Page 24 of Nemesis

Two could play that game.

I stayed put, maintaining eye contact, until the back end of the car grazed my knees.

After putting the car in park and turning off the engine, she pried the car door open and exited.

“Move,” she ordered.

I took a deep breath, repeating to myself that murdering your client was never a good idea, no matter how appealing the thought might be.

“Where are we going?”

“Weare going nowhere.Ihave to go pick a gown for the gala.”

“Keys, Mrs. Morales,” I insisted.

“You don’t need to go with me. I’m sure you have better things to do than go dress shopping. It’s rather boring, I assure you.”

“I find dress shopping quite riveting actually. Now, the keys. I don’t like repeating myself.”

She stood there, glaring at me. After a beat, her face morphed into realization, knowing I wouldn’t budge, and she threw the pair of keys in my direction.

“Good girl,” I whispered under my breath, my lips tugging at the corner once she brushed behind me, making her way to the passenger’s side.

I followed suit, getting behind the wheel. Once inside, I turned to her, while her nose was buried in her phone, her fingers typing away.

“Where to?”

We drove in silence, the only sound coming from the tapping of fingers on her phone. Twenty minutes later, we parked across the street, climbed out of the car, and made our way toward Anaya, a small boutique located in central Bemes.

The moment we walked through the door, two saleswomen greeted us with their best customer service smiles.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Morales. It’s so nice to see you again,” the taller of the two said, greeting Olivia by giving her a side-kiss to her cheek.

Olivia placed a lazy smile on her face, greeting her back. “You too, Maria.”

Maria then turned her attention to me, granting me the same smile. “You must be her husband,” she said, extending her hand toward me.

“No,” both Olivia and I responded firmly.

I cleared my throat, enveloping her hand in a firm handshake. “I’m her bodyguard.”

She laughed shyly, a blush creeping up her neck as she apologized. “I’m so sorry, I just thought—”

Her assistant inserted herself by cutting her off, interrupting the tense moment. “Care for any refreshments?” she asked, and we both shook our heads in response.

“Then, let’s go look at what we put aside for you,” Maria said, placing her hand on Olivia’s upper back, guiding her to where the preselected dresses were hanging from a rack next to the fitting rooms.

I locked the front door behind me, casting my gaze around the store. It was empty apart from us, most likely a courtesy from Morales. He’d probably rented the space for the day so his wife could shop in peace.

As their chatter faded away in the background, I took in the space. Despite the boutique looking rather small from the outside, it was actually quite spacious inside.

Long black curtains were hanging from a black steel structure, framing the changing rooms. There was a large vintage mirror leaning on the wall next to them, and a small platform placed right in front of it, a crystal chandelier dangling from above.

A blue velvet couch was sitting in the middle of the room, with a dark wooden table placed in front of it, a pile of various magazines stacked on top.

The building had two exits. One at the front and the other at the back, which I’d noticed when we’d walked in. Only one security camera covered the store. Despite having large windows adorning the front, the displays were hiding the majority of the front street, which was useful to keep prying eyes away.

We stayed in for what felt like hours while she tried on dress after dress. The shop’s assistant, Sarah, I'd learned later on, kept asking me if I wanted to sit and I politely declined every time. I knew if I sat on that plush couch, I would most likely fall asleep and no way in hell was I giving Olivia any ammunition to use against me.