Evie tried to keep her imagination in check as the others laughed and agreed.
“You guys don’t have to worry about me. I’ve got this.” Evie only hoped it was true. She was afraid of what might happen between them and what it could mean to the people she loved.
*
When they pulled into a motel parking lot, Evie turned to Anthony. “Now, let me do this. You stay here, I’ve got a plan.”
Grabbing her arm before she could make a move to scoot out of the car, he had her look at him. “What do you mean ‘you’ve got a plan’ Why didn’t you share this with me?”
“Because I knew you’d try to stop me.”
“I can still stop you.”
“But you won’t.” She batted her eyelashes at him and laughed when he growled at her. “Seriously, look here.” She handed him her phone and tapped an app on. Up on the screen came a view out the front windshield of the car.
“What in the hell?” He looked at her when he heard his voice come out of the phone.
“See I’ve got this hooked up so you will be able to see and hear everything that I’m doing.” When he didn’t say anything she just looked at him and said, “Well, where are the protests now?”
“Give me a minute. I’ll think of something.”
“Nope, I’ve got to get going. I’ve done my research, Hank is in there now. He’s a middle-aged good-ole boy who likes the ladies.” She unbuttoned a couple of buttons on her shirt so that her cleavage was showing. When he growled again she looked at him while fluffing her hair up. “What? I’ll have him eating out of my hand in no time.”
“That’s what I am afraid of. How did you know this person would be there?” He watched in fascination as she applied a bright red lipstick to her lips.
She leaned over close to him and patted his cheek. “You’re not the only one who can do research. Be a good boy and stay here.” She threw back her head and laughed as he growled again. “Now, watch me work.” She got out of the car and with an extra sway to her hips, she walked towards the motel office.
*
Evie took a deep breath before entering the office. Squaring her shoulders so her boobs stood out even more than usual and she added a small flirty smile as she opened the door. She was satisfied that it was working by the way Hank’s eyes bulged almost out of his head.
“Hey darling.” She said playing up her Boston accent as she crossed to the counter and leaned over the counter so he would have the perfect shot down her shirt. “I was wondering if you could help me.”
“Umm... sure... what can I… umm… do for you?” He rubbed his hand over his lunch stained shirt that was stretched tight over his belly.
Evie looked around before leaning even further over and dropping her voice. “Are we the only ones here? No one else can hear us right?”
Coughing, he tried to recover quickly, “Yes, it’s just us. How can I do you? I mean what can I do for you?”
She let a high-pitched giggle come out and covered his arm with her hand and started rubbing it. “Well, see, I’m so embarrassed. This was a mistake.”
“No, honey, don’t worry about it. I want to help, tell me what you need.”
She wanted to shiver and get as far away from his leering as she could, but she knew she had to finish what she started for Lexi. “So I think my loser of a fiancé is cheating on me. The guy is loaded, so if he is, I want proof so I can get my cut, you understand?” When he nodded she continued. “No one treats me that way. I want him to pay, with money. So, I was wondering if you could take a look at this guy and tell me if you’ve seen him around, and if he ever had a chick with him.”
She slid the picture of Anthony across the counter, it was the best they could do since they didn’t have anything good of Jeremy. Watching as his shaking fingers picked up the picture, she held her breath hoping for some kind of information they could use.
“Hmmm, yeah, he’s been here.”
Evie moved and covered her mouth with her hand jabbing her fingernail into the underside of her chin effectively making her eyes tear. “Oh no!”
He took one pudgy hand and awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Honey, it’s not that bad. I remember him from last year. He paid cash, stayed for about a week. He didn’t bring any woman by.”
She opened her eyes wide. “Really? Are you sure? How can you remember?”
He turned red and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Well, see, he’s not the typical clientele I get here. You could tell he was used to money. He had to have his room cleaned at a specific time every day and a certain way, otherwise, there was, I don’t know, a coldness to him if it wasn’t right.”
Sighing she said, “That does sound like him.”
He leaned over the counter to get closer to her. “You know, you don’t need him, you need a real man, one that would treat you like the queen you are.”
“Did he leave anything behind?”