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People spilt out of the front door even before we'd arrived and the strains of classical music filled the air outside the building. It was safe to say this wasn't like any party I'd ever been to before. I wanted to look around and study everything around me but I knew I couldn't, nothing would stand out as much and I couldn't risk that. Memorable and forgettable. That was my mantra for the evening and I needed to remember it.
"We're about to approach a potential mark," Carl whispered to me. "You're my fiancee, Tina. We've been together for four years and I'm an art dealer."
"More art?" I whispered back.
"Probably not. He's a big collector and could spot a fake. But art is a good in with him and that's what we need more than anything. It's no good if we can't get close to the marks in the first place."
"And me being your fiancee?"
"Maybe I just want to keep you to myself."
A thrill shot through me at the suggestion but I pushed it away. I needed to focus on the situation at hand and not just the way his lies made me feel. "Somehow, I doubt that," I responded.
"Mostly it's so we can try and get a dinner invite with him and his wife."
I nodded. That made sense to me. I knew not all of our marks would be as easy to get to as dating Hubert was.
"What about the lack of ring?" I whispered hastily, realising I wasn't wearing one.
"Slip this one." His fingers locked with mine and it took me a moment to focus on what he was handing me.
I fumbled a little, but finally managed to get the ring on my left ring finger. I didn't look at it. I didn't think I'd be able to without considering how my hand would look with a real engagement ring there. I hated what was happening to me at the moment. I was fast becoming one of those women who could only focus on her worth when there was a man involved. That wasn't the real me and I didn't want it to be. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
"Ahh David, how are you?" An older man walked towards us, looking like he was ready to clap his hand on Carl's back and treat him like the son he'd never had.
I breathed a sigh of relief that the man had even used Carl's fake name first. It meant I didn't need to worry too much about calling him the wrong thing. That was always going to be a concern.
"Richard, nice to see you again. How are you and Denise?" Carl asked, a fake smile already in place.
"Well, well. She's about here somewhere, no doubt looking for some of those delicious miniature pastries I've seen walking around."
"Oh those are just divine," I put in, using a voice that could only be described as light and airy. Hopefully, it was far enough away from my normal voice to not be mistaken for it later. "Sorry, I'm Tina, David's fiancee." I held out my hand and waited for Richard to shake it.
"Why David, you never told me you had anything this beautiful thing hidden away." He took my hand but instead of shaking it, he lifted it to his lips and brushed a soft kiss against my skin.
I held myself steady, resisting the urge to pull my hand back and wipe his saliva away. It didn't seem like I was having the best of luck around old men at the moment.
Carl brushed a hand against my back and I leaned into him, surprising myself with how much I wanted and needed his comfort even in the middle of our play.
"Surely you can't blame me?" Carl joked. "I want to save her all for myself." He turned slightly and gave me a look that took my breath away. There was so much feeling to it. So much passion. It almost felt like it might be real.
"You're such a charmer," I flirted with Carl, hoping it added to the illusion of the blissful engaged couple we were trying to be.
"You bring it out in me, darling," he responded.
I placed my now free hand on his chest and leaned into him. Carl pulled me closer and I lost any apprehension about whether or not we were pulling this off. That was a relief at least.
"You shouldn't keep her all to yourself now, David. That wouldn't be fair to the rest of us. Why don't you bring her for dinner some time?"
"How does the end of the month sound?" Carl asked. I could sense the excitement within him. This was exactly the outcome he was hoping for.
"That's perfect. I'll be in touch to sort it out."
Neither of the men said anything else and I started to worry we were going to give ourselves away in the awkward silence.
"Darling, isn't that Jeff over there? We really must say hello, I haven't seen him in months," I said, waving at an imaginary person at the other side of the room.
"Ah yes, so it is. Good to see you, Richard. The end of the month can't come soon enough."
"Good to see you too, we look forward to it."
They gave each other a handshake, effectively ending the exchange and Carl drew me away from the older man.
"That went well," he whispered.
"I'm glad you think so," I responded. "He seemed nice enough though, what has he done to deserve your attention?" Ideas had been spinning through my head since the moment we'd been introduced, but so far nothing seemed right.
"One of his businesses employs illegal immigrants and pays them less than it costs them to live."
A gasp escaped from me and without meaning to, I glanced back at the man. It just went to show that appearances didn't mean anything. He'd seemed sweet and thoughtful, but he was hiding a dark secret. A lot of people were. I supposed in some ways, I was too.
"He's looking our way still," I warned Carl.
"That's okay, there's one thing we can do to take his attention away." Something undefined flashed through his eyes, confusing me for a few moments.
All my questions were answered when his lips pressed against mine. Their warmth spread through me, filling me with more passion than I'd expected. I melted into him, pressing my body against his and giving myself over to his kiss. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, this was going to complicate things, but I couldn't bring myself to stop. No one could have, even if they'd wanted to.
"Ahem," Dean interrupted.
I broke away from Carl, his kiss still lingering on my lips.
"I think you're needed elsewhere," Carl whispered, his voice coarse and full of need.
"Sorry this moment can't last," I responded. "Has he stopped watching us?"
He nodded. "That does seem to have done the trick." He cleared his throat, as if trying to remind himself why it was a bad idea for the two of us to kiss.
"I'd better be going." I started to turn, knowing Dean was somewhere close but not exactly where.
Carl's hand closed around my wrist and tugged me back slightly. "We'll need to talk about this," he whispered.
"We will," I promised. He was right about that, even if I didn't want to admit the inevitable outcome of that conversation.
He let go and I looked around until I spotted Dean and walked over to him, tapping him lightly on the back. It wasn't something that should be noticeable to anyone other than him, which would keep us veiled in secrecy. At least, that was the plan.
"Ah, Kat, good to see you," he greeted me loudly and turned to bring me into the conversation he was having. "Mildred, Tomas, this is the wonderful woman I told you about, she's visiting from Paris at the moment."
I stored the information away. I had to respond to Kat now. With a French accent, preferably. That one could prove tough but I was willing to give it a go.
"Ah, wonderful. Was that your husband you were just with?" the woman, Mildred, asked in perfect French.
A look of panic passed over Dean's face.
"My fiancee, actually. I'm visiting to organise moving over here to join him," I responded in the same language and crossed my fingers and hoped the little French I did know would convince her I came from the country.
Dean let out a breath of relief. He hadn't expected me to respond that way. I'd never told them I could speak French. In hindsight, that made this part of his plan very risky, especially if Mildred and Tomas became actual marks of ours. I wondered what they'd done to get on the men's bad side. Now wasn't the time to get into that. I'd have a chance to ask them once we were safe and away from them.
"She's delightful," Mildred responded to Dean.
"She's the mastermind behind a brand new initiative that will leave you speechless.," he promised.
I laughed lightly and batted a hand against his chest. "Don't go revealing any more than that." I used the thickest French accent I could muster, hoping it was going to be enough to keep fooling them. If not, we were going to be in big trouble.
"Are you sure you can't tell us more?" Tomas asked me.
"I'm afraid not, we're at a sensitive time in the project. If someone gets wind of what we're doing, they could steal all the profit from under our noses."
"So why aren't you doing it already?" Mildred's voice was surprisingly shrill for such a large woman.
"It's a matter of money at the moment. We're trying to persuade investors..." I trailed off, unsure if I was going in the direction Dean wanted me to go. This whole play seemed a little bit risky compared to the others. Why hadn't they given me any instructions? Or Dean a role that was more than just to introduce me to someone else? And did this mean I was always going to end up playing Carl's partner? I wasn't sure I wanted that. Not when it meant I never got to spend time with the other two.
"Ah, I can understand that. And if I was interested in investing?" Tomas' eyes were lit with greed. No doubt the mere thought of earning a lot of money was making him tick.
"Then we can arrange a meeting to discuss more," I responded. "If you have a card, my assistant can get in touch." Even as I was saying the words, I realised the beauty of using my French accent was that I could also play my own assistant over the phone.
"What an excellent idea." Tomas pulled out his wallet before he'd even finished speaking and dug through it for a business card.
"Merci." I took it from him and put it in my purse. Hopefully, the guys had some kind of the system in place for telling what was what.
"It was lovely to meet you, Kat."
"Likewise." I nodded my head. "But I really must be heading back to my fiancee." I turned to Dean. "May I have a quick word?"
He nodded, no doubt relieved I was getting him out of the situation so quickly.
We walked into the crowds, not looking back at the older couple as we did.
"What are you doing kissing Carl?" Dean hissed once we were far enough away.
"We were keeping up the facade we needed," I responded, keeping my voice as even as I could. "And why does it bother you anyway?" I crossed my fingers, hoping that provoking him would get me the response I wanted.
"I..."
"Isn't everything less important than the con?" I asked suggestively, stepping towards him.
"Not here," he responded, stepping back and grabbing hold of my wrist.
He pulled me away from the main party and into a quiet deserted corridor.