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Jo wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Instead, she suggested they have more wine and he agreed. They chatted lightly for the better part of an hour before he began to cross a line and flirt with her. In a panic, she found herself casually mentioning a non-existent boyfriend, so he would back off without her having to be rude.
“Oh, well, bring him by to see the house and we’ll sign the contracts all at once,” he said, calling her bluff.
Jo smiled charmingly.
“Yes, absolutely. As soon as the papers are ready.”CHAPTER THIRTEEN"You told him what?!" said Trey.
"Why on earth did you do that?!" said Alice, Trey’s longtime partner.
"I don't know," she wailed. "He seemed on the verge of hitting on me, and I panicked.”
Trey frowned in puzzlement. "He seemed all right last night. In fact, I found him quite pleasant. From what you'd been saying, I was expecting a monster with three heads."
"He wasn't the same last night. He was much friendlier. The first time, he treated me like some ditsy little girl who was playing at buying a house. I thought if he knew there was a man around, he would take me more seriously and not get too friendly.”
"So, you invented a man, and now you're stuck with it?" said Trey.
He stroked his beard nervously, a sure sign of tension.
"So, just invent a work emergency that prevents the boyfriend from attending and show up alone," said Alice.
"I have a nasty feeling that if I did that, he'd delay the sale till the boyfriend turns up."
"Why is he so anxious to meet some fellow you are seeing?" said Trey.
"I don't know. The only thing I can think of is he's worried he won't get paid."
"It doesn't make sense. If you don't pay him, he just doesn’t sign over the house."
"I know, I know. The whole thing's very bizarre."
"Why don't you just tell him the truth?" said Alice.
"I don't want to risk losing the house."
"It's very odd behavior. He didn't strike me as that kind of person last night."
"He was fine until you left. And then he asked me a lot of questions about myself, and then he came out with this."
Another silence.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"She'll have to find a boyfriend, that's all," said Alice calmly.
"What?" Jo said. "Are you serious?"
"Of course, I am. It seems to be the only solution."
Jo contemplated this. As much as she hated to ask, it looked like she might have to ask King to do her a favor as part of their little deceit.
“I think I know someone. I’ll ask and see what he says,” she told them.
"That's a very odd family you're dealing with," Alice said. "Are you sure you want to go through with buying this house?"
"Yes. I’m sure."
“Who is it?” Trey replied
“I’ll let you know later. I’ve got to go. I actually do have a date.”
“With?” Trey asked.
“Later,” she said, heading out their back gate, back out to the street.
Back at the boathouse, she took great care in getting dressed. She found that she was nervous, not only about her “date” with King, but of having to ask him, a man who was really her employer, to extend their deceit to someone else, on her behalf.
“You did what?” he said, looking around her tiny living space with disdain.
“Please, sit down,” she said.
He was making her nervous all cramped up, trying to fit his large body into the tiny space. He had come to pick her up for their trip to the club and she decided there was no time like the present.
“I know it’s not a part of what we agreed upon, but I really want this house and he’s being incredibly odd. All I need is for you to bring our dating act to a slightly different venue for maybe an hour, at most. Does he know you?”
“Everyone knows me, Jo. I’m the VP of the local biker gang in most of their books.”
“But you said you need to present a family image. Won’t this only enforce that?”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure it will do you any favors. I’m not his favorite person.”
“Honestly, is anyone his favorite person?”
“True enough,” he replied, contemplating her answer. “What is it exactly you are asking me to do?”
“Not much, just turn up with me at the signing and play the strong silent type. Like you said, he knows who you are, so he shouldn’t ask too many questions.”
“I just don’t get why whether or not you have a boyfriend or whatever makes a difference.”
“I don’t either, but something tells me it does.”
“All right. I’ll do this for you. Can we get to the club now?”
“Thank you so much and yes, let’s go.”
Jo was surprised to find a large black SUV sitting outside. She had considered that he only drove his bike everywhere and they might go in her Mustang, but she hadn’t considered that he might have another car.
