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“A cut of what?” Fiona asked, though she suspected she already knew. Heaven help her if Micheline wanted to try to sell the Coltons a mythical baby.
“Money. Duh.” Leigh rolled her eyes. “Micheline hasn’t unveiled the rest of her plan to me yet, but trust me when I say there will be lots of cash involved.”
“Doesn’t that ever bother you?” Fiona asked. “All the emphasis on money? The purpose of the AAG is supposed to be helping people figure out how to be the best versions of themselves. I don’t understand why Micheline is so fixated on—” She almost said extorting people for cash, but stopped herself just in time.
“It takes lots of money to keep this place running,” Leigh snapped. “Everything Micheline does is for the greater good. Everything.”
Leigh’s fervent defense of a con woman seemed par for the course. Fiona figured Leigh didn’t even realize she was in a cult. Oddly enough, most of the people she encountered here shared the same lack of awareness. She found this both strange and unnerving, a testament to Micheline’s powers of persuasion.
“Anyway,” Leigh continued. “For now I need you to simply convince Jake that you’re carrying his baby. We won’t do anything else until Micheline decides for sure what course of action to take.”
No sure what else to do, Fiona nodded her agreement. This assignment just kept getting weirder and weirder—and more and more dangerous.
Chapter 10
Watching Fiona walk away, Jake hoped he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. She was beautiful, his Fiona. His? When had he started thinking of her that way? He didn’t know—didn’t actually care. Despite her declaration that she couldn’t do a serious relationship right now, he knew there would come a day when all the obstacles were gone. He understood that the way he felt about her was the sort of thing that only came along once in a lifetime. The trick would be to make her realize that, too.
After all this was over.
The intrigue, the drama, the danger that seemed to swirl around Micheline like a storm over the desert. He couldn’t wait to see her arrested, brought down. And hopefully before she hurt anyone else in the process.
Remembering what Fiona had said about the door to the basement, he deliberately wandered over toward the kitchen, figuring he could claim hunger and the urge to find a snack as an excuse. But before he even made it halfway across the lobby, the beefy guy who acted as Micheline’s bodyguard intercepted him.
“Micheline would like a word,” Bart said, his tone and aggressive stance indicating the subject wasn’t up for debate.
Following the guy, Jake wondered why Micheline just didn’t simply have a meeting with everyone at the same time—him and Fiona and Leigh. Instead, she apparently had Leigh meeting with Fiona separately. He had to wonder why. Maybe she had some plan to pit them against each other. But of course, only if it benefited her.
As he walked into her office, she greeted him with a huge smile. “I hear congratulations are in order,” she cooed.
Since he had no idea what she might be referring to, he simply waited.
“I’m surprised you’re not more excited,” she continued.
Clearly, she was going to make him ask. “About what?”
“Becoming a father!” The gleam in her eyes chilled him to the bone. “How thrilling!”
Becoming a...what? Still trying to process her words, he didn’t immediately respond. Just stood staring at her, as if waiting for her to laugh and say, “Just kidding.”
Except she didn’t.
Her smile faded. “Oh dear. You didn’t know.”
He hid the rough flash of anger. Though he was 99 percent sure Micheline was acting out another one of her scams, he decided to play along. “You mean Fiona? She can’t be pregnant. She’d tell me if she was.”
Micheline’s smug expression had him gritting his teeth. “She’s afraid. That’s why she hasn’t said anything to you. She’s meeting with Leigh right now to discuss her options.”
Sure she was. More likely getting her script from Leigh as to how they wanted her to play along. Games. Micheline always had several balls in the air at once.
He needed to become better at playing this game. Still, it had only been a few days since he and Fiona had slept together. There’s no way she or anyone else could know whether she was pregnant yet.
“It had to be someone else,” he said, proceeding to outline his reasoning. Micheline watched him closely, the gleam in her eyes letting him know she had expected this reaction. How could she not have, with the statistical impossibility of the scenario she’d mentioned?
“Most likely.” Micheline shrugged. “Does that matter to you? Are you going to dump this poor, homeless woman and let her fend for herself?”
“Maybe.” He crossed his arms, aware he’d be more believable if he stuck to his guns.
“Very well.” The malice in Micheline’s smile chilled his blood. “I’m guessing you’re more like me than either of us realized.”
