by Holly Jaymes
I stood. “It’s okay Will. I just told Mr. Bigalow that I’d let him know where every one of your moles are. He’s curious about our sex life.”
Mr. Bigalow coughed and turned red. Good! Finally, I made him flustered.
Will’s gaze jerked to mine for a minute and then to Mr. Bigalow’s. “What sort of perversion is this?”
Book 4: Chapter 22—Going Into Battle
Going Into Battle
Will
What the fuck? I’d seen the intimacy questions on the sample Stokes interview that Adalyn and I found online, but still, was the government really going to ask me about fucking my wife?
“It’s okay, Will.”
“It’s not okay,” I said. “It’s an invasion of privacy.”
“In the case of immigration fraud, it’s not,” Mr. Bigalow said.
“I’m a citizen.” Surely there was some sort of law that prevented the asking of such questions.
“She is not.”
“Why is she here now, anyway?” I asked.
“I told you both there would be an interview.”
“According to my attorney, interviews are scheduled. You don’t just haul her out of work. Work, I might remind you, that is protecting your bank account from being emptied by a hacker or a foreign country turning off your utilities.”
“It’s my prerogative when I see you or Ms. Beau —”
“Mrs. Sloane,” both Adalyn and I said at the same time.
“I find your marriage suspicious and I’m not alone. Until it’s resolved, you’ll need to comply with the questions and other requests.”
“Guilty until proven innocent,” I quipped.
“That’s what I said,” Adalyn said. “Apparently, it doesn’t apply to me, though.”
“I does to me.” I kept my gaze on Mr. Bigalow, knowing I should temper my mood, but I was having a hard time of it. At least I wasn’t throttling him, which was what I wanted to do.
“I don’t know why you’re upset. If you’re marriage is legitimate, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.” He gave me a self-satisfied smirk.
“So, do I have to send a report of every orgasm I have?” My voice level had gone up, which had Mr. Bigalow looking toward his open door.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Bigalow? You don’t want people to know you’re asking me about when, where, and how I make love to my wife? Do you want to know how long it takes me to make her come?”
“Mr. Sloane!”
Adalyn’s lips were pulled in like she was trying not to smile or laugh.
“Why don’t you ask her how long it takes me to recover? Go ahead.” Jesus, I should shut up, but I was so pissed.
“It’s just a few minutes,” Adalyn said. “It’s very impressive.”
“That’s quite enough. You’ve made your point,” Mr. Bigalow stood; his face was red, but I couldn’t be sure if it was from anger or embarrassment.
“Have I? Does that mean you’re going to let this ridiculous investigation go and give my wife her green card so we can go start a family?”
Adalyn’s eyes widened.
“She wants four kids, by the way, in case that’s one of your interview questions. I’m undecided on that amount. It doesn’t matter though, because of your laws, we can’t start one for what …?” I turned to Adalyn. “Three years, honey?”
“If I get my green card, it’ll be three years before I can apply for citizenship.”
“Three years. You know why, Mr. Bigalow?”
“Mr. Sloane.”
“Because I can’t risk having you deport my kids’ mother, that’s why.”
“What’s going on in here?” A woman who looked to be in her forties dressed in a dark suit stepped into the room.
“Everything is fine, Ms. Slater. Mr. Sloane here is just having an issue with the green card process for his wife.”
“Bullshit. I have a problem with you asking her about our sex life.”
Ms. Slater’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t ask your wife about —”
“You sort of did,” Adalyn said. “You said questions of intimacy were a part of the test.”
“I thought you were just completing the file today,” Ms. Slater said to Mr. Bigalow. “You were going to schedule the interview later.”
“Yes, that’s what I was trying to do.”
It appeared that Ms. Slater was Mr. Bigalow’s boss or supervisor.
“Ms. Slater, are you in charge here?” I asked.
“I’m a supervisor, yes.” She looked at me with sharp eyes. She wasn’t a woman that took a lot of bullshit. Considering what Adalyn and I were doing, I should have been nervous about that. But in truth, I liked people who were straight, take no shit types.
“Can I request that my wife have a new agent to review her file?”
“I assure you, Mr. Bigalow knows his responsibilities and will do a thorough job.”
“Thorough. So, we can expect more questions about our sex life.” I looked at Adalyn. “Did you tell him we made love this morning?”
“I did.”
“Mr. Sloane.” Mrs. Slater closed her eyes, and had that same look on her face that my mother used to have when she was trying to keep her sanity around four boys. She opened them again. “There is much more to the green card process than knowing your sex life. I feel like I can safely say there will be no more questions about it from this time forward.” She cast a glance at Mr. Bigalow.
“Good to know. I’m not one to go around flaunting my influence, but I do have friends and a considerable network in politics and government. I have a few friends in the media too.”
“We are well aware of who you are, Mr. Sloane. And we are very appreciative of your work for the government.” She turned to Mr. Bigalow. “Why don’t you make the appointment, and then Mr. and Mrs. Sloane can be on their way.”
Mr. Bigalow gave her a curt nod.
We each made an appointment, as our interviews were to be done separately. I had experience with pressure, but never had I felt like I had so much on the line. If Adalyn and I didn’t pull this off, I could lose everything. Not just my company and money, but my reputation and the respect of others in my field, as well as my family. That thought weighed like an anvil on my chest as Adalyn and I walked out of the building.
“Where’s your car?” I asked her.
“Over there,” she said pointing up the street. I rested my hand on her lower back as I guided her in the direction of where she parked. Touching her felt like an anchor in a life that was bobbing on a stormy sea. Had I really just threatened the immigration officer and his supervisor to flex my influential muscle? Fuck. What an idiot move. Things like tended to annoy people and make them less helpful. Plus, while I felt I was respected with my network, I couldn’t know how much support anyone in it would give. When they got wind that I was being investigated for a fake marriage, they could easily distance themselves. What the fuck had I been thinking?
I hadn’t been thinking, that was the problem. I’d been pissed that Adalyn had been forced down for an interview. Offended that our sexual activity was a subject of discussion.
Next to me, Adalyn snickered and let out a full-blown laugh. “That was hilarious.”
I stopped and stared at her. “What? There was nothing funny about what just happened.”
“Oh, come on, Will. That was a little funny.”
I stared at her like she’d gone mad. “You do know that if this doesn’t go right, we’re truly fucked, right?”
I was glad to see her amused expression drop. “You know, poking fun like we did probably helped our cause more than panic and feeling guilty would.”
I put my hands on my hips, annoyed that she wasn’t taking this more seriously.
“And of all the places we could be watched, this would be it. So maybe having a fight about it right here isn’t the best use of our time right now.”
Fuck. She was right. I reached out and pulled her to me. “This is me comforting you because that mee
ting concerned you,” I said into her ear.
She scoffed. “I think this is more me comforting you.” But she sank into my arms and rested her head against my chest.
“We can’t blow this, Adalyn.” I kissed her head. I told myself it was for show, but truly, it was because I felt like it. I wanted to protect her, even though she didn’t seem to feel she needed protection.
“I know, Will.” She looked up at me. “You need to consider that our response in there totally surprised him. We also told the truth, which was why we were able to poke fun at it. It was real and natural. That’s what we need to pull off more than having my name on the utility bill or knowing your salary.”
“He asked about those?”
“Yes.”
Jesus. I hadn’t even thought about putting her name on documents.
“He knew about the hot air balloon ride in Vegas, too. How would he know that?”
“I don’t know. I suppose he has access to our records.” I was glad that I’d not only considered he’d look at our phone records, but my bank statements too. I paid for the ring the day after the wedding, but I’d paid cash, so unless he called the jewelry store, which he wouldn’t know about unless he found the receipt, he wouldn’t have that information. “We just need to make sure we’re diligent.”
“Will, it’s possible, likely even, that there will be questions we can’t answer. To be honest, I wonder how many married people could answer them all. I’m pretty sure my father would have no idea about the curtains in our home,” she said referring back to one of the questions. “We’ll need to not panic if that happens.”
“And you can’t make up something unless you’ll be able to let me know and vice versa.”
“Right.”
I inhaled a deep breath. I wasn’t sure I’d had a regular breath since waking up married. I took her hand and started up the street to her car.
She leaned her head against my arm. “I am taking this seriously, Will.”
I squeezed her hand. “I know.”
“But I think I’m right about this. That exchange might not change Mr. Bigalow’s investigation, but I bet it made him wonder if he was wrong about us.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“One other thing,” she said as we reached her car and she pushed the button to unlock her door. “We can honestly say we didn’t get married to keep me in the country.”
“Oh?” I opened the driver’s side door for her.
“I don’t know how we ended up married, but I know it wasn’t about my immigration status. In fact, when it came up earlier in the night, we both agreed it was too risky.”
I nodded, remembering the conversation at the bar.
“I guess the question is, can we get in trouble for staying married to help me stay?”
“You’ve thought this through,” I said as she slipped into the car.
“I know it’s hard for you to feel like you’re lying and so I’m trying to find ways to make it easier for you. The thing is, we’re not lying most of the time. Not really.”
I had to admit she had a point. “I appreciate you’re trying to relieve my conscience.”
She smiled. “What is a good wife for?”
I laughed. “See you at home later tonight.”
I watched her drive off and processed everything she’d said. I think she was right that it probably threw Bigalow off to have us respond aggressively the way we did. Unless he saw it as an act. How many people did he investigate for marriage fraud, and how did they behave?
She was right about the intention behind our marriage not being her immigration status. Things were still a bit foggy about that night, but I did remember we were supposed to just be going through the motions to learn about quickie marriage in Vegas, not actually getting married.
In marriage fraud, did the crime occur when a couple got married to usurp immigration laws? In that case, we didn’t break any laws. Or would we still be considered criminals for staying married to keep her in the country?
I made it back to my car and started the short-in-distance, but long-in-time trip back into Washington, D.C. All these concerns and questions continued to rattle around in my head, until I was a jumble of nerves when I arrived back at my office. It was clear to me that the sooner this investigation was over the better. I wasn’t a man who liked uncertainty.
At this point, the only thing I knew for sure was that if Adalyn and I didn’t pull this off, everything I’d worked for would be gone. I sat in my office wondering why I’d risked so much for her to stay. Yes, I liked her. Yes, her work was important. But to risk not just my livelihood, but my freedom to keep her here, what had I been thinking?
I decided I couldn’t answer that, and it didn’t matter anyway. We were too far into the deception to back out now. I had no choice but to put my faith in her, in us, that we could pull this off.
Book 4: Chapter 23—A New Plan
A New Plan
Adalyn
I went back to work, feeling guilty that Will thought I wasn’t respecting the seriousness of our situation. I understood that if I failed him, he’d pay more than I would. Yes, we could both go to jail, and I’d likely not ever find security work like I did now, but I didn’t have a billion-dollar company to lose.
And while I didn’t think it was wise to annoy Mr. Bigalow, I really did believe that acting like he was being ridiculous could play in our favor. Acting nervous and uptight would only make us look guilty and suspicious.
“Everything okay, Beaumont … er … Sloane?” Cal asked when I got back to my cubby.
“Yep.”
“Hey, what sorts of things do they ask?” Stu asked. “How detailed do they get?”
I smirked, knowing he was asking how intimate the questions were. After all, he was the guy that called me out this morning for arriving at work in post-orgasm bliss. “Detailed.”
“Really? Like what?” Kip asked. I guess he was going to forgive me for not choosing him.
“He wanted to know Will’s salary.”
Kip grinned. “That’s easy. Billionaire.”
I pointed at Kip. “That’s what I said.”
“You think it’s going all right?” Cal asked joining us. I wasn’t sure if his concern was that we could get in trouble or if he thought we were really breaking the law. Which we weren’t, I decided.
“I know I told the truth. What the immigration officer thinks, is beyond me.”
“Did you tell him about … you know …” Stu waggled his brows.
“You do know we have a policy against sexual harassment, right?” Cal said.
“I’m not harassing her.”
“Those types of questions are fair game when it comes to immigration, apparently,” I explained.
Cal frowned. “That’s disturbing.”
Disturbing wasn’t the word I’d have used. Annoying. Embarrassing.
“I mean, think about it. These interviews will likely be recorded. Certainly documented. The U.S. government is going to have you on record talking about intimate details between you and Will.” Cal shook his head. “Creepy.”
When he put it that way, it was disturbing. No wonder Will was uncomfortable. He didn’t need government agencies that contracted with him being able to access these sorts of records.
“Well, that’s enough gossip. Back to work,” Cal said nodding to Stu and Kip. They went back to their desks.
“No doubt I’ll get a call from immigration, Addy. I’ll need to tell them the truth.”
I frowned at Cal. “What do you mean?” Did he doubt my marriage?
“That I had no clue about you and Will until you two announced your marriage.”
Okay, but we’d explained that.
“I will say that Will isn’t the type to step outside the law. He’s probably never even gotten a parking ticket. But I can’t risk this company or our projects trying to cover for you two.”
“We don’t want you to.”
“Good.” He no
dded, and headed to his office.
His comment had me wondering how many people Mr. Bigalow would contact. Would he talk to my neighbors or Will’s neighbors? They’d all have to say they never saw us dating. In fact, his neighbors would likely tell them about Karen. We looked totally different, so there wouldn’t be any chance of them saying I was her.
All the positive feelings I had about the meeting this morning completely dissipated. It was one thing for Will and I to pull this off, but what if the people around us ruined all our efforts?
I opened up my computer and looked at flights from Dulles to Montreal. I should just go home. Certainly if I left the country and withdrew my application, Mr. Bigalow wouldn’t have a case. Will and I would need to get a divorce, and I had no clue how that was done across international lines, but we could figure that out. It had to be easier than trying to convince immigration that our marriage was real.
“Addy, do you have your part of the report we need for the contractor ready?” Stu asked me from his desk.
“Ah, not yet. I’ll get on it now.” Doing my best to push away my fears about completely messing up Will’s life, I focused on my job.
Later that evening, when I arrived home, Will was in his office.
“I’m behind on just about everything,” he said. “How about I order takeout? There’s a good Chinese place that delivers.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. So, you’ll be working this evening?” I leaned against the doorjamb to admire him. Will had a presence about him, even sitting in a t-shirt and jeans. His hair was damp, suggesting he’d taken a shower. I knew he liked to exercise after work, so he’d probably come home, gone for a run, and then showered.
Now he was back at his desk, looking powerful and competent and sexy. I remembered his text from earlier that had me imagining him taking me on his desk. At the time, I was thinking of the one at his business office, but this desk was plenty big as well.
“Yes. Sorry.”
I waved away his apology. “No, it’s fine. I don’t want to be in the way.”
“There are a couple of things we need to discuss. Why don’t I get dinner and we can go over them?”
