Diane (The Town of Pearl 6)

“Right now she’s considered a rogue agent, who has committed treason.”

“What can I do to help bring them all in?” Mark asked, and Weathers looked at the other men.

“That’s what we wanted to talk about. You won’t be able to go into the field on this one. They’ll know your identity. You’ve been called into similar situations and cases before and Brenda knows that. We don’t know who she’s given up so far, and we’re not risking anyone’s life. We have to assume that all of our identities have been compromised. We’re organizing a new team. We’ll need your recommendation. I’d like you to handle what you can from behind the scenes. Do your thing on the computers and other contacts you have. Get me something, a location, a shipment, anything that can help us to nail these assholes,” Weathers told him.

Mark stared at them and thought about what was going on. He didn’t need to be in the middle. He was glad that he was only hired out for specific jobs. This was exactly why he was slowly ending his career with the government. It was getting too dangerous, and people he thought he could trust would easily turn their backs on him. He felt the guilt hit his gut. How could Brenda do this? What had changed?

“I’ll do it, and whatever else you need. These individuals need to be stopped.”

Chapter 4

Diane knew that her mouth gaped open, but she really didn’t care. She was in shock.

There was chaos all around her. Women half-naked throwing on different outfits as other people did their makeup and hair. She had been part of that chaos moments ago while she helped Elvira and some friends pick out the lingerie needed for the runway models. She was envious as she watched the models strut their stuff down the runway as cameras flashed, and the audience clapped at designs they loved. It was a full house both behind the curtain backstage and in the audience. She met some famous designers, a few wealthy CEOs, investors, store managers, and a few very attractive men. One in particular had kept watching her.

But she wasn’t expecting the model, Clara, to pass out. She sure didn’t expect the words that came out of Elvira’s mouth.

“Get that shocked expression off your face, Diane. We need you. Hurry up and change into this.”

Monique, the woman in charge, the designer of the top lingerie in the business, ushered Diane across the room and behind an almost sheer partition. Two men were standing there talking.

“Move it. We need this area,” Monique stated. Pasqual and Elvira appeared, carrying a sexy red teddy with thong panties. The top barely covered the top of her ass if she was to wear that, and she certainly would not be.

“Uhm, I’m not going out there. I’m not a model.”

Two men came behind the curtain and began setting up a makeshift makeup stand. She covered her breasts as best she could and gasped.

“She needs some work, but Bruce and I can pull off miracles,” one of the men stated. Instantly she knew he was gay. Not that it mattered. To someone as shy and reserved as Diane, she still saw them as men, strangers who were seeing the goods that no other man had ever seen.

“Quit fidgeting. We have ten minutes. Please, Diane. You are gorgeous. You can do this. Just sashay this sexy body down the line and don’t trip,” Monique said as she unclipped Diane’s bra.

“I can’t do this. Oh God. I can’t!” she exclaimed.

“Please, Diane. Please do this. I need you,” Elvira pleaded as she pulled the one-size-too-small lingerie in front of Diane’s chest.

“I hope she got a Brazilian wax recently because this lingerie is tiny,” Pasqual said as he peaked around the corner. She was pretty sure he was gay, too, and Monique’s promoter for her line of lingerie here and in Europe.

In no time at all, the five or six people had her makeup done and her hair complete. She stepped into incredible high-heeled red shoes that matched the outfit. She was shaking, but glad she had shaved as one of the guys mentioned a few moments ago. How embarrassing would that be?

They all stepped back, and Elvira’s eyes widened in shock.

“What? I look bad. See, I told you I’m not a model. Look at the size of my ass, my hips, and thighs. Models are stick thin, and surely don’t have these.” She cupped her breasts that were already pouring from the top.

“Holy shit, she’s gorgeous,” Pasqual said.

“Thank you,” Bruce, the makeup artist, replied and then hurried to the next model.

Diane tried to adjust her boobs in the lingerie, but they were too big. The wrong move might actually cause one breast to push upward and reveal her areola.

“Okay, you’ve been watching the models all evening. Don’t focus on the crowds of people, just put one foot in front of the other,” Monique told her as she walked her to the opening in the curtain.

They added something to her hair, and her eyes were all done up, too.

“Think sexy, make a man come in his pants from watching your kind of walk,” some woman told her and winked.

“Don’t freak out. You can do this. Don’t even worry about the cameras.”

“Cameras?” Diane asked, feeling her heart beat so fast she thought it might leap through her chest and make a run for it.