by JA Huss
She glares at me. Then she points her finger at me. “You know what? Thank you for the opportunity, but I don’t think my acting skills mesh with your project. If you even have a project.”
And then she flips her too-blonde hair, whirls on her heel, and walks out.
Brooke looks at Linnea and whispers, “And then there were two.”
Which makes Huck laugh and me frown. She’s definitely the most aggressive one in the room. Pink skirt suit aside, Brooke Alder is not what she appears.
“Well,” Linnea says, standing up, “I too frequent the park.”
“Do you?” Brooke asks. “We should meet up some time. Do you play Frisbee?”
“No. And stop talking. Your turn is over.”
“Sorry,” Brooke whispers as she looks at me. Then she winks. “Go on, Linnea.”
“Never mind,” Huck says, putting up a hand. “We’re done here.”
“We’re not done here,” I object.
“Yeah.” Wald sighs. “It’s pretty obvious who our choice is.”
“I didn’t make a choice,” I say. Then I point to Brooke. “She’s—” And I’m just about to say ‘lying’ when the desk phone beeps and Elaina says, “I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Boston. But your brother just pulled up in the valet area.”
“Which one?” Huck, Wald, and I all say together.
“Johnny.”
“Shit,” Wald says. “OK, thank you for coming, Miss Billings. But you have to go now.” And before I know it, he’s across the room, has Linnea Billings by the arm, and is shoving her out the door.
Then he whirls around, points to Brooke Alder, and says, “You’re hired and you’re on. Here’s the gig. You’re Joey Boston’s long-time girlfriend.”
“Got it,” Brooke says, getting up and walking towards me. She pulls my chair away from the desk and plops into my lap just as we hear Johnny Boston—the insane recluse who never leaves that stupid Bossy Building—yelling at poor Elaina outside.
The door bursts open.
Brooke laughs and says, “Oh, my God. That was the best time ever, wasn’t it?” Then turns her head to the door and says, “Oh, hello.”
Johnny glares at her. Then he glares at me. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“What are you talking about?” I say.
“You’re interviewing people for some job?”
“Who told you that?” I ask.
“Emma told Jesse, and Jesse told Zach, and Zach told me that you needed an office this morning in Emma’s building to hold interviews. What are you doing?”
“Not that it’s any of your fucking business,” I say. “But I was interviewing for a nanny position.”
“Nanny,” Johnny growls. “I told you not to get involved with that family.”
“She’s my daughter, Johnny. I’m not walking away.”
“And we’re winning, anyway,” Huck says.
“You’re not doing shit, Huck,” Johnny says. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Sorry you feel that way,” I say. “But you’re wrong. Huck, Wald, Brooke, and I do everything together. This is my team now.”
“Your team,” Johnny huffs. “And what the hell is going on with her?” He points to Brooke in my lap.
“Hello,” she sings. “I’m Brooke Alder. Your brother’s better half. Nice to meet you, Johnny. Joey’s told me so many good things about you.”
Johnny laughs. “I seriously doubt that, Brooke. You can lie about this all you want, but I know you’re not his girlfriend.”
Brook turns to look at me. “Hmm. Then I guess I should stop letting you fuck me.”
“We’re been dating for three years,” I say.
“On and off,” Brooke adds. “He’s not really one of those settle-down guys, right. But I’m wearing him down. Aren’t I?” she asks me. And then she coos, “I know you’ve been shopping for rings. Huck told me.” Then she winks at Huck.
And damn. I have to give this girl credit. She does not miss anything. Huck’s name was dropped three seconds ago and Brooke picked that ball up and ran.
“Anyway,” Wald says. “The nanny thing was a bust.”
“I’m up for the job, anyway,” Brooke adds. “You know how much I love kids. I can’t wait to meet your little precious princess, Joey. We’re gonna have a blast.”
Johnny is absolutely fuming. But what can he say?
Nothing.
“Nice seeing you again,” I deadpan, looking him in the eye. “Now if you don’t mind… get the fuck out. You’re the one who has nothing to do with this.”
CHAPTER EIGHT - BROOKE
Johnny Boston points his finger at Joey and says, “I won’t bail you out when things go south. Keep that in mind, brother.”
“I don’t expect you to,” Joey says back, voice and tone even and low. “It’s not like you ever have before.”
“Fuck you,” Johnny spits. And then he glares at the rest of us. First me, then the bulldozer, Huck, then the scowling guy, who is apparently called Wald. “Fuck all of you. You have no idea who you’re up against.”
He walks out, slamming the door behind him.
I’ve heard of him. Hell, everyone’s heard of him. But seeing him in the flesh, and all angry and worked up… “Holy shit,” I say, in the wake of his anger. “Wow.” I get up off Joey’s lap and walk around the other side of the desk. “OK. So… good to know what I’m dealing with here.”
Joey is glaring at me. “You don’t seem surprised. Why is that, Brooke?”
“I’m still processing, of course,” I say, trying on my most friendly smile. “But there’s no going back now. He thinks I’m your girlfriend.”
“No,” Joey corrects me. “He was told you’re my girlfriend. What he thinks is a whole other matter.”
“Sure. But I’m up for it.”
“Are you sure?” Wald asks me. “This situation is not as straightforward as it appears.”
“I get it,” I say. “You have a child? And this child has been kept from you?”
“Yes,” Joey admits.
“And you want her back.”
“Yes.”
“And you need to”—I take a not-so-wild stab in the dark—“appear stable and normal.”
“Yes.”
“OK,” I say, taking a seat in the chair. I really don’t care if I wrinkle my clothes anymore. Because I’m the last woman standing and this job’s in the bag.
Not that I came here for this job, but hell, this door is so much wider than the one I was aiming for.
“I don’t know,” Wald says, picking up my résumé off Joey’s desk. “What is this?” He waves the piece of paper at me.
“My résumé, of course.”
“It doesn’t say anything. It’s all a bunch of bullshit. Who are you?”
“And how did you get here?” Huck adds.
Damn. I thought Huck was on my side.
But there’s no reason to lie about how I stumbled through their door. They’re liars too. So I tell the truth. “I came here to apply for a Bright Berry Beach Cosmetics position and got misdirected to this office by Elaina out there.”
“Oh, fuck,” Wald says.
But Joey is quiet. And he’s the one who counts. So I say, “If you need someone to help you pull off a scam, then I’m your girl.”
“Yeah?” Joey says. “How do you figure?”
I take a deep breath, then nod my head to Wald. “What does it say I am on that résumé, Wald?”
He scans it for a moment, then says, “An influencer. Whatever that means.”
“That means,” I say, looking Joey in the eyes, “I’m a professional liar. I could win an Olympic gold medal in lying.”
“Hmm,” Huck says.
“Look,” I say. “I could tell you all about my life. But it’s all so absurd, you wouldn’t believe me. So let’s just assume I’m the best at my job and hold off on judgment until I fuck up. Which will not happen. I promise you. If you’re trying to fool someone into thinking you�
��re the picture-perfect father, I will make that happen.”
“How?” Wald says.
“How?” I scoff. “I will do what it takes.”
“No limits?” Huck asks.
“I mean… I’m not gonna kill anyone for you. Unless it comes with a big bonus.” Then I wink and laugh, like that was a joke. “But I’ll give it my all.”
“Who are you?” Joey asks.
“Cross my heart,” I say, crossing my heart. “I am Brooke Alder. I am a girl who needs a door. And you three have one. A nice, wide, tall, double fucking door that I can walk right through and see what’s on the other side.”
“We don’t like poetic explanations,” Wald says.
But Huck says, “I dunno. I like the poetic shit.”
“How much?” Joey asks. “How much will it cost me?”
“I mean…” I laugh. But my heart flutters inside my chest. Because while I do need money—next year—I don’t need it now. Coming in for this job really wasn’t about the money, was it?
It was about the prospects. It was about finding myself. It was about revealing my purpose.
The second R in that list.
Maybe I wasn’t in the remaking stage like I thought? Maybe I’m just getting started on step two?
So I say, “I’m good for money. I don’t really need that. Not yet, anyway. But I could use a fresh start. I came to this city to make a change. I left my old life behind me and now I need to find a way forward. But I don’t have an education and I can’t exactly list anything I’ve done over the past fifteen years on my résumé. So you three open up some doors for me, help me pad that résumé, and I’ll make sure you get that kid back. Deal?”
They’re all silent, thinking about my offer. Then Joey says, “Do you have any idea who I am? And who that guy was who just walked out?”
“I have some idea. I obviously know who the Boston Brothers are. But beyond your name recognition, no. Not really.”
“Well… we’re involved in some fucked-up shit,” Joey says.
“What do you mean?” Wald asks.
Which is interesting.
“Did something happen that we don’t know about?” Huck asks.
Again. Very interesting.
“I’m just saying,” Joey says, looking at his friend. “Johnny, you know. He’s… not right. And yeah. Something fucking happened. But I can’t tell you about it.” Then he looks at me. “Or you either. So you’re getting involved with a family that has a long history of…”
“Corruption?” I ask, filling in his blank.
Joey inhales and lets out a long breath. “You could say that.”
“Well, look. I’ve been involved with worse. And I can hold my own. So if you want me to do this, I will do it. And we will win. But if you’d rather look for someone else…” I shrug. “Be my guest. I’ll just go back out to the reception desk and get on with the business of becoming an independent sales rep for Bright Berry Beach.”
Huck snickers at my goal.
So I turn to him, point my finger at him. “You know what? Laugh all you want. But that’s why I came here. And I was excited about it. I could be happy being some normal, middle-class girl who wears pink skirt suits and sells lipstick by organizing online parties. It sounds like a fucking dream job after what I’ve been doing for the past fifteen years.”
“Sorry,” Huck says, holding up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
I look back at Joey. “I can do this. I’m very good at what I do. So… up to you, Mr. Boston. Do you want my help or not?”
He thinks for a moment, then says, “Were you really a Frisbee champion?”
“Do you think I was a Frisbee champion?”
Huck laughs.
“What’s-her-face said ‘dingo’ in her answer and my mind thought, Dogs. So then I just made up a story about dogs. BoBo was a real dog I knew once. And I did go to the park last weekend and talk to some random kids as I was waiting in line to buy myself an ice cream cone. If you mix the lies up with the truth it comes off better. I learned that a long time ago. So now, after a lot of practice, I’m a champion liar. For better or worse, that’s my God-given gift.”
Then I tsk my tongue and look at Joey. “Remember when we met? What city was that in?” I look at Huck.
“Uh…” But he catches on quick. He might be a bulldozer, but he’s not a meathead. “Singapore.”
“Right.” I snap my fingers. “We were at the gardens in downtown. Standing on that little bridge looking down into that koi pond. And we started naming them. We didn’t know each other. Two strangers on a bridge looking at fish. And I said, ‘Spot. I’m going to call him Spot.’” Then I look at Wald and laugh. “Because of course, he was spotted. White and orange and a little bit of cream under his fins. And you”—I point to Joey—“were throwing fish food into the water. You can buy little capsules of fish food from machines on the other side of the bridge. You said, ‘I’m gonna call this one Fatty. Because he gets there first every time.’”
Joey smiles. And I know he’s picturing this lie I’m telling in his mind like it’s real.
“And then I said—”
“You said, ‘Hey,’” Joey says. “‘This is making me hungry. Let’s go grab some lunch.’”
“No,” I say, laughing. “That’s not how it went.” And now I’m looking at Huck. “I said, ‘Let’s call this one BoBo. Because he looks like a dog I used to play Frisbee with in City Park.’ And Joey said, ‘I had a dog named BoBo once.’ And I said, ‘Me too! Holy shit! We’re like… total soul mates or something!’”
“And then I said,” Huck says, “‘Can we have a foursome? Because this girl’s a keeper.’”
Everyone laughs. Even Wald.
“And then I said,” Joey says, “‘Fuck you, Huck. Get your own goldfish girl.’”
“And that’s how I got my nickname. Goldfish girl.” I pan my arms wide and smile. “So… that, my new scam team, is what you call an origin story. It could use some polishing. But not bad, right?”
All three of them look at each other. Finally, Wald smiles and nods and says, “I think she’ll do.”
CHAPTER NINE - JOEY
Brooke Alder.
I like her. Huck and Wald like her too. In fact, I think Huck might like her a lot. We’re up in Wald’s penthouse and Brooke and Huck are out on the patio laughing as they come up with more lies. Huck has decided that their shared memories are just as important as ours.
I can’t say I disagree.
Huck, Wald and I have been inseparable for over a decade. So it stands to reason that if Brooke has been around for a few years we’re all pretty tight.
But I’m taking her house-hunting this afternoon. We need to get that settled. I have my bank on alert because if we find something we’re buying it cash.
It’s already Tuesday and I only have four days left before I finally get to meet Maisy. I need to be ready. I want this to go perfect.
“Hey,” Wald says. He’s standing in the kitchen fucking around on his laptop.
“What’s up?”
“There’s this guy I know. He makes fake memories.”
“What do you mean? Like we’re doing right now?”
“No… like pictures. Proof, you know. I mean it’s mostly not on the up and up. People looking for alibis, I would imagine. But what if we hired him to, you know, make us some memories? A record of it. Trips to Paris and shit like that?”
“Can’t hurt, right?”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Wald says.
“I do too,” Huck says.
Wald and I both turn our heads to find Huck standing in the open terrace doorway. “I was coming in here to tell you guys that I think we need socials.”
“Aw, fuck that,” Wald says. “You know how much I hate socials. It’s just not a good idea to announce your fucking private shit everywhere.”
“I know, I know,” Huck says. “But everyone does it.”
“Everyone b
ut us.” I laugh.
“We should get socials and backdate that shit for the past three years. Maybe don’t get all fucking crazy. But we should put something up there. Believe me, they’re gonna be looking at that shit.”
“Do you even know how to do that?” Wald asks.
“I don’t,” Huck says. “But remember that chick we met in Okinawa? She does this kinda of shit.”
“Shelly, or whatever her name was?” I ask, vaguely recalling our last trip to Okinawa.
“Yeah.” Huck points to me. “We should get Shelly to do this for us. Make it all look legit.”
“Do you have her contact number?” Wald asks.
Huck holds up his phone, grinning. “She’s got a website!”
“What do you think?” Wald asks me.
I shrug. “Can’t hurt, right? Better to be over-prepared. Ask if she can get it done by this weekend.”
“Won’t they wonder why they just suddenly appeared?” Wald asks. “I mean, for sure they have already looked us up on socials and we don’t have any.”
“We’ll say they’re private. In fact,” Huck says, “we’ll leave them private until they bring it up. Then we’ll all be like, ‘Oh, let me change my privacy settings.’ And boom. We’ve got a history all set up.”
I nod my head. “Good idea. Both of those things. Wald, you take care of making memories while Huck takes care of backdating socials. Brooke and I have a house to see—”
Just as I say that my phone rings and when I glance at the screen, it comes up as unknown.
Normally I would not answer this because pretty much everyone I know and talk to is a contact in my phone.
But… it could be Maisy again.
So I tab accept and say, “This is Joey.”
“Mr. Boston. This is Don Parker, head of security for the Kane family.”
I almost can’t contain my eye-rolling groan. “What can I do for you, Parker?”
“We need a background check. I’m sending an email you need to sign so we can—”
My laugh cuts him off. “That’s not gonna happen.”
Silence from Mr. Parker.
“Do you hear me?”
“Mr. Boston, the family would like—”
