Belle of the Ball

Chapter Twenty Three - Boss Man

The strong, yet pleasant scent of my lotion filled the room, as I smoothed it across my body—making sure to moisturize before I laid down. Lately, my skin has been very dry (thanks to the cold weather) and I did this every night,  just to keep that healthy glow.

As I continued applying my lotion, my mind drifted over to Ryder. It was strange to me that he was actually being sabotaged, like in the movies. A part of me thought he was faking it, but it was real.

Jeremy and Sunni were really working together. She was passing along information to someone who would technically become Ryders competitor,

but what I couldn't figure out was why.

From the stories Ryder told me, it seemed he and Sunni used to get along great. Sure, they ended on bad terms, but that wouldn't explain why she was being so vindictive now. It was possible that Jeremy was paying her, but why would Jeremy do this to his own best friend?

Sure, they were mad at each other—but it was hard to imagine he had all of this in him.

We weren't one hundred perfect sure yet, that Jeremy and Sunni were actually the ones behind all the sabotage—which was why Ryder decided to set up a fake shipment coming in. That way, if something happened to it, he'd know for sure who was the culprit.

I watched the soft glow of the lamp light hit Nancy's bed, making my gaze wonder to her sleeping frame. I wondered if I could ever do something so wrong to Nancy to make her do something as awful to me that Jeremy was currently doing to Ryder.

I hoped not.

After watching her sleep peacefully for a while, I decided to close my eyes and get some sleep myself.

****

The cold wind slapped across my face, while I was crouched in my spot with my binoculars, watching the docks where Ryders fake shipments would be coming in. Nancy was beside me, also apparently cold. Her large oversized sweater dress clearly wasn't keeping her warm enough.

"Tell me why we agreed to this?" She asked, her teeth chattering in the process.

"Because Ryder offered to pay you. And I'm doing it because I'm a nice person."

She took the binoculars from her eyes, to glare at me. "Hey! I'm nice too. I had to call out of work for this though, so is it really wrong that I'd want to get paid?"

"No." I said, sparing her a quick glance. "But, it is kind of funny what you're wearing. I mean, what if we have to run away at a moments notice? You can't run in a dress, and high heeled boots."

"Well, it would've been nice if you told me the attire."

I glanced down at my outfit—a black long sleeved shirt, with a black leather jacket, and of course black leggings, with a black beanie and sneakers.

"I thought this was the obvious standard. I mean, have you ever seen any steak-out movie, ever?"

"Obviously not the same ones you have." She replied.

Then, from our little hidden spot behind some random bushes, we could see a boat coming in, which probably had all of Ryders fake items inside of it.

To me, this was a lot to go through just to catch a mole—but I guess to him it was worth it. If anything happened to these items, then we would all know who was behind it. The only question after that would be, what is the punishment? How would Ryder expose Jeremy and Sunni? And how would Ryder react to cold hard evidence, that his best friend and the once love of his life, were sabotaging him?