Chapter 34

“We’re on,” Marc said over the phone. He was in his office - he hadn’t wanted to interrupt his quiet night with Felicity to text Astrid, and this felt like a more personal communication than a text anyway.

“She consented?” Astrid asked, her warm smile clear over the call.

“She has,” Marc said. “We can discuss particulars and schedule the date later, if you don’t mind. For now, I was wondering if you would be willing to forward the information you gained.”

“Mmm, Marc,” Astrid said, her voice a little husky as she revelled in her mild amount of power over him. “You know I work with payment up front.”

“Astrid,” Marc said sternly.

“But I know you’re good for it,” Astrid followed up. “Should I run it down to you myself, or have it delivered to your little detective friend?”

It wasn’t a surprise to Marc that Astrid would know about the Detective. Likely she’d already hacked Sinead’s personal social media accounts at the very least and done some snooping. It was a sort of collateral damage to keeping a woman like Astrid on a regular retainer. Marc was still a little proud of himself that Astrid didn’t know about his arrangement with Felicity; that was only between the two of them and would remain that way.

“Does it all fit onto a thumb drive?” Marc asked.

“It does,” Astrid replied. “It’s almost entirely text and banking documents. No audio or visual mistakes for your boy. At least in his cloud or personal records. Lots of photos of naked women though - he’s quite the playboy. And he had a particularly hot little housewife.”

“Just messenger the drive over please, Astrid,” Marc said. “You can seduce the housewife once the main thrust of the Detective’s efforts land, alright?”

“Hmmhmmhmm,” she chuckled in a hum. “Tu me connais trop bien. Wouldn’t it be delicious, though?”

“You have your games and I have mine,” Marc said, shaking his head lightly. In all likelihood she didn’t mean it or would lose interest before the time came. “Unless there is anything else?”

There were other matters to discuss, but they were more on the up-and-up in terms of her regular work for Marc. Almost half an hour passed before Marc hung up with Astrid and had time to text Sinead.

‘The information will be in my hands soon. Are you ready for our next adventure?’

Marc didn’t have long to wait until she responded five minutes later.

‘That depends on how good the information is, ‘ Sinead replied. ‘Your ‘adventures’ are a little much.’

Marc smirked to himself and quickly typed his next text. ‘You can always refuse to play the game, ma petite rebelle. Make sure you are free Thursday evening.’

‘Done.’ Sinead agreed.

His smile didn’t slip as he left his office for lunch, walking a block away from the building in the cold of a Toronto February to reach the little deli he liked. He had his purchase and was just sitting down to eat, deciding his plans for Sinead, when the bell on the deli door jingled and Marc had to raise an eyebrow.

“Detective,” he said, standing back up straight. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.”

Jules, dressed in a tailored pantsuit that gave her a feminine charm without showering off her assets, was tightly laced up with her hair in a bun and her posture straight. “Fancy meeting you here, Marc,” she said, though she’d obviously planned it.

“Would you care to join me?” he asked, gesturing to the other seat at his table.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d be interested in going for a ride with me,” she said. “A courtesy, so we can clear up some things.”

He’d expected a phone call, or some other form of summons, if Jules was going to follow through on protecting Sinead’s plan for him as a contact. Marc had certainly not been expecting to get picked up again. At least this time it wasn’t him getting pulled out of his office in front of his staff. Explaining away one such instance had been manageable. Two would cause irreparable repair as the rumours would gain more traction.

“How long of a courtesy might this be?” Marc asked. “I do need to get back to work, Detective.”

Jules smiled a little lopsidedly, the beautiful Asian woman looking like she could have fit into any cop drama as an experienced detective who used sarcasm to deflect the things around them. “I thought you were the boss, Marc. Doesn’t that mean you can take off whenever you want?”

“If that’s how your bosses work, it explains some of the issues with crime in the city,” Marc said with a little sigh. “May I at least bring my sandwich?”

“Of course,” Jules said. “Just no eating in my car.”