Perfect Betrayal Read online

  Reese and Taylor emerged, both wearing oversize sunglasses and toting logo-emblazoned purses. Wavy blond hair fell to the middle of Taylor’s back, just where her waist pulled in. Levi’s eyes slid around her curves and up to her face, getting distracted by the movement of full pink lips as she spoke to her friend.

  “Please tell me Taylor Hudson is eighteen,” Levi said into his mic.

  “Yeah,” Kyle answered. “As of January. Why? You thinking of mixing business and pleasure?”

  “No. Just feeling guilty for my thoughts. Damn.”

  “Who wears shoes like that in the middle of the day?” Kyle asked.

  “Shoes? I can’t get past those legs,” Levi mumbled.

  Both girls passed him without a second glance, and he was thankful for it. It was best to remain undetected and off their radar.

  “Fantastic ass,” Kyle said.

  “Which one?” Levi asked.

  “Excuse me?” Taylor said, stopping and turning to face Levi.

  “Uh, I said this is no fun. I’m struggling with these lights,” Levi answered from his spot on the ground. He gestured to the mess of light fixtures.

  Taylor turned toward him slowly. There was nothing timid or apprehensive in the way her body moved, and it wiped out all efforts to look away. She placed a hand on her hip and leaned over so that their faces were at the same level.

  “Don’t worry, New Guy. You’ll get it.” She smiled at him and headed for the driveway with a lot more sway to her hips. Temptation is the fire that brings up the scum of the heart.

  Levi breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on his heels. His pulse was thunderous, and he knew it was from more than the summer heat.

  * * *

  “I told you he was hot. Did you see his tats?” Taylor said to her friend.

  “Are you serious?” Reese shot back. “Taylor, he’s the help. And he is so weird. He probably got those in prison, you know.” Both girls climbed into Reese’s car and buckled up.

  “Mmm. I would lick the skin off that man.”

  “And probably catch some kind of disease,” Reese said, rolling her eyes.

  “How old do you think he is?” Taylor asked.

  “Does it matter?”

  “No,” she answered. “He’s fuckhot.”

  “First, that’s not a real word,” Reese said as she turned the car around and headed down the driveway. “Second, you’re delusional and have no standards. He’s the handyman, for Christ’s sake.”

  “Like your standards are any better. At least the guys I want are born in the same decade as me.”

  “Hey! I can’t help it if I find older men attractive. Besides, they’re good to practice on until I find my trophy husband.”

  “There are older men and then there are fossils. Gross.”

  “Mature, desperate men with bottomless pockets are not gross. Your maintenance man is gross. What will you do after you guys hook up? It might get a little awkward when he comes to change a lightbulb or unclog your drain.”

  “Girl, he can unclog my drain anytime,” Taylor answered.

  “Be serious!” Reese said. “Not to mention your father would fucking die.”

  “Oh, that’s reason enough for me.” Both girls laughed, but it felt empty.

  Taylor’s phone buzzed and she fished it out of her purse, checking the screen.

  “Yes?” she answered, already annoyed.

  “Hi, Taylor. It’s Nadine.” The woman’s voice was too sweet, sickening.

  “And what message would my father like to relay through his personal assistant today?”

  Nadine huffed before continuing, her cheerful attitude unchanged. “Mr. Hudson wanted me to remind you of the museum gala tomorrow night.”

  “Right.” Taylor’s grip tightened on her phone as she remembered another social event she’d be forced to attend in her mother’s absence.

  “It’s at seven o’clock at the Four Seasons, downtown. He’ll be working late, so I’ll have a car pick you up.”

  “Of course he’s working late. Is that all?” Taylor asked, throwing an annoyed glance at Reese.

  “Yes. Have a great day, sweetie.”

  She rolled her eyes and threw her phone back into her purse after ending the call.

  “Nadine the Slut Machine?” Reese asked, using the nickname invented during a drunken night of girl bonding. Taylor nodded.

  Taylor wasn’t sure where all the hostility for her father’s number-one employee came from. Henry always had some young girl around, sticking it to her at the office or in some four-star hotel. However, this woman bothered Taylor more than any of the previous ones. Maybe it was her tiresome positive attitude or her bargain knockoff shoes. Whatever it was, the mere mention of the woman’s name irritated her.

  Taylor’s therapist said that she was unjustly misdirecting her anger. He pointed out that Taylor was disappointed with her father for being absent from her life and for constantly cheating on her mother. He insisted that she was taking out her frustrations on that poor innocent woman. Nadine made her whore bed. As far as Taylor was concerned, she could lie in it.

  “So, Beau was totally wasted last night?” Reese asked.

  “Yeah. Don’t worry, I took care of him.”

  “I bet you did.”

  Taylor sighed and closed her eyes. The kind of relationship they had was supposed to be simple. It was all about pleasure and no emotions. On her end, anyway. She couldn’t help but wonder if she could ever learn to love him, or if there was something more out there just waiting to grab hold of her.

  “I’m kind of tired of playing this game with him. Maybe I should find a new man.”

  “You’d cheat on Beau?”

  “You can’t cheat on someone you’re not dating, Reese. He’s my friend, and my father hates his father. What we have is a purely physical relationship.”

  “I don’t get you, Taylor. You could have any guy. Why do you string him along?” Reese turned onto the highway and pointed them toward South Coast Plaza.

  “I don’t. He knows how things are.”

  Taylor laid her head against the seat and pushed down the guilt that tried to take hold. She knew what Beau wanted. He wanted a commitment from her, but it wasn’t something she was willing to give. And even though she was happy to keep him to herself for now, a small piece of her worried about her lifelong friend. Their relationship was too off balance, and eventually he would get hurt. The thought alone created a lump in her throat. Though she didn’t love him like he did her, she didn’t want to cause him pain.

  She pondered the idea of being with just one person for the rest of her life. The notion left her feeling smothered and miserable. With no real role models, Taylor never saw the appeal of monogamous relationships. Even before she was having sex, she had two or three boys waiting around to carry her books or ask her to the dance. She never made promises to any of them, always honest about her intentions. Those guys all wanted a piece of her and were willing to get it on her terms.

  After puberty hit, Taylor’s awkward, skinny body filled out. Her sharp angles became curves, and every boy seemed to take notice. It was then she learned she could use her body to get anything she wanted. Boys were easy. A touch here or a smile there, and they were putty in her hands.

  * * *

  “All right, Kyle. I’m finished with the lights, and the Hudson girl is out of the house. Want to work on some layout?”

  “Sounds good. Give me a minute to pull up this software and let Crystal know to loop the current video on all cameras.”

  With the next item on his list being a broken fixture in the master bathroom, Levi finally had an excuse to work inside. He cleaned up his mess before making his way to the front door.

  “I’m heading in. Are we go?” Levi asked as he opened the door.

  “Crystal, here. Video is a go. I took a few seconds of feed from the empty rooms and will loop them until you are finished searching.”

  “Use the digital laser measurer
to get the size and then a sweeping visual with the hat camera,” Kyle said.

  “Copy that.”

  Stepping into the foyer, Levi sighed as the cool air hit him. He wiped his face with the red rag and tucked it back into his pocket. Spinning in place, Levi tried to decide where to start in the massive space. They had acquired a set of blueprints for the house but later found out that major renovations and additions had been done since. The team assumed that was when the safe was installed.

  The furniture here set the feel for the rest of the house. It was expensive and modern, completely pretentious as far as he was concerned. Levi would take his Goodwill sofa and lawn chairs over this stuffy shit any day.

  Not seeing any other employees about, he made quick work of the bottom floor of the house. He crept from the dining room to Suzanne’s bedroom, giving Kyle the size, cataloging the layout and possible hiding places. Levi noted that her room was the only place in the whole house that felt comfortable. There were photos of Taylor scattered around, along with well-used furniture and an antique mirror. The urge to check behind every piece of art and look under every rug gnawed at him, but the Boss insisted on surveying the entire layout before beginning the search.

  His pace was fast and thorough until he reached the study. As soon as he entered the room, his breath abandoned him along with every thought of the job. Two entire walls were covered in shelf after shelf of books, with the back wall being completely glass. New books, old books, reference books, and first editions flew by as his fingertips slid along their spines. He smiled and his eyes shone as he was transported back to his childhood. The smell of ink and paper returned Levi to a time when he sat tucked into a leather chair at the public library where his father worked.

  After his mother died, the school bus would drop Levi off directly in front of the library. His father worked until closing, so he would have to stay until all the books were put away and the building cleared. There were always ladies around to help him with his homework or keep an eye on him. That place became his second home. Levi had spent many evenings there, combing the aisles until something caught his eye.

  When he was eight years old, he found a nice secluded corner on the third floor, and that was where he read until his father came to fetch him. Levi had allowed reading to give him an escape from his own troubles, letting stories transport him to a different life. Then something happened and he grew out of reading, more interested in girls and video games.

  * * *

  “No,” his father’s voice echoed in his memory. “Put this finger here and your middle finger there. That’s right.”

  Levi fumbled to get his hand in the right position and then strummed the strings. He smiled when the G chord sounded perfect.

  “Sweet. When are you going to teach me a song?” he asked. “I want to learn ‘Here Without You’ so I can play it for Michelle Coleman at the talent show.”

  “Michelle Coleman, huh? Is she pretty?” his father teased. Levi blushed. “You know you have to learn the basics first. It’s all about breaking down the chords. You learn how to play. Not how to play a song.”

  His dad left him at the kitchen table, still practicing the two chords, and went to stir whatever boxed dinner they were having that night. Levi’s brow dipped low as he concentrated on finger placement and moving back and forth between the two chords seamlessly.

  “Good job,” his father said. He wiped his hands on a dish towel and leaned against the counter. “You haven’t been by the library in a while. The girls at work keep asking about you.”

  “Dad, please. I spent enough time there to last me a lifetime. Plus, I think I read every book in there.”

  His father threw the dish towel at him and frowned. “I doubt you read every book in the library. I bet you never read any poetry.”

  Levi made a face and threw the towel back. “You mean that girly stuff about love and flowers? No thanks.”

  “It’s not girly. If you think that playing a song for Michelle Coleman would impress her, you should try some poetry.” Levi’s eyes widened, his attention captured. “We are Italian men, Levi. We come from a long line of wooers. Poetry has a cadence all its own. It can tell stories, declare confessions, and seduce lovers. Just like music.”

  “Poetry can do all that?” Levi asked, placing his guitar to the side.

  “How do you think I married your mother?” His father winked and returned his attention to the stove. Meanwhile, the seed had been planted, and Levi would never be the same.

  * * *

  Levi envied the way poets thought and their ability to express complicated emotions in such short, simple prose. Stanzas could always be molded to fit certain notes or chords. He’d spent many nights trying to translate the feel of a classic piece of poetry onto the strings of his guitar.

  “Earth to Levi. Are you geeking out?” Kyle said.

  “Absofuckinglutely,” Levi answered, not embarrassed one bit.

  A few minutes of silence ticked by as he stood in the middle of the room, taking it all in.

  “Okay, you’re on the clock here,” Kyle reminded him.

  Levi tore his eyes from the spine of what looked like a first edition of Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque and stepped to the farthest wall. They got their measurements and moved on.

  Walking into the sprawling kitchen, he found Mandy wiping down the countertops with earbuds tucked into her ears, the faint smell of lemon-scented cleaner in the air. The music was so loud he could hear the simple beat from where he stood across the room. Light from the window above the sink poured in, bathing half her body in gold. He smirked and recited the words to Mandy’s rhythm as she shimmied and shook her ass while cleaning. It made him think of “I cannot dance upon my Toes” by Emily Dickinson.

  I cannot dance upon my Toes—

  No Man instructed me—

  But oftentimes, among my mind,

  A Glee possesseth me

  “Wow, I could watch this all day,” Kyle said.

  “You need to get laid,” Levi replied.

  “You think sex with someone would make me appreciate a show like this any less? If that were the case, married men wouldn’t have a need for strip clubs or porn.”

  “You’re naïve if you think married men get laid,” Levi pointed out.

  “Then what’s the point? I’m good with my Victoria’s Secret lotion and subscription to kink.com.”

  Mandy didn’t see Levi there, so he was able to sneak to one corner and provide the measurements and layout before trying to sneak away.

  “Levi! Hi!” she yelled. She looked embarrassed and pulled the earbuds from her ears. “You startled me,” she continued, lowering her voice. “Did you need something?”

  “I came to ask where the master bath is.”

  “Oh, you didn’t get a tour? I guess I was supposed to do that,” she said, frowning. “It’s a big place, but you’ll learn it in no time. Go up the stairs, turn left. It’s at the end of the hall, through the double doors.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

  Levi stopped. He hadn’t thought about food, but now that Mandy brought it up, he realized he was starving.

  “Nope.”

  “Have a seat. I’ll make you a sandwich,” she offered. His eyes darted to the stairs and back to her smiling face. “No worries. You’re allowed a break.”

  Levi took a seat while Mandy disappeared into the pantry and emerged with a loaf of rye bread.

  “Looks like you’ve got a fan,” Kyle said.

  “You sound jealous,” Levi replied quietly.

  “What?” Mandy asked, sticking her head around the refrigerator door.

  “I said I like lettuce.”

  “Oh, good.”

  Kyle’s laughter echoed in his ear as Levi grinned down at the countertop. A few minutes later, a sandwich on a pristine white plate slid in front of him and his mouth watered at the sight. Mandy leaned on the counter, resting her chin on her
hand.

  “Are you going to watch me eat?” he asked.

  Her eyes widened as she snapped up straight, a pink blush crept into her cheeks.

  “Uh, no. I’ll just…” Her words trailed off as she pointed to another room and scurried away.

  Levi practically inhaled the food, which he admitted was pretty damn tasty. How unfair that rich people even had better sandwiches, he thought. He dropped his plate in the sink and headed up the elaborate staircase to the second floor. Once up there, Levi spotted another housekeeper milling about, so he decided to do the layout later. He moved to the end of the hall and entered through the double doors.

  “Holy shit! Now, that’s what I call a bed,” Kyle said.

  In the middle of the largest wall sat an enormous four-poster bed covered in gold and white pillows. It was a large, bulky piece of furniture, masculine and overbearing. Levi thought it felt odd in the space of the room.

  “Why would anyone need all those pillows?”

  “They’re decorative, Levi, not functional,” Kyle answered, sounding bored.

  “Thanks, Martha Stewart. Do you have a delicious recipe for goat cheese tarts you’d like to share as well?”

  “No, but I can fold a napkin to look like a vagina.”

  Levi chuckled and shook his head. “You’re special.”

  “Thanks for noticing, big guy,” Kyle answered in a light and flirty voice. “Now get back to work.”

  After they got the layout and measurements of the room, Levi couldn’t help himself as he checked behind portraits and mirrors. They knew that Henry Hudson would want to keep his money as close as possible. Though when he came up empty, he was not surprised. They all knew it would never be that easy.

  “I’m going to work on this fixture. Take a break for now,” Levi said.

  “Copy that,” Kyle answered.

  He found the new fixture waiting for him on the bathroom counter. For a few seconds, Levi took a seat on the edge of the lake-size tub and absorbed his surroundings. Everything was marble and glass, sleek and clean with sharp edges and no privacy. This room alone was bigger than his entire apartment. He ran his calloused fingers along the smooth edge of the bathtub, and for the first time without bitterness he wondered what it was like to live this kind of life. Levi grinned at his reflection in the mirror and knew when they succeeded, he wouldn’t have to wonder anymore.