Page 7 of Maneater (The Mavens #1)

FIVE

JOSIE

My phone beeps the next morning, long after I’ve woken, worked out, eaten breakfast, and cleaned my apartment.

The morning of a new assignment is like Christmas to me, and even though I’m already a bit of a morning person, I’m even more so on those days, my pulse excited with the prospect of some new havoc to wreak, some new puzzle to solve.

The last three weeks have consisted of small jobs, like last night, involving finding evidence of cheating, lying, and the like.

Last week, my partner Rory and I spent three nights tailing a man whose wife was co nvinced he’d been cheating, only to find those secretive calls had been him setting up some grand anniversary surprise for her.

I give him a year before he reaches out to us, asking for information on his wife this time.

That being said, a tried-and-true destination undercover job has been a long time coming, and it’s my favorite kind of assignment to get. Upon hearing the beep, I rush to my phone to check if our assignment has dropped, and when I see Rory’s name instead of Gabriel’s, I deflate.

Let me up

Just then, the buzzer to my apartment goes off, and without even checking to see who it is, I hit accept. Two minutes later, Rory is walking into my place and locking the door behind her.

“You don’t even check to see if it’s me? Have you learned nothing in the years you’ve been working here?”

I roll my eyes, then reach over to my counter, grab my pink, bedazzled taser, and buzz it. “I’ve got good ol’ Betty here.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’ve never even used that thing.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Never being in a situation where I have to use a taser?” I set down my trusty weapon before moving over to my couch and flopping back with a sigh. “Why are you here so early?”

“Assignment day. Gabriel told me to head here, and when we were together, he’d call and give us our assignment.”

“How did you know I’d be up?”

She rolls her eyes, as if I’m being purposely obtuse and she’s annoyed by it.

“Because no one gets more excited on assignment day than you, Josie. Everyone knew you’d be up.”

Fair enough.

As if he can hear our conversation—which, knowing Gabriel, isn’t such a far-off concept—both of our phones ping with a new email before my laptop, already open on my coffee table, starts to ring with an incoming call.

We sit closer together without a word before I hit accept, a blank screen popping up and a deep voice coming through the speakers.

“Morning, Mavens.”

“Good morning, Gabriel,” Rory says, all business.

“Whatcha got for us?” I ask.

“Eager as always, Josephine,” he says with a chuckle. All of the Mavens have talked a million times about what we think Gabriel looks like, because his voice is undeniably sexy, but we’ve never met the mysterious man we work for.

I’m on Team Old, Sophisticated Dude.

“I love a good overnight,” Rory says .

“Well, this one will probably be more than a night.”

I perk up, even more excited now.

“What do you know about Daydream Resorts?”

I rack my brain, trying to pinpoint the name, but Rory answers first.

“Luxury, all-inclusive resorts. Super exclusive, where stars go when they want to disappear and not be in the limelight, though there have been a few carefully planned PR leaks while there. I believe there are a dozen locations across the world.”

“Thirteen, now, as of last year. The newest location in the Florida Keys opened almost a year ago.” The screen blinks from black to a slideshow of images of the new resort, all white sand beaches, bright blue oceans, and a fully loaded spa.

I sit forward, giving the computer my rapt attention.

“Despite some pushback from some of the board members, Daydream Resorts went forward with opening the Keys location, and things have been going phenomenally. It’s one of the most profitable locations already and has been attended by dozens of celebrities and even more high-roller clients. ”

“But…” I say, because if there wasn’t a but , we wouldn’t be on this call.

“But there have been numerous instances occurring over the last few weeks, most recently one at the recreation building,” Gabriel says, and the screen changes before us to show a photo of a burned-down building on the beach.

Rory gasps, and I try to take note of the structure, unable to even identify much besides the sand it butts up to.

“Inside was over fifty thousand dollars’ worth of equipment that guests could use.

This is where the resort was keeping all of its outdoor equipment: canoes and stand-up paddleboards, that kind of thing.

It was burned to the ground yesterday, and this morning, reports came back citing arson. When combined with the other issues?—”

“Other issues?” Rory asks like an attentive student.

“Small things. All of the towels went missing for a day, only for them to be discovered locked in a storage room. Deliveries of food were cancelled without a word. Double booking or changing services at the spa. Small things that hindered the guest experience but weren’t a big deal.

Then, a few days ago, someone added almond oil to the mud bath and caused an allergic reaction. ”

I cringe at the image.

“So it’s escalating. Cameras?” I ask.

“We think whoever is doing it has access to the security footage because they either know which cameras to avoid, or the cameras are down for maintenance.”

I nod. “Security is in-house?”

“Yes.”

“Do we have access?” Rory asks.

“Unfortunately, with this assignment, you aren’t going in with any kind of real assistance.

The owner isn’t telling a soul, just in case intel gets into the wrong hands and the culprit backs off.

You’ll either have to find a way to get access to security footage yourself or hack your way in.

From what I’ve been told, it’s state-of-the-art. ”

“Sure it is,” Rory says with a smile. Where I can get intel from a suspect with a smile and chatting with people, Rory’s expertise is computers and security: there are few systems she can’t find a way into.

“Do we have any suspects?”

“No,” Gabriel says, and I nearly bounce in my seat at the idea of such a challenge.

I fucking love a challenge.

“No suspects?” Rory asks, confused because, typically, we get some kind of idea of where to focus, even if it’s incredibly vague.

“We’ve been hired by a CEO who wants to minimize any rash judgments. She wants you to go in as blind as you can, so her own biases or the biases of the other employees don’t impact your review.”

Basically, this is a dream assignment. A blank slate.

“But we think it’s an employee?” I ask.

“The owner does, yes. The sabotage is confined to this location and spans around a three-week period. No guests have stayed the entire duration.” We nod silently in understanding.

“That’s all I’ve got for you. I’ll send over a file after our call for you both to review, which will include details about flights and your stay.

Anything else you need, just let me know. ”

“Assignments?” Rory asks. With each mission a Maven undertakes, we have assignments to make it easier. Often, we’re some kind of employee since that is the easiest to blend in, but I’m kind of hoping for....

“Vacationers. You have two weeks, which is typical for high-end resort stays.”

I nod. The idea of being on vacation for work is absolutely thrilling.

“Good luck, Mavens,” he says, then the screen cuts out.

My inbox beeps with a new email as if on cue, and Rory’s does the same. I don’t bother opening mine yet; instead, I shift closer to Rory as she opens the email and the attached file with all the information about our assignment.

This is how every assignment goes. Gabriel gives us a rundown of what the client expects before ending the call, and we receive a file containing everything we might need, including players, employees, suspects, and their respective job titles.

It also helps us determine how and what to pack, which we do next.

After we read over the file, Rory heads to her place to pack while I do the same, and then we’re off to paradise.