“I know, I know, I’m not giving off the best impression right now am I? Would you believe it if I said the cleaner was on vacation?” he said and smoothed the hair at the back of his head. Then he darted forward, claiming a sliver or red material. He stuffed his catch in his pocket. A ladies’ man, huh? Either that or he had a kinky pastime wearing women’s knickers.
I smothered a chuckle, but it did nothing to diminish my frustration. Had he ordered a bride or a maid? Maybe he wanted a woman to clean up after him, cheap labor who took care of all his needs—in the bedroom and the kitchen. I bristled at the thought.
I sucked in a deep breath and let it out knowing there was no way I could live in this kind of place without cleaning up first. It was annoying, but it was a small penance to pay to have a roof over my head for the foreseeable future. Hell, I’d been doing the same thing back in the hostel. This wouldn’t be any different.
“Shit, I have to go.” He paused looking at me. “Will you be okay?”
I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll be back around six. It might be best for you to stay in, don’t go wandering around. Not just yet at least. I’ll figure something out about this mess, I promise. And I’ll get you a key made up.” Sebastian took an uneasy step forward, placing his hands on my upper arms. “Make yourself at home. And Anna, I’m happy that you’re here.”
A waft of his aftershave fluttered around my head, making me feel woozy, but that was nothing compared to when he leaned down and kissed me again. This time, my hands completely free, I clutched him. Suddenly I didn’t want him to leave. It was insane, and I’d only just met him, barely said two words to him. But the last thing I wanted was for him to be gone, even if that did mean I had to be silent for the rest of the day.
He gave me a cocky grin and stepped back. “See you soon, Anna.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered thinking he was gone. But his head popped back around the corner.
“Did you say something?”
Vehemently I shook my head and gave him a wave, hoping to god he hadn’t heard me properly. Thankfully he didn’t seem suspicious. He nodded and this time I heard the door shut. That was close.
Trying to relax, and release the tension I felt like I’d been holding since the moment I’d met him, I paced around the apartment. Looking at the place a little closer, now I could see that it wasn’t so bad. The mess was mostly a top layer of abandoned stuff that hadn’t been tidied away. There wasn’t—thank goodness—a layer of grime hiding beneath the detritus. It could’ve been a hell of a lot worse, I told myself. But still, I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to feel at least partially comfortable here. I rolled up my sleeves and began to gather up the abandoned clothes, shirts, and socks that were strewn over the furniture. Thankfully, there was only the smell of stale sweat that made me wrinkle my nose when I picked up his clothes.
Heading to what I thought were the bedrooms I looked around for a hamper. Sebastian’s bedroom was as to be expected for a workaholic who seemed to spend little time at home—a large bed, a dresser, and minimal accents. I dumped the dirty clothes and went exploring some more. There was a small office space in an alcove, and when I opened the next door along, expecting another bedroom, I only found a closet. It was jam-packed with sports equipment and random tools. I spun around counting the doors. There were none left to explore.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I growled as the realization dawned on me.
There was only one bedroom. And only one bed.
Well if he thought that I would be sharing one with him straight away—if ever, I corrected myself—then he had another thing coming. I’d sleep on the sofa if I had to.
You can do this, I told myself. I’d suffered much worse than having to sleep on a sofa in the last few weeks. Partly feeling like I’d been transported into some fairytale, emulating Cinderella, I swirled my hair into a high topknot and headed to the corner of the kitchen to find the cleaning supplies. No time like the present to get this place ship-shape. It was then I saw on the stainless steel fridge a card for Big Jim’s driving service and got a better idea instead.
Seven
Sebastian
Josephine stared at me as I walked past her desk doing my best to ignore her. She was practically bouncing with anticipation, her mouth firmly closed as if she were trying to stop herself from asking what happened, if I’d gone through with meeting and picking up Anna from the airport. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing and kept my stride until I made it safely in the office. But it wasn’t long before the door swung open and my peace was shattered.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked from across the room.
“I’m not.”
“You so are. You look happier than I’ve ever seen you.” Josephine stepped closer and peered at me, scrutinizing me like I was a lab rat, her little experiment.
“Josephine, get out of—”
“Oh my god, you did it. Picked her up and… you two got along, didn’t you? You liked her!” She waggled her finger at me, her eyes lighting up. “What happened, did you pick her up at the airport and it was all love at first sight?”
“Grow up. Don’t you have some work to do?”
Jo ignored my question and sank into the chair opposite me. “So what’s she like? Tell me everything.”
I clenched my jaw and counted to ten, letting out a slow, long breath. She would be like this all day, annoying me, if I didn’t tell her. And she was the only one I could talk to about it. She was the only one who could know the full extent of where Anna had come from.
“Fine,” I said irritated and tried not to smile. “She’s very nice. Quiet but nice.”
“Because of the no-talking-English thing?”
“Yeah, no shit. I’m not sure how this is going to work. Anna’s obviously come here thinking she’s going to be my bride. God, this is all your fault. Meddling when you shouldn’t have.”
“It wasn’t meddling. It was payback.”
“Either way this is wrong on so many levels.”
She shrugged. “You both get what you want, she gets out of the country, sees a new one for a while as well, gets some money, and you get a date like you asked for.”
I rubbed my face, this was a nightmare, even if I was secretly buzzing from meeting Anna. I looked up. Something about Josephine’s earlier comment snagged on the edge of my mind. “Wait, what money?”
“Oh yes… shit.”
“Jo,” I growled.
“Don’t freak out. I just forgot to tell you.” Josephine jumped from her chair went out to her desk and was back a minute later. “Here, you should give that to your new housemate.”
I took the envelope she’d slid over to me on the desk. It was thick with hundred-dollar bills. Josephine stepped back a foot or two away from the desk as if it were about to catch fire.
“What the hell? What is this?” There had to be at least a thousand dollars inside. Crisp bills, all new.
“Her weekly allowance. What, you don’t think someone’s going to come all this way without some assurances, do you?” Josephine said as she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together.
“But where did you get this?” I groaned, figuring out the answer almost immediately.
“I took the liberty to draw it out of your expense account,” she said with a grin. “You can always pay it back from your own pocket when you get a chance.”
“Jesus, Josephine.” I stood and paced behind the desk. “Sit down. You’re going to tell me everything. No more surprises.”
“That’s it, I swear. You promised your bride a weekly allowance in exchange for the whole getting married thing.”
“She’s not my bride, Jo. What else?”
“Nothing! Oh, but you did have a phone call earlier.”
“Let me guess immigration want a word with me?”
Josephine chuckled. “No silly. Much worse. Sarah called.”
Hell, what did she want? After seeing her at the airport, then the
kiss that had driven her away, I never expected to hear from her ever again. But she was a jealous soul. Maybe she’d finally realized what she’d lost after all.
“Well?”
“She didn’t say much. Just asked for you to give her a call back when you could.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, she wasn’t exactly chatty. Sounded pissed. Well, except she did mention seeing you at the airport. Hey, she didn’t see you and Anna did she?”
I began to usher Josephine out of the office. “Go do some work.”
She was stubborn and dodged my advance. “Wait, she did see her, didn’t she? Did you two talk?”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose. Since when did I start spilling all my secrets to my secretary? “Yes, if you must know, she did see Anna, and yes, we talked.
Josephine’s eyes went wide. “Does Sarah know?”
“All she knows is that Anna is supposedly my fiancée. Which doesn’t exactly help me try to get her back. I could throttle you for messing this up.”
“Hey, don’t look at me, you’re the one who screwed it up with Sarah in the first place. Thought you moved on anyway, especially after the rumors I heard… about your performance.” Jo waggled her eyebrows. I glared at her until she stopped. “Well, I suppose if you want Sarah back, maybe this is the way you do it? Kill two birds with one stone… and by stone I mean a ring.”
Rounding my desk, I sank back into my chair. This was getting out of hand. The lies, the confusion… but maybe Josephine had a point. Maybe this all could work out for the best.
“What exactly do you suggest I do? Buy Anna a ring and let Sarah think I’m officially engaged, make her jealous, then kick Anna to the curb once Sarah comes crawling back?”
“Yes! Exactly that. If you want Sarah, you do what you have to to get her back. You pretend your ass off, let Sarah see that you’ve moved on. It’ll drive her mad. Trust me. This will totally work.”
“I have no idea why I listen to you. You hate my guts.”
“Because you know this could work.”
I nodded. “Okay. Do you know any good jewelers? I think I’m in the market for an engagement ring.”
Josephine grinned like a Cheshire cat. “As a matter of fact, I do. I know the perfect place.”
“Good. Get me the details.”
I paused, running over everything in my mind, trying to figure out if there were any flaws to my plan. Of course, there was a big one, I knew right away. And she was already in my apartment. All the others involved would get what they wanted. I would maybe get Sarah back. Everything would go back to the way things were. Gerard and his fiancée would get the wedding of their dreams, with the right number of supporting cast members, Josephine would get her bonus…
But Anna, who albeit was a total stranger and who was completely in the dark, would end up with the short end of the stick with a plane ticket back to Russia. Could I do that to someone else, be so ruthless so I could end up happy for a change?
There was only one way to find out. I would have to roll the dice and hope to god I didn’t lose everything.
Eight
Anna
I lifted the handset and cleared my throat, then hesitantly dialed the number from the card in my hand. A male voice answered, “Big Jim’s executive car service, how can I help you?”
For a second I almost answered in my newly acquired Russian accent. But there was no need to disguise myself, not over the phone. Well, I still had to make sure to cover my tracks, so I pretended to be the concierge I’d passed on the way up to the apartment when Sebastian first led me inside.
“Hello, I would like to order a car for a resident, please. As soon as possible. It’s quite urgent,” I added, thinking on my feet. The sooner I got to see my gran the sooner I would feel the knot inside my stomach loosen. Or at least I hoped it would. I needed to see her with my own eyes, make sure she was okay, and that they weren’t going to evict her without talking to me first.
Big Jim asked for the passenger name, and I provided him with Sebastian’s, as well as the address, though he assured me it wasn’t needed. Big Jim obviously drove Sebastian around plenty of times.
I wondered if I was making a mistake using this particular car service—someone who Sebastian knew—but then again I still didn’t have any money to take a taxi, let alone a bus, up north past Medford to the nursing facility. Sebastian hadn’t exactly been prepared for my arrival, and the promise of the allowance hadn’t been forthcoming. I made a mental note to remind him of that the moment he came home.
At least this way, using Big Jim, the charge would be put on Sebastian’s account, and it would be days, maybe weeks before he found out I’d taken a trip without his permission. I certainly didn’t need the extra scrutiny right now. I needed for this to work. I needed the money he’d promised me. And I wasn’t going to get that if Sebastian became suspicious, wondering where I was going when I supposed to be new to the area.
Big Jim promised that he would be there in an hour. I complained, but he said it was the best he could do with the last-minute notice. I reluctantly agreed and ended the call, my eyes skimming the surface of the messy apartment. Well, I certainly knew what I could do to whittle away the time, I thought.
By the time the actual concierge called up to the apartment to let me know a car was waiting outside for me, I’d managed some fair progress in the apartment. I’d tidied away and paired up the scattered shoes and sneakers, piled up clothes ready to go to the dry cleaners—or for me to wash in the laundry room I presumed the building had somewhere. I’d also busied myself emptying the fridge of leftovers, as well as finding enough fresh food to start prepping a meal for the evening. I’d cook it all when I got back, but at least the chopping was done and the chicken was marinating. It had been a long while since I’d been able to make a proper meal and I’d found myself humming, happily, as I’d wandered around Sebastian’s kitchen.
Before I could consider that I needed a key to get back into the apartment I was already in the elevator on my way to the ground floor. I pushed the small problem to the back of my mind for now. There were other much more pressing issues at hand.
“You’re not Sebastian?” Big Jim said as a thick crease appeared between his thin eyebrows when I stood by the car I’d only earlier gotten out of.
I nodded and greeted him with a big friendly smile, hoping he wouldn’t ask too many questions. I also sent up a little prayer that he wouldn’t find it necessary to contact Sebastian and let him know.
“Anna,” I said and pointed to my chest, laying the accent on thick. “Sebastian not here. Said to explore new home.”
Big Jim frowned digesting the information. Then shrugged as if it meant little to him. He was still going to get paid, and he’d already met me before. It wasn’t like I was some stranger taking advantage or stealing a ride. But the moment I thought that, was the moment I realized that was exactly what I was doing, taking liberties in more ways than one. Big Jim opened the passenger door and I climbed inside, leaving my guilt out on the curb. A means to an end, Anna. Eye on the prize.
“So, where are we going? You want to go shopping? I know the best spots.”
I shook my head and leaned forward, closer to the partition and twisted my lips realizing I hadn’t planned how to communicate this to the driver without him becoming suspicious.
“Er…” I pointed to the small notepad that was mounted to the console. Presumably Big Jim used it to scribble down notes, addresses for his pick-ups, or maybe he simply used it to jot what he needed to buy at the market. I gestured for him to rip me off a sheet. Doing as I wished he passed me a piece of the notepaper then shifted in his seat looking for a pen. After a moment he found one tucked away inside his jacket pocket.
Quickly I scribbled down the name of the town and passed it back. I didn’t give him the exact address, which I had thought of omitting. I would have Big Jim drop me off close to the care facility and walk the rest of the way.
&n
bsp; In the rearview mirror, confusion clouded Big Jim’s eyes again and he stared back at me. “What do you want to go up there for when you have a whole city to explore?”
I shrugged and sat back, crossing my arms, refusing to give an answer.
“Suit yourself. Get comfy then. There’s water in the back, help yourself.”
Twenty minutes later we entered the small town of Montvale. I perked up in my seat and scanned the area. I’d been away for about a year and change but it hadn’t changed a bit. On the main street, there were still a few stores with boarded-up windows alongside stores that were still clinging to life, displaying sales and marked-down prices to encourage passersby to enter and part with their cash.
“So, where to? You want to give me some directions?”
We slowed at the crossroads and I pointed toward the steakhouse and its adjoining parking lot. “Stop there,” I said abruptly, then added, “please.”
Big Jim pulled the sleek black car up alongside dirty trucks and stopped. He turned in his seat to look at me, a question in his eyes.
“One hour. You stay here, okay?” I managed to sputter out. It felt like it was getting harder to maintain the façade now that I was back home. I just hoped to god that no one spotted me while Big Jim was around. Otherwise, the cat would indeed be out of the bag then and the information that I was a fraud would most certainly get back to Sebastian. Big Jim looked like the loyal type.
“Sure thing, honey. Whatever you say,” he said, twisting his body to look out the front. He picked up a magazine off the passenger seat beside him and began to read. Content that he wasn’t going to follow me, I got out and headed to the restaurant. I knew I would be able to slip out around back and walk the two blocks to the Sunset Hill nursing home. I knew I wouldn’t have long with Gran but every minute counted and I couldn’t wait to see her face when I surprised her that I was back.
The automatic doors slid open and a combination of detergent and air-fresher, mixed with the smell of vegetable soup that had been left on the stove for too long, hit me as I entered the care home. I wrinkled my nose, getting used to the odor, and approached the reception. A harried woman who looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders glanced up at me with an impatient look in her eyes.
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