Date in Disguise

by Laura Westbrook

  “It seems like you’re the life of the party in there. Everyone wants to talk to you. Prime real estate, as they say.”

  “Is that what they say?” His eyes sparkled as he turned and faced the lake. They caught the light when he turned toward me, and that only magnified the color blue. It wasn’t fair they looked that good—made my job a tiny bit harder for some reason.

  With Audric continuing to feed me lines, I could do this witty banter all night. In a way, it felt a little thrilling, saying things that would never come out of my mouth otherwise—almost like a famous actress in a film, maybe a spy movie like I’d mentioned earlier. What a glamorous life I imagined a person like that having, far beyond the shy, introverted person I really was. Any minute now, Gavin would see right through me, but by that time, I’d be long gone.

  “It’s gorgeous out here,” I breathed, taking in the sight in front of us. The balcony wrapped in a half-circle, mirroring the contours of the shore. It was larger than I thought it would be for a country club, stretching beyond what was strictly necessary for a scenery piece or a golfing hazard. In the fading light, I noticed a group of ducks gliding across the surface. In any other situation, it would be romantic.

  “Feeling better?” he asked.

  “Pardon?”

  “You said you couldn’t hear yourself think in there.”

  I shook my head. “Right. Yes, I’m feeling better. The air is clearer here too. I think someone in there has terrible taste in cologne.”

  He laughed. “It’s not me, is it? Come on, you can tell me.”

  “No! It’s definitely not you. I like your cologne. It’s musky.”

  He tilted his head. “Musky, huh?”

  I waved my hands. “I mean, yes. No. Not in a bad musky way. Good musky. You know, masculine. Manly.”

  “Quit going off script,” Audric said in my ear. “Just follow what I say before you mess up everything.”

  That and the line before were the only two things I’d said to Gavin that were mine. Audric was right that I turned awkward whenever I didn’t follow the prompts. No use denying it.

  “Well, I’m glad my cologne smells manly to you. That’s the goal, wouldn’t you say?”

  If I wasn’t being watched, I would’ve rested my face in my hands just for a place to hide. I had to keep it together.

  Now back on script, I said, “It is. And you passed with flying colors.”

  “I didn’t know I was being tested.”

  “Aren’t we all?”

  He smiled. “You always have something to say, don’t you?”

  Only when I have help.

  We continued to walk until we reached the balcony. I promised myself not to stare at the view and instead focus on my target. He looked out at the water for a solid half minute before saying, “So what do you really want to ask?”

  The question caught me by surprise. Did he think I was holding back? I waited for my line. “I just have my interview questions. That’s all.”

  He gave a single nod, still looking out. “I see.”

  “What first led you to philanthropy?” I supposed Audric wanted me to ease into the line of questioning, even though I didn’t know him to be one for restraint.

  “Good question. I guess I was ready for a new challenge. You can only get so far in the business world before wondering what else is out there. I just saw a lot of need, and I wanted to help out where I could. It turns out, there’s a lot of work to be done, even in our own community.”

  “How so?”

  “You should see the children’s faces when we do our holiday program. We bring in presents for families who can’t afford them. Some of these kids are incredible troopers. Most don’t expect any gifts from their parents, because everyone is so focused on putting food on the table and keeping the lights on, so when we bring in a doll or an action figure or a bike, they just light up.”

  “I’m sure they appreciate that.”

  “It’s an experience that sticks with you.”

  “When’s your next project?”

  “We have the community center we’re remodeling, then we’re opening up another one the next town over. There’s a lot to do even before the holiday program comes around again.”

  He angled his body toward me. “You know, I just put two and two together. About your name.”

  Uh oh. “What do you mean?”

  “Your name. You know…Charity writes philanthropy. You must have known you were destined to be in the profession you’re in. Or at least something to do with charity work. It practically writes itself.”

  “You caught me.” Whew. “But I’m afraid it’s more coincidence than destiny. Nothing interesting there.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  He’s starting to flirt back. Hopefully that means this will be over sooner. “Well, thank you.”

  “Okay, now touch his arm,” Audric said.

  I reached over and rested my hand on his forearm. Even through his coat sleeve, I could feel how toned it was. It might as well have been a steel cable. I could’ve pressed my fingertips into his skin and there would hardly be any give. In the spirit of pretending to flirt with him, I thought about asking him if he worked out, but that would be going off script again. And besides, that would be silly. Clearly, he did.

  He reacted, but not as strongly as I imagined. I figured with him being the womanizer type, he’d always have a drink in one hand and a woman, possibly two, in the other. But, he seemed well tempered about it, glancing down at my hands and smiling just enough to not make me feel ridiculous, yet not jumping on top of me, figuratively speaking, of course.

  “Good,” Audric said. “You’re doing great, sister. Now ask him about his business, like what target market he focuses on with his advertising campaigns, both online and in print.”

  I tapped my lips together, trying to remember exactly how he’d phrased it, especially since Gavin was saying something at the same time. “So how do you go about your advertising?”

  “That was a change of topic. I didn’t know you had a mind for the business side of things.”

  “I don’t. I just try to make my articles well-rounded. You never know who might be reading.”

  He leaned against the railing and folded his arms with an appraising look. “I’ll tell you if you answer a question of mine.”

  “Okay…”

  “What makes you happy?”

  “What?”

  “It’s a little deep, but so are your questions. It’s only fair.”

  “Being appreciated.” I couldn’t believe I said that. It just popped out.

  “And you don’t feel you’re being appreciated right now, I take it. A boyfriend perhaps, or…”

  I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I don’t have a boyfriend or anyone else.” That was all off-script. And why would he care? Wasn’t I just a pair of legs and a short dress to him? For a man like Gavin Walsh, why would it bother him if I was taken? That’s what Audric had said of him.

  “How, then?”

  Family. But of course, I couldn’t say that. For all I knew, Audric was hidden in one of the nearby bushes, watching every move I made. So I clearly had to say something else, and Audric strangely hadn’t given me a line to say yet.

  “I just…do a lot for other people, and it would be nice if I’m appreciated more for it.” I had to choose my words wisely, knowing two people from different sides could hear me. Better to change the topic. “Taking care of animals makes me happy.”

  “Nice. I like that. What animals do you take care of?”

  “Anywhere from llamas to gorillas to giraffes. I volunteer at the local zoo.”

  “Stop talking about your damn zoo,” Audric said.

  “That sounds fulfilling,” Gavin said. “Looks like we both enjoy volunteer work. What’s your favorite part?”

  I motioned with my hands. “Stuffing the artificial food trees with hay and acacia leaves and then watching the giraffes feed. Did you know they have four
stomachs?”

  “I didn’t. You’re passionate about what you do. I know that.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate you saying so.”

  Audric’s voice came back on. Due to the reception, he must have clipped out. “Okay, now that he’s facing out toward the lake again, you see how he’s bent over a little bit? He usually keeps his phone in his back left pocket when he’s standing. Slip your hand in there and pull it out. Then wrap up and bring it over to me. There’s got to be something juicy on there.”

  My stomach knotted up. Did he really think I was some cunning pickpocket or something? I was probably the clumsiest person in the building. There was no way this would go well, but if Audric thought I should do it…

  I cozied up next to Gavin, pretending to look out over the lake with him, and reached my arm around his backside. I figured if he moved and felt my arm, he’d think I’d placed my arm around him. An odd move for a younger, female stranger to do, but the excuse might do the trick. My fingertips just grazed the outer edge of his pocket before I realized what I touched. Doing this without looking was a lot harder than it seemed.

  I dipped my index finger inside and felt smooth plastic—or metal. Whatever phones are made out of. Working my finger around the outer edge was the most difficult part. Whether I aimed for the inside or outside presented danger, so I went with the outside, away from his body. I had an excuse for putting my arm around him, but not for tickling his left butt cheek.

  Just when I reached my thumb around to the other side in just the right position to grip the phone to be able to lift it, it rang. I jerked my hand out and snapped my head to see if he noticed. I could’ve died right there and then. Of all the timing. If I was a hundred percent sure Audric wasn’t in the nearby bush, I might have considered jumping into it, just for a place to hide.

  He reached with his outside hand to his back pocket and pulled it out. Turning on the backlight, it illuminated his face. It was darker outside than I’d realized.

  “I should take this. I’m not sure if this is an emergency or not. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. I’ll wait here for you.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Even as he walked off, I strained to hear the voice on the other end of the line. Notepad or not, I tried to file everything away for later. If I didn’t come back with anything useful, my brothers might kill me.

  Chapter Five

  Gavin

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Gavin. Sorry to bother you, but we’re looking at a box of files, and it’s marked confidential, so I’m not sure if you want them shredded or put in the new file room. Someone here asked me about it, and I didn’t want to make the judgement call.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “It’s better to ask than guess. What date does it say on it?”

  “From eight years ago.”

  “It’s fine. Go ahead. I closed that project long ago, and that box is likely duplicate paperwork anyway. Tell the crew to shred it.”

  “Will do, boss. How’s the party?”

  “Hardly a party, really. More of a social event. I’ve met someone interesting, though.”

  I glanced behind me and noticed Charity waiting patiently, still looking my way. There was something about her I couldn’t quite put a finger on. She wasn’t like the copy-and-paste, dull personalities I usually met here. She had a spark about her that was unusual. Whatever she was about, I felt intrigued to know more.

  “Oh?”

  I cleared my throat. “Just some good business contacts, I meant. How’s it going over there? Are the crew mad they had to work late?”

  “No, not really. It’s only a once-a-year thing, and the pizzas you bought helps. They weren’t expecting cookie pizzas on top of the normal ones. Two places delivering at once was a nice touch.”

  “With all the growth we’ve been having this past year, everyone’s been putting in extra effort. They deserve it. In fact, tell them they can each have a paid half day this Friday. They can leave when their lunch break usually starts.”

  “You know the pizza is probably enough to buy their loyalty, right?”

  “They’ll get both. The warehouse crew stayed late last week without being asked, just to make sure the job got done. I like to reward that where I can.”

  “Will do. Well, I’ll let you get back to it. Thanks for taking the call.”

  “Of course.”

  With my back turned to Charity, I collected my thoughts. She certainly wasn’t the first woman I’d talked to over the years at events like these, but for some reason, she gave me pause. Throughout my time with her, she seemed to have different personalities, like a push and pull way of going about the conversation. Sometimes she seemed quiet and reserved, and others, brazen.

  “Doing okay over there?” she asked.

  With my back turned to her, it was hard to tell whether she could see the phone to my ear, but either way, I hadn’t said anything for twenty seconds or so.

  “Doing fine. I’m all done.”

  I pressed the button to turn the screen off, stuffed it in my back pocket, then turned back toward this curious young woman who didn’t seem to add up.

  * * *

  He hadn’t said anything for a while, but I wasn’t sure if he was done with the call. Maybe the person on the other end was still talking in the longest run-on sentence in history and he was simply listening. In the end, I decided to ask if he was doing okay, mostly because it was starting to get a little chilly out and I wanted to get the ball rolling. I didn’t want to keep trying for his phone until midnight.

  “Doing fine,” he said. “I’m all done.”

  “Ask him if he missed you,” Audric said.

  “Did you miss me?” I asked.

  He laughed. “Talking to you is more interesting than most of the phone calls I get. I can tell you that.”

  That’s something. “Do you get a lot of business calls late at night, maybe from associates who don’t want to risk calling during the day?”

  His forehead wrinkled, and I regretted that one. Audric’s questions were too forward. I could probably get to know a lot more about him just casually talking, but talking wasn’t high on the list of things I’d been sent there to do. At least not what Brandt had sent me there to do.

  “Not really, no. Most of my employees wrap up during normal business hours. I doubt anything else will come up while we talk.”

  I realized he thought I was offended that he took the call. If only he knew I was asking because I was trying to catch him in something nefarious. With the kind of phone calls he took, I was sure it was only a matter of time.

  “So…where were we?” I asked.

  “I think you were asking me an interview question.”

  Oh, yeah. That’s right. It wasn’t a good sign that I’d forgotten my cover story already. Once my next question came through the earpiece, I plunged forward with it. “So how do you come up with your ideas for the watches? Do you design them personally or do you borrow from other companies?”

  “From other companies?”

  “Well, sure.” I swiped at his shoulder playfully. “Nothing’s original under the sun anymore. Haven’t you heard the phrase?”

  “We definitely keep things original. I’ve hired a team of the best to come up with our designs. In fact, that’s something we pride ourselves on, not rehashing the same thing but trying to stay ahead of the fashion curve.”

  Audric cursed in my ear. He definitely didn’t like that. Wisely, I chose not to repeat that part. “What about the Carozza Conte line with the cognac alligator strap? Was that an original design?” That was the only repeatable part of Audric’s script.

  Gavin rubbed his thumb along his jaw, scraping against the tiny bit of stubble there. “You seem to know your stuff when it comes to watches. Most people off the street don’t know that much.”

  “I’m no rookie. I did my homework before I came here to interview you. A man like you deserves that.”

 
Thank God Audric was much quicker thinking on his feet than I was. I never would’ve come up with a comeback to save myself like that.

  “It seems so.” Gavin’s voice slowed down as if contemplating each word. “It’s always fun to talk to someone who knows their way around my industry.”

  “Okay, so he’s leaning against the railing,” Audric said. “You see how he has his leg propped up? Put your hand on his leg and keep it there. Don’t chicken out. I don’t want to do this all night.”

  I did so, sliding up next to him and reaching for his leg. The moment my hand touched his thigh, my fingertips grew warm.

  Once the physical connection happened, he looked over at me. I must have moved too close, because the simple motion of turning brought his face right next to mine. The heat that had been in my fingertips traveled up to my cheeks, and he had to know how hard I was blushing right then.

  With Audric’s prompting, I said, “The pleasure is all mine. And I know my way around a lot more than just watches.”

  The air between us crackled, and I’d never felt such intensity before in my life. I’d watched countless movies about this, heard about this kind of electricity, but I hadn’t once experienced it. His hand reached up and cupped the back of my shoulder. I was pretty sure he was drawing me toward him, but in the moment, it was hard to tell.

  And then it happened. Our lips touched. Not just touched…came together. Sealed. Like at the end of a fireworks show, where they send off the big payload at the end and everyone claps and cheers. It reminded me of that. My feet remained on the concrete, but my body felt like it was floating a few inches off the ground and his hand on my shoulder was the only thing keeping me from drifting up.

  After what felt like entire minutes, he pulled back and gazed into my eyes. A swirl of emotions hit me at once, like a dozen endings to my favorite movies happening at the same time. Anywhere from nausea, excitement, disdain, and arousal flooded my system. I didn’t just enjoy a kiss with the man threatening to ruin my family, did I?

  I recoiled and pried my body away from him inch by inch, my mouth opening as I gasped for breath. This was what I wanted, wasn’t it? Or at least, what I’d come here to do.