The Anniversary Party by Melissa F. Miller

Author:Melissa F. Miller [Miller, Melissa F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-25T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Sasha closed the door behind her, leaving Joy in the office, and joined Leo and Maisy in the hallway.

“What’s up?”

Leo scanned the corridor to confirm no one was in earshot and pulled her over to the corner near the fireplace. “Go ahead, Maisy. Tell her.”

Maisy leaned against the fireplace surround and crossed her arms over her chest. She grinned broadly. “Hank asked me to hang out in the parlor with the guys playing cards, chat them up to see if I learned anything interesting, and keep an eye on Paul to make sure he didn’t start gambling.”

“From your self-satisfied smile, I’m guessing you struck gold.”

Leo nodded briskly. “More like she hit a vein of diamonds.”

“You two are killing me. Don’t keep me in suspense.”

Leo took pity on her. “Remember how Annette told us Grady’s a lady’s man? She undersold it.”

Maisy leaned forward. “Even though he’s here with truly one of the most stunning women I’ve ever seen, he started hitting on me.”

“Please, you’re gorgeous, and you know it,” Sasha told her.

“Come on, Sasha. I’m at least fifteen years older than these people. I’m not claiming I’m a monstrous troll who should live under a bridge, but Joy is extraordinary. And her guy can’t keep it in his pants.”

Leo gagged. “Gross.”

“If you think that’s gross, wait until you hear about his business model,” Sasha snarked.

He shot her a curious look.

“Joy desperately wanted to talk to me; she couldn’t wait for you to get back. I bet she wouldn’t have been so eager to bend my ear if she knew her date was in there hitting on Maisy. Anyway, she told me all about Grady and Tessa’s company—which is a story for another time—but she wanted me to know that Rex threatened Grady with a hostile takeover.”

“Great—another person with motive.” Leo’s skull felt as if someone had stretched a tight rubber band around it. Rex Stoddard’s friends gave him a pounding headache.

“You’ll love this. Joy has a motive, too.”

Maisy tapped her foot. “Are we gonna get back to me and Casanova at some point?”

“In a minute,” Leo promised. “What’s Joy’s motive? I thought she barely knows these people.”

“That’s right. Turns out she met Grady on some exclusive dating app for rich people.”

“I’ll bet it’s Silver Spoon,” Maisy offered.

“Of course, you’d know about it.”

Maisy sniffed. “I was invited by a friend to join it. No thanks. Not my style.”

“Well, Rex used to own it. Before he sold it, he recruited a bunch of models, including Joy. She earns fifty grand a year to log in once in a while and change her profile picture. I guess meeting a high-quality gentleman like Grady is just gravy.”

Maisy giggled.

Leo tried to keep his impatience at bay. “Come on, you two. Cut to the chase before someone wanders in here.”

Sasha waved a hand at him. “Okay, okay. Rex recognized Joy and told her if she didn’t tell Grady that she was being paid to be on the app, he would. I don’t know whether it’d be worth killing someone to keep that particular secret, but Joy might think it is.

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