Page 11 of A Labor of Hate
Hattie stepped back, obviously looking Colt over from head to toe as she let out a low whistle.“My, aren’t you a looker!”
An involuntary strangled sound escaped from the back of my throat, which I smoothly disguised by clearing my throat and muttering something about allergies.McBride frowned at Hattie, who smiled knowingly at me while Colt raised a dubious brow.
Perhaps I wasn’t as smooth as I’d thought.
The knowing look in Hattie’s eyes was driving me up the wall, though, and had to be corrected immediately.Whatever she thought she knew, it was wrong.
I straightened my shoulders and pasted on a smile that could rival the crazed one the security guard had been subjected to on my first day here.“Well, he just has to look like an accountant, which he clearly doesn’t need any help with.So, I believe I’m the one who needs your expertise.”
Her gaze lingered on Colt, taking in his pressed shirt, pleated pants, and shined shoes.She then panned to me, slowly assessing me from head to toe just like she’d done to him.I shifted my weight uneasily before crossing my arms to keep my hands from fidgeting.Hattie had a way of stripping you down to your soul with a single look in a way I’d never experienced, and I wasn’t entirely sure I liked whatever she saw.
Finally, a wicked gleam lit her dark eyes.“You’ve got a lot going for you, too, Lexi girl.You won’t need as much work as you think.”
“It’s Lex.Just Lex.”
She shrugged at my correction, completely unbothered.“Well, Lex, while I’m sure Mr.Accountant over here would prefer to do things” —she wiggled her eyebrows— “organically, time isn’t on our side here.So you get the next best thing.”She spread her arms wide and struck a pose, her flared sleeves adding to the drama.“Me.”
CHAPTERFIVE
“HOLY CANNOLI,”I mumbled, staring at the round, watermelon-like bulge where my previously flat stomach had been.It took the wind out of my sails enough that I didn’t even notice at first I’d adopted one of my sister’s favorite phrases.“I look…”
“Amazing!”Hattie answered, beaming with pride.
“I was going to say I look like the Thanksgiving turkey, but yeah, that works, too.”I chuckled to myself, rotating like a rotisserie chicken in front of the bathroom mirror.
The silicone belly was only a shade or two lighter than my actual sun-deprived midsection, but the sudden and drastic change in shape reminded me of the times Dekker and I would play house as kids and take turns shoving pillows under our shirts.Some toilet paper might have also made its way under there, strategically balled up a little higher.
Karma must be having a good, long laugh right about now.
“Now, since we don’t know what kind of activities you’ll be up to, this one comes with removable straps” —Hattie twanged the clear straps over my shoulders, smiling to herself when I flinched at the snap against my skin— “along with the Velcro band across the back.”
I nodded my understanding, pinching my lips together to keep from laughing at the mental image of my belly sliding all over the place.Possibly one of the most humiliating ways to blow my cover, hands down.Le Chimiste’swife likely wouldn’t chalk it up to an enthusiastic fetus.
“Now, Jonas tells me that you may be doing this shindig for a couple months.”Hattie took a step back, pushing her glasses down to rest at the tip of her nose.“If that’s the case, I reckon people will get suspicious if your belly doesn’t grow at all.”
My heart sank—and not just from the reminder of how long I could be stuck pretending to be Colt’s wife.My attention lingered on the fake baby bump.Feelings I’d successfully shoved aside since learning the nature of my assignment threatened to pull me under, but the reminder of my purpose behind all of this kept me in the present.
Barely.
“It looks more realistic than I thought it would.”I rested my forearm across the bump like I’d seen pregnant women do before but immediately pulled it away when a wave of maternal instinct and longing hit me like a freight truck.“It’s a lot heavier than I expected, though.I guess I was thinking it would be hollow or something.”
Hattie laughed, a contagious throaty laugh that had me smiling before I even realized it.“Ooh, you’re in for a rude awakening if you’re ever pregnant for real, girl.”
“At least I’d be getting a baby out of it,” I grumbled, my mood souring the longer I stared at the belly.“Plus, I’d kind of have to at least have a boyfriend first.”
Hattie tossed me a shirt from the box we’d dragged into the bathroom with us.“You got yourself a fine looking fella out there.I don’t see why you’re not jumping at the opportunity that’s presented here.”
“Colt?”I squeaked indignantly, pulling the shirt on with jerky movements.
“I’m just saying, if I had to pretend to be that man’s wife, you best bet I’d be all over that.Hand holding, snuggling” —she wiggled her brows again and pushed her glasses back up her nose— “even a little lip action.”
I shuddered, my cheeks flushing involuntarily.“Uh, no.Nope.That won’t be happening.”Realizing how rude that might have sounded, I added, “That would be unprofessional.We’re coworkers.”
And polar opposites.And sworn enemies.
“And there’s a rule against dating coworkers?”
I freed my wild curls from the shirt’s neckline with a flourish.“Well, technically, no.It’s more of a personal decision.Colt and I ...”
