Then, she found herself answering him without reservation. In those few moments during which her own green eyes had locked with his, she had felt completely at ease.
“We were two different people. I couldn’t have children and he couldn’t accept that. So, he turned to other pursuits. Mostly other women. Then, he began to get violent and I left.”
“You are infertile?”
“Yes.”
“What is the cause of that?”
Jo squirmed a bit, unsure of where all these personal questions were leading, but answering them anyway, mostly because she was desperate and willing to trade some of her secrets for a job.
“I don’t know. I just have been unable to have children and my husband has grown weary of my not being able to provide them to him.”
“So, you are still married then?”
“For now. I’ll get a divorce when I can afford to pay a lawyer. Might be a while.”
“And the husband? Is he still a problem? You said he is violent.”
“No. He’s in New Jersey and has no clue where I’ve gone. He’ll be happy enough to give me a divorce and pretend I never existed.”
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to say I’m glad or that I’m sorry.”
“No need to be either. I’m starting at the bottom and will have to work my way up, but I’m much better off out here without him on a lot of levels.”
“Good enough.”
“So, when do we get to the part about the acting job you’ve advertised. You’ve learned a lot about me, but we’ve yet to discuss why I’ve come here.”
“I’m looking for a wife.”
Jo stared at him blankly. Had he not heard her just now when she said she was still married, and what did matchmaking have to do with an acting job?
“Excuse me?” she finally managed, simultaneously noting that Mr. and Mrs. Bryant were saying nothing, perhaps not even listening. They were sipping their drinks with a glazed over look about them while he asked all the questions.
“I’m sorry. I phrased that poorly. I need someone to pretend to be my wife.”
“Oh, I see. Like for an event? A wedding? A convention?”
“Indefinitely.”
“Can you narrow that down a bit more?”
“Not really, not at this time.”
“I see. Well, I don’t know that I’m willing to commit to an unspecified amount of time and, as I mentioned in my response, I’ve no acting experience.”
“Perhaps not, but in this brief amount of time I’ve known you, you’ve come across as someone that can maintain appearances as I need them to seem.”
“I don’t know.”
“I can give you five million reasons to do this for me.”
“Five million?”
“Yes. I will pay you five million dollars to act as my wife for as long as I require you. If you want to put a cap on it, we can do that. Things happen, you know? You can run off with a circus, eventually, or you can return home to take care of family issues, whatever works with the situation as it is when we get to the point. I can pay you additional funds for anything beyond a certain agreed upon period of time. It’s all very flexible, with my only real requirement being that certain parties believe we are married.”
“What if they check?”
“They won’t. I’ll have fake documents and they’ll never look past those. They’ve no reason to do so.”
“It’s tempting, but I’m afraid I’m going to need to know more before I can sign on for something so . . . well, farfetched.”
“Well, how about we let Joshua and Helen go back to their homes and we’ll relax by the fire, hash this all out.”
“What? I thought this was their house?” she asked, realizing that they had said hardly a single word once he had taken over.
“No. We own an agency that provides confidential services to special clients like Mr. Harrison here. If you prefer we stay, then we will be happy to do so. Otherwise, we will call it a night and let the two of you hash out the details. In the morning, we will be in touch with you to finalize the agreement, if any is reached. I just need you to sign a quick non-disclosure for me before we leave that says you will not disclose anything discussed here with Mr. Harrison. Your driver will take you back home once you’re done.”
“How do I get in touch with him?”
“You don’t. He’ll be waiting outside.”
“He left when I arrived.”
“Just to get a bit to eat. If you want to check, you will find the car parked on the curb and him sitting in the front room reading a book. There is also a housekeeper present, the one who greeted you at the front door earlier.”
“I see,” Jo replied, feeling a bit relieved that she wasn’t alone here with a stranger, though she honestly didn’t feel as ill at ease about it as she would have thought. “Okay. I guess I will stay and see.”