Chapter Seventeen - Part Two

                                    

                                          
But somewhere along the line you'll slip up. And whether it's a lip stick stain on his collar, or a thong stuffed in the couch ... I'll find it. It'll only be a matter of time."
                          
"I'll see you at three-thirty," Sofia said in a bitter voice, and promptly hung up.
                          
"Boom," Addy said with a grin, after I had lowered the phone.
                          
"Got it coach," I said with triumph, slipping back into my seat.
                          
"So let me make sure I have this right. You're going to get that third, fake copy from Mr. Talbot, and give that to Sofia as the original instead?"
                          
"That's the plan. And I'll also give her the fake copy that Eve made as well. I'll keep the original and Sofia will give the others to Charles. If my grandfather is smart, he'll compare the two and realize that they're both fake. He'll think she was laundering money as well, and assume that she's just trying to throw Mathew under the bus to save her own skin. Or who knows? Maybe Charles is in on it with Mathew. Maybe Sofia will go to him and tell him what I've done and he'll figure out my true intentions. Either way, the whole truth about this scandalous mess is now exposed and Charles will have no choice but to dismiss both of them from the Leadership."
                          
"And this way, Ethan doesn't have to know that you were involved." Addy said, shaking her head slowly in wonder. "And of course Charles will wanna keep this under wraps because you have the original statement. So if he doesn't comply, then you could have him locked up for fraud along with the other two.  I have to say, that is absolutely brilliant. Really, it is."
                          
"Well, that's all in the category of best case scenario," I said, and heaved a long sigh. "I just hope it works. But in the meantime, I think I'll go visit the triplets at The Bakery today and finally get those ingredients. I planned on going a little later in the week, but I need an excuse to keep Ethan glued to me until I can find a way to fix Eve."
                          
"And what are you gonna do with him at three?" Addy asked. "You know him, he's probably gonna wanna spend the whole day with you. But it'd be crazy to take him with you to lunch with Sofia."
                          
"Don't worry about Ethan – leave him to me. But do me a favor: while I'm gone, find me some Ambien. A lot."
                          
*  *  *
                          
"So what am I?" Ethan asked, as he was getting into my car an hour later. "Your partner in crime now?" 
                          
"That's right buddy," I said, sunnily, looking at him from over the top of my sunglasses as I sat in the driver's seat of the Camaro. The GPS was going, already having calculated the exact route and distance to The Bakery. And the navigation system indicated we had plenty of time to talk while I drove, so I didn't hesitate in investigating if he'd been contacted by Eve yet.
                          
"So, anything eventful happen after the Gala last night?"
                          
"I think I could ask you the same thing." Ethan replied, crossing his arms and leaning back comfortably in his seat. 
                          
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, giving him a sharp look.
                          
"Mimi, I saw my Dad's paper this morning. There's this big picture of you on page three, and in it you were wearing the same dress that you had on last night. Why didn't you tell me that you had to rush off to go do an interview? If that's all you were worried about, you didn't have to hide it from me."
                          
"Oh, well, you know..." I said, feeling an immense amount of relief at my good luck. For the time being, it seemed Ethan was effectively thrown from the trail. "I like to deal with some things on my own. Turns out interviews kind of make me nervous..."
                          
And that was kind of true – the thought of standing on the other side of a recorder while Chandler asked me a bunch of personal questions did seem a little daunting.