across the street. Then I tried to follow the couple into the party, but there was a bodyguard with a guest list waiting at the gate to the fenced-off front yard.
I racked my brain as the people ahead of me checked in. When it was my turn, I flashed the guard a smile and went with a name I’d seen on the host’s social media. “Hi there. Abe Jansky.”
The guard raised a brow and made a point of correcting my pronunciation. “Mr. Jan-es-key checked in five minutes ago.”
Shit. Time to think fast. “I know he did. I’m part of his party, but I was running late.”
This guy remained totally expressionless. “Mr. Janesky’s entire party has already checked in.”
“There’s been some mistake. Abe is my uncle. He asked me to meet him here.” Was my poker face holding up at all?
“In that case, I’d suggest you give Uncle Abe a call and ask him to come outside to vouch for you. At that point, I’ll be more than happy to check you in, sir.”
“Fine. I’ll do that.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and stepped aside as another group of people arrived.
Well, shit. I was already on a tight deadline with that wedding only two weeks away, and I obviously wasn’t going to give up that easily. After tonight, I had no idea where to find Malcolm Sterling, so this was my one shot.
I casually strolled down the sidewalk with the phone to my ear, having a pretend conversation with my Uncle Abe. When I reached the corner, I ducked out of sight and tried to think of a plan.
From reading that real estate listing, I knew the house sat on half an acre of land, and directly behind it was an undeveloped hillside. It would be easy enough to circle around behind the house, and maybe there was a gate back there. It was certainly worth a look.
I wound my way through the landscaping along the fence line until I was behind the house. There weren’t any gates, but the wooden fence was only about six feet high. It would be easy enough to climb over it, as long as no one saw me.
Was this a jailable offense? Breaking and entering, without the breaking? Best not to get caught in the act and find out the hard way.
To check if anyone was out back, I jumped into the air and took a peek over the fence. Then I did that two more times, to make sure I saw the entire yard.
The coast was clear, so I grabbed the top of the fence and heaved myself up and over. Since I wasn’t the most athletic guy out there, this was less than graceful. So was my landing in a bunch of bushes.
As I untangled myself from the branches and backed butt-first out of the hedge, I wondered why there was suddenly a cool breeze on my ass crack. When I reached behind me, I made an alarming discovery—sometime during that fence climbing maneuver, my pants had split right down the seam. To make matters worse, I’d decided to wear a sexy jock strap underneath, so my bare ass was totally exposed.
Fucking hell! I straightened up quickly and looked around. There was a gazebo nearby, so I rushed over to it and ducked inside—not that it provided any privacy, since it was open on all sides.