He checked his watch and gestured for me to put my arm in his. “Come on. We’re next in line.”
I tagged along toward the courtroom where the magistrate was probably waiting. “This is all so romantic, but Graham, do you think I could have a word with you in private first? I have something I’d like to give you.”
He glanced down at the envelope in my hand, his features tightening before he smoothed them with practiced civility. He would make a good politician.
“Sure,” he said curtly. “But we’ll have to make it quick.”
I nodded and tugged on his hand, leading him into an empty vestibule that was closed off to the public.
“What are you doing?” He stared down the empty hall. “We can’t go in here; they’ll kick us out.”
“Trust me,” I whispered. “You’ll want this to be private.”
His face was a mask of irritation as he followed my lead and came to a stop around the corner. I looked up at him, mentally preparing to rip off my own mask. It was always best to do it like a Band-Aid.
There was no love for me in his eyes, but even so, for a split second, I hesitated. I’d known Graham for three weeks, and in that time, he’d showered me with gifts and tokens of his appreciation. His appreciation for helping him to keep a secret he wasn’t even aware I knew. I was just the dumb baby fawn being led to slaughter in a marriage he’d never truly be happy with, but hoped he’d make work by pacifying me with money.
In part, he was right about that. Because I needed the money. My little sister needed the money. I wanted to give her a better life, and I decided long ago that if fate wouldn’t give us our own opportunities, I would create them.
I had to remember that when I looked at Graham, even if a small part of me hated what I was about to do. Sure, he was an asshole who thought he could buy me. I’d dealt with enough of them to know it wouldn’t break his heart when I walked away. He’d be wiser, and I’d be richer, and we’d both be winners in the end. But lately, I didn’t feel like a winner at all.
“Come on.” Graham reached for the envelope in my hands. “We’re wasting time here. Is that for me?”
His sharp words snapped me back to reality, and I narrowed my eyes. Rich men were all the same. They thought they could treat women like shit because they had fat wallets. And this was my reminder that it didn’t matter what I was going to do. Graham would pay the money to avoid the humiliation of a scandal, and it wouldn’t hurt him… much.
I handed him the envelope that felt so dirty in my hands. “This is for you, my darling.”
He didn’t spare me a second glance as he pulled out the contents of the evidence I’d gathered on him over the last three weeks. Sometimes this part of the game could be dramatic. I certainly never knew what I was going to find on a mark before I started researching him. One could only speculate, but even I wasn’t past being surprised on occasion. Everybody had a secret. And I was very good at exploiting them.
“What in the hell is this?” The color drained from Graham’s face as he looked over the photos of him with his best friend’s wife. Those had been taken just three days ago, but there were plenty of others. Clandestine meetings in motel rooms and dark corners at dinner parties. It was all there. And it was an irrefutable fact that when he agreed to wait until after marriage to consummate, he was completely full of shit.
“There are plenty more where those came from.” I dropped the Southern accent I’d been using since the night I’d met him. “As well as dates and times. Locations. They’re all stored in a digital file.”
“You’re blackmailing me?” His eyes widened in disbelief. “You, the dumb blonde bimbo who’s been parading around on my arm for three weeks? How the fuck did you get this? Who sent you?”
I pulled off my wig and shook out my hair with a smile. “Actually, I’m a brunette. And I’m a lot smarter than you give me credit for. I work alone, Graham.”
The veins in his neck swelled, and his face mottled with red as he realized he’d just been played by the bimbo. “You know I’m a powerful man. How can you be sure I won’t just make you disappear?”
“Because you don’t want even the scent of impropriety around you,” I answered. “The woman you were supposed to marry goes missing? It’s a problem you don’t need. Besides, I have fail-safes for such an event, and I can promise you that this information does not go missing with me. But you can make it all go away, Graham.”