Cobb shook his head in amazement. “Did she say thirteen?”
Jones quickly found his voice. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “She certainly did. And I’m not talking about Snow White and nine ugly dwarves. I’m talking about ten tens. If my math is correct, that’s a hundred.”
“How in the hell did you do that?” Cobb demanded.
“Just multiply ten times ten and you get—”
“No,” Cobb said. “How did you ask out ten women at the same time?”
Jones scoffed at the question. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”
Payne grinned. “I’m thinking gunpoint.”
Cobb laughed loudly. “Truth be told, she did seem kind of scared when she entered the room, but if I had to guess, I’d say hypnotism and/or hallucinogenics.”
“Or all three.”
Jones shrugged off their insults as he reached for the nachos. He grabbed a chip and stuffed it in his mouth as sour cream smeared all over his lips. “Come on, guys. Is it really that hard to believe that women love me?”
“Considering the amount of food on your face, yes!”
Cobb stroked his chin in thought. “You know, there’s another possibility that we haven’t considered. But if you evaluate all the evidence before us and consider the sheer numbers involved, I think it makes the most sense.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re escorts.”
Payne laughed at the possibility. “How awesome would that be if we showed up for dinner and they handed DJ an invoice for their time?”
Cobb stared at Jones. “Serious question. Did you invite them or rent them?”
Jones wiped his mouth. “Guys, they’re not escorts. Nicki’s a lawyer!”
“And the others?”
“They’re, um… hot! I didn’t have time to ask for their résumés.”
“In other words,” Payne said, “there’s a chance they’re prostitutes. For the record, I agreed to pay for dinner—not companionship.”
Jones grabbed another chip. “Listen, if you’re so worried about the women, Jack and I will gladly go to dinner without you. Remember, we’re here to cheer him up, so quit being so selfish.”
“You’re right. We’re here for Jack. And if he wants to bang a hooker in a restaurant bathroom, who am I to stop him?”
“Exactly!” Jones said.
“The bigger issue is if I should stop you before Maria finds out.”
Jones shook his head. “Maria doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, really? Does she know that?”
Jones quickly backtracked. “Now don’t go putting words in my mouth. You know damn well Maria matters. Of course, she matters. But right now we’re separated, so I can date whoever the hell I want.”
“Including hookers?”
“Nicki’s a lawyer. The hookers are for Jack.”
“So they are hookers!”
Jones was done arguing. “Truth be told, I don’t care if they are. They were sexy and seemed friendly, so I invited them to dinner. Quit being such a prude.”
Cobb was confused. “Hold up. Who’s Maria?”
Jones stuffed the chip in his mouth. “Can’t talk. I’m eating.”
Payne smiled. His best friend avoided the topic whenever possible. “She’s an archaeologist we met on one of our adventures. The two of them hit it off and have been in a long-distance, on-and-off, incredibly perplexing relationship ever since.”
“Define perplexing,” Cobb said.
“Let me put it like this. Their dating status changes more often than DJ changes his underwear.”
“So… once a month?”
“Give or take.”
Jones kept chewing. “Who says I wear underwear?”
Payne and Cobb grimaced at the thought.
“Guys,” Jones explained, “I’m wearing a bathing suit. It would be weird if I was wearing underwear.”
“No,” Payne said, “it’s weird that you brought it up.”
“I didn’t bring it up! You brought it up!”
“But you made it weird.”
Cobb ignored their banter and focused on Payne’s original statement. “Next question. What type of ‘adventure’ were you referring to? You used that word earlier, and I got the sense you were talking about something more than a vacation.”
“Actually,” Payne admitted, “that one started off as a vacation. We went to Pamplona to run with the bulls but ended up in jail on some trumped-up charges. We were offered a deal by some agents from the CIA, who would vouch for us if we were willing to assist them with a case. Before we knew it, we were chasing a fugitive across Europe.”
“And that’s when you met Maria?”
Jones nodded. “Yep. In Milan.”
“We also found an artifact of profound significance, but we don’t like to brag.”
“Actually,” Jones said as he stuffed another chip in his mouth, “I love to brag, but I don’t want to make you feel any more inferior than you already do.”
“And you’ve gone on how many of these adventures?”
Payne shrugged. “A half dozen or so. Word kind of spread after our first mission, so we get contacted all the time.”
“By whom?”
“Historians, archaeologists, even some authors. Why, are you interested?
“Maybe. How much money is involved?”
“We’ve made millions.”
Cobb practically choked. “Did you say ‘millions’?”
Payne nodded his head. “We’ve done quite well.”
“Not that Jon needs it,” Jones teased. “I’m not quite sure why a billionaire would risk his life for millions. Mathematically speaking, it doesn’t make much sense.”
“I don’t do it for the money. I do it to save your ass.”
“Why do you always talk about my ass? It makes me uncomfortable.”
Cobb ignored the comment. “Truth be told, I’m in a much different place than either of you. Thanks to my discharge, I’ve lost my pension, my housing, my insurance, and my reputation. At this point I’d do just about anything to make millions.”
“Anything?” Payne asked.
Cobb nodded. “Within reason.”
“If you’re serious, I’ll put you in touch with this businessman who has been nagging us for months. We’ve never met the guy — so we can’t vouch for him — but he seems to be a serious player in the world of antiquities.”
“Define serious.”
“He’s willing to pay top dollar to get what he wants.”
“Which is?”
“Beats me the hell out of me. Despite his persistence, he’s quite secretive.”
“Did he tell you his name?”
“Yep. It’s Papineau. Jean-Marc Papineau.”
“Sounds pretentious.”
“Well, he’s French, so that goes without saying,” Jones teased.
Cobb laughed. “Out of curiosity, why weren’t you interested in the gig?”
“Well, he’s French,” Jones repeated, “I can’t stress that enough.”
“Plus,” Payne added, “he hinted that multiple people would be involved. It didn’t sound like a one-time adventure. It sounded like a full-time job.”
“Which is what I’m looking for,” Cobb admitted.
“Great,” Payne said. “I’ll give him a call as soon as I get back.”
“Thanks, Jon. I’d appreciate that. Unless…”
Payne stared at him. “Unless, what?”
“Unless you think I’m being too hasty. I mean, so much has happened lately. Maybe I should take some time off to get my mind right before I return to the fray.”
Jones laughed at him. “Relax, Jack. It’s just a phone call. If you don’t like what he has to say, then turn him down.”