Annihilate Me (Vol. 1) (The Annihilate Me Series) (11 page)

“Even
the ring fits,” Blackwell said.
 
“Turn to look at me.”

I
did as I was told.

“Those
are nice, but we’ll do better next time.”
 
She turned to the clerk.
 
“We’ll take them all.”

By
the time we left with our packages and stepped into the waiting limousine,
Blackwell had dropped more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars on jewels.

“You’ve
now got everything,” she said.
 
“We’ll get ready in my office.
 
How did it get to be so late so fast?
 
We’ve got to hustle.
 
We’ve only got two hours left before
you’re supposed to meet him.”
 

“Where
am I meeting him.”

“You’ll
take the elevator to the forty-seventh floor at eight.
 
He’ll be there to greet you.”

She
pulled out her cell from her Birkin, tapped out a number, and said, “Bernie,
it’s Blackwell.
 
I’m a bit stressed,
but otherwise divoon, divoon, divoon.
 
Always divoon.
 
Look at me,
I’m divoon.
 
I’m also in a crunch.
 
Can you help me with hair and
makeup?
 
I’ll pay whatever you
want.
 
No, it’s not for me.
 
It’s for a lovely young woman named
Jennifer Kent.
 
You’ll be hearing a
lot about her tomorrow—trust me.
 
Yes, she’s very pretty.
 
This
won’t be a lot of work, but time is running out, and I need you now.
 
Oh.
 
I see.
 
Well, could you
cancel her appointment, love?
 
For
me?
 
You know how well I tip.
 
Yes, I’m sure it will inconvenience her,
but Bernie, you have no idea how much I need you now.
 
You can hear it in my voice, which is
thick.
 
I’m on the edge.
 
Desperate.
 
Pleading.
 
Don’t make me despondent.
 
Perfect.
 
You’re a lifesaver.
 
What was that?
 
She has dark hair, newly dyed by the
looks of it.
 
No, we’re not dealing
with a kitchen-sink dye job with this one.
 
It was done well—I’ll give her that.
 
Right.
 
My office.
 
Thirty minutes.
 
Love, love, love.”

She
clicked off the cell and leaned against the leather seat.
 
“Kent, you’re killing me.”
 
She held up her hand before I could
speak.
 
“Don’t apologize.
 
Or even argue.
 
You were thrown into a tsunami.
 
I get it.
 
I’m just pulling you out of it.
 
I think Alex will be pleased, don’t
you?”

“I
can’t wait to see how it all looks together.”

“It’ll
work.
 
You’ll see.
 
I have an eye.
 
Don’t worry.
 
And thank God we got Bernie.
 
He’s a magician.
 
You won’t recognize yourself when he’s
finished with you.
 
He’ll make
certain that all other women will pale next to you when you’re standing next to
Alex.
 
And that’s the point, isn’t
it.
 
How did Alex put it to me?
 
Oh, yes.
 
Keeping the wolves at bay.
 
That’s what you’ll do.
 
I have no doubt.
 
Tonight, I see you working a smoky eye
and a pouty lip, just like I used to wear when I was a kid at recess.
 
Only that wasn’t done with cosmetics.
 
It generally was done with kicks and fists.
 
Now, read your script.”

I
did, but I longed to call Lisa.
 
When we returned to Wenn, I’d excuse myself to use the restroom and call
her from one of the stalls.
 
At this
point, she likely was worried about me.
 
I needed to reach out to her before the melee launched into full swing.

*
 
*
 
*

“I
can’t believe this,” Lisa said.

I
was in a restroom on the fifty-first floor.
 
I went to the very last stall, and was
relieved to find that, at least for the moment, the restroom was empty.
 

“Believe
it.”

“It’s
too much.”

“Try
being me.”

“I
want
to be you!”

I
spoke quietly.
 
“I’ve only given you
the abbreviated version because the Kraken is waiting for me.
 
I don’t know when I’ll be home tonight.
 
Don’t wait up.”

“I’m
so waiting up.
 
Are you sure you’ll
be safe?”

“I’ve
told you where I’m going, whom I’ll be with, et cetera.
 
If anything happens to me, which I
doubt, you’ve got the deets.
 
Look,
I better go.
 
I’ve been gone too
long.
 
She’s going to freak out on
me.
 
I’ll see you tonight.”

“Good
luck!”

I
clicked off the phone, actually used the restroom, washed my hands, and quickly
went back to Blackwell’s office.
 

“That
took awhile,” she said.

“We’ve
been gone for hours.
 
You can call
me Niagara Falls if you’d like.”

“That’s
unnecessary.
 
Bernie will be here in
seconds.
 
I’ve secured one of the
conference rooms for us.
 
The
lighting is better there, and we’ll have privacy.
 
No windows.
 
I’ve asked maintenance to bring up
mirrors.”

“Thank
you.”

“It’s
my job, Maine.”
 
Her face softened
for a moment.
 
“But you’re
welcome.
 
You’ve been nothing but
professional today.
 
I appreciate
that.”

A
compliment from Blackwell?
 
Obviously, after four long months of trying to make it in this town, I
was on my way in ways that I hoped that I was prepared for.
 
But I probably wasn’t.

CHAP
TER FOURTEEN

Just
before eight p.m., I stood in front of a mirror, and couldn’t believe the
person I’d become.
 
From the dress
to the diamonds to the upswept hair and makeup, I looked like the sophisticated
woman I always wanted to be, though rarely felt like.
 
Especially after being beaten down by my
father for years, and being rejected dozens of times over the past four
months.
 

But
the woman I saw now?
 
She gave me
confidence.
 
I turned in front of
the mirror, and admired the dress again.
 
Then I looked at Blackwell, who was alone
with me, as Bernie had already left.

“What
do you think?” I asked.

“I
think you’re going to break someone’s heart.”

I
furrowed my brow at her.
 
“Whose?”

“Maybe
your own.”

“I
don’t understand.”

“Just
remember that this is a job.
 
That’s
the best advice I can give you.
 
You’re playacting.
 
Nothing
more.
 
Don’t read into anything,
because he won’t be.
 
You’re a means
to an end for him.”

“You’re
talking about Alex?”

“Who
else?”

“But
we already spoke about the job.
 
I understand
the situation.
 
It’s purely
professional.”

“You’re
still young,” she said.
 
“And as
bright as you are, probably a bit naïve, which is natural.
 
If you get swept up in the moment, if he
touches you and you feel yourself responding, remind yourself that this is a
job.
 
Do that, and you’ll be fine
because I can promise you this, Jennifer.
 
When he’s with you, Alex only will be going through the motions with
you.
 
He’s a good man, but he’s
focused on his work right now.
 
Work
is all he has.
 
Work is all he can
handle.
 
You’re nothing more than an
object to him.
 
That sounds harsh,
but it’s true.
 
On the surface,
you’ll make a handsome couple, people will believe it, and you’ll earn your
salary because of it.
 
What will
ruin this for you is if you become emotionally attached.
 
He’ll sense it in an instant, and he’ll
fire you for it.”

“Why
is work all he can handle now?”

“You
just need to trust me on that.”

“You
make it sound as if something happened to him.”

“You’re
reading way too much into this.”

But
I sensed I wasn’t.
 
There was
something about him that she wasn’t telling me.
 
As cool as Blackwell was, even she
couldn’t hide this secret.

But what does it even matter?
 
I thought.
 
I need this job.
 
She’s giving me advice for a
reason.
 
Fine.
 
As attractive as he is, I’m an object to
him.
 
That’s worth over a quarter
million a year, never mind the perks.
 
I’ll meet people through him.
 
I’ll make important contacts.
 
This is just the beginning for me.

“I
should go,” I said to her.
 
“It’s
almost eight.”

She
went over to a table and retrieved an elegant beaded black clutch.
 

“We
forgot to get one of these today,” she said, handing it to me.
 
“It’s mine.
 
You can borrow it.
 
Judith Leiber.
 
Inside, Bernie left lipstick and I added
mints.
 
That’s all you should need.”

“I
suppose a flask won’t fit in here.”

“Very
funny.”

“Or
some Xanax.”

“I
did consider that....”

“But
what about perfume?”

“Bernie
gave you a touch.
 
Perfume should
only ever be an intimate experience.
 
Think of it as a secret shared between you and your partner.
 
Only he should smell it.
 
No one else.”

“But
that will be Alex,” I said.

“So,
it will, but don’t worry.
 
He won’t
notice.
 
I can promise you that.”

CHAP
TER FIFTEEN

I
said goodbye to Blackwell, and she reminded me to be prepared to go shopping in
the morning because I had another event tomorrow night.
 
And with that, I stepped into the
elevator.
 

It
was a minute before eight, so, despite how hectic the day had been and that I
was starving because I’d had nothing to eat, I had made it.
 
Still, Blackwell got me through it.
 
Whatever my initial impression of her
was, I had to hand it to her.
 
Without her, I wouldn’t be standing here now, and I certainly wouldn’t
be looking like this.
 
This was by
far the best I’d ever looked, and it all came down to her eye and her
friendship with Bernie, who was a genius as well as an artist.

But
I was nervous.

After
pressing the button for the forty-seventh floor, I felt the car sink right
along with my gut.
 
What would he
think?
 
Would he be pleased with
what he saw?
 
Would I pass
inspection?
 
I couldn’t afford to
lose this job—
especially
this job.
 
Even if I only lasted a week with him,
that one paycheck would hold me over for a month.
 
And then there were the jewels.

I’m an object
, I said to myself.
 
That’s all I am.
 
But I’m still charming.
 
Still sweet.
 
Still Jennifer.
 
To the public, we were made for each
other, even if that isn’t the case.
 
That’s what I need to sell.