“And how do you expect to get a girlfriend who doesn’t know who you are? One Google search and she’ll spot you in twenty seconds.”
“That’s why I’m going to shave off my beard, get a makeover, and use my middle name. Even if she searches she’s unlikely to think William Manning rich guy is the same person as Liam Mackenzie, regular guy. I’ve set up a couple social media profiles as regular guy Liam, and some mysterious virus has temporarily eaten any photos of William Manning on the Internet. There’s a limited life span on the virus so they’ll restore in a couple of weeks’ time, save me having to go back in and fix them later.”
He pushed open the door to a small coffee shop. There were ten people waiting in the order line. Signaling to the barista behind the espresso machine, Liam bypassed the long line and picked up the two coffees she placed on the counter. He smiled at the woman, whose cheeks turned pink, before leading David over to a small table in the corner.
“Hold on. Did you just say you were going to shave? Has anyone ever seen you without your beard and mustache?”
“No, and that’s exactly the point. No one will recognize me, and I can play the regular guy until I finish this stupid book and get back to my real life.” He ran a hand over his beard, a bit longer than usual as he hadn’t trimmed it since Marcus went into hospital for the final time. He’d never shaved since sprouting his first whisker at the age of sixteen.
“What are we doing here? Are you researching what normal people do in the morning?” David took a gulp of his coffee. A flicker of surprise crossed his face as the rich flavor passed over his tongue. “God, this is so much better than the crap I normally drink.”
“That’s because it’s hot and freshly made. By the time you remember you ordered a coffee it’s cold with scum on the top. Not that I’m complaining, you’re the best programmer I’ve got. I appreciate your single-minded dedication to your work. To answer your original question, I’m here to see a woman.”
“What? You’re going to pluck a woman out of the lineup here?” David scanned the row of people waiting to order.
“Of course not. I’ve made arrangements.” Liam sat back in his chair. He tried out the deep breathing technique Marcus had used to cope with pain. If it had been anyone other than his brother who’d come up with this idea, he’d have shot him down in an instant. Liam had spent the last ten years avoiding love and relationships.
The two times he’d let himself feel something for a woman had ended in absolute betrayal. He was smart enough to know his limitations. He wasn’t love material. Iliana might have said she loved him, but what she really meant was she loved his money and was willing to put up with the rest of him for the sake of a cushy life. The fact that she’d hooked up with another rich guy within a month of their breakup proved it. Forcing a smile to hide his discomfort, he glanced at his oldest friend.
“Spill, Liam. That’s the look you get when you’re about to crack a competitor’s system.”
“I did some research last night.” Liam waved his hand in a vague gesture.
“In other words, you hacked.”
“Shush, not so loud. You’ll freak people out.”
“Chill, man, people think hackers are pimply teenagers who live in their mothers’ basements. You’re wearing a suit. No one would ever believe you know more tricks to bypass security systems than anyone else on earth.”
“I don’t know more than anyone else on earth, just the vast majority. Anyway, I went onto a dating site and found a woman. She’s going to be my fake girlfriend. According to her bank statement, she comes here for coffee every morning. I want to make sure she’s appropriate. The photo on her profile seemed too good to be true.” Despite his best effort to remain calm, his heartbeat accelerated.
“Does she know about this?”
“Of course not. The emotion has to be genuine, on her part at least. So I can’t tell her.”
“What if she falls in love with you?”
“Unlikely—I’m not all that lovable. And even if she does, she’s falling in love with a regular guy, not me. After I finish the novel, I’ll let her down gently with a nice piece of jewelry or a trip to Antigua.”
“And if you fall in love with her?” David sat back in his chair as though making sure he was out of range of Liam’s fist.
“Not going to happen, man. Not going to happen.”
A bus stopped out in front of the café; the passengers got off. The majority trudged down the street toward their day jobs, looking bored already. Two walked into the coffee shop—an older man in a stained raincoat and a young woman in a dark-gray fitted pantsuit. The drab color didn’t hide her curvaceous hips or full breasts. Light-brown hair, more golden in places, was pulled back into a long, thick ponytail. Her face was very pretty with full, pink lips, glass-cutting cheekbones, and light-green eyes. She had the sort of face that lingered in the memory long after she left.