Ruthless Kings - Laura Lee Page 0,57

my phone. The last thing I need is for my dad to have video evidence of me bugging this place—there’d be no way of talking myself out of that one. Preston Davenport may be an epic douche and a criminal, but stupid he is not.

When the coast is clear, I get to work. I grab a chair to stand on and remove the existing smoke alarm. Thankfully, it's cold enough at night this time of year to justify wearing a jacket, so I could inconspicuously hide its replacement. The nice thing about this device is that it's hooked into the building's electrical, just like the original one. With this, I don't need to worry about battery life. It has a battery in case of a power failure, but it’ll primarily feed off the grid it’s attached to.

After flicking the switch to activate the camera, I twist the cover until it's secure and put the chair back in its rightful place. Before I leave, I open the monitoring app on my phone and check the feed. I smile when a crystal clear 1080 HD image of the entire room pops up. We went with this type of device not only for its ease of installation but also because of its location. Being on the ceiling, in the front corner of the room, there's no space it doesn't cover, save the ensuite. As long as my father isn't doing anything nefarious while taking a shit, I should be good.

I lock up my dad’s office and head back toward reception.

“Did you find it, honey?” Monique asks.

I drop the key on her desk and hold up my cell. “Yep. Thanks again, Monique. You’re the best.”

She smiles. “It’s my pleasure. You have a good night and say hello to that beautiful sister of yours.”

I hit the call button for the elevator, which opens right away. "Will do. Have a good night."

I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as the doors are closed. I don’t think that could’ve gone more smoothly. I was hoping the fact she’s known me my whole life would work in my favor. There wasn’t an inkling of doubt in her mind whether or not she should let me in. Now, I just have to wait and see if the bastard gives me anything useful.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JAZZ

“So...I’ve been thinking about something.”

Ainsley sips on her strawberry milkshake. “What’s that?”

“A few things, actually. First of all, I need to get a part-time job.”

“Why?” Ainsley dips a french fry into her shake before popping the fried goodness into her mouth. It sounds gross, but it’s actually pretty freakin’ delicious.

“Because I need money—the little bit I had saved when I moved here is disappearing fast. I’m sure as shit not about to use the credit card my sperm donor gave me. At the very least, I’d like to be able to buy lunch once in a while.” I gesture to the food on the diner’s Formica table. “Or pay for things when I take Belle out. I saw a Help Wanted sign at one of the coffee shops on Calabasas Road.”

“Would your Dad go for that? It wouldn’t look good for his reputation to have one of his daughters working in such a lowly position. Not that I think being a barista is beneath me, but he would. I’d never have time for it with ballet, but if I ever got a job at a coffee shop, I know my dad would freak.”

“Charles doesn’t really get a say in what I do. I’m eighteen.”

“Yeah, but you live under his roof.”

I shrug. "If he really wanted to fight me on it, I'll deal with it. But there's nothing to argue about until I actually get the job."

“Good point. We can swing by on the way home and grab an application.”

I smile. “Thanks, Ains.”

“What are the other two things? You said a few.”

“Secondly...tomorrow’s Sunday, my day with Belle. I was wondering if you’d like to come out with us?”

“I’d love to.” Her face lights up. “What are we doing?”

"Last weekend, we took her to the aquarium in Long Beach, so we thought we'd do the zoo this weekend."

Ainsley has an amused smirk on her face. “That sounds fun.”

I give her a dubious look. “Why are you making that face?”

“What face?”

I twirl my finger in her direction. “You look entertained by something I said, but I can’t think of anything that would warrant your current expression.”

She chuckles. “Oh, nothing. I was just imagining you and my brother taking a