And the more powerful she perceives you to be, the wilder she gets.

It’s something to see.

And feel.

She’s a beautiful, sensual woman. Not in Callie’s league, as I’ve said, but a solid ten, nevertheless.

When she’s not crunching Lucky Charms.

“I don’t know how to conduct a board meeting,” she says.

“I’ll run the meeting as your advisor, but don’t worry. They’ll know you’re in charge.”

“Your presence at the meeting will only convince them you’re in charge,” Gwen says.

Callie and I exchange a look that ends with Callie lifting an eyebrow as if to say, she’s smarter than she appears.

And she is.

You don’t want to underestimate Gwen just because strange comments occasionally escape her cereal-stained mouth.


 

 

 

 

7.

 

 

 

WE’RE IN THE car. Gwen’s wearing the single most seductive dress I’ve ever seen. It’s an open-shouldered silk and satin blend that drapes in the front all the way to her navel! The color is an intense, in-your-face red, and the dress is obscenely short. A good ten inches above her knees before she sat in the car, which means there’s a lot of thigh riding in the passenger seat of my rental. Even from my angle I can see that Gwen has managed to perfectly match her panties to her dress, which has long been her fashion hallmark.

“Gwen.”

She turns toward me.

“How would you describe the color of your dress?”

She looks at me like I’m a moron, then speaks slowly, as if talking to a foreign child who barely understands English. “In our country, we call this color red.”

“Funny. I’m actually wondering about the shade of red.”

“What about it?”

“Is there a name for it?”

“Thinking of buying one for your girlfriend?”

I frown.

“It’s called the new red,” she says.

I take another peek. “It’s a hell of a dress! The most outrageous one I’ve ever seen.”

“The dress is up here. Follow the sound of my voice.”

Bottom line, it’s a shockingly short, kick-ass red dress, and she’s wearing it well.

“You think the board members will approve?”

“If they don’t, I’ll shoot them.”

Without actually saying so, I’ve led Callie and Gwen to believe I’m driving Gwen to Ropic Industries. In reality I’m driving her to PhySpa, the plastic surgery center and spa that used to belong to Ropic’s former medical director, Dr. Phyllis Willis. After Phyllis and half her staff were found brutally murdered, I managed to purchase PhySpa for pennies on the dollar. Though local police have kept the crime scene tape in place, I happen to know they’ve concluded their investigation, and doubt they’ll be back. With their permission, I hired a half-dozen security personnel to keep an eye on things until the cops officially release the premises to me. They guard the outside of the building, and were only allowed inside on one occasion, and that was to help the delivery guys carry the two large freezers I ordered to be placed in the spa.

Why do I need freezers in the spa?

That’s another story for another time.

In a month I intend to re-open the surgical center and spa, under the direction of Dr. Eamon Petrovsky, who headed the team of surgeons that reconstructed my face a couple years ago. I plan to call it Vegas Moon, if that meets with Gwen’s approval.

How did I get the board members to agree to a secret meeting at PhySpa? I told them Gwen Peters was ready to discuss her role with the company, now that her husband was dead. I told them she was considering two possibilities: accepting a cheap buyout for her controlling interest, or using her inheritance to make a major investment in Ropic Industries. Knowing either event would stimulate their greed glands, I explained the meeting should be held in secret, away from their headquarters. I told them my driver, Jeff Tuck, would pick them up in a nearby restaurant parking lot and bring them here.

Of course, they probably felt funny ducking under the crime scene tape and entering the back door, just as Gwen and I are doing now.

Jeff Tuck holds the door for us, and we enter. I nod at Joe Penny, who’s standing just inside. Jeff’s my eccentric L.A. operative, and Joe Penny’s the young bomb-builder and computer whiz I hired to upgrade the surveillance system and wire the building. Thanks to Joe Penny and my unlimited budget, PhySpa is a veritable fortress. I know, because I’ve been living here quietly since two days after I killed Dr.