Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie Read Free Book Online Page A

stretched out his legs. "Look on the bright side. She's concentrating on the bathroom now. That can only be good."
    "She'll find some way to make it ruin my day."
    "You know, we're going to have to make her permanent."
    "Oh, God." Gabe knew he was right, but he didn't want to dwell on it. "So what happened yesterday?"
    "I did the Hot Lunch. Gina's cheating. What a surprise."
    "Anybody we know?"
    Riley shook his head. "Never saw him before. He was wearing a really ugly tie and looking at Gina like she was the best thing that ever happened to him. If only he knew. She waved and said to give you her best."
    Gabe shook his head. "And people think detective work is exciting."
    "What happened at OD?"
    Gabe told him.
    "Jack's cheating again?" Riley said. "He never learns."
    "That's it, keep an open mind." Gabe sighed. "I don't think any of them are guilty. But I do think Trevor lied about the accusations she made. I find it hard to believe that he's playing around."
    "True," Riley said. "It's not like Trevor to work with his hands."
    "And I know he lied to me about how she wanted him to get the money to her." Gabe leaned back. "I think he went to meet her."
    "And Jack knows?"
    "Maybe. Budge Jenkins called me first. Then I got a follow-up call from Jack that played down the whole thing, told me not to start investigating until we'd talked. And then I got a call from Trevor trying to cancel the meeting." He shook his head. "You have to wonder what would happen if Budge met a problem he couldn't tattle on, Jack met one he couldn't solve with fast talk and charm, and Trevor met one he couldn't delay out of existence."
    "So Trevor and Jack are hiding something and they haven't clued Budge in." Riley thought about it and grinned. "I'd hate to be Budge right about now."
    Gabe nodded. "I have this ugly feeling that the way to find out who's blackmailing the clients is to investigate the clients."
    "Let me do the easy one," Riley said, standing up. "I'll find out if Jack's cheating."
    Gabe shook his head. "We're not going to investigate it. They don't want us to, and we don't have the time."
    "I might do it just for the hell of it," Riley said.
    "It wouldn't be just for the hell of it," Gabe said. "It'd be to nail Jack Dysart. I can't believe you're still hostile about that woman after fourteen years."
    "What woman?" Riley said and went out, passing Nell on her way in.
    "I need your appointment book," she said to Gabe briskly.
    "Why?" he said, feeling the need to annoy her.
    "Because your appointments are not in the computer, and I need to put them in."
    "Fine." Gabe handed over his datebook.
    "Thank you." She took it and turned back to the door. "Mrs. Dysart," he said, hating what he had to say next. "Yes?" she said, patiently.
    "Would you like a permanent job?"
    She surprised him by pausing for a minute. "Would I get to fix your business cards?"
    "No."
    She sighed. "Yes, I'd like a permanent job."
    "You're hired," he said. "Don't change anything."
    She shot him a look that was completely unreadable and left.
    "Yes, she's going to be a great help," he said to the empty room and turned back to his neatly stacked desk to get some work done.
    An hour later, with both partners gone and the bathroom still to be cleaned, Nell began to enter Gabe's appointments into the agency's antique computer system. After typing in his future workload, Nell went back through the book for the past year and realized she'd misjudged him. He might be a controlling fiend, but he was a hardworking controlling fiend. No wonder he hadn't caught Lynnie embezzling; he'd barely had time to catch his breath. A significant amount of the work he'd done was background checks for Ogilvie and Dysart, and Nell stopped long enough to flip through Riley's past appointments, too. Even more OD, close to a quarter of their business.
    The door rattled, and she looked up from her computer screen to see her handsome son come in with a paper bag in one hand and a drink in the