Page 29 of Tempt Me

One benefit: the black suits made me appear less conspicuous as my plan came together.

On Monday afternoon, Mateo’s blue eyes sparkled as he rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain. “Do I have a backstory?”

“A what?” I polished the lenses of the high-tech glasses with the recording device embedded in the endpiece and handed them to him. We were camped out in the small conference room on the first floor of the Jamilow building. The sun sent low rays piercing through the front windows of the building.

“You asked me to play a role in your diabolical plan,” he said. “Actors have backstories. Motivation. What’s my motivation?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re an agent of Moo-Lah, hired to offer Rhiannon cash for secrets. Specifically, you want the name of Synergy’s financial services partner.”

His face scrunched. “But we know the name of their partner. It’s—”

“Moo-Lah doesn’t know. At least, I don’t think they do. Remember, you’re playing a role.” How had my smart friend Mimi fallen for such a himbo?

“Money could be my motivation,” he mused. “My abuela is sick, and I need to pay the hospital bill.”

“Sure. Whatever works. Now try on the glasses.”

He put them on and looked at me. Whoa. How did the dorky black frames make him look even hotter? Mateo was handsome in a burly way that didn’t usually turn me on, but the glasses took his good looks to the next level. But these days I didn’t find anyone, of any gender, attractive unless they were a tall, beautiful genius who talked about code all day.

I glanced at my phone and saw the top of my head. I needed to refresh my highlights. Shaking out my hair, I looked back at Mateo. “Now say something.”

“Something,” he said. The word came tinnily from my phone.

“Cute.” My response came back too, slightly fainter. “You’ll have to stand close to her when you make the offer.”

“What’s her motivation?” he asked.

“Also money. She’s looking to stop toiling under Jamila and retire to some beach.”

He frowned. “That doesn’t sound like a very good motivation.”

“I don’t know. Maybe her cat is sick. Or she has a grandma.”

“Her grandma would be pretty old.”

“So she probably has medical bills too. You can bond over the high price of hearing aids or walkers.”

“Natalie. You’re in the point oh-oh-oh-oh-one percent. What would you know about medical expenses? Or the national disaster that is this country’s healthcare system?”

“That’s beside the point. Argue with me about healthcare later. Now I need you to make the offer to Rhiannon.”

“You said this would be fun. It doesn’t seem fun so far.”

“Of course it’s fun. You get to wear a costume. You’ve got your motivation, and you’re going to chat with a stranger. It’s like…improv. Pretend this is an acting class.”

“I’ve never enjoyed acting. Now, dancing…”

A sneaker squeaked behind me. I peered around the corner. Rhiannon strode toward the door with a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Here she comes. Go, go, go.” I gave him a little push, but Mateo was a mountain. It must have felt like the brush of a gnat’s wings to him.

Fortunately, he took the hint and jogged after her. “Hey, Rhiannon!”

I cringed at how loudly his voice echoed in the lobby, then I ducked behind the wall. On my phone’s screen, Rhiannon’s face turned up toward the camera. I shoved the earbud into my ear, and her voice came faintly to me. With a tiny stab of guilt, I hit the record button.

She scowled. “Do I know you?”

“No, but I think we have mutual interests,” Mateo said smoothly.

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