Con Man

by Amy Brent

  “Oh, really?” the director asked. “And whose idea is that?”

  “Mine,” Thomas said. He stepped in front of me, and I could tell his anger was flaring. We were both on edge because of what happened yesterday, but I didn’t want to cause anymore trouble than had already been caused.

  “I didn’t say anything, director, and I’ll have my agent fax you over the copy we have of the non-disclosure I signed. I’ll see you Monday.”

  “I’ll see you when I tell you to come back to set,” the director said.

  “If you don’t have me recording on this set by Monday morning, that voids my contract,” I said. “When you signed me on, you signed me on to film a specific number of days, not a specific number of scenes. It’s how I’m getting my money’s worth from this movie. I film Monday, or you lose your star. Take your pick.”

  Before I could listen to his answer, I turned and started for the door. Who the fuck was he to accuse me of blabbing about his shitty movie when I didn’t give two fucks about it? It was a project that would look good on my resume because of how I stepped into the indie scene and loaned out my expertise to help people rise to the top from the bottom. It was to make me look better and help them with their careers.

  He had no right to talk to me that way.

  I had no way to control this situation. I didn’t fucking tell anyone about this bullshit, but someone was talking. I got my agent on the phone and told her what was going on, then ordered her to fax over the non-disclosure before lunch. I wasn’t in the mood for anyone’s bullshit attitudes any longer, and I could tell I’d pissed my agent off when she hung up on me without saying goodbye.

  Just another reason to eventually fire her.

  “Hold on, let me get us through this crowd and back to the car,” Thomas said. He parted the waves and got me into the passenger seat of his car with the crowd of cameras snapping pictures left and right. I could feel my anger flaring up with every snap I heard, and that was when I realized what had really happened yesterday.

  Someone knew where I lived, and that posed a risk for others to eventually figure it out as well. If it was that easy for a strange man to waltz up my driveway and get to my front door, then I needed a safer, more secure place to live.

  “Thomas, do I still have you for today, even though we aren’t filming?” I asked.

  “Of course, what were you thinking?” he asked.

  “I think it’s time I found a new place to live,” I said.

  “Still not feeling good about going back?”

  “Well, if someone knows where I live and they could get to me that easily, it’s only a matter of time before other people figure it out and try to do the same. My lease is up in a month anyway, so I could call my landlord, let him know what’s going on, and start looking for another place to live.”

  “That’s funny, actually. My lease is up in about a month, too. I thought about moving Lacey and me, but she really seems to enjoy where we are, so I think I’m just gonna resign my lease.”

  “That sounds like a good idea, especially for someone as young as Lacey,” I said. “She needs stability, you know?”

  I got my landlord on the phone and talked him through what was going on. He wasn’t happy that I wasn’t giving him sixty days’ notice, but when I told him I would be willing to pay two months’ worth of rent instead of just one for my last month to help him out without losing any money, he was more than happy to work with me. He ran me through the steps I needed to take to be out within the next month, and I told him I’d be ready for him to walk through the house in the next two weeks.

  “So, where do you wanna go look for homes?” Thomas asked.

  “There’s a few neighborhoods on the other side of Los Angeles that cater to high-profile celebrities. Gated communities. Houses on hills. That kind of thing. Why don’t we start there?”

  I drove around with Thomas for the majority of the day, looking at some of the most beautiful home I’d ever seen. Massive staircases that wound up into multiple stories of homes and mahogany wood floors that shone in the sunlight streaming from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Massive bedrooms that all had their own en suite bathrooms with jet tubs and stone-walled walk-in showers. I gawked at every single home we walked into, but all of them just seemed too big.

  I mean, I was just one person. Why did I need all of this room in a house?

  “These are gorgeous,” Thomas said.

  “Yeah. But they’re big. I mean, I like the idea of catering to people like myself. It makes me feel safe. But it’s just so much. I don’t share it with anyone or anything like that, so what’s the point of having seven bedrooms if I only need two, at the most?”

  “Makes sense,” he said. “Aren’t there neighborhoods with smaller homes that still give you that safe feeling?”

  I looked over at Thomas, and the first thing that ran through my head was his home. That was much smaller than I was used to living in, but it felt safe. However, it wasn’t the neighborhood or the part of town that made me feel that way.

  It was having him there that made me feel that way.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I guess we could keep looking around.”

  “Then, your chariot awaits.”

  We drove around for a little while longer before we had to abandon our search and go get Lacey from school. She ran out of her school and came barreling up to my door. I got out and wrapped my arms around her before swinging her around.

  “Bridget!” she said.

  “Hey there, Lacey,” I said. “How was school?”

  “It was awesome. We colored, and I played with Leo and Tracey, and we had snacks, and I actually slept during nap time today and—”

  “Sweetheart, why don’t we get into the car and talk on the way home?” Thomas asked.

  I looked around us, and I saw mothers and fathers busting out their phones to take pictures of me, so we all scrambled into the car while Lacey continued to rattle off things about her day.

  “We played outside and had a bathroom break, and I pooped in the potty like a big girl, Bridget!”

  “Oh, you did, did you?” I asked. “Well, I’m very proud of you. I hear it takes kids awhile to nail that concept.”

  “She’s been doing that for quite some time,” Thomas said. “She’s just showing off since you’re here.”

  “Will you sleep with me tonight, Bridget? Please?”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Thomas said.

  “No, it’s fine,” I said. “Lacey, I’d love to have our sleepover tonight.”

  “Yes!” she exclaimed.

  We got back to Thomas’s house and ate dinner. He threw together an easy meal of spaghetti and meatballs with a salad, and Lacey shoveled the noodles into her mouth until she was covered in sauce. I couldn’t help but giggle at her with every slurp she took, and Thomas just shook his head while his daughter covered herself in red goop.

  “Bath time for you, little girl,” he said.

  “Can Bridget give me a bath?” she asked.

  “Of course, I can. Come on.”

  I took her hand and ran her a bath before I filled it with bubbles. She was such a good girl with getting out of her clothes and tossing them off to the side, but when she hit those bubbles, she began to splash me with water. I giggled, splashing her back, and before we knew it, we had covered the entire bathroom in suds and water.

  “Uh oh,” Lacey said.

  “That’s never a good sound,” Thomas said.

  “We might have made a mess,” I said.

  “Don’t worry. Messes can be cleaned up. In the meantime, it’s bedtime for you, Lacey.”

  “But, Daddy, it’s the weekend,” Lacey said.

  “You still need your sleep,” he said. “And I’m sure Bridget does, too.”

  “Fine,” Lacey said, pouting.

  I washed her hair and rinsed it out, then we toweled her off while Thomas cleaned up the bathroom. I got her dressed in her pajamas, and we both crawled
into bed, with Lacey handing me the book she wanted me to read to her. She was obsessed with her new princess book she had gotten, and I read through four entire stories before I felt her body slowly sink into mine.

  “You’re comfy,” Lacey said.

  “Wanna try to get some rest?” I asked.

  “No,” she said, sleepily.

  “Knock knock,” Thomas said.

  “Hey, Daddy,” Lacey said.

  “Just come to kiss my girls goodnight,” he said. I smiled up at him as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then he bent down and pressed a kiss to Lacey’s cheek.

  “You two don’t have too much fun,” he said. “Leave some for the weekend.”

  “We will, I promise,” I said.

  “Night night, Daddy,” Lacey said, yawning.

  “Night night, sweetheart. I’ll see you two in the morning.”

  The moment Thomas shut the door, the room fell black. The book slipped off Lacey’s chest, and her breathing began to even out. I held her close to me while I curled up underneath her. Her cheek was pressed against my chest, and her small comforter was wrapped around her body. I couldn’t help but run my fingers through her hair while she snored lightly on my chest.

  But then, a small little phrase fell from her lips, elating my heart and bringing tears to my eyes.

  “I love you, new mommy.”

  And in that very moment, I knew exactly where I wanted to be.

  Chapter 32

  Thomas

  I woke up before the girls and decided to cook them breakfast again. Pancakes sizzled on the griddle while sausage cooked in the pan. I squeezed some fresh orange juice for us all before I looked over at the clock. It was almost ten, and I still didn’t hear a peep from either of them, so I placed breakfast on the table before I went to go peek into Lacey’s room.

  Just as I was walking down the hallway, Lacey came tumbling out, and the smile on her face told me something had just happened. Bridget slinked out, nose deep in her phone, and I picked up Lacey in my arms just as I approached her.

  “What are you up to?” I asked.

  “Looking at homes…” Bridget trailed off.

  “Tell him! Tell him! Tell him!” Lacey chanted.

  “Tell me what?” I asked.

  “Well, something you said yesterday got me thinking. You said your lease was up soon, just like mine, and you asked me if there were any smaller homes that made me feel safe,” Bridget said.

  “Uh huh,” I said, nodding.

  “And it got me thinking on what actually made me feel safe. And honestly? It’s not the gates, or the security system, or living on a hill or some shit like that.”

  “Language,” I warned.

  “Daddy, I know it’s a bad word,” Lacey said.

  “Sorry,” Bridget said. “Anyway, it got me thinking about what actually made me safe. And when you said something about the house being smaller and safer, the first thing that popped into my mind was here.”

  “Are you saying you want to live here?” I asked.

  I felt my heart pound at the prospect. I mean, it crossed my mind a time or two, especially when I saw her around Lacey, but I figured with her searching for a new home, me throwing out that type of proposition wasn’t only unprofessional, but also premature. Neither of us really defined what we were doing, and while I knew I cared for her and wanted to protect her, part of that was also my job.

  “Not exactly,” she said. “But I figured we could find a place for the three of us.”

  “Daddy, isn’t that awesome! The houses are so pretty, and we could all live together!”

  Lacey wiggled out of my arms and hopped down onto the floor before she started running up and down the hallway. Every time she passed by Bridget’s leg, she hugged it, and then she would look up and squeal before she’d continue running and twirling around.

  “We’re all gonna live together and have sleepovers, and Bridget can do my hair and give me baths, and we can splash around in the bubbles and take family vacations! I love my new mommy so much!”

  My head whipped over to her at her statement before my worried eyes flickered back to Bridget. She was looking down at Lacey with eyes full of love and admiration, but it was when I caught her gaze that made me weak in my knees. She connected her eyes with mine and gave me a small little smirk, almost as if she had read it.

  “I know we haven’t really… figured out what this is yet,” she said. “But I feel safe with you. Anywhere you are, so long as it’s with me. And honestly? I wouldn’t ever feel safe being anywhere else. Not after all this.”

  “You’ve been through a lot,” I said. “It’s understandable.”

  “I wanna live with Bridget so bad, Daddy! Please! Can we!?” Lacey said, shrieking.

  “Do you really wanna do this?” I asked.

  “If you don’t, I understand,” she said. “It honestly didn’t dawn on me until this morning, and I wasn’t sure how you would take it. I tried to field Lacey and keep her expectations at bay, but as soon as she saw the houses, the first question out of her mouth was—”

  “Can we all live together like a family, please?” Lacey asked.

  I looked down at the elation behind my daughter’s eyes while my heart soared with joy. Just the prospect of living with Bridget and having us all under one roof brought a smile to my face, but the mere fact that she had initiated all this told me I was on the same page as her. I wanted to create a life with Bridget, a life she might not have thought possible until this very moment. I wanted her to be the mother Lacey always deserved, and I wanted to keep her safe for the rest of her days. I cared for her deeper than I’d ever cared for any other woman in my life, and as I raised my eyes to connect with hers, a grin peeled across my lips.

  “Sounds like we need to go house-hunting,” I said.

  “Yes!” Lacey exclaimed. “Thank you, Daddy! Thank you so much!”

  “Really?” Bridget asked.

  “I’m game if you’re game,” I said.

  We all piled into the car after eating breakfast while Bridget was on the phone with her real estate agent. We toured four massive homes, each with their own separate appeal, but the moment we walked into the first one, I think all of us just knew. Bridget couldn’t stop gawking at the walls and how big the rooms were, and I couldn’t stop imagining taking her on every surface the home provided. I wanted to hold her close at night and pepper the walls with her sounds and scents while Lacey was at school. I wanted to wake up next to her with the tendrils of her soft hair fluttering up my nose just before Lacey crawled into bed with us to wake us up.

  I wanted to fill this home with memories of the three of us while we watched movies, ate popcorn, and held each other close while Lacey fell asleep between the two of us.

  I wanted us to be a family, and as I caught Bridget’s eye while we rounded into the main room, I knew she felt the same way.

  “So, we’ve seen all four homes,” the agent said. “What do you think?”

  “Honestly, I like the very first one we saw,” Bridget said.

  “Me, too,” I said. “The rooms were massive, and each one had a bathroom attached to it. It would be convenient to have guests over, like my parents, and Lacey could even have her own playroom.”

  “Yes, a playroom has to be there,” Lacey said. “I need a place for all my toys so my new mommy and I can play all the time.”

  “Your new mommy?” the real estate agent asked.

  “What she means is she’s ready to play with people in her own playroom instead of her bedroom becoming cramped with all the things she has now,” I said.

  “It’s all right,” Bridget said. “She’s signed a non-disclosure. Everything we say here stays between us.”

  “It’s true, and if this little one is excited about what I think she’s excited about, then I’m happy for all three of you,” the agent said.

  “You’re not worried about something like this getting out?” I asked.

  “Thomas, ou
t of all the things I’m worried about, people finding out about me, you and Lacey aren’t even on the list,” she said.

  I drew her to me and pulled her in for a kiss while Lacey squealed in delight. I just couldn’t help myself, to be honest. This beautiful woman I’d come to admire and care for greatly had woken up this morning with my daughter calling her the ‘new mommy’ in our lives, and she had been looking at houses for us to live in, all at the same time. She had taken my entire life in stride, my daughter included, and every single time she walked into my home, it wrenched my heart to watch her leave. Every night I laid down alone in my bed was a night I went to sleep wishing she was beside me, and now, we were standing in front of a real estate agent that was two questions away from signing me up for the life I’d dreamt of ever since I first got to touch Bridget’s body in that club we ventured into.

  “Well, I only have two more questions then,” the agent said. “When do you want to move in, and do you want to rent or purchase?”

  I looked over at Bridget who was mulling over everything in her head. I told myself I’d go with whatever answers that came from her lips, but a part of me was begging for her to say purchase. I wanted to build a home and a life with her. I wanted to take family vacations together every single summer from here on out, and I wanted to have a child with her. I watched her eyes sparkle with the information running through her mind, and I could see the rest of my future pooling in the beautiful irises of her big doe eyes. Lacey clung to my leg, hanging onto every word that was happening in the conversation.