“You look perfect.” Gideon is watching me from the doorway as I smooth a few errant strands back in to my ponytail. I flash him a smile in the mirror and as I’m starting to tuck my makeup back in to my purse, Gideon hands me a new clutch purse that he’s fished out of the freshly stocked closet. “Ready?” There is little time to wonder what the hell I’m going to look like holding a clutch purse in one hand and a tray of drinks in the other so I cram my makeup in to it, tuck the black clutch under my arm and smile.
I feel like royalty as we walk in to the lobby of the building and meet another couple on their way in; they both stare at us with smiles. I’ve never felt so much like a celebrity…at least not until we got outside and the biggest limousine I’ve ever seen was sitting waiting for us. I look at Gideon open mouthed and he nods at me with a smile. The driver appears from around the back of the car and holds open the door for us and I step inside. The seats look as though they’re covered in brand new beige leather and there is a small cubby to the right as I step in to the limo that holds a bottle of champagne and two champagne flutes.
After riding for a few minutes in silence, Gideon reaches over and pops open the champagne, pouring two glasses and offering me one. I take it and sip slowly; the last thing I need is to get drunk before getting to where we’re going. As a matter of fact, where are we going? I open my mouth to ask Gideon but as I do he raises his glass and with a smile he toasts to “new opportunities.” He takes a drink from his glass and I from mine.
“I know you’re really going to enjoy working for me Melissa.” He settles his hand on my knee and with a wink he slides it slowly up my thigh. “You are the perfect person for the job.” As these words leave his lips I feel the car pull on to a gravel road and looking out of the window I see that we are coming up the driveway of a large building, not too unlike the Lambert Estate.
“Wow that was fast.” I crack a smile at Gideon who is now fishing around in the inside pocket of his jacket. “You hired a limo to bring us a few minutes from your place?” Gideon frowns disapprovingly.
“I may not love the lavish lifestyle but do you think showing up to a fundraising event in a yellow cab is the kind of image I’m ready to give off to my clients?” I shrug.
“I guess not.”
“Right, now put this on.” As the car pulls to a stop he slides a golden ring on to my left ring finger. “Play along…” The door opens and a man, obviously one who recognizes Gideon, nods his head and greets us as Mr. and Mrs. Lambert. I frown and as I do I feel Gideon pinch my side lightly through my dress. I smile quickly and nod back.
A lavish red carpet leads up the front steps of the building and as we walk along it I can’t help but feel like a movie star sans paparazzi. Gideon looks over at me with a smile and as we’re walking up that red carpet as Mr. and Mrs. Lambert it dawns on me that this time I am not going to be serving drinks to anyone. This time I am going to be playing wife to a billionaire and to be honest I’m not quite sure how, since I’ve never even lived life as a thousandaire let alone a billionaire.
Chapter Thirteen
As we stand in the ballroom with every inch of free wall space covered with political propaganda, I play the part of Mrs. Lambert. Gideon takes me from one generic face to another introducing me as his wife and every single time it catches me off guard. How have I become the wife that I’ve been wondering about all day? The brief moments that I get to puzzle over this between introductions leave me more and more puzzled. Am I the cover story for his missing wife? Am I a lookalike hired to shift suspicion from him, the wealthy billionaire murderer?
“Oh, you must be Mrs. Lambert! I’m so sorry we missed you at last year’s event; Gideon said you were under the weather. Isn’t it so inconvenient when things like that happen?” I look up and find a middle aged woman with a large gold broach pinned to a purple scarf around her neck. She seems to have absolutely no concept of personal space as she inches closer to me. “Still, I’m glad to see that you made it this year. Of course, we are absolutely thrilled to see you and so thankful for your husband’s generosity. Without Gideon I don’t know how the campaign would have stayed afloat.” I stare at her glassy eyed, wondering if she is ever actually going to give me the opportunity to speak.
“I’m so glad we could help.” I smile politely and try to make a break for it after eyeing Gideon nearby talking to an elderly couple. As I turn to leave however she puts her hand on my waist.