Gifted Connections 4

“I think that’s just wishful thinking,” Jace said dryly as he linked his hands with mine and kissed the back of my hand.

“If he has a career and a life here, what’s the likelihood of him wanting to leave his life here? We live on the opposite side of the US,” I said glumly.

“One bridge at a time,” Remy reassured me.

“Oh, my goodness, aren’t you the girl?” Jen, the woman who was throwing the engagement party asked. She was an actress from a ton of movies but never as the star. Her husband-to-be, Mark, was a director and at least twenty years her senior.

Jen had met us at the door wearing a flimsy robe and large curlers. Her face was already heavily made up.

I looked at her in bewilderment. “The girl?” I asked in confusion.

“The girl who took the bullet for Anna,” she said slowly as if I were slow-witted.

I nodded. “That’s me.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked aghast.

I looked over at Troy. “I was hired to do a job, and I want to fulfill my obligations.” I lied glibly.

She looked at me with narrowed eyes for a few moments before she shrugged. “Well, you better not pass out or anything today. This is a big day for me.”

I had to refrain from snorting. I could tell within five minutes of meeting her that she was a diva and believed she was more prominent than she really was.

“Yes ma’am,” I said instead, solemnly.

“I’m sure you saw your contracts, and I know you all read them,” she looked at me once more with harsh scrutiny. “But just in case you forgot the most important ones; No talking to my guests unless they talk to you. If you need to use the restroom, do not, and I repeat, do not use my bathrooms. I don’t care if you have the runs, you better utilize the restroom in the maid’s quarters. No eating our food. If you're hungry, there are sandwiches in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean all of you can leave at once. Only two people are allowed to leave their post at a time. Two,” she emphasized. “Any questions?”

We all shook our heads. I could already tell this was night and day compared to Anna’s party. We were just the hired help today.

“Good.” She nodded. “I’m going to get ready. I expect you all to be at your post in ten minutes.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes once more. The party wasn’t expected to start for another forty-five minutes.

“Okay, everyone, earpieces in, let's get this party started,” Troy said sardonically as he slipped his own earpiece in. They were less like the ones we used on our missions and more like the ones the secret service used.

Jace led me to the stairs. Troy had already given us our post locations and had me and Jace standing on the balcony above the party. Jen and Mark already had four bodyguards, so we were just supplemental back up. There wasn’t a crazy stalker after any one here, luckily. We were only there to make the ‘happy’ couple looked important.

“Did Troy get the guest list?” I asked Jace as we walked up the concrete steps.

“He’s trying to do that as we speak,” Jace answered.

We leaned against the marble railing and watched the people buzz around down below. I thought Will’s mansion had been huge, but this mansion was a monstrosity. Anna’s estate had been large, too, but without the garishness and pretentiousness. Everything screamed of their need for attention.

There were several tables connected to make one large u-shape table with a makeshift dance floor in the middle. A string quartet was setting up on a platform stage above where I assumed the newly engaged couple would sit. There were beautiful white chairs with pink bows surrounding the tables, and two thrones—yes, thrones!—in the center of the whole setup.

Everything was in pristine whites and pastel pinks. I could see a bar on the opposite side of the lawns. The bartenders there were dressed in the most hideous pastel pink outfits I had ever seen.

“I guess we should be thankful that we’re not bartenders,” I muttered to Jace.

He softly chuckled at me. “I agree. J

ust wait until you see what the servers are wearing,” he murmured in my ear.

“Nothing could be as hideous as those get-ups,” I gave him a look of disbelief.

“Just wait and see,” he covered his grin with his hand. “Uh oh, the chihuahua is back on a mission.”

“I’m so glad I met Anna last night,” I whispered to him as I reached down to wipe a white mark from my black shoes. “Otherwise I would think all celebrities are pretentious.”