Chapter Fifty Five
“Sophia, how are you?” Kristen asks when she calls me later that day. “Good, good,” she says before I even get the chance to answer. “Emily wants to see both of us today.”
I groan. “Why?”
“I’m not really sure. I think she wants to talk through what’s been happening.”
“Nothing has been happening.”
“So just tell her that.”
“Why can’t you tell her over the phone?”
“You know what she’s like. She’s very insistent. I think it’s best if we just appease her.”
“Well what if I’m busy today?”
“Then she would probably want to see you tomorrow. Or the day after. Or the day after that.”
I sigh. “What time?”
“Two o’clock. My office.”
“I could have updated Kristen over the phone,” I tell Emily a couple of hours later. “You know, like it says in the contract.”
“Is there somewhere else you need to be right now, Sophia?” She raises one eyebrow. “Seducing my husband, perhaps?”
“Not right now.”
“This is my marriage we’re talking about. My life. Forgive me for wanting to talk to you in person.”
I nod. “Well here I am. What would you like to know?”
“Start with last night.”
“What about it? I hardly spoke to Mason. You heard the one conversation that we had.”
“So that’s the only time you spoke to him?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Yes.”
“So then why did one of my friends see you two talking backstage?”
Shit. “Backstage? Oh, you must mean straight after the auction. I totally forgot about that. He was just thanking me for taking part.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
“So why were you missing for almost ten minutes? Why didn’t you come straight back into the main room?”
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
I glance out of the window as I come up with yet another lie. “Oh, actually, I almost forgot.”
“Sure you did,” Emily interrupts.
“I asked him about the charities he supports so he told me about a couple of them.”
She smirks. “Ah yes, he’s very giving.”
My fingernails dig into my palms as I try to stop myself from scowling. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Perhaps you could help me understand how Mason’s doorman has thirty thousand dollars to spare?”
“Eric.”
“Who?”
“The doorman. His name is Eric.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “It looks like Mason is overpaying his employee’s if his doorman has thirty thousand dollars to spend.”
“His name is Eric and he was bidding on behalf of somebody else.” The truth.
“Who?”
“I don’t know. Mason didn’t mention any names. He just said that Eric had asked if he could take a little break to help out a friend.”
“A friend. Interesting. I think I’ll have a little chat with Eric. I’m curious to find out who placed the highest bid of the night.” I make a mental note to somehow warn Mason. “So that’s another thing that you two talked about. Is your memory a little foggy, Sophia? Because you started by saying that he simply thanked you for taking part but then you remembered that you spoke about his charities and also about Eric. Could you be forgetting about other things too?”
“No, I couldn’t.”
“How much did you have to drink? I know you were drinking champagne.”
“I had one glass. I wasn’t drunk if that’s what you’re trying to suggest.”
“I’m not trying to suggest anything. I’m just making sure that you’re a reliable source.”
“All my girls are reliable,” Kristen adds. “And they know not to drink on the job.”
She ignores Kristen and turns to me. “Why did you leave early if you didn’t go on your date?”
I sigh. “I had a headache. I still do.”
“You should have told me. I would have given you some Tylenol.”
Never in a million years would I risk taking anything that she offered me. “It’s fine. It wasn’t the best place to trap him anyway, as you’ll probably agree. There were far too many people there and like I’ve already told you, I hardly spoke to him.”
“It may not have been the perfect place but you definitely couldn’t trap him while you were sitting at home in your pajamas.”
“Mason has never done anything to suggest that he would cheat on you.” Regardless of what may be blossoming between the two of us, I honestly believe that he would never act on his feelings or even voice them if he was still in a relationship with Emily. “Maybe you should just accept it?”
“I’ll accept it when the six weeks are up. When are you seeing him next?”
“I don’t know. There’s no planning involved. It’s not like we sit there and arrange a time and place.”
“Well maybe you should.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He’s not showing any interest in doing that. There are only so many times I can conveniently run into him or show up at his events.”
“Well somebody must have planned the movie date.”
“Yes, Buzz. Mason and I just got dragged along.”
“So then work that angle. Get your friend to set up some more dates with Buzz.”
I shrug. “I can ask but this has got nothing to do with her. She doesn’t work for you, remember? She doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to.”
“I want more from you going forward.”
“More? I’m not sure that I can give you more.”
“You can give me a recording.”
My stomach performs a somersault. “A recording of what?”
“Your conversations. I want to hear how he is with you.”
I look at Kristen then back to Emily. “That’s not in the contract.”
“You told me that you would get the evidence. You said you would provide me with texts and photographs.”
“And I meant it. Of course I would provide you with those if I had them but I don’t. Mason isn’t giving me anything to work with.”
“So then record him. Prove it to me. Let me hear how loyal and trustworthy he is with my own ears.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I manage to get out through clenched teeth.
“Wear a wire the next time you see him. It’ll be easier that way.”
“No,” I say with too much force. “I’ve already told you that it’s too risky.”
“None of your previous clients have discovered the wire so why would Mason?”
“It makes me uncomfortable. He would notice that I was acting differently. I’m not going to wear a wire. I asked you to take it out of the contract for a reason.”
“Fine. Do it your way, just get me something.”
“Look Emily, I’ve been doing this job for two years now. I’ve trapped hundreds of men. I honestly don’t believe that Mason is a cheater. I think it’s a dead end.”
“With all due respect, you may have been doing the job for two years but you’ve only known my husband for one week. He’s managed to keep his dick in his pants for seven days, woopdedoo, give the guy a medal. I told you at the start that Mason wouldn’t risk doing something straight away. There are five weeks left. I’m paying you a lot of money. Get me something. ”
I stand up, unable to sit and listen to her crap any longer. “Why? Why do you want it so bad?”
Kristen clears her throat. “Maybe we should wrap this up, ladies. I have another appointment soon.”
“Stop questioning my motivations and do your job,” Emily says before turning her attention to Kristen. “I’ve been thinking about what we discussed the other day. I’d like to hire another one of your girls. Let’s see if he can be tempted by a brunette instead.”
“Does that mean you don’t need me anymore?” I ask.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“But why do you need two of us?”
“Stop getting ahead of yourself. The other girl will just be for one night. She can try a different approach.”
“Which is?”
She shrugs. “Get him drunk then offer it up on a plate.”
“But I thought you said that Mason wouldn’t risk a one night stand?”
“People change. Maybe he might be in the mood for one. Maybe he just doesn’t like blondes. Or maybe he just isn’t attracted to you.”
“So then what’s the point in me carrying on?”
“Because I might be wrong. And because you’ve signed a contract.”
“Don’t you think it’s too risky to involve another person?”
“Only as risky as it was to involve you in the first place. They’ll sign a non disclosure agreement just like you did. They don’t need to know about you.”
“When will they do it?”
“Whenever I want them to.”
I’m about to argue against it when Kristen catches my eye and gives a little shake of her head. “I’m sorry ladies but my next client is going to be arriving any minute now.”
Emily stands up. “It’s fine. We’re done here anyway. I’ll be in touch soon about your other girls.”
Kristen nods and we both watch as she leaves the room. As soon as the door closes behind her, we look at each other in disbelief. I hold a finger up then crouch down and check under the table and chairs. I don’t even know what to look for but nothing seems out of the ordinary. “I was checking to see if she’s bugged the room.”
“Hmmm, I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Please don’t send another girl to trap Mason.”
“I’ll have to. It’ll look suspicious if I don’t help her.”
“Can you get them to sabotage it?”
“And risk Emily finding out? I don’t trust the other girls like I trust you, Sophia.”
I sigh. “At least send Carmen. She’s not Mason’s type.” She’s loud and loves the sound of her own voice. Mason would never be interested in her.
“She was interested in Leah the other day.”
I groan. As well as being drop dead gorgeous, Leah has a degree in Astrophysics and is one of the funniest people I know. The thought of Mason flirting with Leah, or anyone else for that matter, makes me feel physically sick. “Just tell her that Leah is fully booked.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Please let me know when it’s going to happen. I need to try and stop it.”
“Do you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Maybe we should just let it happen then all this will be over. We can wipe our hands of Emily for good.”
“Let me know when it’s going to happen,” I repeat.
She rests her chin on top of her hands. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“He’s a good person.”
“And so are you. Just be careful, Sophia. I know you’re trying to protect him but I don’t want you to get hurt at the end of all of this.”
It may already be too late.