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And only now did I notice that Odelia was wearing a very sexy outfit indeed, that showed more bust than was her habit, and that Chase was dressed in a very snazzy costume and was wearing a faux chin curtain type beard, much favored by Russian oligarchs.

Odelia then made a little curtsy and said,“Countess Anastasia Kuranova and Sergei Abromavich at your service.”

Oh, boy. This was going to be interesting.

Chapter 26

Odelia pushed up her push-up bra and checked her assets. She’d stuffed the bra with a pair of panties to fill it out, as her natural bust was a modest one.

“You look great, babe,” said Chase, who looked more like a Russian mobster now than the honest cop that he was.

“You think so?” she asked a little uncertainly.

“Absolutely,” he assured her.

They were waiting in the lobby of the Garibo building, where their arrival had been announced ten minutes before. Four cats sat at their feet, all of them dressed to the nines, and clearly a little ill at ease. There had been some kind of fight between the cats, and now Max and Dooley weren’t talking to Harriet and Brutus. The exact details of the rift escaped her but it had something to do with Max’s hairless new look.

“So I’ll do the talking, all right?” said Chase. He sat a little straighter on the plastic bench that was molded in the shape of one of Garibo’s typical colorful candies.

“Yes, Sergei,” said Odelia, adopting the Russian accent she’d been practicing. “You do ze talking and I do ze looking sexy.”

“Exactly,” said Chase with a slight grin. He fingered his stick-on beard. “I hope this thing stays glued on. If it starts to fall off please tell me.”

“Oh, I vill tell you, Sergei, darlink,” said Odelia, laying the accent on thick now. “When can ve go back to ze yacht?” she asked in a slightly whiny voice. “I vant to go yachting and spend time in Saint-Tropez vid my many super-rich girlfriends and zeir hunky huzbands.”

“Ve vill go yachting soon, my pet,” Chase assured her. “I just bought a bery beeg yacht—ze beegest yacht in ze vorld. Beeger zan Yuri’s yacht—zat stoopid loser.”

“Good for you, zveetheart.”

They both grinned now, and Odelia noticed how four cats were all staring up at them, mouths agape. They clearly were wondering what had gotten into them.

Just then, the receptionist announced,“Mr. Garibaldi will see you now, Countess and Mr. Abromavich.”

“Go time, babe,” Chase grunted, and led the procession of humans and cats in the direction indicated by the receptionist.

A smallish man with his black hair in a ponytail awaited them with a wide smile. He had the kind of sharp incisors that reminded Odelia of a vampire, and his face was as tan as cowhide.

“Welcome, welcome!” he caroled as they stepped into his office. “Can I offer you some refreshments?”

“Na, ve are fine,” said Chase with a dismissive wave of the hand. “Unless you ave ze vodka?”

“Um…” said Bobby Garibaldi hesitantly.

“Just yoking,” said Chase, and produced a deep booming laugh that reverberated around the room, then clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder, making him buckle at the knees. “Russian humor. Very funny.”

“Very funny,” said Mr. Garibaldi, smiling a little uncertainly. “Ha ha. Please take a seat.” It was only then that he spotted the four cats, all dressed up as if ready to join the Moscow State Circus. “I see you brought your…”

“Cats,” said Odelia. “Ve love our precious vur babies. Ve take zem everywhere. Isn’t that so, Sergei?”

“Zat ees so,” Sergei confirmed. “My vife loves ze cats more than she loves me sometimes I think. Ha ha ha!”

“Ha ha,” said Garibaldi nervously. He didn’t look like the kind of person who liked cats—or any pet for that matter.

The collected company took a seat in a corner of the office which had clearly been designed as the place where Garibaldi hosted his business guests and conducted his negotiations. The table was shaped like another one of his candies, and the chairs were all vividly colored molded plastic.

Odelia took a seat, making sure that her artificially enhanced bust was on full display. She felt a little awkward playing out her assets like this, but when Garibaldi’s eyes almost popped from their native sockets it was clear the gambit was working.

“So you want to invest in Garibo Enterprises, is that correct?” asked Garibaldi, getting down to business without further ado.

“Zat ees so,” Chase confirmed. “Ve vant to expand into ze candy beeznees—a bery good and lucrative beeznees am I right?”

“Oh, you’re absolutely right,” said Garibaldi, rubbing his little hands gleefully at the prospect of getting a nice big influx of cash. “And how much were you thinking of investing, if I may be so bold?”

“You may be so bold,” Chase confirmed. “Ow much?” He made an airy gesture as he blew out some air. “Forty millions? Fifty? Just a small sum to establish good faith, you understand.”

Now Garibaldi’s eyes popped out even further. “F-fifty million dollars?”