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Samuel pushed my back gently, steering me in the way he wanted me to go.
"Where are we..."
"All in good time, Katie. Did no one tell you that patience is a virtue?" He sounded far too amused for my liking.
"Samuel," I warned, my voice low and full of menace. At least, I hoped it was. I had no way of actually being able to measure that.
He just laughed. Whatever surprise he had in store for me, it had better be good.
"We're almost there."
"Yes, but where?" I tried again. He had to tell me before too long. Knowing my luck, it would probably be when he took the blindfold off and I could see things for myself.
"Do you really have so little patience?" he muttered.
"When I don't know what's being done to me? Yes, definitely. If you clued me in, I'd be a lot more compliant."
I could have predicted the amused noise he made, he was just being that obvious about it.
"If you must know, I'm taking you to a surprise."
"A nice one?" I perked up a little at that.
"I hope so." He stopped walking and held out an arm to hold me steady. "We're here."
His fingers brushed against the back of my head as he untied the blindfold and let it fall away. I gasped as I took in the beautiful gold dress in front of me.
"It's amazing." I reached forward and ran my fingers along the satiny fabric. "What's it for?"
"You."
"I got that much," I chided, turning so I could see the expression on his face better. I needed a better read on his reactions. "But what part of the con is it for?" It didn't exactly strike me as suitable attire for an auction.
He chuckled. "It's not for the con. Ish."
"Ish?" I raised my eyebrow, trying to push down the excitement that was already bubbling up inside me. I wanted to put the dress on. I knew how it would make me feel and wanted to make the most of it.
"We thought you might like a proper date rather than being trotted around by Hubert."
"A date?" Was he really using that word? Did it mean what I thought it did?
"Yes. Though we do have some work to do while we're there."
"Oh?" I hoped he'd actually tell me what that would be sooner rather than later or I was going to be a lost puppy when we arrived where we were going.
"We have a party to attend, there's a couple of potential marks there and we thought it might be a good chance for you to make their acquaintance."
"Ah, I see. Then we can use that later on."
"Yes. But not in the way you're thinking." There was a twinkle in his eye that spoke of something a little more devious than just flirting. I longed to ask what it was but knew he'd reveal it in his own time. There was too much complexity to these cons for me to underestimate them.
"Are you going to enlighten me?" I prompted, already knowing he wouldn't answer.
"We'll let you know just before you're about to meet them. It's easier to keep the personas straight in your head that way," Samuel responded.
I nodded. That made perfect sense to me. I imagined I'd get better at keeping the various personalities I pretended to have as time went on, but for now, it was baby steps. And even if this wasn't the kind of date most women would want, I was more excited than I'd admit to.
"When are we leaving?" I asked.
"Twenty minutes?" He grimaced, probably aware they weren't giving me much time to actually get ready.
"Alright then. Anything specific you want me to do with my hair and makeup?" I was already thinking through the various styles and trying to work out what would work best. Neutral I suspected, but I wanted confirmation from someone more experienced than me.
"Enough makeup that it's clear you're wearing it. I think that'll be best for us changing your appearance slightly later. And your hair in an updo, something that's difficult to tell what colour it really is."
I nodded. "You want me to be both memorable and forgettable. I can do that." I'd been doing the latter my entire life. The memorable part not so much, but I didn't worry too much about it. The right wrappings could make anything beautiful.
"That sounds perfect."
"Good. Then leave me to it. I suspect you have some getting ready to do too." I gave him a pointed look. His jeans and button-down shirt made him look good, but if my dress was anything to go by, it wouldn't do much for fitting into the place we were going.
"Something like that," he muttered. "I hate suits."
"And I hate high heels, but we all have to suffer for our art."
He laughed and I cracked a smile in response.
"Alright, you've persuaded me. I'll go get dressed."
I watched him leave, admiring the flex of his back as he walked. All three of the men were well-toned, but Samuel was definitely the biggest of the three. I looked forward to seeing him in a suit just for that reason. The black material of his jacket straining over his shoulders and...
I shut that thought down. My heart deserved better than to get too caught up on him. It wouldn't survive being turned down from them and I wasn't about to give up on being a part of their con either, which meant I shouldn’t be thinking about making a move on them.
If I kept telling myself that, I might start believing it.
Right now, I didn't have the time to spend dwelling on matters of my heart. I sat in front of the mirror, not at all surprised to find the three of them had kitted out the dressing table with just about every beauty product they could think of. They hadn't done a bad job either. I saw most of my usual brands as well as a few that were normally out of my price range. I guessed that was about to change. My cut from the job would earn me more than I could in a normal month by working in the call centre. My days of expensive makeup were just beginning.
I kept it as simple as I could, but ensured that it was obvious my perfection was created by makeup. I didn't normally use foundation, but for this, it felt like a necessity. Satisfied with how it looked, I switched to my hair, scraping it back and twisting it into a bun. I didn't normally like my hair tied back but it didn't look too bad and it did serve a purpose. It felt weird making myself look like this and it definitely wasn't me I saw staring back in the mirror.
And yet it was. Just a different version. This person had an edge of danger to her, a sensuality that I didn't normally have. That difference could be what secured us a successful job. At least, that was what I told myself.
The dress slid on surprisingly easily, the fabric slick against my skin. I had no idea how they'd managed but they'd bought it in the perfect size. There was no gaping as I pulled up the zipper.
I turned to the full-length mirror and studied my reflection, shocked at what I could see. The dress really pulled it all together. I felt like I had the protection I needed to go out in the world and steal people's money, as evil as that sounded.
A knock sounded at the door and a thrill shot through me. Which of the three of them would be waiting for me? And did it really matter? A big part of me figured that it didn't. They were all off-limits to me, that was the way it just had to be done.
"Come in," I called out.
"Wow, you look stunning," Carl said as he walked in.
I beamed, pleased with the expression on his face. I hoped the other two liked what I'd done just as much.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" I asked him.
"Samuel didn't tell you?"
"No. I think he wanted to preserve the mystery."
Carl chuckled. "That sounds like him. Have you been to a ball before?"
"Not unless you count the one at the end of school," I replied honestly. That one had been fun but I didn't think it would actually count. Most of my memories of the night were a drunken blur.
"This is going to be something a little more sophisticated than your average leavers' ball." He held out his arm and I slipped my hand onto his dark sleeve and rested it there noting how natural it felt to be in this position with him. I supposed that was a good thing. We'd need to pull off a lot of different roles throughout our various jobs and it was better if we could act well around one another.
"Is there anything I should know before we go?" Nerves were starting to flutter in my stomach. I had no idea what I should be doing with myself but I didn't want to let them down.
"No matter who asks, you aren't Katie tonight. Or even Katerina."
I nodded. That made sense to me.
"Are you going to tell me what my name is?" I asked as we reached the stairs and started to make our way down. I picked up the skirt of my dress, holding it out of the way of the heels I'd found with it. I didn't want to rip the hem by being clumsy.
"It'll depend on the situation. Though if anyone asks maybe we should come up with something."
"What about Kathy?" I suggested. "If anyone remembers it, it's close enough to my real name to not cause too many problems if they use it elsewhere."
"Good idea."
We reached the bottom and made our way towards the door where the other two were standing, both looking like strong and silent types in their suits. Well, except that Samuel's suit looked like it was from the seventies.
"Are you meant to look like a mob boss?" I asked before I could stop myself. I knew I shouldn't, but it was just so tempting to tease him.
Next to me, Carl stifled a laugh, and I could see from Dean's face that he was struggling to do the same.
"Yes, I look like this on purpose," he muttered.
"He pulled the short straw," Carl whispered to me. "None of us wanted to wear the white suit this time."
"But you have other times?" I was barely holding back my laughter at the idea of any of them in a suit that ridiculous, but somehow, I manage.
"Yes, we've all worn the white suit at some point," Dean put in. "Not that exact one, I might add."
"I'd hope not."
"All right, enough laughing. We need to get going or we'll be late," Samuel snapped, cutting short the laughter. Now wasn't the time for it. Now was the time for work.