sure how much time had
passed, but some time later, she was vaguely aware of Dennis lifting her out of
the tub, rubbing her down with a towel, and carrying her to bed. “Good night,
baby,” Janet murmured.
“Good night, Janet. You did well today.
Sleep tight.”
Chapter 6
When Janet woke up the next morning the
sun was shining brightly through the window shades, way too brightly. She felt
as though she had been hit by a truck; every muscle in her legs and lower back
ached. Up until now she had considered herself to be in pretty good shape, but
apparently she had been mistaken. Waitressing kicked her butt.
The last thing she remembered was Dennis
tucking her into bed, but he wasn’t in the bed with her now. Alarmed, she
groped for the clock; it was eleven a.m. How could he have let her sleep this
late? Frantically, Janet groped for the phone and dialed Dennis’s number.
“Good morning sunshine,” Dennis greeted
her cheerfully.
“Dennis! Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Believe me I tried, but you wouldn’t
budge, so I decided that the best thing for you to do was to get some rest. You
do have another shift at the Panther tonight.”
“What did you tell Ham? I don’t want to
get fired, you know. Waitressing is definitely not the right career choice for
me.”
“I told him—”
“You told him about me getting a
waitressing job at the Panther?” Janet cut him off.
“I told him that you’re doing some
undercover work in the field. When the time comes, we’ll tell him the whole
thing.”
“I just hope you won’t get me fired,”
Janet mumbled.
“What time does your shift start today?”
“Six o’clock, but I have to be there at
five. I’m still in training.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it. Waitressing
isn’t exactly my forte.”
“Janet, you listen to me,” Dennis’s tone
grew serious. “Anything happens, anything at all, you call me. I don’t want you
to take any chances.”
“I can handle it, don’t worry. As long
as I’m decent at my job, they won’t suspect anything. A waitress recently quit
and they were pretty desperate for a replacement. I’m going to use the day to
memorize Panther’s menu. I’ll be the best waitress they ever had. Well, I’ll
try to be.”
“All right. Be safe. Call me if you need
me.”
“I will.” Janet hung up the phone,
hoping that she wouldn’t have to, not until she got some good leads.
All right, Janet thought, where did I
put that menu? She was going to shower, have breakfast, and then spend the day
memorizing the ingredients in the sauce for the chateaubriand and the glaze for
the roasted duck, along with the rest of the pretentious dishes served at
Panther, but first …. Janet longingly glanced at her bed. The softness of the
pillows and the mattress was too beckoning to resist, and she plunged back into
bed. It’d be nice to spend the day lounging, but no such luck. “There’s no rest
for the weary,” Janet grumbled, forcing herself to get up.
***
Careful not to wake Anton, Mila slid out
of bed. Over the past few months, she had perfected the art of making her
movements quieter than those of a mouse. She threw one more glance at Anton
just to make sure. Sex always made him sleepy, and now he was snoring loudly,
his lips smacking, probably dreaming of some vivid sexual fantasy Mila wanted to
know nothing about. Anton’s after sex naps were deep but brief, so Mila figured
that she had half an hour at best. She raced to the den where Anton kept all
his business papers. The room was sparsely furnished: a computer desk, a
leather couch, and a safe. Both the computer and the safe had coded access, and
Mila had been unsuccessfully trying to break into both. She had even gone as
far as calling up her second cousin in Prague who prided himself on being a
hacker, but the kid turned out to be completely useless.
She had tried to watch Anton open the
safe, hoping to figure out the combination that
passed, but some time later, she was vaguely aware of Dennis lifting her out of
the tub, rubbing her down with a towel, and carrying her to bed. “Good night,
baby,” Janet murmured.
“Good night, Janet. You did well today.
Sleep tight.”
Chapter 6
When Janet woke up the next morning the
sun was shining brightly through the window shades, way too brightly. She felt
as though she had been hit by a truck; every muscle in her legs and lower back
ached. Up until now she had considered herself to be in pretty good shape, but
apparently she had been mistaken. Waitressing kicked her butt.
The last thing she remembered was Dennis
tucking her into bed, but he wasn’t in the bed with her now. Alarmed, she
groped for the clock; it was eleven a.m. How could he have let her sleep this
late? Frantically, Janet groped for the phone and dialed Dennis’s number.
“Good morning sunshine,” Dennis greeted
her cheerfully.
“Dennis! Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Believe me I tried, but you wouldn’t
budge, so I decided that the best thing for you to do was to get some rest. You
do have another shift at the Panther tonight.”
“What did you tell Ham? I don’t want to
get fired, you know. Waitressing is definitely not the right career choice for
me.”
“I told him—”
“You told him about me getting a
waitressing job at the Panther?” Janet cut him off.
“I told him that you’re doing some
undercover work in the field. When the time comes, we’ll tell him the whole
thing.”
“I just hope you won’t get me fired,”
Janet mumbled.
“What time does your shift start today?”
“Six o’clock, but I have to be there at
five. I’m still in training.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it. Waitressing
isn’t exactly my forte.”
“Janet, you listen to me,” Dennis’s tone
grew serious. “Anything happens, anything at all, you call me. I don’t want you
to take any chances.”
“I can handle it, don’t worry. As long
as I’m decent at my job, they won’t suspect anything. A waitress recently quit
and they were pretty desperate for a replacement. I’m going to use the day to
memorize Panther’s menu. I’ll be the best waitress they ever had. Well, I’ll
try to be.”
“All right. Be safe. Call me if you need
me.”
“I will.” Janet hung up the phone,
hoping that she wouldn’t have to, not until she got some good leads.
All right, Janet thought, where did I
put that menu? She was going to shower, have breakfast, and then spend the day
memorizing the ingredients in the sauce for the chateaubriand and the glaze for
the roasted duck, along with the rest of the pretentious dishes served at
Panther, but first …. Janet longingly glanced at her bed. The softness of the
pillows and the mattress was too beckoning to resist, and she plunged back into
bed. It’d be nice to spend the day lounging, but no such luck. “There’s no rest
for the weary,” Janet grumbled, forcing herself to get up.
***
Careful not to wake Anton, Mila slid out
of bed. Over the past few months, she had perfected the art of making her
movements quieter than those of a mouse. She threw one more glance at Anton
just to make sure. Sex always made him sleepy, and now he was snoring loudly,
his lips smacking, probably dreaming of some vivid sexual fantasy Mila wanted to
know nothing about. Anton’s after sex naps were deep but brief, so Mila figured
that she had half an hour at best. She raced to the den where Anton kept all
his business papers. The room was sparsely furnished: a computer desk, a
leather couch, and a safe. Both the computer and the safe had coded access, and
Mila had been unsuccessfully trying to break into both. She had even gone as
far as calling up her second cousin in Prague who prided himself on being a
hacker, but the kid turned out to be completely useless.
She had tried to watch Anton open the
safe, hoping to figure out the combination that
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