Page 56

“Brilliant.” Tara took the phone back. “If he’s part of the team, he has to contribute.”
The tightness in his jaw was enough to strangle Tara. “She’s insane. Your publicist is fucking bonkers.”
“All right, you two. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea that, with the benefit of hindsight, was maybe questionable.” She rubbed her nose. Something foul lingered very faintly in the air. “I won’t do it again. Sorry, Bishop.”
Tara rolled her eyes. “Pussy.”
Ella’s eyes popped so hard, she was sure her fake lashes would fall off. “Tara.”
Palpable restraint deepened the tension in Bishop’s jaw. His lips flattened, and his hand slapped down on a chair, pulling it out. “Ella. Your chair, babe.”
Oh no.This was bad. He was going to sit her down and strangle Tara, for good reason too.
“You and I need to have a word,” he ground out before giving Ella a curt nod, excusing them. Then he all but physically moved Tara aside with a glare.
Even Tara paused, maybe oblivious that her brash attitude problem had gone a step too far. All-business Bishop took three powerful steps forward, and Tara backed up with every one, until her retreat was stopped by another table. Dang it, Ella couldn’t hear their conversation. But she could see Tara’s face. The woman didn’t get a word in.
Oh, yes she did. One word.Sorry.
So was that… a miracle that Ella had just witnessed? Yes, it was. But… God! What was the putrid smell? Faint enough to be indistinguishable amidst thousands of people’s perfume and cologne, mixed with the scent of coffee and champagne being served by waiters, but still present enough to bother her hyper-senses.
The lights flickered to signal a start time of so many minutes away, but Ella wasn’t sure how many.
Her tablemates joined her, distracting her from the Bishop–Tara show. As soon as she did the polite hellos, she turned to see Tara coming over.
“I won’t be a bitch to him.”
Well, wow. What had he said? “That’s good.”
“I have to go run and check on my other clients. You good for a bit?”
“Sure.” She hadn’t expected Tara to stick around this long. Just like at the hotel, she usually hopped around but always came back. Ella was one of her top clients. “I’m fine.”
Bishop took a seat next to her and shooed away a waiter offering wine for dinner. Tara took off, and Ella said please to the vino.
She downed a big sip and turned to Bishop. “Did you hear back from anyone about my flowers?”
His face darkened, giving her ano.
“I was just wondering, since you all had so much technology, and the feds were all likethanks.”
“Feds and Titan talked. Our tech guy talked to theirs.”
“And…?”
“It wasn’t a flower company. No one in their right mind would sell that shit, anyway. Someone posted and paid anonymously through Monarch on a local forum.” He made a face. “IRL again.”
“Oh…” She knew enough about Monarch profiles. People either used them legitimately or not. And when they didn’t, it was troll heaven.
“They’re tracing IPs and whatever,” Bishop continued.
“It’s not going to turn anything up, will it?”
He pursed his lips together. “Internet ghosts with burner phones, Visa prepaid cards to fund MonarchMoney, and accounts that last for five minutes? Nah.”
Her stomach turned. Not great news, but she shrugged—and her stomach turned again.
Whatever the food option was for tonight had to be disgusting. Where was the smell coming from? It smelled as if they were readying to wheel hunks of meat out, completely overpowering. Tara would’ve signed her up for the vegan option, but it didn’t mean that she could handle the foul aromas overwhelming her now. Whatever was on the menu was too much.