My phone rings again, and the name Molly lights up the screen.
“I know,” I answer, knowing that Aaron would have called her too.
“He’s on fucking Grindr?” she shrieks.
“I know.”
“You do me a favor. Tonight when you see Paul’s pencil dick, you grind it to a pulp with your fucking shoe.”
I giggle. “I’m hoping not to see it, Moll.”
“I can’t believe this shit,” she snaps in outrage.
“I know.”
“Aaron is way too good for him.”
“I know. Are you coming on our bust-a-move mission?”
“I can’t. I’ve got the kids. Wear a GoPro strapped to your head so I can see what happens.”
“Can’t you drop the kids with their dad?” I ask. “This is an emergency.”
“No. He’s on a date with a whore bag.”
I giggle again. “Honestly, so much shit going on around here.”
“I know,” she snaps. “Okay, I’m calling you every hour. Answer your phone.” She hangs up.
An hour later, Aaron leads me through the nightclub by the hand as he scans the club. It’s small and dark, and the music is the dance-club type. The beat is tantric.
“Do you see him?” I call.
“Nope.” He narrows his eyes as he looks around.
“What are you going to do if you do see him?” I ask.
“End it.”
“Why don’t you just end it anyway?” I frown.
“I need proof.”
“The email is the proof, Aaron,” I huff.
“I knew he was up to something,” he fumes. “That fucking asshole has spent the last week in my bed, and he’s trolling Grindr for sex.”
“Were you in a relationship, like full-on?”
“No, he said he didn’t want a boyfriend but that he wanted to have sex with me only.”
I frown. That sounds very familiar. “So you’ve been monogamous with him all along?”
“Of course I have. I don’t fuck around.”
I scrunch up my nose in disgust. “Honestly, kick this douche to the curb.”
“I will. As soon as I find him.”
I roll my eyes and feel my phone vibrate in my bag. I dig it out. “Hello, Molly.”
“What’s happening?”
“We can’t find him,” I reply as I look around.
“Go and sit in the corner out of view, and wait for them to get there. Don’t stand where they can see you.”
“Oh, right.” I put my hand over the phone. “Molly says we should sit somewhere out of sight so he doesn’t see us.”
Aaron points at me. “Great idea.” He grabs me by the hand and leads us over to a booth. “I’ll sit here. You go and get drinks,” he snaps as he slides into the seat.
I roll my eyes. “Are your kids really fucking home?” I snap to Molly. “How did I get stuck with this job?”
She laughs. “I’ll call back in an hour.” Then she hangs up.
“What do you want to drink?” I ask.
“A pink flamingo.”
I look at him deadpan. “That is the gayest drink I ever heard of.”
“Because I’m gay.” He widens his eyes in exasperation; he’s in no mood for my jokes tonight. “Just get it.”
I giggle and head to the bar to wait in line.
“Hey, Foster,” I hear a man’s voice call from behind. I turn and see Jake from the investigation team.
“Oh, hi.” I smile. “What are you doing here?”
He holds up his drink. “Drinking.”
“Obviously.” I smirk.
His eyes scan up and down my body in my black dress. “Wow, you look hot.”
I smile bashfully. This is awkward. “Thanks.”
“Want to come dance?”
“Um.” I frown. Oh God. “No, thanks anyway. I’m here with Aaron.”
“Oh, where is he?” He looks around.
Oh shit, now I’ve done it. “He’s in a booth at the back.”
“I’ll go say hi.” He disappears off in that direction.
Oh great. Now we are going to have to act normal, when all we want to do is Paul-hate and spy.
I get our drinks and head back to the table and find Aaron and Jake deep in conversation about work.
Hmm. I wonder. Does he think Aaron’s involved and is milking him for information? I sip my drink as they talk, and I do an internal assessment of him. He’s actually quite good looking, with sandy hair, a square jaw, and dimples, and he has a great laugh. I’ve never noticed him before because whenever Jameson is in the same room, all men pale in comparison.