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I smoothed down my dress, trying not to let my nerves get the better of me. It wasn't every day I got set up on a blind date, with no actual interest in dating. Hubert wasn't even my type. And by that, I meant I didn't normally go for men more than twenty years my senior. I couldn't believe he'd agreed to the date in the first place. Surely he knew it was creepy to go out with such a younger woman.
Then again, it was a good thing he did. It meant our plan was in motion. His sleaze would make it easier to trick him into giving us the information we needed. Or more realistically, accept the information we needed him to believe. Only then would we be able to trick him out of Andrew's money.
"Trina?" a handsome older man asked.
"That's me," I responded, pasting a smile on my face that could power a small city no matter how fake it was.
"I was worried you wouldn't show up." He visibly relaxed.
"Do woman often stand you up, Hubert?" I asked, batting my eyelashes and hoping he fell for it.
He chuckled. "More often than I'd like."
"More fool them."
He held out his arm and I slipped mine through it, resting my hand on the sleeve of his jacket. He steered me into the restaurant and nodded towards the server. No doubt we'd be getting a great table. That was one advantage of this situation at least.
"Have you been here before?"
"This is the first time," I answered honestly. This restaurant was well out of my league and he probably realised it. There was no covering that fact but we didn't think we'd need to. At the end of the day, he wasn't interested in me for any wealth of my own. Nor in my education or worldliness. Far from it. All he needed to know was that I was pretty and interested in actually going on a date with him. I didn't want to admit it but I actually found it kind of sad that he couldn't find someone who really wanted him for him.
Then again, he probably didn't want the women who'd be interested in him. I'd come across his type before. Never interested in anything more than just how young a woman they could catch and using them to show off to their friends. It was a little repulsive and no one was ever going to deny that. At least, I hoped they wouldn't.
"You're going to love it. Make sure you try the oysters, they're amazing."
I repressed a shudder. Everyone knew the rumours about oysters being aphrodisiacs. Maybe I should make it clear that wasn't how this date was going to end?
"Just so you know, I'm not the kind to fall into bed on the first date," I blurted out, hoping I wasn't going to damage any chance we had of catching him in our trap.
"Oh no, of course not, I'd never expect that of a young woman."
I could tell he was lying, but at this point, it hardly mattered. I was about to lie about every part of myself. Who was I to begrudge him one mistruth?
"More like the fourth date." I used a suggestive tone that I hoped got the message across to him. I didn't want him running away quite yet. And it seemed a safe enough thing to promise. I didn't see us needing more than four dates to seal the deal. And if we did...
I repressed another shiver. I didn't want to think about those consequences. The longer this took, the more danger we were in and from what the guys had said, there was next to no chance we'd be giving up on this. I still wasn't sure exactly what this was about but it was definitely personal. That muddied things sometimes.
"May I take your coat?" Hubert asked as we reached our table.
"Thank you." I slipped it off and handed it to him, hoping he didn't know the difference between real and faux fur. I doubted he would but the worry wouldn't disappear.
I smoothed down my dress again and took a seat, flipping my hair behind my shoulders and hoping what the guys had said I wasn't recognisable beneath the makeup was correct. This suddenly felt far more dangerous than before. And yet I couldn't deny the thrill shooting through me.
"So, Trina, what do you do?" Hubert asked as he sat himself down.
"A little of this and that," I responded. Somehow, I didn't think admitting I worked in a call centre was a good idea. And not just because it could potentially have identified me. "I'm more interested in finding out about you." I leaned forward, ensuring he got a good view of my breasts through the low cut of my dress. Maybe I shouldn't be using my body to get the job done, and yet...
No. This was going to work. It wasn't my fault he was gullible enough to fall for it.
He gave me a killer smile, just about hiding the leer in his eyes. "I'm a business advisor."
"Oh, that sounds interesting. Tell me more?"
The waiter came over and poured wine into our glasses. I eyed it, wondering if it would be impolite to ask for a glass of water. It wasn't that the wine wouldn't be nice, I just didn't want to risk drinking too much while I was on the job.
"I guess it is, sometimes. My client has a lot of money to spend and invest, which means I can look into a lot of different possibilities."
"Oh, like?" I leaned forward and touched his hand, only wondering briefly if I was overdoing it.
From the look on Hubert's face, I doubted it. He was fully engrossed in the conversation.
"You name it, I've looked into it."
"Adult entertainment?"
He chuckled. "Oh yes. Though we didn't go for that one."
"That's a shame, it could have saved you a fortune."
"Not with the rise of the internet. We don't make money by being reckless. Industries like that one are unstable because of the accessibility of things online."
"So you don't invest in the arts at all?" I asked, my eyes widening and only half as an act. I hated the idea of so many great businesses being overlooked like that.
"In pieces of art, definitely. Just last week we bought a Monet. Those paintings increase in value every day."
"A Monet?" I gasped, not faking at all now. "Was it one of the water lily paintings? Or one of the ones after his cataracts started to make themselves known?"
"I have no idea." He shrugged. "It just looked like splodges of colour on a canvas to me."
I held back a frown. If this had been a real date, there wouldn't have been a second. I couldn't be with someone who felt that way about a Monet. I'd loved his paintings since I was a little girl, even if I didn't really understand a thing about art except that it was pretty.
"That's a shame. I love Monet. Seeing one in the flesh would be a dream come true." I sighed wistfully.
"There are museums around the world where you can see them," he pointed out.
"That's not the same as seeing one up close though. The colours, the atmosphere. Ah, it must be amazing." I leaned back in my chair and squeezed my arms together to make my breasts more prominent. His gaze slipped down to them. Bingo. That was just what I needed him to do.
"Of course." He took a sip ofo his wine and I followed suit. It wouldn't do to be caught not drinking.
"What else have you invested in?" I asked. We didn't actually have that part of the con set up yet. We hoped he'd reveal what he was currently looking for over dinner and we'd be able to make things happen. At least, that was the theory.
"Anything that will make me money."
The waiter arrived back to ask for our food order, breaking the conversation and stopping me from prying further. I held back a scowl. I was doing a lot of holding back tonight but so long as I pulled it off, we'd be fine.
Before I could open my mouth to order, Hubert had done it for both of us. I didn't like that. I was a person in my own right and deserved to choose my own food. And yet here I was just accepting what was happening and going with it. All for the good of the con.
Internally, I gave a sharp laugh, not letting the fake smile on the outside drop. My life had gone a little insane recently and I couldn't even explain how it had happened.
"Oh, and a bottle of champagne with caviar on the side," Hubert finished the order.
"Very well, sir. I'll have that right over," the waiter responded with a short bow.
"I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of ordering for you. I wanted you to taste the best they have to offer."
I forced a smile to my lips. "Thank you, I look forward to trying it all." At least that bit was true. I did love good food and this place had stellar reviews online.
The champagne arrived along with the caviar, our glasses filled once more. I had to be very careful. Though getting Hubert drinking wouldn't hurt. Quite the opposite, if it loosened his tongue and he started to tell me some of his secrets.
I took a sip from one of my multitude of glasses, hoping he'd do the same. The more he drank, the better my chances would be. Maybe not the most ethical of plans but I'd go with it for now.
The whole meal followed the same way. Lots of food, lots of drinking and not a lot of information. I wasn't sure what I'd be able to take back to the guys at this rate. They expected something from this and I needed to provide it or everything we'd set into motion would be in vain.
"This is me." I indicated towards the door of the flat we were renting for the duration of this con. In cash, naturally. We didn't want to leave any paper trails that could lead back to us.
"I've had a lovely evening tonight, Trina." He leaned in, his hot breath fanning against my cheek and making me want to pull away.
"Me too. Can I see you again?" I fluttered my eyelashes and hoped he'd say yes. If not, we needed to come up with another plan. As exciting as all this was, it also felt kind of dangerous to have so much riding on each step of the journey.
"Of course. How does Friday sound?"
"It sounds perfect. Pick me up at eight?" That would give me plenty of time to get in from work and change into something more suited to the gold digger Hubert would find attractive.
"I look forward to it, Trina."
Not wanting to end up kissed on the lips, I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Not too hard that he'd get the impression I was up for more right now. Hopefully, I'd put that thought to bed in the restaurant but I just wanted to be sure.
He smiled in response and watched as I slotted my key into the lock and turned it. I hoped it was just some kind of weird protectiveness and not him waiting for me to invite him in. I repressed a shudder at the thought.
I slammed the door shut behind me, eager to shower and remove the smarmy feeling from my skin.
"Is he gone?" I whispered, noticing Carl looking through the curtains.
"Yes. How did it go?"
I sighed and collapsed onto the sofa, knocking my heels from my feet and almost groaning as they released. I normally wore flats from day to day, caging my feet in heels for hours at a time wasn't something I relished.
"Not terribly, but he didn't give me much to go on. We might have to make this one up on the fly."
Samuel walked into the room and handed me a glass of water. "Did he give you any indication of the kind of thing we could use?"
I shook my head. "Not really. It seems his interests along with the Earl's are diverse. The only thing that stood out is that they won't invest in anything they see as high risk. Anything internet based is out."
"That's good to know." Samuel tapped a finger against his chin, lost in thought. "Anything else?"
"They bought a Monet for the investment. But unless we can get our hands on one of those..."
"He bought what?" Carl turned around to face me, grabbing a bottle of beer from the coffee table and chugging a bit of it down.
"A Monet," I repeated.
"That one might be a little difficult to pull off," Samuel mused.
"Or maybe not," Dean said, walking into the room and sitting next to me on the sofa.
"What are you thinking?" Samuel asked, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
"It's going to be difficult to get Katie to convince him she's investing in real estate. But a painting...they could come across that by accident."
"I did say I loved Monet," I mused. "But doesn't that mean we need to get hold of a painting?"
"That won't be a problem." Carl started typing away on his phone. "Micheal owes me a favour."
"And you're going to cash it in to imitate a Monet." Dean nodded as if this was an everyday conversation for them. Maybe it was.
"Wait, you want to imitate a Monet?" My mouth falls open as the meaning of what he's saying kicked in.
"Unless you have a better idea." Carl shrugged.
"Not really." But I couldn't help wondering how we'd manage to make this happen without giving ourselves away.