For Richer, for Richest (5 page)

Suddenly we were all staring at a picture of a woman who was obviously trying to be me—blond hair, probably a wig, about the same height, obviously heavier than I was. Wearing a pink dress, of all things.
Hot pink
. A shade Jus could see. So he had been right about that.

She was sitting on a barstool next to Jus at the hotel in Reno, quite clearly coming on to him. Her back was toward the camera, her face turned sideways so we could only see a partial profile, not enough to identify her, really. She was holding a margarita and invading his personal space.

My heart nosedived for my stomach. My mouth went dry. I tried hard not to let it pop open. A ball of anger flamed inside me. There was that awful ID-stealing bitch, probably wearing a dress she'd bought with
my
credit card. Dressed like me so she could use my ID and hit on my husband—

Wait, Jus wasn't my husband then. Okay, hit on the guy who'd had a crush on me in college. Fury nearly blinded me. And in fact, it probably saved me. That, and getting a glimpse of a stunned Magda in the front row. Turned out she was my ground in all this.

I had to save the situation, even as my heart pounded with an odd cocktail of fear, anger, and excitement. Where had Sheri gotten that picture? And was there any way Jus and I could use it to shut that thief down? Unfortunately, her face was mostly obscured.

I broke into a fabulous smile and clapped softly, trying to look as amused as possible. "Where in the world did you get that! Jus and I laughed so hard about that little incident, later.

"Women are always hitting on my husband. It's an occupational hazard of being a billionaire. That must have been taken while I was in the bathroom. Honestly! I leave him alone for a fraction of a second and another woman tries to snatch him!"

Which was the honest truth. I was in the bathroom. Puking my brains out in my hotel room.

I hitched my thumb toward the screen and kept smiling.
Smile and wave, Kay
, I told myself.
And make stuff up. Answer the question you wish you'd been asked.

"I popped out for a second. When I came back, this overly done blond was hitting on Jus. Imagine!

"Jus said she moved in the instant the bathroom door closed behind my cute little butt. His words, not mine. Like the little opportunist had been ready to pounce, looking enough like me that she hoped Jus had a type and she was it." I winked at the audience, roping them in on my joke. "But Jus and I only had eyes for each other."

The audience had been on the edges of their seats and deathly silent. They exhaled as one and burst into a round of wild applause.

Sheri frowned and moved into a brief segment about honeymoons, bringing in a travel expert to talk about the pitfalls and joys of honeymoon travel.

After it was over, Sheri smiled artificially sweetly at me. "You didn't have a honeymoon? That's not very billionaire-like
or
romantic. You'll have to get Justin to take you somewhere fabulous for a late honeymoon."

"He's already making plans!" I felt defensive on his part. "He's taking me to Italy. To Milan and the Amalfi Coast."

Sheri's smile froze. I'd slipped away again.

We had a final commercial break and came back to the last segment—buying thank-you gifts for the bridal party. I'd brought a display of items the staff at Flash thought were perfect. I described the items, elaborating on exactly why they were the fantastic, thoughtful gifts to show your appreciation for the time, money, and effort your bridesmaids had put in. For them to remember your nuptials by.

As if I was on expert on
any
of this wedding stuff. I had, however, been a bridesmaid too many times and gotten stuff that was frankly crap. The final item I'd brought with me was a stunning silver and crystal bracelet that could be engraved and personalized. And looked way more expensive than it was, especially if you were lucky enough to get it in one of Flash's events.

I took the sample off the velvet bracelet display peg and put it on next to my diamond bracelet, holding out my jeweled wrist for the camera. "This is my favorite piece of the entire line. Look how pretty it looks, even next to my real diamonds! I love it so much I brought one for each of you! Bring them out, guys!"

The audience had been waiting for this. They erupted in applause as I waved the serving guys out.
Smile and wave, Kay. Smile and wave!

"Compliments of Flashionista. Now you all can be Flashionista women, too!"

While the audience was distracted and putting on their bracelets, I glanced at Sheri. I had to find out how and where she got that photo.

K
ayla

On the way home in the car, Magda had turned from Sunshine Sheri super fan to major detractor.

"I can't believe she tried to make it look like Mr. Justin was unfaithful to you hours before your wedding!" She put a disdainful huff into her voice. "He's not the type to fool around! Before you, he didn't have a girlfriend. Or date."

Can you be unfaithful hours before an unplanned, impromptu wedding to a girl you've just reconnected with? That was one of those moral enigma questions someone with way more smarts than me would have to ponder.

I nodded. "Yeah. What was up with her? Her assistant apologized profusely. I think she's afraid of Jus and his connections and what they could do to Sheri's show if they chose. Sheri's evidently having some kind of midlife crisis where she thinks she needs to 'get serious' and leave a body of work that 'means something.' Like a hard-hitting piece on a billionaire's elopement? That doesn't even make sense!"

I tried to play it cool. But I was nervous and jumpy. Could Sheri have somehow found us out? I had to talk to Jus and tell him everything I'd learned. I'd been texting him like a crazy woman. But I had to veil everything. Send cryptic messages like,
Call me so I can tell you all about the show!

Yeah, like that would set his alarm bells off. I looked like an excited media hound. I was relying on the sheer volume to tip him off.

At least I'd managed to beg Sheri's assistant to email me a copy of that damning picture of Jus with my ID-thieving wannabe me. Jus would know what to do with it. He'd use his mad computer skills to put a stop to things. In an odd way, I was excited that we finally had a picture of her to work from.

Magda sighed. "Sheri's shows have been getting—what's the word?—edgier! Yes, edgy lately. Not so light and fun like I like. But this was the first time she's been mean to a guest. On a show about love, too!

"If I had seen her act this mean way before, I would have warned you. Or Mr. Justin. Mr. Justin would never have let you go on that show then!"

I loved Magda's loyalty. But I almost laughed at the thought of Jus going all alpha dog on me and putting his foot down, forbidding me to go on the Sunshine Sheri show.

My phone rang. When I picked up, Britt was bubbling over with excitement. "I just got an offer from Flash! As a senior merch buyer." She rattled off the details, including a salary that Jus had been exceptionally generous with.

I felt the noose tightening. Complications were flying today. Britt at Flash. This could either be fantastic. Or the death of a beautiful friendship. I was in the proverbial rock and hard place spot. If Jus didn't give her a job, I was doomed. If he did, the jury was still out.

What happened when Jus and I broke up? Would Britt side with him because he was her big boss and figuratively signed her paychecks? Or with me, her longtime wronged friend? Would she last a year at Flash?

She'd just interviewed for the job on Tuesday. Jus had fast-tracked her. I made the appropriate supportive noises. Even going so far as to squeal in joy with her at her news. But deep down, I was worried. No, I was terrified.

When we got back to the penthouse, I gave Magda the rest of the day off. With the excuse Jus and I were going out to dinner, anyway. And the afternoon was too nice to waste indoors. She was having family over for a late dinner and was grateful to have more time to prepare.

Jus didn't reply to my texts. He was probably tied up in important meetings and had shut his phone off. Or had just become so engrossed in his programming that the outside world couldn't reach him. I'd noticed that about him. If he was deep in thought, I could call his name and he wouldn't hear me.

Sheri's assistant was true to her word. She emailed me the picture. Every time I looked at it I went cold and felt sick to my stomach, wondering if I could believe the story Sheri's assistant had told me. Or if the truth was the ID thief had sent it in. Was she threatening us again?

About seven, after I'd stewed for the entire day, Jus texted he was wrapping things up and sorry to be running late. Could I meet him at the restaurant for dinner? We'd planned to go to one of those Brazilian places where they gorge you to death with serving after serving of roasted meat. I wasn't a big meat eater, but Jus had been excited about it. And since I hadn't gotten him a two-week anniversary gift, relenting was the least I could do.

I almost cancelled on him. But then I figured, after that spectacle of a talk show, it wouldn't hurt our image to be seen happily out and about town. So in the spirit of Brazil, I changed into a tight red dress that showed off my butt, augmented by a butt-enhancer, since Brazilian fashion is all about the butt rather than the breasts, and put on another pair of platform sandals.

At the restaurant, Jus was apologetic. And couldn't stop staring at me. "Wow! I didn't know you had such a killer ass."

I shook my head and whispered, "You didn't? Maybe because your eyes don't usually go lower than my breasts."

He grinned devilishly. "Yeah, and I'm going to have to give that ass more attention next time."

I shook my head. "Look all you want. Just remember, it has a little help tonight from an enhanced foundation garment." I grinned.

He took my hand as the hostess showed us to our table. "How was the show? I've been so damned busy I haven't had time to watch it yet."

I took a deep breath as I was seated. All those texts evidently hadn't clued him in. I took my menu from the hostess and waited until she'd told us our server would be right with us and disappeared before I responded. "We need to talk about the show. In private. But let's just say it would help our image while we're out to look
very
happy together."

Which Jus took to mean PDA, and tons of it. And feeding me bits of meat from his plate. After two small servings, I was meated out. For being so slender, Jus put away a surprising amount of beef, chicken, lamb, sausage, and grilled pineapple, just to balance things out. Because, you know, you need your daily servings of fruit.

I heard a few murmurs emanating from the tables around us. We turned heads. People nodded and subtly pointed to us. We'd been recognized. The happy couple PR was good for us.

By the time we got home, Jus was buzzed and horny. I, however, was still full of the fear of that picture Sheri had shown. It was the first time I'd seen my thieving impersonator, and I was shaken up. Jus forgot the show was only for public consumption. When we were safely closed in the penthouse, he started kissing my neck and pressing me to him.

"Jus." I arched my neck away from him and braced my hands against his chest. "We need to talk. About the show."

"Later, Kay." He kissed my neck, his voice deep and full of seduction and good humor. "Right now I need another lesson in love."

I laughed. He could be so funny at the oddest times.

"You're laughing at a desperate man." He practically breathed the words into my ear. "I'm a good student. You won't be disappointed by my progress."

"Jus. We
need
to talk. There was a development on the show today."

He nuzzled my neck. I hated to throw cold water on his ardor, but I'd been desperate all day, too. With worry. "Sheri showed a picture of the identity thief and you together on her show."

He froze. "What did you say?"

I repeated it.

He let me go so fast I nearly toppled over. "No! How?"

I pulled my phone from my purse and showed him the emailed picture from Sheri's assistant. He went stark white.

I took his arm and led him to the sofa. He sat and took the phone from me and just stared at the picture in silence. His face clouded with fury. It was frightening. I'd never seen him look like that.

I sat next to him, leaning forward with my hands on my knees so I could see his downturned face. "Is it her? Is it that night?"

"Fuck. Yeah, it's her." He was trembling. With either fear or rage. I wasn't sure which was the better option at that point.

"FYI, she's wearing a pink dress. You were right about that."

He didn't see the humor in it. I made him watch the show on the mounted large-screen TV. We watched it together. I actually looked better than I thought. They always say TV adds ten pounds. Call me vain, and I probably am, but I didn't want to look like a fat cow.

I almost made a quip about needing popcorn while we watched my Seattle TV debut. But I was sure Jus wouldn't have appreciated my sense of humor. I'd had all day to digest the news. He was just getting started.

He was stonily, icily silent, concentrating with an unreadable look on his face. When it was over, he flipped it off. "How did you get the picture on your phone?"

I explained how I'd talked to Sheri's assistant. "She told me Sheri has been on a rant about her show's ratings falling. And being middle-aged and needing more. Sheri wanted to do something more serious on our wedding. So she went digging for scandal. Her staff had almost given up when they found a paparazzi wannabe who'd recognized you from your many trips to the Reno facility. I guess you've been written up in the paper down there for bringing good jobs to town." I glanced at Jus. He was like a statue.

"He'd snapped the picture and hung on to it, hoping it would be worth something. When he sold it to her, he claimed he'd snapped it on the same date as our purported wedding, just hours before. And had the time stamp to prove it. Sheri was only too happy to have anything on you. I don't think she knows what's going on. But what if she keeps digging? What if she finds this woman before we do?"

We sat in silence. I didn't interrupt Justin's thoughts.

Finally, he sighed. "My PI is still working the case. This picture could be the break he needs to find her. If he circulates it…"

"He'll have to be
extremely
discreet." I didn't like this at all. "What if she spooks easily? If she gets wind we're looking for her, she could bolt—"

"He's the best in the business." Jus leaned back against the sofa. Finally, he turned and looked at me. "Dex and I coded a piece of facial-recognition software together in college. I can tweak it to see if I can find her." He tapped my phone. "That won't be easy, either. We only have a partial view of her face. And she's clearly in disguise."

I nodded, feeling miserable for both of us.

"Shit!" He took another deep breath. "Wall Street is analyzing our midyear numbers right now and making projections. They've been overly optimistic, in my opinion. Thinking we're going to track the success and growth rate of Amazon. We're making money, good money. But it won't matter. If we miss our targets, they'll downgrade our stock. If a scandal like this breaks, they'll really downgrade us."

He frowned. "We have to stop her." He took my hand. "If we let him in on this, Dex could help. He knows the software as well as I do."

"No!" I shook my head. "The PI—"

"Dex has a unique way of looking at things. I could use his brainpower. And he can keep his mouth shut."

Jus had the most to lose here. I had no right, really, to interfere with what he thought was the right thing to do. I swallowed hard. He was right about Dex. He
could
keep a secret.

I nodded. "Okay." But I still wasn't certain. "Just so you know, I'll never hear the end of it from Dex. It's a huge sacrifice on my part."

"Are you angling for more money? Don't tell me you're going to blackmail me, too?" He was so darn cute as he squeezed my hand. "Something doesn't make sense—why did the ID thief contact me, make a veiled threat, then go radio silent? Why hasn't she asked for money?"

J
ustin

Life is a precarious balancing act. Keep the plates spinning on each stick. Look away for a minute and lose one. Two of my spinning plates—Kay and Flash—were in danger. I would do anything to keep them. Even take the dangerous step of bringing another person into my situation.

"I knew it! I knew you'd pranked Lala into marrying you. How else could you have gotten her? But this is
seriously
whacked." Dex twisted the cap off his beer. "And epic. Pranking a woman into fake matrimony. You should write a book. There's a world of geeks out there who would pay for your secret."

I'd just come clean with Dex about my marriage-of-thwarting-the-ID-thief. "I didn't
prank
her into anything. I played on her sympathies. Now I'm paying her for her help. I hired her for a year to be my wife."

Dex raised one eyebrow and busted out laughing. "A thankless job, for sure! My cousin, the wife for hire. Shit." He paused. "Have you done her like I advised?"

I couldn't help myself. I grinned.

Dex gave me a thumbs-up. "Don't give me any details. She
is
my cousin. And like a sister to me." He cursed beneath his breath. "The moms are going to be so pissed with you when the divorce goes through."

I looked him in the eye. "Who says there's going to be a divorce?" I laughed. "Repeat that to Kay and I'll deny it."

"That's my man." Dex took a drink of beer and spun it to read the label. "Nice. I'll have to get me some of these." He grinned. "Or are they out of my price range?"

I shook my head at him. "Yeah, sure. It's billionaire-only beer."

He laughed. "So does this mean we're cousin-in-laws or not?"

I shrugged. "The hell if I know. It's a legal gray area."

"Oh, buddy. This is just too rich." He shook his head again. "That's a pun at your expense."

"If you have to explain a pun, it's not funny," I said.

We were drinking at my place, sitting in my office in front of the computer screen and the picture of the ID thief from Sunshine Sheri's show. Kay was out shopping and celebrating with Britt, who would be starting with Flash in two weeks. I'd wanted Kay out of the house while I talked with Dex.

"Clearly, you have a plan for winning Lala's love? And continuing this kind of, sort of marriage until death do you part." Dex was sprawled in my leather guest chair, legs spread wide. "If you find your perp, aren't you fast-tracking it to divorce court?"