Love Bites by Lori Foster Page A

bigger than life standing in the middle of her living room. And the man was so darn handsome and fine. But what she liked most of all was that, once he’d acknowledged his dog sitter’s lack of responsibility, he’d agreed to do right by her Smookie.
    She took a sip of coffee, opened her book and decided to push any thoughts of Quest from her mind for now.
     
    “I just sent you the information you wanted on Raquel Capers, Quest.”
    Quest smiled. “Thanks, Brett.”
    He’d known his brother would not fail him. After all, Brett was computer savvy, a bona fide technical expert who worked as a private investigator in Atlanta for the Peachtree Private Investigative Firm. All you had to do was give him a name and he could research just about anything on that individual. The good, the bad and the ugly.
    “Any reason you’re so interested in Ms. Capers?”
    Quest tossed aside a report he’d been reading as he adjusted his cell phone to his ear.
    “Yes, Bandit knocked up her poodle.”
    “What! How in the hell did you let that happen? I warned you that would happen one day, but you wouldn’t listen to me.”
    Quest rolled his eyes. His brother was the main one who’d strongly recommend getting Bandit fixed, if for nothing more than health reasons, not to mention the issue of overpopulation. “It was during one of those times I left him with Tawny.” He then told Brett what Tawny had told him.
    “For Pete’s sake, I warned you about leaving Bandit with Tawny. She’s our cousin and I love her to death, but she is one spacey chick. You should have taken my advice on both counts.”
    “Well, okay, I didn’t, and it is what it is.”
    “What kind of dog does Raquel Capers have?” Brett asked. “And I wonder how many pups she’ll have.”
    Like you’re interested in taking one , he wanted to say. He knew his brother, who was a couple of years older, had no time on his hands to care for a dog. “She has a toy poodle. White. A beauty.”
    “Evidently so is the owner, since you want to know everything about her. She’s a phone actress, I see.”
    “Yes, that’s what she says.”
    “It seems to be a rather good occupation financially, and the business is operated differently from some of those sleazy ones. They have a high-end clientele, and if anyone gets out of line they are dropped. So I guess you can say Companionship Plus could be considered the cream of the crop. Classy and all of that. But still, there’s no telling what kind of conversationsthese guys are engaging her in. What one person might consider clean doesn’t necessarily mean someone else will.”
    Quest twirled a pen between his fingers while listening to his brother give him a personal summation of what he’d uncovered in his investigation. “Anything else?”
    “Yes. Although she’s a partner in the business, she evidently likes being a phone actress and leaves the running of the business to her partner. She made close to a million as an actress the first year. Kind of makes you wonder what she’s saying to the clients to make them call back.”
    It was probably her voice, Quest concluded, remembering how good she sounded during their conversations.
    “She’s so popular, she was given her own private call-in line. Now the only calls she gets are through what’s called the Hot Wire. The callers pay more to talk longer. Trust me, the rates aren’t cheap. And some of the restrictions as to what they can say or ask for are toned down somewhat.”
    Quest rubbed his chin. “Umm, I bet things can get pretty kinky then.”
    Brett chuckled. “Probably. But I have to say, your Ms. Capers is pretty smart, and so is her business partner, Whitney Frazier. The latter has a MBA, and your Ms. Capers is presently working on hers. She’s even taking summer classes. She’s scheduled to finish in another year.”
    Quest heard Brett take a sip of something, probably a beer or soda, before he continued. “Her father is retired military, and he and