Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Or he just saw a tomato and wanted to see how it would react in different situations. Like he said, he created the drama and filmed me reacting to make me more interesting. Just like in Jamaica. “Here, Mila, hold my coconuts. Now let me take photos of you doing stupid things.” I was having fun, but he was testing me, trying to see what sorts of ridiculous requests I’d put up with.
And I put up with them all. Our day together at those waterfalls probably gave him the idea to make this film. That, or he’d been actively searching for a subject and chose me.
I give Sofie’s plan some thought. “I can expose him for the manipulative user he is. I like it!”
“That’s right.” She claps. “We’ll show the women of the world what a complete turd this guy is. He’ll never make another movie again—at least, not one any female will pay to see.”
“He’ll lose all of his Mr. Sticky Nuts followers,” I realize.
Sofie’s eyes light up. “Ohmygod. You’re right. I didn’t even think of that. We can really hit him in the sticky nuts!”
I love this plan. Mostly because it entails revenge mixed with justice. I didn’t invite this loser into my life. I didn’t ask him into my home. I didn’t ask him to invade my privacy. But he’ll think twice about ever doing this again to another woman.
“Where do we start?” I ask.
“I’m calling Skippy,” Sofie says.
“Skippy?”
“He’s my new security guy. He set up the system at my office and here, too.”
“Why do I need your security guy?” I ask.
“Did you notice the five cameras out front?” she asks.
“No.”
“Exactly.” She snaps her fingers. “We’re going to wire up your house, your car, and get you some awesome accessories. I have an acquaintance who can edit the footage into a nice one-hour exposé, which I’ll release online to all my followers.”
Christ, she’s an evil genius. Sofie has hundreds of thousands of followers, many of them rich, well-connected businesspeople. Carter Strike is fucked.
“Remind me to never, ever, ever, everrrrr piss you off, girl. You’re one nasty bitch.”
She smiles. “I see myself more like a life coach fulfilling her calling. Carter is about to get schooled on one basic principle: don’t fuck with a woman’s heart.”
Strange. I’ve never ruined a man before, but I’m all giddy inside. This is going to be fun.
“For all the women out there who’ve been played.” I raise my mug.
“For all the women.” Sofie carefully toasts me back with her hot tea. “Let’s call Skippy.”
Sitting in my living room, I take the pair of reading glasses and hold them up to inspect the teeny-tiny camera embedded in the upper right-hand corner of the tortoiseshell frame. “So this thing records sound and video?” I ask Skippy, who’s a guy in his forties with jet-black hair and a neck tat. He looks like the type who doesn’t exactly mind skirting the law a little. Either way, he knows his stuff.
“No. Just video. You need to be sure you use the app I loaded on your phone.” He holds up my cell and points to the feature with the big red button. “Just press record, and the glasses will capture the visual field while your phone records any sounds.”
“What if my phone is in my purse or pocket?” I ask.
“If you’re able to leave it on a table or counter, that’ll get the best results, but the app is designed to pick up the smallest noises and filter out the garble.”
“So as long as it’s somewhere near her, it’ll capture what this dickhead is saying?” Sofie asks.
“Yeah. That’s right,” Skippy replies.
I set my new glasses on the coffee table. They’re actually cute with a chunky frame. Very 1950s.
“And if you’re in your car,” Skippy says, “you don’t need to do anything to activate the system. It senses motion and records. You can turn it off with your phone like this.” He shows me how to call up that specific camera and deactivate it. “Same goes for the cameras inside and outside the home. You can turn them off at any time by touching privacy mode, but I advise just leaving them on. You can always go back and delete videos if they’re private or useless.”
“Wow. I’ve never seen anything like this,” I say. Outside, the cameras are motion-activated and look like ordinary things like a nail head on the fence or a green leaf in the bush. Inside, the cameras are knobs on drawers or masked as functioning smoke detectors.
“State of the art,” Skippy says.
“And how much is all this going to cost?” I ask.
“Not a dime,” Sofie says.
I look at Skippy. “I can’t take all this stuff for free.”
“I’m only lending it to you,” he says.
“Even so,” I say back.
“Sofie has been a great client. Don’t worry about the cost.” He looks at Sofie and smiles. “Anything she wants, she gets.”