“What?” I snapped back to reality when she started to speak.
“There was a John Doe. Now he’s Paul Lawson.” She nodded. “Every public record reflects it. The newspapers will publish your name tomorrow and that will be the end of your life as you know it.”
“That’s crazy.” I shook my head in disbelief. “So what should I do now?”
“You go here.” He dug into her backpack and pushed an envelope across the table. “Tell him Violet sent you and that you’re a Gary.”
“I’m a—Gary?” I blinked in confusion.
“He’ll know what it means.” She stood and reached for her backpack. “But if you ever say either of those names again, everything I just did will be undone.”
I did what the young woman said. The place she sent me to was some sort of facility. It was the beginning of a painful year. The first procedure they did was on my face. They said they were just changing it enough that facial recognition couldn’t pick me out of a crowd. Anyone that looked me dead in the face would probably recognize me if they knew who I was. My fingertips were mutilated, healed, and then reformed so that my fingertips were different. The only thing they didn’t seem to be able to change was my DNA.
There will always be a risk, but this is beyond anything I ever imagined.
Paul Lawson was dead. Dane Ussery was born. I grew up in Alabama, which explained my accent. My parents were dead. I was the only surviving member of my family. When I left the facility, I had a new social security number, birth certificate, driver’s license, and even a passport, not that I really planned to use it. I relocated to New York, where I was able to get a job as a telemarketer. My accent seemed to work wonders over the telephone and I lived a comfortable life. It would have been much better if I had Adeline there with me, but I knew I had to let her go.
I love you, baby girl, more than you’ll ever know.
Maggie might have been crazy, but her parents were good people. My parents promised they would make sure Maggie never got custody again. My brother and his wife had offered to take her in if they couldn’t and fight Maggie with every dime they had to protect their niece. I doubted that would be necessary. Maggie didn’t seem to care much about Adeline. She only filed for custody because she didn’t want me to have her. With me supposedly in the ground, I doubted she would ever try to get her back.
“WHAT’S THIS?” I LEANED over and picked up a piece of metal that was glimmering on the sidewalk. “It looks like it is made out of gold—maybe I should hang onto it.”
The piece of metal I found appeared to be some sort of pin. It had a globe in the m
iddle and the name Xavier Miller inscribed on the back. Underneath the name was a set of dates. The first one had passed, but the last one was still a few days away. I put it in my pocket and decided I would look up the owner when I got home. Finding an Xavier Miller in New York seemed like a shot in the dark, but I didn’t want to leave it on the sidewalk for a bum to pawn if it meant something to someone. I sat down at my computer when I got home and started researching it. I was still a novice with them, but I knew how to search for stuff. A few clicks led me to a website with the logo that was on the pin.
The World Ball? Is that going on now?
I remembered hearing about the World Ball a few times, but I had no idea that it was actually going on currently. It was located in a very nice section of New York, one that I didn’t visit. There was one thing that was pretty clear, though—finding Xavier Miller was going to be impossible if he wasn’t even from New York. I let the pin sit on my desk without thinking about it until I got home from work the next day. I picked it up and stared at it for a few minutes. It had been a rough day and I could use a little bit of distraction. Seeing how the other half lived sounded like it might be a fun distraction. I got a cab to the location and when I got inside the entrance of the building, I realized that it was a masquerade.
Well shit, I don’t have a costume.
As it turned out, finding a costume wasn’t that hard. There were a few masks that had been seemingly discarded since the event was well underway. I picked one up and walked into the bathroom. I was wearing slacks and a white shirt. A stroke of genius hit me. I unbuttoned my shirt, untucked it from my pants, and slipped the mask on my face. The years in the prison weight room were about to count for something, because I was going to try to walk in as Chippendale dancer. I pushed the pin into my lapel and walked in without a hitch. The people at the door only seemed to be focused on confirming that the person had a pin when they entered, which I did—thanks to Xavier Miller.
I guess Dane Ussery gets to take the night off. Maybe him and Paul Lawson can hang out together while Xavier Miller gets to play.
Chapter 10: Lyric
My thoughts were in turmoil as I walked into the Grand Ballroom. I wanted to help Maximo. I was willing to do something crazy that could benefit us both. I was also thinking about Lenny, the sexy man from Kentucky that slept beside me the night before. And then there was Simon, the unbelievably hot older man that didn’t want to be called Daddy. All of them had left a mark on me. I wasn’t sure if it was because my sexual awakening was too new to avoid an attachment when a man shared my bed or if it was something deeper than that. I spent the day shopping with Maximo and I was wearing a dress that was far too expensive for me to afford. It was a variation of my first mermaid costume, but it was far too elegant to compare the two. I was supposed to be pursuing someone when I walked in, but once I saw Simon, I couldn’t help but approach him.
“A pirate?” I looked at the costume he was wearing.
“Arr!” He chuckled and nodded, but then his mouth fell open slightly. “Wow, you either let someone spend money on you or you stole that dress.”
“Do I get a spanking if I stole it?” I tilted my head and grinned.
“I should give you one for leaving me out here on my own last night.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I tried to get to you, but I didn’t pick you out of the crowd quick enough. You were already leaving when I saw you—with two guys.”
“Yeah, last night was interesting.” I nodded and sighed. “Tonight, I have a new mission.”
“A mission?” He tilted his head inquisitively.
“The guy you saw watching us, the one I told you that I lost my virginity to?” I pulled him away from the main part of the crowd.
“Yeah, he was one of the two you left with last night.” Simon nodded in confirmation.
“I guess we’re—kind of playing a game now?” I shrugged and sighed again. “He wants me to find someone and seduce them on my own.”