over. She could stuff her clothes in the extra closet or even hide in the room if need be.
She undressed quickly, stripping out of the sweatshirt, top, and leggings. Then she pulled the lingerie out of her small backpack. Carl usually liked her to wear something elaborate. But considering the heat, he’d recommended she go with a light, silk teddy. She did as he asked but added a little something extra—a pair of sheer, thigh-high stockings she knew he’d enjoy rolling down her legs when the time came.
Kelly looked at her watch. It was exactly 1:29. Carl would be here any second. She rushed into the bathroom to give herself one last check and was immediately glad she had. Her long, black hair was still in a ponytail. She pulled out the tie and let her hair cascade down past her shoulders.
Under normal circumstances, she’d brush it out. But she didn’t have time and it looked sexy in casual, blowsy way. Everything else looked good. The teddy hugged her hourglass figure in all the intended places. The stockings ran up her long legs teasingly. Even before she put on the pumps, she knew she was bringing it today.
She was under no illusions about the nature of their relationship. Carl had taken an interest in her because she looked good at the lingerie fashion show where they’d met three months ago. It didn’t take long after that first meeting for him to find out what was under that lingerie or for her to get the spare key or the other perks that came along with it. But she was well aware that if she wanted to keep her human slot machine dropping coins, she needed to keep him happy.
It wasn’t that much of a burden anyway. While Carl was nearly thirty years older than Kelly, who had just turned twenty-three, spending intimate time with him wasn’t objectionable. He was good looking, in a distinguished, Scent of a Woman–era Al Pacino kind of way. Kelly loved that movie.
And he was in solid shape for a man his age, a result of what she knew was a pretty intense workout regimen. In fact, he’d lost a few pounds since they started spending time together, which she attributed to his desire to impress her.
Sometimes she imagined that he’d leave his wife and she could finally stop sneaking around. But Carl had warned her that if Mrs. Landinghag ever found out about them, the party would be over. Apparently, despite his job as a television executive, she was far richer than him. It was her house. She owned three of their four cars and their boat. She leased the private jet that currently had her spending an extra week in Manhattan.
But all those were worries for another time. Once Carl arrived and they got reacquainted, she could move her car into the garage until his wife returned. She could lounge around the house naked if she wanted. She could lie out on the beach or borrow Carl’s boogie board. It was like she would be on vacation, even though her tiny Culver City apartment was only a dozen miles away.
She giggled excitedly at the thought of it as she made her way down the long hallway to the master bedroom. She was just about to walk in when she heard what sounded like a soft groan. Or was it a snore? Unsettled but curious, she peeked around the corner and saw someone sleeping in the bed, turned away from her.
She was slightly startled by the sight. Had Carl already arrived? Why hadn’t he called to tell her? And couldn’t he stay awake long enough to see her? That hag of a wife must have really worn him out for him to crash in the afternoon.
She decided to sneak over and give him a wake-up surprise. Tiptoeing over as carefully as possible while wearing stilettos, she made her way around the bed. Carl had the covers over his head. Kelly carefully grabbed hold of them, ordering herself not to laugh and ruin the prank, and then ripped them off the bed completely.
The man startled into consciousness, looking up at her with initially sleepy eyes that suddenly opened wide with shock. It wasn’t Carl. Kelly screamed, first in fear, then in embarrassment as she stumbled back, nearly losing her balance.
For half a second, as her heart dropped into her stomach, Kelly wondered if she was in the wrong house. But she dismissed the thought immediately. This was