All That Really Matters, Nicole Deese [best detective novels of all time .TXT] 📗

As the Escalade pulled up to an automatic gate leading to Sophia Richards’s Malibu estate, my jaw unhinged. The mansions in Malibu were next level. This kind of wealth and glamour never failed to boggle my mind.

A text chimed from inside my purse. It was from Val.

Val

You there? How is it? Is Ethan there with you? Why do I feel like a nervous mother?

I smiled.

Molly

I’m fine, Mom. ? I just arrived! Estate is crazzzzzy. He’s not here yet but should be soon.

Val

Rooting for you! Have fun! Text me later!

Molly

<3

I started to slip my phone back into the pocket of my purse when it chimed against my palm.

The Duke of Fir Crest Manor

Any idea why this was delivered at Fir Crest today? There’s no name or information attached to it. Just instructions to put it in the lobby and have a happy day.

I smiled as a picture of an oversized black leather sectional and chair set appeared in the new text thread, and then shoved my phone back inside my handbag. I may not be able to fund an apartment complex on Fir Crest Manor’s campus, but I could surely furnish the lobby. And as of yesterday morning, I’d received Mr. Greggorio’s stamp of approval on my request for a donation from Cobalt. His written response had been far, far beyond my wildest hopes! Not only was he willing to donate to the growth of The Bridge’s program, he’d actually gone one step further and offered his annual Dream Big Scholarship! As soon as he verified all the facts and presented the nomination to his board, the check would be signed and sent. I bit my lip, imagining the moment I could announce to Silas that he would soon be handed a one-hundred-thousand-dollar check to use as seed money for his off-the-page goals.

“Molly!” A stunning, bronze-skinned woman with a satin floral wrap dress descended a sweeping staircase attached to the open-air second floor of the mansion. “You are even more gorgeous in person.” She greeted me with a kiss on each of my cheeks. “I’m Truella Agate. Let me be the first to welcome you to Sophia’s Malibu estate. Unfortunately, she’s currently at her NYC residence this week for a project, but rest assured, our team is ecstatic to work with you. Sophia’s been a fan of yours since that dollar store cosmetic makeover you did last year.” The high notes of her forced laugh were an assault to my ears, but amazingly, I withheld a grimace. “Now that was some funny stuff. When she sent it around to her staff, we were howling. We must have replayed the part where you tried to smoke out that hideous eyeshadow for an ‘evening look’ like a hundred times. Your content is always so clever!”

“Oh, wow. Thank you. That was a fun series to shoot,” I said, still a bit shell-shocked that someone like Sophia Richards would even know my name, let alone the work I’d done. “It’s lovely to be here.”

“We’re just thrilled your manager could make the timing work so quickly—when Victoria dropped out it left us in quite a bind. Legal can sometimes hold these things up for weeks, months even. It’s fabulous when all the stars align.”

As I followed her up white marble steps and onto a balcony boasting billowy sheer curtains and white linen patio furniture, I let her words soak in. Had I known I was a fill-in? Had Ethan mentioned that I’d been a Plan B for this collaboration and it somehow slipped my mind? I could almost hear the reply he’d give if I could ask him now: “When you position yourself for opportunity, opportunity will position you for greatness.”

Two enormous sliding glass doors were the only dividers between the poolside area and the house, and from what I could see, the inside was just as elaborate as the outside. Palm trees shaded the stamped concrete, where at least two dozen patio loungers bordered an infinity pool. The extensive bar in the corner, with tastefully lacquered wood that reflected the pool water, had shelves stocked full of more liquor than I’d seen in three of my local restaurants combined. It was certainly not a Silas-approved outdoor living space, that was for sure.

As I turned my eyes back to Truella—was that really her name?—a strange and overwhelming sense of I-don’t-belong-here washed over me. An odd sensation, since I’d been in homes of grandeur and opulence before, but this was something else completely. I couldn’t shake it. Not when Truella pointed out the snack table with every kind of fresh fruit and chopped veggie known to mankind, or even when she introduced me to the artists in the makeup tent who offered me bottomless flutes of champagne I declined.

Suddenly I wished I were somewhere else entirely. In a different large-scale home without any of this glitz or glamour. And with people who were far more down to earth. People who could probably build twenty Fir Crest Manors for teens in need of a home off the sale of just one of these Malibu mansions.

“So what did you think of the Tubee? Ingenious, right? I think it’s gonna be one of our most popular items this summer. Sophia designed it herself. She figured you’d have the most fun with it, given your peppy personality.”

I scanned my memory for what she might be referring to, but I came up empty. Tubee? No idea. “Oh, yes. Totally ingenious for sure.”

She twisted back, smiled, and left me to get glammed up by Danny in the makeup tent. Sometime during the bronzer-and-highlighting stage, I texted Ethan.

Molly

You get lost?

Ethan

In limo now. Everything good so far?

I snapped a side profile picture of Danny adding another few swipes of bronzer to my jawbone, then sent it to Ethan.

Ethan

Perfection.

After fiddling with my favorite photo filter for indoor lighting, I asked Danny if he minded me posting some pics to my Instagram story as long as I tagged him. He laughed me off, adding that I was