Bats and Bling by Laina Turner Read Free Book Online Page A

said with a half hearted smile.
    I looked around her apartment as I stepped in and thought she had really good taste. Nothing expensive, my guess is a lot of it was thrift shop, but it was very eclectic and well put together. It had a very homey, comfortable feel. I wish I had her talents in decorating.
    “Beautiful apartment, “I told her.
    “Thanks,” she said softly. I wasn’t sure what she normally looked like but my guess was this wasn’t it. Mainly because her apartment was so put together and spotless it seemed out of place that she looked a mess. Not that I was judging. She had just lost her job. I’d been there. I got it. She was a stunning girl. White blond hair, definitely natural, big green eyes, and even without make up her skin was flawless, just blotchy, I could tell she’d been crying. Even so she was gorgeous and I would kill for her eye lashes. They were long and dark and made her green eyes pop. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had them tinted. If they were natural I was even more jealous. She looked like a natural blond so to have such dark eyelashes seemed odd. She was in black yoga pants and a grey t-shirt with what looked like a coffee stain on the front. From the looks of her outfit I imagined she’d slept in her clothes. Saying they were wrinkled was a bit of an understatement.
    “I appreciate you talking to me. I’m sorry you lost your job.”
    Tears welled up in her eyes. 
    “I’m sorry,” I said again, feeling bad. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
    “It’s ok. I’ve been crying all day, it’s not your fault.” She attempted to laugh.
    “You said the brooch was stolen? I guess I don’t understand.”
    “I was providing dresses for a fashion show Veronica was organizing and to make a long story short I kept the brooch for safekeeping and well turns out if wasn’t very safe and someone stole it.”
    Angela gasped. “Oh no. Raquel must be fit to be tied.”
    “She certainly didn’t have many good things to say about Veronica. Which is why I came to see you.”
    “Did Raquel give you my address?”
    “No. She told me your name and I Googled you. Actually, I Facebook stalked you. You should really change your privacy settings. There are too many weirdos in the world. I’m not one of them,” I quickly assured her with a smile.
    She smiled back. “Wow. I can’t believe someone stole that brooch. Is it bad that I’m almost happy for the first time since getting fired? I I know it’s stupid to be this upset but I really liked that job. I was good at it. I was always in the top three in sales and was building up a large repeat clientele. I was starting to make some real money.”
    “So Veronica Knapp was one of your customers?”
    “She was really Raquel’s but for some reason a couple weeks ago Raquel told me she was giving her to me.”
    “Did you find that odd?”
    “A little. Raquel wasn’t normally that giving. Especially to someone who spent a lot of money. Mrs. Knapp was not the easiest customer to deal with so I assumed Raquel was tired of her. It’s not like she didn’t already have plenty of other rich clients. I wasn’t going to argue. It added to my pay check. She bought a lot of jewelry. A good sized piece at least once a month. I thought I was doing the right thing by letting Mrs. Knapp take the brooch. She threw such a fit when she first asked and I told her no, I let her take it.”
    “You didn’t ask Raquel first?”
    “She was on her lunch break and I was the only one in the store besides the security guard.  I thought if I didn’t let her take it I would get in trouble and I certainly didn’t want to lose her business. She’s been a customer for years. Way longer than I’ve worked there. I never thought for a million years she wouldn’t come back and pay for it. She’s spent a lot of money on jewelry and paying for it was never an issue before. How was I supposed to know this time was when she decided paying was optional.”
    She