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“My doppelgängers have arrived,” Michel says.
“Whoa. They look so much like you.”
“From a distance and with a mask, yes. Crystal coaches them for me. They’re actors from New Onyx and paid well for a few hours of pretending to be me.”
“And you keep doing this because…?”
“Because it’s infinitely amusing to watch people who hated me on sight spend the evening trying to figure out how to suck up to me, only to find the man they were wooing isn’t me at all. Consider it my form of entertainment.”
I snort a laugh. “It’s so devious. I love it.”
“Thank you for not thinking me shallow.”
“Oh please. You’re the least shallow person I’ve ever met.”
Michel squeezes my hand. “Now, your role will be to make sure you’re not solely focusing your attention on me, which it pains me to say.”
“How will I know who is who?”
He pats his chest. “I have the purple pocket square. We all have different colors.”
“Awesome.”
Michel leans in and nuzzles his lips against my cheek, inhaling deeply before brushing a kiss across my lips. “I can’t find words to tell you how much it means to me that you’re here and that I can kiss you anytime I want.”
Smiling up at him, I shiver from the rush of desire and joy that floods my senses. “I’m happy too.”
Pulling away, he claps his hands. “Let’s go meet the other me's.”
We walk across the space to where the men stand. Each is holding a blue mask in his hand and they’re chatting amongst themselves. They stand a little straighter when they notice Michel.
“Thank you for joining us tonight,” Michel says. “I’m sure you understand your job for the evening, but above all else, do not break character.” He turns to the first man on his left. “You. Where are you from?”
“I was born in Bastille, the eleventh arrondissement, but we moved to Paris when I was five for my father’s job.”
The man has a perfect Michel accent and cadence. It’s uncanny.
“And you,” Michel asks the second man. “Who was your favorite teacher once you got to Neubrook High?”
“Mrs. Kelly. Her history lessons could rival the Discovery Channel.”
I chuckle, whispering, “Wow.”
“And what were you doing while away from Neubrook?” Michel asks the third man.
“First studying,” he says. “Then I spent time working in the city and acquiring the skill set and aptitude to do what I do now for Neubrook.”
Michel nods with a faint smile, turning to the fourth man. “And your plans for this fine city?”
“I’ve been exceedingly transparent with my goals for Neubrook,” the man answers, again sounding so much like Michel, it’s almost creepy. “I wish to reinvent it as the ideal place for people of all ages and backgrounds who want to live away from the big-city atmosphere of New Onyx. I’ll bring new jobs, businesses, restaurants, and nightlife here, all with the goal of raising property values and the overall standard of living.”
Michel nods, turning to the final man. “What do you think of Garrett Landon?”
“I don’t think of Garrett Landon.” The man smiles, perfecting Michel’s smirk, but what sets all these actors apart from the man himself are the eyes, a detail I’m sure only I would notice.
Yes, they match in color, but that glimmer, that gleam of confidence and the hint of vengeance he carries with him can’t be replicated. That’s how I’d know it’s Michel, even without the pocket squares.
“Masks on, please,” Michel says, also fitting his own just as Crystal arrives.
