Page 66 of Broken Headboards

“Well, not if you’re telling him you’re hungry and treating him like a friend by showing up early and not banging him,” Tess says to me. “You guys are gaga for each other but you don’t even see it. You’re both dumb as rocks.”

Says the person who is probably secretly in love with Austin.

Speaking of Austin…

“How’s the competition going?” I ask her. “The big final challenge is coming up. You ready?”

Tess sighs.

“I have everything I can do,” she says. “But with all the warfare between us, we’re really not operating at 100%.”

I nod. Cyber attacks and tied up capital will do that to you.

“Well, maybe I have something that will help,” I say and Tess’s eyes go wide.

See, yesterday as Taylor showered, I looked through that file.

I know. I wasn’t supposed to. But it said ‘Giovanni Giannoni’ on it. And everyone knows who Giovanni is. The world famous bedroom set designer. He did all 17 bedrooms in pop star Kristi Crawford’s Bel Air mansion.

So I looked it over. I don’t know why Taylor had it. It was probably just a profile on a high net-worth client for Draper Pierce. I know Taylor personally meets the ultra-wealthy that his bank manages money for. Anyways, if Taylor is managing this guys assets and I can give his contact number to Tess, then it’s a double win, right?

“Come closer,” I say to her. “I’ve got someone who will help you seal this deal and win the contest with no doubts left.”

Tess leans in close and I start to get the pictures I snapped with my phone.

If nothing else, something will come from last night.