The Infamous Frankie Lorde 2, page 14
“Right,” Ollie said, still smiling like a goofball.
“And Ollie?”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“French men don’t smile that much,” I said.
Ollie’s face fell into a frown.
“Right,” he said.
“Better,” I answered. “Remember, ABC.”
“One, two, three?” Ollie guessed slowly, scrunching up his face.
“No,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Always Be in Character.”
“Right,” he said, nodding his head. Then in his horrible French-American accent, he added, “I am André, a boring, annoyed French man. I am Brigeet’s assistant and pretty much hate my life.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed. “I treat my assistants well!”
Ollie shrugged unaffected. “Eh.”
“Watch out or I’ll fire you,” I teased as we arrived at the main house and I parked the cart.
We walked up to the front door and went inside without knocking. Ever since the twins had begun filming, they’d instituted an open-door policy. As in, they weren’t going to come and open the door for anyone. Not with that many people milling around at least.
People were expected to just let themselves in.
So, we did.
Once inside, we went up to the first crew member we saw and asked where they were filming for the day. The girl, who was sitting in the middle of the living room untangling cables, pointed us in the direction of the backyard and then went back to her task.
Lights were set up in nearly every corner of the house, making it feel much more like we were on a very elaborate set than in somebody’s house. People sat around tapping away on their phones or talking into their walkies to other crew members posted around the property.
“Perfect timing,” I muttered to Ollie as we walked back outside and into the chilly air. “They must be on a break from filming.”
“Or they haven’t started yet,” Ollie offered. “You know how long it takes them to get glammed up.”
“Good point,” I said. “Well, let’s see what we’re working with today.”
We walked up to the twins, who were lounging in folding chairs that had their names across the backs. Emma was wrapped in what looked like a furry, wearable blanket, her cheeks rosy and eyes focused on her phone in her gloved hands. Sam sat in the other chair, his legs crossed, trying to find an angle he liked with his phone’s camera.
“This light is washing me out,” Sam complained, dropping his arms into his lap. “I look like I should be in the hospital.”
“California has the best hospitals,” Emma said dreamily. “Remember the suite they put Mom in at that hospital in LA? It was better than the Four Seasons.”
“Sick people bum me out,” Sam muttered, holding his phone back up to his face and moving his head around to find an angle that worked.
Finally, he sighed loudly and looked around until he found a crew member working nearby. “You! Yeah, you. Hey, man, can you call your buddies and tell them to get makeup out here? I need them to fix this whole situation.”
Sam twirled his finger around his face, not bothering to wait for a reply from the guy, before collapsing back into his seat.
“I think you both look ravishing,” I said in Brigeet’s accent, walking up to them and taking hold of Emma’s hands earnestly before leaning in and giving her a kiss on both cheeks. I did the same with Sam before taking a step back.
“I didn’t know you were coming today,” Emma said. She didn’t sound unhappy, exactly. Maybe a little surprised. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever come back.”
“Ah, yes. So sorry,” I answered. “It turns out running a magazine from outside the country is not so easy a feat.”
“I can only imagine,” Emma said, looking more closely at me now.
My instincts were to shrivel up under her scrutiny, but it’s not what Brigeet would do, so I stood a little taller instead. I was wearing a full-length turtleneck sweater dress today. The sleeves of which extended past my wrists and over my hands with chic thumbholes. And while it was no doubt fashionable, the reason I’d chosen it was because it covered up the wound on my hand, as well as all the other little scratches and scrapes I’d gotten while visiting the exotics.
I’d topped it off with some knee-high boots and my signature sunglasses and knew that no one would be able to see past the disguise.
“That outfit is life,” Emma purred. “But ten minutes with it on and I’d be covered in dog fur.”
She pulled open her blanket coat and Lady Godiva popped her head out. As soon as she saw me, she began to growl.
“Now, now,” Emma said softly, petting the spot between the dog’s eyes. Within seconds, she’d calmed down and fallen asleep.
“So, do we need to talk about the drama?” Emma asked me after a few seconds.
Here we go. She was about to bust us for sneaking around. I braced myself for the confrontation.
“Drama?” I asked, coolly. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Emma’s eyes flitted over to Sam briefly, but he didn’t seem to be listening to us at all.
“Oh, I was sure that you’d heard,” Emma said languidly. “Turns out there’s another doghouse being made that’s bigger than our original plans. So, we did some creative problem solving and…we’re adding another story!”
“Sensationnel,” I exclaimed, though I wanted to roll my eyes.
How many rescue animals could’ve been saved with the money they were spending on another story of a doghouse for two dogs?
The whole thing was absolutely ridiculous.
“What great news!” I said, matching Emma’s smile. “André, why don’t you go on over to the construction site and find out what changes have been made to the original plans.”
“Hey, I’ll head over there with you, man,” Sam said, surprising all of us.
It hadn’t seemed like he’d been listening, but apparently he had. I’d have to remember that in the future. Say the wrong thing around him and it could screw things up royally.
“Uh, oui,” Ollie said, his eyes widening at me.
“There’s this construction chick over there that I’ve been trying to talk to,” Sam said, straightening his sweater and running his hand through his hair.
Ollie pursed his lips at me, before following in Sam’s footsteps down to where the crew was busy putting up one of the walls of the structure.
“Well then,” Emma said, turning back to me. “Should we get going then?”
“Going?” I asked, confused.
Emma gathered the blankets around her body and stood up, dog and all.
“I thought we’d start that interview for the magazine now…,” she said. “No better time than the present, right?”
I looked over at where Ollie was standing, his back to me and already engaging in a conversation with a few of the workers. He was busy with his part of the plan and I needed to get on with mine.
I nodded in agreement.
“Very true,” I said, and got up to follow her. “Where shall we do this then?”
Emma looked back over her shoulder at me as she climbed the steps to the house.
“Oh, I’ve got a place in mind,” she said slyly, and then disappeared inside.
Entry Twenty-Eight
“And this is my mindfulness studio,” Emma said, pushing open a door on our right with considerable fanfare.
I poked my head inside the space and nodded.
It was a nearly empty room, not unlike a typical workout space or dance studio. One of the walls was all mirrors and there were shelves in the corner with towels, exercise mats, and bottles of water. In another section of the room, there was just a pile of pillows and mats. A tiny table in the center held a variety of aromatherapy bottles, a diffuser, essential oils, and lotions.
“I like to come in here when I want to escape and just basically get centered,” Emma said calmly. Before closing the door again, she bowed to the empty room. “Namaste.”
Okay.
We left the room and continued down the hallway.
“And down here we have something really special,” she said, suddenly jumping up and down like a little kid.
“I can hardly wait,” I said, forcing enthusiasm into my voice.
Emma had taken the last fifteen minutes to give me the grand tour of her side of the house. And while it was indeed, impressive—there was a theater, a nightclub, and a full spa setup, complete with a mudroom—it was also a huge time suck.
We came to a door at the end of the hallway and Emma took a key from around her neck and stuck it in the lock.
Well, what’s this, then? A secret locked door? Now we’re talking.
“Are you ready?” she asked, creating a buildup I really hoped paid off in the end.
Before turning the key, the heiress brought her hand up to the keypad near the frame and typed in six numbers. When the light on the pad turned from red to blue, she turned the key in the lock and then pushed the heavy door open.
“Should I be worried?” I joked around as I looked inside. It was pitch black. I could only see as far as the light in the hallway would shine.
“Not if you’re with me,” she said, smiling.
Emma reached out into the dark and suddenly lights sprang on, one by one, all the way down the length of the room. Suddenly I could see that it was just another white hallway. There were no pictures, no pieces of art. Nothing. Just white everywhere.
I started to take a step forward, but Emma stopped me.
“Not yet,” she warned, placing her palm firmly on my shoulder. Then she handed me a pair of ugly sunglasses.
“It’s no worry. I’ve got my own,” I said, raising and lowering my sunglasses over my eyes.
“Just put them on,” she said, sounding bored.
I turned my head and did as I was told, only to be rewarded with something I never imagined.
Under the lens of the glasses, I could see glowing red lasers. Dozens of them. Low to the ground, as high as my head. They went diagonal, straight across and a few even split the middle of the room.
They were everywhere, and I would’ve walked right into them if Emma hadn’t warned me.
I looked over at her and she looked absolutely giddy. Like a kid on Christmas morning.
I could tell she wanted me to be impressed.
And I was.
But I was also excited. Because, of course, lasers had to mean there was something important on the other side of the hallway. You don’t install an alarm system like that for no reason.
“Are you hiding something crazy in there?” I teased. “Because if you are, our readers want to know.”
“Hiding something, yes. Crazy…well, it’s all relative, right?” Emma asked, waving her hand in the air.
She pulled out her phone, and after moving her thumbs around in rapid motion, I watched the lasers disappear.
The alarm was controlled from her cell.
“Cool, huh?” she asked me before leading the way down the hallway and toward the room ahead.
I followed willingly, curious what was inside.
If I’d known, I might not have followed.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Brigeet,” Emma said casually, stopping just inside.
That was when I heard the growl.
And then I let out a shriek as something punctured my leg.
Looking down in horror, I saw that there was a tiny tiger trying to use my leg as a chew toy. As a reflex, I shook my leg like it was on fire and the little ball of fur let go and scampered across the room to its other buddies.
I turned my head in shock to stare at Emma, who was standing there, one hand on her hip, the other holding Lady Godiva.
“How’s your hand doing after visiting our little petting zoo the other day?” she asked, her face blank. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
Entry Twenty-Nine
I was so shaken by the turn of events that I couldn’t decide who was more dangerous right now: the tigers or Emma.
My mouth had gone dry and I had to swallow hard before attempting to answer her.
“I knew you were a lover of exotic animals too!” I exclaimed finally, thinking fast.
Emma blinked at me. She obviously hadn’t expected me to say this.
“Too?” she asked skeptically.
“Oui,” I said, forcing myself to walk across the room, bypassing small cages along the way.
There was a long rip in my sweater dress from where the baby had latched on, but I think I’d managed to get away without it clawing a hole through my skin. Which was good, because I didn’t want to find out what they would do if they smelled blood.
“As soon as Mr. Miles told me that you’d supplied him with his beloved tiger, I knew that I’d found a kindred spirit.”
My head was screaming for me to run away, but I needed to keep my cover, so I forced myself to bend down and pet the baby tiger.
“Christian told you that he got his tiger from us?” Emma asked, sounding a little peeved. “That…blabbermouth. He’s usually better at keeping secrets than that. I guess Karma gets you in the end, after all.”
And what will Karma have in store for you?
“That whole situation with the police was an absolute tragedy,” I said, shaking my head. “I can only hope your other clients don’t suffer the same fate.”
Emma went to the door and placed Lady Godiva on the floor, the dog running on her tippy toes back down the hallway to safety.
I wanted to do the same.
“We’ll be making sure our other clients are more careful in the future,” Emma added.
“A smart decision,” I said, nodding. “One bad apple could bring down the whole tree. A tree that I’m keenly interested in hearing about. Possibly being a part of…”
I let my words trail off. It had dawned on me over the past couple of days that the only way I’d be able to take down their whole operation was if I were a part of it.
Or at least I needed them to think I was a part of it.
Emma raised her eyebrow at me, as she took in what I was implying.
I decided she needed a tiny nudge in the right direction.
“I mean, if you would like to continue your venture on your own, best wishes,” I said, turning my back like I didn’t care either way. “But if you want to take things to the next level, I believe I could help you…go international.”
“Sam and I have been talking about how to step things up,” Emma said, chewing on her lip thoughtfully. “Grandfather is always saying that we think too small. And it’s true that Huntington Diamonds only hit a billion when they expanded.”
I just nodded as I moved around the room. I could tell that I didn’t need to do anything else to convince her. She was going to convince herself.
“So, this is where you keep the babies, then?” I asked her as I ran my hand across one of the cages.
“Huh?” Emma asked, lost in her thoughts.
“You obviously keep the others out on your property with that zookeeper of yours,” I said, making a face.
“Um, yeah,” Emma said. When she saw my face, she sighed. “I know, he’s sort of…rough around the edges, but Cap’n Bob is good with the animals and is loyal.”
“Is that how you knew we’d discovered your hidden zoo?”
Emma nodded.
“But I don’t think he meant to rat you out or anything,” she said. “Bob just mentioned that a couple who spoke a different language had shown up. You were the only ones I could think of.”
“And you brought me here to see if I was a friend or foe?” I suggested.
“Something like that,” Emma said, a smile growing across her face.
“And how did I do?” I asked, as if I already knew the answer.
“I’ll let you know once I figure it out,” she said carefully.
“Fair enough,” I answered. “Tell me about all of this.”
I motioned to the room around us.
I thought she might protest, but her face seemed to light up as I asked.
“This is the Jungle Room,” she said proudly. “All the plants are native to the animals’ original homes, and the temperature is set to create the perfect environment for them.”
“Animals?” I asked, having only seen the tigers. “What else do you have hidden around this palatial estate?”
“Oh, you’re going to love this!” Emma said and practically skipped over to the opposite side of the room. With all the fanfare she could muster, she pulled back some oversized greenery, revealing a ginormous glass encasement.
“Well, what do we have here?” I continued in my French-American accent.
I took a few steps closer and stuck my face up against the glass. And then I searched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move.
No.
I saw something slither.
And then suddenly it was flying toward my head from the other side of the glass and I was jolting backward.
What was with these animals attacking me!
I looked at the terrarium from a distance now and saw the giant snake’s head moving back and forth slowly as its beady eyes followed me.
“What a…magnificent creature,” I said, trying not to show how utterly creeped out I was. “It is a…”
“It’s a yellow anaconda,” Emma supplied. “Isn’t she just the cutest!”
Emma stepped toward the glass and tickled it with her fingers as if the snake could feel it. I’m not sure if it was because the snake recognized her or it had smelled my fear, but the giant reptile didn’t seem to have the same visceral reaction to her than she had me.
“I can see why you call it the Jungle Room,” I said, laughing nervously.
“This was an idea I had a few years back,” Emma said, going over to an oversized ottoman and laying down. There were scratches all over it. Rips in the velvet, where stuffing was peeking out. The idea that the same could be done to my skin didn’t make me any more comfortable to be in there. “I used to only bring the baby tigers out for parties, but then I figured why not let them live in here? I mean, until they get too big and I have to sell them, of course.”
