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A Date With Destiny
I spent the next two days driving all around LA looking up homeless assistance organizations. I went from Santa Monica to Long Beach to East LA to the Valley. It’s not just Skid Row anymore. The few that were willing to talk to me told me that I was an idiot wasting their time. If I had a nickel…
I put on a nice clean shirt, shined my shoes, and drove to DTLA. The girl had told me she would make the reservation and all I needed to do was show up, look pretty, and pay the bill. I told her I could do that.
I walked into the restaurant and was met by a razor-thin hostess. She clearly didn’t eat the staff meals.
“Good evening, sir. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes. Party of two. It’s under Wonderland. First name Alison.”
I had chuckled when she had texted me the reservation name. Just another thing to put in our wedding vows.
“Yes, of course. The rest of your party is already seated.”
She led me to a table in the back at the corner of the building. Despite the high ceiling and the open space, it was the coziest table in the place. She was sitting down facing me. I could see she was wearing a purple satin blouse. Her fur coat was on the back of her chair. I could not tell if it was real or fake. Again, I don’t like farms. I thought I saw a smile cross her face when she saw me, but she quickly went back into neutral mode.
“Hi!”
“Hi! You look lovely!”
“Thanks. You’re rather pretty yourself. Nice shoe shine.”
“Boys are not supposed to be pretty. They’re supposed to be handsome.”
“Well, you’re pretty. Handsome is still to be determined.”
“I guess I’ll take that.” I sat down. As I sat down, I noticed she was wearing a black leather skirt. I tried to keep my cool.
“Your name is not really Alison, is it?”
“Ha! No. That’s just a name I like to use when making reservations. It’s fun.”
“Are you going to tell me your real name?”
“You already know it, Mr. Private Detective.”
Fuck. I was falling for her hard. Beautiful and smart.
“For the record, I am genuinely interested in you. I’m not just here trying to pump you for information about a case.”
“Maybe a little column A and a little column B? Come on, let’s get on with the business part and maybe after I can figure out if you are handsome or not.”
“Fair enough.”
There was no point trying to hide anything from her. The truth was, I didn’t want to hide anything from her. I told her about my meeting with her best friend’s dad and her best friend’s suspicions.
“Yeah, Eve has been acting a little odd lately. Well, odder than usual. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great friend, but she can be a lot.”
“That’s what her father said. What’s the deal?”
“Let’s just say there is a lot of her mother in her.”
“I take it that’s not a good thing?”
“No, it is not. Unless you are a yoga instructor.”
The waitress arrived and we ordered drinks. We went with the full churrasco experience. Her choice. By the end of the meal, I was full, getting the meat sweats, and completely in love. She still had room for dessert. Considering she matched me plate by plate, that was something.
The conversation had flowed well. After my initial disclosure, her apprehensions eased and we were actually able to talk freely and get to know each other. It was a wonderful date.
As we were finishing our coffees, I was trying to figure out my next move. She made it for me.
“Listen, I’ve really had a wonderful time. I’m glad we did this.”
“Me too.”
“But I’ve got to go.”
“Damn girl. You’re dining and dashing me?”
She laughed. “It’s not a dine and dash if we set up plans to see each other again.”
“Hockey? I think the Kings are on the road, but the Rangers are coming into town next week.”
“I was thinking of something else. Tomorrow night, Eve is having a dinner party at her father’s house. Just a small affair. You can be my guest. Show up at 7:30. Dress is semi-formal.”
“I didn’t know you grew up rich.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
She got up, grabbed her coat, and walked towards the exit. I turned around and watched her leave, hoping she would turn around. Just as I was giving up hope, I thought I caught her looking at me through a reflection in the mirror. Clever girl.
***
As I was driving back from DTLA, I was considering the information that Destiny had given me in between daydreams about her thighs. The weird shit she was referring to was the fact that she didn’t really do anything at work. The doors were almost always locked. The few visitors that came in were delivery men. She signed for the packages and put them in the back room. After a while, couriers would arrive to pick up the packages and take them… somewhere. She had no idea where.
The phone only rang when marketers called. On the odd occasion when someone asked for someone in the organization, her job was to take a message. The message was then written down on paper and given to the next courier that arrived to pick up a package. That was pretty much it.
It was pretty obvious that the office was a front, but she had no idea for what. The money was good, for now, but Destiny was wondering if she wasn’t getting caught up in something that she didn’t want to be involved in.
That made two girls in that situation and they were best friends. And one was the daughter of the founder of the organization. No fucking way that’s a coincidence.
I had been so caught up in Destiny’s mien that I had completely forgotten that my client didn’t want me to meet his daughter. Well, that’s not quite true. He didn’t want me to be seen talking to her. If I talked to her at his own house, that’s not exactly public, is it?
I thought about giving my client the heads up that I was coming to his house for dinner tomorrow, but then I reflected that his reaction upon seeing me would probably tell me a lot. I decided to keep it to myself and see how things went. What’s the worst that could happen? I didn’t have the right hue for experiments. That didn’t mean they couldn’t make an exception, though.
***
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