The Real Thing Read online

  "Shit, Felicity, I was only messing with you. I wasn't trying actually to upset you or anything," Lena said, looking mighty uncomfortable from her perch. Emotions weren't really her thing, and she handled other people's upset poorly.

  “No, you didn’t. It’s just...you’re right.”

  "I'm what now?" Lena said, her surprise only half a joke. Out of the two of them, Felicity was the one less prone to fuckups. It was usually Lena telling Felicity she was right instead of the other way around.

  “You heard me,” Felicity said with a small smile, “I said you’re right. I haven't really been living, have I?”

  “Not so much, no. But hey, I know you’ve been busy. Your schedule? I don’t know how anyone keeps up with that. You’re like a superhero or something.”

  "That's kind of why I wanted you to meet me here, actually," Felicity said quietly. The segue was terribly awkward, and her heart started thumping manically in her chest the moment the words were out of her mouth.

  “Okay,” Lena said slowly, her eyes lit up with curiosity, “that’s all kinds of cryptic. Care to be a little more specific?”

  “It’s kind of complicated,” Felicity answered, stuttering a little and hating herself for it.

  “Um, no. You’re stalling,” Lena countered. That was the downside to having friends who’ve known you for years. They knew when you were dodging and evading.

  “So, I met this guy,” Felicity started, looking down at her hands because it was easier than looking at her friend’s face.

  “What? What the hell, lady? And you’ve been sitting here for the last twenty minutes without saying anything?” Lena yelped loudly enough that several people in the bar turned to check out the source of this new noise. Felicity grabbed her arm tightly.

  “Lena, come on!” Felicity hissed.

  “Felicity!” she hissed right back, unphased by the reproach, “You should have led with that part! You have got to learn how to prioritize, lady.”

  "Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?" Felicity asked, defeated. This was precisely the kind of battle of wills Felicity would never win, and they both knew it.

  “Of course I do,” Lena nodded matter of factly. “Spill it. Everything.”

  And so, Felicity did just that. She told Lena about selling her grandmother’s ring, which turned out to be the most difficult part. Lena had known both Felicity’s parents and, when they died, her grandmother. When it was all said and done, Felicity was more ashamed of selling her grandmother’s ring than any of the strange things that had happened since. The strange things that were still happening, she reminded herself. When Lena didn't do more than wince at that part, the rest was easier to tell. Besides, Lena wasn't exactly a prude. Any judgment of that sort always happened the other way around, or so it had been before meeting the infamous Liam. Felicity had dated, of course, but nothing like her encounter with Liam. Nothing even close.

  “So hold on,” Lena said slowly, carefully, when Felicity was done with the story. “You went to that party thing as his escort? Is this real life we’re talking about or have I finally gone off the deep end?”

  “I wasn’t an escort!” Felicity protested, truly horrified by the label. Naive or not, it hadn’t crossed her mind to identify herself as such. At least not in such explicit terms.

  “He paid you to go on a date with him?” Lena asked, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

  “Well, yes, sort of, but-”

  “And how is that not an escort?”

  “It’s not that simple,” Felicity protested stubbornly.

  “So you said. Tell me how?”

  "As it turns out, I might be in some danger. I wasn't just his date, I guess. He suspected that there might be some people after the necklace he had me wear, and as it turns out there were."

  “What kind of people?” Lena asked, her arms crossed over her chest. This was the second hardest part, which Felicity absolutely had anticipated. The words Lena shouted out when she figured out the position Liam had put Felicity in, would have gotten them both kicked out of a nicer establishment. If not that, it would have gotten them a strong warning for sure.

  “So, Mr. Rich and Beautiful is a real son of a bitch. That’s what you’re telling me. You just went the long route to get to the point,” Lena demanded, one step below incensed.

  “No, come on, Lena. That’s not what I’m saying.”

  “Because you’re too nice. And now he wants you to live with him? Is he for real?”

  “Yeah, I guess he is.”

  "So, tell me how that would work out," Lena asked, signaling the bartender for a round of shots. Felicity rejected hers but only half-heartedly. When Lena pressed, she took it, wincing at the feel of fire sliding down her throat. Everything about Lena's disposition was skeptical, and Felicity couldn't find any fault with the reaction. It was the normal reaction, maybe the only sane reaction, to the plan Liam had laid out. So then why was Felicity even entertaining it? More than that, why was she already on the verge of accepting the bizarre offer, with or without Lena's stamp of approval?

  "I guess the best way to put it is kind of a live-in assistant, of sorts," Felicity started haltingly, searching through her words for the best way to proceed. Lena let out a bark of harsh laughter, and Felicity winced. Clearly, whatever the "right" way was, her way hadn't been it.

  “Oh yeah?” Lena asked sarcastically, “What are you going to be assisting him with?”

  "It's not like that, okay? I told him. I told him that what happened before couldn't happen again. I'll be living in his house, but we'll be in different rooms. He actually said different wings, whatever that means."

  "It means he's freaking loaded," Lena inserted, laughing again but this time without quite so much of the judgment.

  "Anyway, he'll pay me a better wage than I've been making working all my other jobs combined, and he'll keep me safe. I'm mixed up in something I don't really understand, but he'll keep me safe. He says he's got a whole team of people to help him do just that," she answered, picking up confidence as she spoke. It was an insane plan. She had known it earlier, when she had only been carrying it around inside of her head, and now she was doubly sure after saying the words out loud. It should have been enough for her to put off the idea entirely, hearing those words and seeing the look Lena got on her face, but instead it was having the opposite effect. She was more sure than ever that she wanted to say yes, if only to have something different. It was difficult to wrap her head around the idea that she might actually be in some kind of danger. The story about the potential ring of jewel thieves was something out of a spy movie, not real life; certainly not her real life. She understood that Liam believed it and for some reason, she believed his fear was real. It didn't factor into her wanting to take him up on his offer at all, though. The chance of excitement, of monetary freedom, those things were real. She had given up on the possibility of truly being able to have either of those years ago, if she'd ever believed in them at all. The idea of attaining them now was simply too tempting for her to reject.

  "Felicity?" Lena asked softly. Felicity glanced at her friend's face and felt a twinge of remorse. With all of her usual bravado gone, Lena just looked plain worried, same as any other well-meaning friend might. Felicity put a comforting hand on her knee, and Lena laid her own over it.

  “I’m going to take him up on the offer,” she said gently. Lena’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth, started to say something, and Felicity shook her head slowly.

  “I’m going to do it, Lena.”

  “Don’t you want to hear my opinion? I thought that’s why we came here in the first place.”

  “It is. I mean, it was, only I decided. You still helped. Saying it all out loud helped.”

  “Okay,” Lena shrugged, “if you’re sure. Just don’t come crying to me to fix everything when it all goes to shit.”

  “Please,” Felicity laughed, “like you wouldn’t come. You love picking up the pieces.”
>
  “I love drinking our sorrows away. On second thought, definitely call me. Maybe I can get you to do more shots.”

  “Maybe you can,” Felicity smiled, “but seriously. You’ll still be there for me, right? Even if this all blows up in my face?”

  “Please, girl. Try and stop me. Now go call what’s his name-”

  “Liam,” Felicity corrected, “his name is Liam.”

  “Right. Whatever. Go call Liam and tell him you’re in on his psychotic plan.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I can tell it’s what you want to do, and you aren’t going to pay attention to anything else until it’s done. When you come back, we’re doing more shots. And before you protest, I’m sure about that part, too.”

  Felicity laughed and made her way outside to call Liam. She tried her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, to assure herself that this was just for business and nothing else. When her heart jumped into her throat at the mere sound of his voice, she tried to ignore that, too.

  “Hello? Liam North, here.”

  “Hi, Liam. It’s Felicity.”

  “Felicity. I was hoping to hear from you. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m in. Your whole plan? I’m in.”

  Chapter Seven

  Liam North

  “Right. Are you sure about this? Are you sure you’re going to be okay? Because I can easily cancel my meetings.”

  “What, for the rest of the month? Or however long it takes to get this mess sorted out?”

  “I don’t know. Yes?”

  Felicity smiled at him gently from her perch at Liam's large kitchen island. Seeing her sitting there made him want to smile. After careful inspection of his absurdly large home, she had declared the island as her absolute favorite part of the house. He'd laughed at that because obviously, she was joking, but she'd insisted that there was no joke. She had always wanted a kitchen island but had so far lived in nothing but tiny apartments, most of which didn't have a designation between rooms, let alone a kitchen island. He hadn't ever given this a thought, but now it made him smile every time he went into the kitchen. This morning's smile was quick and then done, though. He was in a piss-poor mood to be sure. He fucking hated feeling anxious, and the anxiety he felt now was raw and relentless.

  “You can’t do that, Liam. It doesn’t make sense. I wasn’t aware that part of the deal was for you staying home and babysitting me.”

  “It’s not, but you’ve only been here for two days.”

  “Yup. That’s called a weekend.”

  Liam glanced up just in time to see Matt and Sampson snickering to each other over the snarky response. He couldn't help it; he bristled some. He had to bite his tongue to keep from telling Felicity that she needed to learn to mind her tongue. Having her live with him was his idea, and he was pleased to have her accept it, but it had been a long time since he'd had another person living with him who wasn't one of his typical employees. It was true that he was taking care of Felicity and therefore if he wanted to, he had the right to demand a certain level of respect. After two days, though, that was something he wasn't prepared to get into.

  “I just want to make sure you’re safe,” he said levelly, concentrating on keeping his shit together, “that’s why you’re here.”

  "I know, but that's also why you've got this lovely security team, right? Who you were just about to introduce me to?" she answered brightly, smiling first at him and then at the boys waiting for their cue. Liam's jaw clenched when Matt and Sampson smiled back. There was nothing unprofessional about it. Nothing overt, anyway. He didn't like it, though. He didn't like them looking at her, noticing the same things he'd noticed about her the first time he'd laid eyes on her beautiful face. He didn't know if she realized how good she looked, sitting there in her yoga pants with her legs curled up beneath her and her hair all piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She saw him watching her and smiled brightly. Jesus, she had no idea the kinds of thoughts running through his head. She made it hard to leave the house; he wanted to taste her again so badly. And the real kicker was that he'd agreed to keep things strictly business. He could have almost any woman alive and had more than his share already. He hadn't thought twice about agreeing to keep things platonic between the two of them when there were so many others he could have. Looking at her now, though? It was going to be a hell of a lot harder than he'd anticipated.

  “Liam? Did I say something wrong?” she asked, little lines of worry building in the corners of her eyes. He could feel Matt and Samson's eyes on him, too. Eight o’clock in the morning and he was already losing his shit. Not a good sign for the rest of Felicity’s stay, unless the novelty of having her around wore off.

  "No, not at all. Guys, come on in here," he called to the boys waiting in the wings, "I want to introduce you to your new number one priority properly."

  Matt and Samson shuffled into the room, Matt sticking out a hand and shaking with Felicity heartily. Sampson just looked at her, and after a while, he couldn't do that either. His face kept turning red, and Liam almost laughed out loud. The guy was massive, for Christ's sake, more of a beast than human. How he could be embarrassed on meeting one chick, was beyond Liam but it looked like that was what was happening.

  “Right,” he said, clearing his throat to give them all a chance to compose themselves, “so this is part of my security team. I can’t introduce them all at the same time because-”

  "Because then there would be nobody to guard the compound?" Felicity asked playfully. Matt and Sampson both smiled, but Liam frowned at the three of them.

  "That's right; there wouldn't be. It's not a joke, Felicity. There are people out there hell bent on doing damage, and now some of them have you in their sights. Not something to laugh about, in my opinion."

  “Right,” Felicity said, flushing and looking down at her lap, “sorry. I make jokes sometimes. When I’m nervous, mostly.”

  “Please, ma’am-” Matt started, shooting Liam a reproachful look he pretended not to see.

  “Ugh, please don’t feel like you have to do that,” Felicity broke in, wrinkling her nose with distaste.

  “Sorry, ma’am, but do what? What’d I do?” Matt asked, confused and anxious to please. Liam didn’t love catching that eager-to-please vibe, either, but he kept his mouth shut.

  “I meant don’t feel like you need to call me ma’am. Or miss, for that matter. Please just use my name, It will make this whole thing feel a little less weird for me.”

  “I can do that,” Matt smiled. Felicity smiled back, that smile that made her face look like it was lit from within, and Liam cleared his throat again.

  “Okay, Matt. Make the introductions to the rest of the boys as the opportunities arise. I’m going to work. Call me if you catch wind of anything strange. And I do mean anything.”

  Matt and Samson both nodded while Felicity just looked at him with that deer in the headlights look again. There was an awkward second where Liam stood there like an idiot, trying to decide whether he should give her a hug or something before going. Seeing as they were not together, he turned and hurried to his car without looking back. The car ride, it would turn out, was the only part of his day where he got a second of peace.

  "BOSS, I SAY THIS WITH all the love in the world, but where in the hell have you been?" Percy asked in a high, strained voice. The tendons in his neck were all standing out, and his face was whiter than it should have been. Liam had seen him worked up like this before; it was part of the territory when you dealt with Perry. Today, though, he wasn't in any kind of mood for this shit.

  “What is it?” he asked brusquely, striding past Percy towards his office. Percy chased after, following so close he was almost stepping on Liam’s heels. Liam made it all of five steps before turning around again.

  “What, Percy? What the hell has you so jumpy?”

  “There’s someone here to see you, sir,” Percy answered. The relief in his voice was comical. It wa
s like he had been waiting a lifetime to say those few words.

  “And? People come here to see me all the time. It’s my company. Seeing people is part of my job.”

  “Yes, I understand that, sir, but not people like this man.”

  “Yeah? What’s so special about him?”

  “His name is Conrad Davis.”

  “Don’t know him,” Liam quipped, turning and heading back to his office.

  “I should hope not,” Percy panted, hurrying to keep up.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because, he’s from the FBI.”

  If Percy had been going for dramatic effect, he’d succeeded. Liam stopped short so that Percy actually did run into him this time, and he turned to look at his assistant closely.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked slowly.

  “FBI, sir. He’s with the FBI. And he’s sitting in your office.”

  “And you didn’t think this was something you should call me about?”

  “I thought about that, sir, but you’ve told me not to call before you get into the office. So I didn’t call.”

  “Thank you, Percy,” Liam said, willing himself to use all his self-control. “I have said that a time or two, haven’t I?”

  “Exactly! You have!” Percy said loudly enough for several people in the office to turn and look over at them.

  “Yes, I did. For future reference, though, when an FBI agent shows up asking for me, you call.”