Lies, Mistrust and Fairy Dust

by Xavier Neal

  A grin the size of his ego grows on his face before he glances my direction. He plants a scowl on his face. “I need to conduct business with Ms. Missy. Who is that?”

  “Oh, that's P.J. She's just training,” Tammy quickly assures him.

  “Well I'm not comfortable with her in the room while I handle what it is I need to.” He pulls at his tie. “So if you could-”

  Tammy snaps her finger at me and points to the door for me to get out. “On it.”

  Did she have to snap at me like I'm a pet?

  Justin casually adds, “Your bathroom on this floor is down.”

  “Why don't I call maintenance and get that squared away until Mr. Ryan is gone?” my suggestion makes Tammy smirk.

  “Initiative. Good. Remember to let maintenance in on the side door.” On cue her cell phone goes off causing a bit of panic to ensue on her face. Must be Aiden sending her a coded text message to rattle her feathers out of my way. Quickly she calls over her shoulder, “Missy please handle Mr. Ryan with care. I have matters to attend.”

  “Of course,” Missy's voice purrs as I exit out of the room and down the stairs, my eyes locating the lone security guard positioned outside Missy's door.

  Quickly, I move across the main floor to the back corner where the security room is. With a scan of my badge I enter the room to see a guard monitoring a number of screens.

  “Can I help you?” The uniformed officer’s voice snaps. Between his height and build, he screams ex-military of some kind. I guess those are the kinds of people you want around when dealing with this kind of money.

  Innocently twirling a strand of my red hair around my finger I sigh, “I just need to call maintenance. Tammy got pissy when I tried to use the phones on the main floor.”

  “I bet,” he grunts and picks up the phone in front of him offering it to me. “That woman is always pissy about something.”

  I offer him a smile before I dial Eiden's number into the phone, looking around the maintenance room for the camera. Finding it I give my right shoulder a scratch, the signal for Aiden to start certain cameras into a loop feed, so I can sneak Eiden and me into the bathroom.

  Eiden picks up and I say “Yes, the bathroom upstairs is out of commission. How long until you can fix it?”

  “You're going to let me in using the fire escape door right?” Eiden's voice asks on the other side the sound of tools echoing in the phone.

  “Of course.” My eyes focus back on the security guard that's focused on me. I fold my arms across my chest to keep his eyes there. “Twenty minutes? Perfect.”

  “You know what to do. See you in a sec.”

  “No, thank you.” I politely smile and hang the phone up. Gently touching the front of my shirt where my bra is almost peeking out, I lean forward, and smirk. “And thank you...”

  His eyes try to plunge further down my top. He folds his hands in his lap and licks his lips at me, admiring the sight I am presenting. I don't know if it makes me thrilled that this task is this easy or sad that all it takes is a bit of cleavage for men to lose themselves.

  My hand gently lands on his thigh. “I didn't get your name...”

  “John,” he replies as I notice the video footage from the upstairs sneak into a loop feed where the guard is pacing back and forth even though he isn't there anymore. “And you are?”

  Leaning forward with a softer smile I wait until the view outside where the security guard from upstairs has been seduced away by Belle, is looping in a feed where they aren't there. “P.J.” I remove my hand and head back towards the door. “Thanks again...”

  He rocks back in the seat. “Any time.”

  Once I'm on the other side of the door, I quickly move across the main floor seeing Belle flirt with the security guard leaving me just enough time to let Eiden in. She's good. That guard rarely moves from his position yet she has him so enthralled, I doubt he even remembers what his job is. Quickly as I can, I rush up the stairs and down the hall on the opposite end of the vault, just past Mark's office door which is closed.

  Swiping my ID I open the door for Eiden who drags in a mop bucket along with a bag tossed over his shoulder. We move quickly to the other end of the hall and slip into the executive bathroom where we place an “Out of Order” sign on the door. Once we're inside he slides me the bag, that if he were an actual maintenance man would've been carrying tools, and lifts up the top of the bucket revealing a lap top.

  He slides a small ear wig into his ear. “We're live.”

  At that moment, Eiden clicks a couple of buttons and the screen is split into four quadrants. In one corner it's Justin in the office with Missy, in another there's the hallway, which is empty where the guard should be. The last two are the very vault Justin is due to rob and the main floor of the building where Tammy is panicking.

  I touch the screen beginning my P.J. de-transformation process starting with tacking the obnoxiously large dangling earrings out of my ear. “What's up with her?”

  “Aiden's screwing with the servers. Keeping her occupied.”

  I try not to smile at the sight of her frustrated, but am thankful something is making her as miserable as she recently made me. Dropping the bag down at my feet, I toss off the heels as I see Justin change camera angles into the vault. Eiden is keeping an eye on the screen while mixing cleaning solution to remove evidence we were here, while I slip out of my skirt and shirt a couple steps behind him. I should be nervous he will turn around and get a view I'm barely comfortable with Justin seeing, but I don't have that kind of time to over think.

  “Do not turn around,” I call to him as I slide the tight black dress up over my body. It's almost as suffocating as the outfit I wore to work today.

  Respecting my wishes, his body stiffens to prove to me that he's not going to look. I slip off the glasses, the bra and slide on a strapless one. I stuff the objects into the duffel bag, swap out the heels, and retreat back to the mirror area where he is setup watching Justin.

  “Fairy dust.” I hold out my hand for him to slide me a small container filled with it.

  Once it's in my hand I let my view resettle on the screen where Justin is pulling out his safety deposit box. Eiden states, “Loop feed.”

  At that moment I assume Aiden does as he's told because Justin slides over to the opposite wall from his and pulls out Landon's safety deposit box. While he slides the key fob over the box slipping past the first security device, I sprinkle some dust in my hand and fill it with water before running my fingers extensively over my hair turning it from red back to my natural brown color. While watching him open the lock box, I wrap my hair in a tight bun on the top of my head. The second it's successfully opened, Justin pulls out a small red bag and shuffles out the thin object of our affection. In a very fluid motion he pops off the top of one of his cuff links and puts in the pouch, placing the decoy coin where it came from. Now there's a spot no one would think to check.

  Seeing that I'm still admiring my boyfriend at work Eiden fusses, “Tick Tock, Ms. Darling.”

  “Right!” I wiggle into my new lower heels and slide solid round sunglasses over my eyes that block most of my face. With curiosity I give the monitor another look just as Justin takes out one of his jewels.

  I prepare to walk out of the room when Eiden calls out, “Don't forget your hat.”

  Confused I stop, “What hat?” He points back to the bag and I quickly dig through it pulling out a large, floppy black hat. My teeth grind as I stare at the monstrosity in my hands, “I'm not wearing this.”

  “You have to wear the hat.”

  “Why?”

  “Keeps your face hidden from close-ups on the camera.”

  “But it's so....” my voice struggles to the find the words. “I'll look like I ran away from a prohibition party!”

  Snickering he shrugs. “Hey, do you ever hear me complain I look like a high school janitor for most of our missions? No. Now put on the hat and go.”

  I stomp my foot and place the dr
amatic piece on my head, making a mental note to fuss at Belle or Justin about this later. Sliding out of the bathroom, I move myself away from the bathroom door just as Justin comes out of Missy's office and the security guard returns to his post.

  With a hand gesture my direction Justin says, “And there's my lovely wife to be now.”

  Missy tilts her head. “I wasn't aware you would be joining us. Hello!” She does her best to hide her disappointment. “I'm Missy Tyler. I'm in charge of the vault. And you are?”

  “Elizabeth.”

  “As promised,” Justin turns his body to me, a red velvet box opened in front of me, a gorgeous diamond and sapphire ring blinding me. He pulls it out and asks for my hand with his. Once it's on my hand, I lift it up to admire the gem the way any newly engaged female would. That's when I notice the letters engraved on it. On the left is an h, and on the right there is an o and a k.

  Intrigued, but not going to ask about it, I gasp, “This is beautiful Justin! Absolutely breathtaking!”

  “Only the best for my best,” he croons snapping the box shut and putting it in his pocket. “Now shall we go? We're going to be late for brunch.”

  I curl my arms around his tightly. “Of course.”

  Eiden on cue opens the bathroom door, finishing his mopping job as we head towards the stairs.

  “Chow,” I call back to Missy as we quickly make a beeline for the front door.

  No one seems to notice us, but I hear Tammy's voice loudly demanding to know where P.J. is. I move my head to the side to watch her new panic attack start, which causes my hair to tickle my collarbone. Immediately my hand flies up to touch the scar I forgot to remove. The very scar I know if Landon sees me he'll recognize it. Oh no. Please don't let that come back to bite me in the ass.

  We're almost out the door when I hear Tammy's voice now calling Justin's name. He grips onto me tighter as Landon strolls into view at the front door, two armed guards behind him, a look of determination on my face.

  Seeing the sight, I expect Justin to panic when he does just the opposite. He pulls us straight towards Landon. Call me crazy but running right into the enemy doesn't seem like one of his better ideas. The doors open and Justin pushes me through first and pretends to accidentally bump into Landon.

  “Excuse me,” Justin apologizes as Landon turns to give him a dirty look, Justin's back already to him.

  “Justin wait-” Tammy's voice calls. “Justin wait-”

  “Justin?” Landon says the name like it strikes him in an uncomfortable way. I hear him repeat it again and again like it's hitting some sort of memory.

  At that moment, he stops me, snakes an arm around my waist. “Brace yourself.”

  “For wh―” is what manages to escape me before Justin tips my body backwards, tilts our faces under the hat, and lets his lips land softly on mine. They're warm and convincing that this is for me and not for show, which blows to really know it's the other way around.

  Landon's voice rises. “Tammy!”

  “Who is that?”

  “That's Justin. He's a new client here! And that's his fiancé, whose throat he’s got his tongue down.”

  “Is her name Peyton?” at the sound of my name Justin feels my body tense and pushes his tongue deeper against mine, as if communicating to me to remain calm.

  “No. Elizabeth.” She answers trying to regain her composure. “Why?”

  “Nothing.” Then there's a distinct clearing of his throat. “I expect you to be assisting me.”

  “Just one minute. I forgot to give them something. Go on in. I'll be up in just a minute.”

  “Fine.” His throat groans. “I'll find P.J. as well.”

  “Good luck with that. I swear it's like that girl just...disappeared.”

  Justin's tongue rolls around my mouth again and I try to remain focused on listening for Landon's exit. His heavy shoes are no longer heard and I expect Justin to pull away from me, yet he doesn't. He gently lifts my chin up to continue until I feel his body shake from being tapped.

  Lifting me back up, he pulls away, and I helplessly blush.

  Proudly he smirks. “Yes?”

  She dangles a wine and cheese basket at him. “Didn't mean to interrupt. Just wanted you two to have our congratulations basket from Collin Sterling.”

  “Thank you,” Justin softly sighs, removing it from her hands as Peter opens the limo door.

  In a rushed voice, with a fake accent, I say, “Darling we really must hurry. We're going to be late for brunch.”

  “Yes. Yes my love.”

  “Sorry to keep you. Enjoy your meal. Have a lovely day Mr. and Mrs. Ryan.” Tammy waves before rushing away.

  The two us climb into the limo as does Peter after closing the door behind us. Peter pulls into traffic and I let out a deep exhale. That was close. A little too close. Shooting him a less than pleased look I toss my hands up in the air. “What the hell happened? He wasn't supposed to show up this early.”

  Justin shrugs, “I don't know.”

  “And was it just me or did he seem to be familiar with the idea of you.”

  Confused he scrunches his eyebrows. “Didn't really notice...”

  “You didn't hear him while you were kissing me?”

  “I was busy kissing you...” the realization that the kiss might've been more for him than for show excites me, and saddens me, since I was the one paying more attention to our surroundings than him.

  “Yeah thanks for that show,” Peter says, the limo window rolled down, him eavesdropping on us finally occurring. “Next time Peyton, put a little more hip into it.”

  Annoyed I roll my eyes. “Shouldn't that window be up? You know a wall between us and you?”

  “I'm enjoying my customers...” He waves a hand weaving down highway traffic heading us for the outskirts of town. “Now, why don't you crack open that wine and let me enjoy your company even more?”

  Justin stifles a chuckle and begins opening the basket.

  Quickly I snap, “You've got to be joking! He can't drink and drive!”

  “God, I hate you,” Peter mutters.

  “Likewise!” I call back before silence settles in the car.

  Why did he know my first name? Did my father send him my photo again? Did he send him Justin's name too? How much closer to getting caught are we going to get before the noose is too tight and we're hung?

  Pulling off onto a gravel road close to a lake, Peter parks, and unlocks the doors for us. We all climb out of the vehicle, me leaving the obnoxious hat behind, Justin toting the basket around, quickly handing it to Peter who looks as happy as a kid on Halloween with a basket full of candy.

  Our hands link as we maneuver through trees eventually arriving at our ship. As soon as we're on board, Eiden lifts us into the air, and pulls us off towards the clouds. The feeling of the wind in my hair again excites me that we made it out of this one safe too. Even if it was barely.

  We move towards the guys positioned on the main deck. Peter drops the cheese basket, grabs the bottle of wine, and the cork screw, determined to start drinking before we really get going. I shouldn't be surprised, yet part of me still is.

  “Let's see it,” Peter demands popping the cork on a bottle as Belle nestles herself against him.

  Aiden looks up beside his brother as Justin adjusts his cuff. With everyone's attention focused on him he pops the top of the cuff link and the coin falls limp into his possession.

  “Crafty.” Aiden says obviously impressed.

  “Isn't he always?” Peter sneers taking a swig of the wine before holding his hand out. “Coin.”

  I fold my arms across my chest as Justin transfers the object to Peter. “Would a thank you kill you?”

  “Most likely.” He shudders at the thought. “Now, Miss I Have An Opinion About Everything, tell me how this works.”

  I lift my eyebrows. “When you say please.”

  “So I guess we're never gonna know how to use it,” Eiden says to his brother and is joine
d in a snicker by Belle.

  Peter shrugs and takes another drink. “I'm not saying please.”

  “Then I guess you're not going to get to use it.”

  At that moment I see a dark look come into Peter's eyes, one I don't recognize. Unsure of what it means, I watch as he places the bottle down in front of Aiden, and slowly approaches me. Justin's arm grips my side as he senses my body trembling in fear. The look in his eyes reminds me of a viscous attacker. Not verbally. Physically. I should back down. I should just open my mouth and let me get pushed around more, but something inside me just can't let him win.