UNDERCOVER {Competed} 😌

chapter 19

Mercy.

"Come in,welcome." Said Mrs David taking Joshua's and my hand obviously displaying the pleasure that we'd patched up our quarrel. "What have you two been doing all day? You're both glowing"

I blushed,at a loss of words,but Joshua came up with the perfect answer
"Nothing you could be interested in Mrs David."

"Or should be," David interjected. "You two ready for another game?"

I laughed, "yeah."
"First dinner," Mrs David said waving her hand towards the table that was overflowing with patters of food

As I helped myself from a rack of lamb,Mrs David talked about the bridesmaid who hasn't been able to find a ceremony dress. "She had a fit." She chuckled,appearing to cherish the memory. "She cursed the designer,the delivery man and declared the dress was made small. Poor fellow,she doesn't know she's fat."

"Miss Laura...well she just smiled and told her friend to lay off cheesecake for a week and gym and shed be fine."

Mrs David's eyes suddenly bulged. "That hushed her up," she mumbled and reached for my glass. "More wine?"

"Uh..no thanks," I replied,trying to feel guilty less. So the wedding will be soon. The crumb of information sent my mind spinning. Was Jim and laura hiding the wedding by pretending they will attend a movie premier? And if that was true,I thought,taking a bite of biscuit,it meant that I'll soon have my story.

Then I noticed Mrs David looking at me with faint worry lines.
"Yummy," I said,"these buttermilk biscuits just melt in my mouth."

She smiled. "Would you like the recipe?"

I nodded and the mood on the table returned normal. When the meal neared conclusion,Mrs David started clearing the patters, and I took the advantage of the temporary confusion to peel off the recorder I had placed under the table.

When the last plate had been stashed in the dishwasher (Mrs David and i  washed the dishes), and we were entering the living room,I asked for the bathroom.

"Joshua beat you to it," said David,busy setting the chess board.

Barely able to keep my foot from tapping,I relived my impatience by helping with the board. I wanted to complete this quickly so that I can have the pleasure of pretending to be Joshua's wife.

What kind of a husband would Joshua make? I wondered. Did he have a bass booming stereo and tones of disks that scatter all over the place? Did he want children? If so,how many? Not the basketball team he teased about during the first night in the ranch, I hoped.

As I reassured myself to hat Joshua was too practical to have any of the faults I had envisioned,he came back into the room wearing a frown. I passed him on my way to the bathroom and he raised an eyebrow.
"Something wrong?"
He shook his head.

Taking him at his word,I closed the bedroom door and turned on the light. I then hurried to the bed. Two over longs stays in the bathroom could raise suspicion.

Going on my knees I took a pen light from my waste pack,turned it on and swept the beam under the bed,no micro recorder.

Seconds passes quickly,my nerves began jangling.

I couldn't stay much longer. Maybe it had been knocked to another location. Maybe Mrs David vacuumed it up. If that was so it must have been recently because a whole back I had listened to the tape.

I pursed my lips,let out a frustration sign, then headed back  to the living room. I still had micros in the kitchen and phone,and if someone found the one under the bed,I knew it wouldn't be connected to me.

Joshua.

Later that night Pepper and I walked back to our room. I rubbed  my fingers over the metal shard in my pocket.

Who else was after my story?
'You are lost in thought." Pepper said staring at me curiously,the moon painting her face with silvery highlights and sculping her lips into deep shadows. Making then look more inviting than ever." Anything you want to tell me?"

I shook my head and forced a smile. Actually I wanted to tell a lot. Like about the micro I'd found in the bedroom while checking on the one I had planted myself. Like who I was really and why the story was important to me.

Maybe this was the time. I have been planning to tell her anyway, during this walk in fact. But that was before. Now my already shaky ability to trust has been stained to the limit.

Could she be the rival for my story? She was as far as I knew,the only other person with access to the room

But Pepper? No she was too guileless and outspoken  to hide something like that from me. So who?

I'll think about it later,I told myself, moving closer and dropping arm around her shoulder.
"Come here Pepper. I haven't had a chance to kiss you all night."

Her face lit up as she stretched for me and wrapped her arms around my neck. When I tasted those sweet lips,I wondered how I could ever doubt her. Someone else was after my story– no question about it.

But not Pepper. No,no,never Mercy.

Nonetheless, even as my tongue danced with hers,my more cautious side warned me to keep my true identity a secret. At least until I discovered who is after it.

Unedited
Love
AlycBee