His By Design (25 page)

Chapter 25

The loan had come through and Zoe walked on air for two days before reality brought her back to earth. There was no reason to put off their plan any longer . . .

Timing would be important. A reporter from the local paper would interview Jeff and Jen tomorrow and publish it in Friday’s edition along with a piece on the gallery and advertisements for their joint first show. Zoe would have to pay Fredrick and get him to sign off on their contract before the story broke.

She asked her friends to help her outwit her former boss and the ‘Gang of Six’ gathered in her apartment to plan.

“I have to get a check to Fredrick and make sure he signs off on our contract before the interview with Jeff and Jen hits the papers. He’ll be pissed that we snatched the rug out from under him about Jeff’s involvement with the paintings. I don’t know what his reaction to that will be, but I’m sure it won’t be good.” Zoe sipped her wine, but her throat remained dry. “I’ll call him tomorrow and tell him I will be in D. C. on Thursday to bring him his money. I imagine he’ll want to gloat over what he thinks is a winning hand in this game we’ve been playing. I’ll pretend defeat and beg him to relent about the copied painting. Naturally he won’t give up his advantage, but my attempt should keep him from suspecting anything.”

“Okay, Dev and I will wait outside Barker’s townhouse until you confirm that he is in the gallery with you,” Jeff said, taking over. “I shouldn’t need more than five minutes. The lock on the slider to his deck is ancient. I could pick it with a bobby pin. I imagine he feels nice and safe with the alarm system he installed.” Jeff finished his beer and stood. “You’re sure he doesn’t change the alarm code?”

“It’s been the same every time I’ve gone there, so I see no reason why he should suddenly change it now.” Zoe caught the tightening of Jeff’s fists when she mentioned having been to Barker’s home before. She reached over and took his hand, forcing him to unclench it as she laced her fingers with his.

Dev spoke up next. “We need some sort of code in case something goes wrong.”

“What could go wrong?” Zoe asked.

“I don’t know, but I’d feel better if we had a backup plan,” Dev replied.

“Dev’s right. I’m not letting you spend time alone with that ass-wipe without some way to check on you.” Jeff gave her a serious stare.

She gave him one right back. “First of all, you’re not
letting
me do anything. This is a joint effort, but if you’re going to get all huffy about it, I’ll go on my own.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Okay, let’s all take a step back,” Russ interjected. “Our goal is to swap the paintings, not determine the pecking order of the troops.” He held his hand up to forestall interruptions. “I do agree with Dev about a backup plan, though. Let’s just go over possible flaws and come up with some solutions.”

“First, how do we make sure Barker will be at the gallery?”

“Dev, if he knows I’m coming to give him a check for fifty thousand dollars, he’ll be there. That’s a given. I’ll nail down the time when I call him tomorrow.” Zoe rubbed her palms down her jeans.

“Okay, fair enough. What if Jeff can’t get in? Or maybe more important, finds out the code has been changed?”

“I’ll get in,” Jeff snapped. “Once I am in it won’t matter if the code’s been changed. If I can’t turn the alarm off, I’m still going to swap the paintings and get out in less than five minutes. It’s not like I have to search for it. Zoe’s given me the layout and exactly where to find the damned thing.”

Russ nodded. “I have to agree there. In for a penny, in for a pound. No point in doing a B and E if we don’t wind up with the painting. Even if the alarm goes off, the cops won’t get there for at least fifteen minutes.”

“As soon as I’m out, I’ll call you on your cell, Zoe. It shouldn’t take us longer than ten minutes to get to the gallery, so cut your tête-à-tête with Barker short and get outside.”

Zoe scowled at him. “Listen, Jeff, I don’t like spending time with him, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t act as though this will be some intimate rendezvous.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her him.

“You’re right. You’re right, sorry. I just hate that you have to go anywhere near him. It’s making me crazy and I’m acting like an idiot.”

Zoe relented and tugged him back down to sit beside her. “Chill, Studley. I know I’ll be safe if you have my back.”

Dev put his arm around Amanda and whispered something in her ear. She looked nervous and Zoe was afraid her friend might spill the beans. “Look,” she said, “we all have cell phones. Let’s get everyone on speed dial so if we do have to communicate we’ll know who to call.”

“Good idea, babe. Let’s synchronize.”

Everyone grabbed their phones.

Zoe started, “I’ll be number two, Jeff you take number three, Dev, you’re four, and Amanda your five. Russ is six.” They all tapped away for a few minutes. “Set up a group text too. That way a single message goes to everyone in an emergency.”

Jen, who had been silent up to now, blew out a breath. “I wish I could be doing something to help out with this.”

“You prepare for that interview tomorrow, Jen. Remember, your job is to tug on that reporter’s heartstrings. “Drown the guy in emotion and make sure he’s sympathetic about you using Jeff as your front man. We want the readers to see Jeff as a hero.” Zoe gave his hand a squeeze. “Which he is.”

Jen nodded. “He’s my hero, that’s for sure.”

“What do you plan to do when Barker finds out you’ve scuttled all his plans?” Russ asked.

“I plan to laugh my ass off.” Zoe scoffed. “Once I have that contract marked paid in full, there won’t be anything he can do about the ownership of the gallery. The rest will fall apart when he has no felony charges to hang over my head.”

“Or Jeff’s,” Jen added.

“Okay, if that’s it for now, folks, Amanda and I are going to head out. I’ve got to be on the air in a couple of hours.”

Russ had a rental car so he offered to take Jen back to the motel. “I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow about the time for the great gallery swap.” He grinned.

Jeff swooped Jen up and carried her down the steps. “If I keep visiting, you’re going to have to install and elevator, Zoe,” she said over Jeff’s shoulder. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Zoe stood in the middle of her studio, for a few minutes alone and quiet. She rubbed her palms down her pants again. The next two days would take two weeks off her life.

“Everyone’s gone. We’re all locked up downstairs.”

Zoe was at the sink r
insing glasses. “Good.”

Jeff stepped up and put his arms around her. He nuzzled her neck and felt her shiver in his embrace. “Sorry I was such a jerk earlier. Anything that has to do with that prick puts me in a foul mood.”

Zoe turned in his arms and rested her head against his chest. “You don’t have to apologize. He does the same to me, maybe more so.”

She kept her head tucked under his chin so he couldn’t see her face. “You know there’s no reason for you to be jealous of him, right? I mean there has never been any romantic feelings between the two of us, at least not on my part. What I thought was his pleasure in mentoring me turned out to be nothing but lust. Which was just one more reason I wanted to get away from him and start a gallery of my own.”

“I know, babe. It’s his smug air of domination that riles me up so much. It’s good this whole deal will be over with soon. I’m not sure how much longer I can go without punching his lights out.”

“Oh Lord, don’t do that. Certainly not where there are witnesses around. He’s going to be in a foul enough mood when he realizes we’ve beaten him, so don’t give him any excuse to call the police.” She leaned away and smiled up at him. “Not that I wouldn’t buy tickets to that event . . .”

“Let’s forget Sleazebag for a while. We should be celebrating your success, babe. You’ve done everything you set out to do a year ago. You have your own gallery, and it’s making a profit. You’re signing up more artists every month and word is starting to get around about the artist colony at Blue Point Cove. You are one amazing lady.” He gathered her in for a kiss.

“It may have been my dream to begin with, but without you it would never have come true. Now it’s a joint—no, a family—business and I couldn’t be happier it’s worked out this way.”

Which was all well and good, but Jeff could see the shadow behind her eyes. She still worried about their plan to foil Fredrick Barker’s evil agenda.

Shit, I sound like a character in a spy novel, thwarting a villain with an evil agenda. I don’t want to just thwart the bastard, I want to beat the crap out of him. But when I swap out that painting there will be a nice love note, from me, on the back of what I put in its place, and it’s not going to be Zoe’s copy either.

“You know,” he said as he slipped his hand under her shirt and popped the clasp on her bra, “we’re both a bit uptight about tomorrow. I have an idea that would help us to relax.”

“You read my mind, Studley,” Zoe agreed as she unzipped his jeans and slipped a hand inside. “Oh, look what I found.” She squeezed his growing erection. “Went commando today, did you?” She chuckled.

“Um, ahhh, yeah . . .” He exhaled in a rush. “I need to keep more clothes here . . .”

I need to keep
all
my clothes here . . .

She worked his jeans down to his knees and while she was down there she took advantage of the view, first licking, then suckling his rigid member.

“Ahh, babe. This is not exactly what I had in mind . . .”

“Oh?” Zoe looked up with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “But it works for you, doesn’t it?” She caressed him and laughed softly again as his shaft jerked in response.

Jeff threaded his fingers through her hair as she took more and more of him into her mouth. “Oh, baby, you’re . . . killing . . . me.” He couldn’t stop the rhythm his body demanded. He rocked into her again and again.

She pulled back, swirled her tongue around the sensitive tip as it throbbed, blowing a hot breath across it. She nibbled and teased and finally suckled him even harder, grasping his butt and pulling him into her mouth, finding that perfect rhythm again.

With a wordless groan he spent himself, ecstasy spiraling through every cell of his body as she sucked him dry.

After a few moments to catch his breath, he lifted her up and tasted himself as he kissed her. “My God, woman, you are unbelievable. Seductive witch. I swear you could send a saint to hell with that mouth.” He fondled her breasts and felt her pucker against his palms. “Now, it’s my turn.”

“Oh, you are so right, Studley.” Zoe stripped off her shirt and started for the bedroom, casting a come-hither look over her shoulder and wiggling her pants down her hips as she went.

The motion of the firm globes of her buttocks as she worked to rid herself of her clothes brought renewed life to his dick. He’d never get enough of this woman. Never. He kicked his jeans all the way off and followed her like a hound after the sweetest scent he’d ever known.

“Okay, you’re all set.” Andy stepped back to make sure the pinhole camera in Zoe’s jacket pocket didn’t le
ave a telltale bulge. “When you’re ready to begin recording, just push the button right through your pocket. You don’t have to take it out. Try to be as casual as possible. That should give you two hours of audio and video.”

More than enough time for my purposes.

“Andy, thank you so much for helping me find this gadget. I had no idea spy cameras had come so far. No wires to worry about or microphones taped to my chest. This will be a piece of cake.”

“Yep, modern technology at its best. The recording will play back on any PC. Just try not to pay too much attention to it. If you keep fiddling with it you may make Barker suspicious.”

“Right. I’ll let you know how it goes when I get back.”

Andy left through the front door as she heard the back one open. Jeff must be back from the interview with the newspaper reporter.

“Hi, sweet cheeks. You look very business-like, but too beautiful. Couldn’t you have, I don’t know, put something ugly on?” He smiled with his mouth but his eyes were shadowed.

“Don’t worry, Studley. We’ll be at his gallery. In a public place. He won’t try anything there.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than her cell phone chimed. Barker. Damn. Now what? She put her finger to her lips to keep Jeff silent.

“Hello?” She checked her watch. They were due to meet in an hour. “What? Are you serious?” Her eyes rolled. “Well, can’t you go home and get them?” She sighed. “It’s always all about you, Fredrick, isn’t it? Okay, I’ll meet you there in an hour.” She nodded. “Right. Bye.” She disconnected and looked at Jeff, her mouth twisted in a disgusted grimace. “Okay, change of plans. His Majesty ‘forgot’”—she air quoted the words—“the contract papers. They are at his place, so he wants to meet there.”

“No way. Absolutely not.” Jeff sliced his hand through the air. “Not happening.”

“Wait. Before you go all high and mighty on me, think. This may work out better.”

Jeff folded his arms across his chest and gave her a raised brow.

“Look, Fredrick and I will be there, so the alarm will be off and I can make sure the slider to the patio is unlocked. There won’t be any need for breaking and entering. I can distract Fredrick while you sneak in and swap the paintings. He’ll sign the papers and I’ll be out of there in two shakes.”

“And how will you distract him?” Jeff shot her a grim scowl.

Yeah. That’s your big worry isn’t it, Studley? That I might let him touch me, or kiss me. I’d hate to do it, but if it keeps you safer through this whole charade, I’m willing to hold my nose and sacrifice myself.

“I . . . I’ll . . .” She snapped her fingers. “I’ll use his powder room and take something with me to plug his toilet. Then when it overflows, I’ll yell for help. While he comes running, you slip in and make the swap.” She spread her hands, palms up. “See? Piece of cake.”

Jeff narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know, babe. I still don’t like it.”