Page 350 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11
“Jacob, are you there?”
Silence.
“Jacob, come on. I have eyes on you. You’re taking this mime thing too seriously.”
Mime thing?
Jacob didn’t respond.
“Seriously, Jacob,” RJ said. “You’re not a real mime. Say something.”
Jacob sighed. “I am a real mime. Mr. Nigel taught me.”
“He taught you to wear makeup and pretend you’re in a glass box? Cool.”
“It’s a classic French art, RJ. Now stop talking to me so I can perform. I’m actually making some decent money out here. Who knew mimes were such lucrative street performers?”
What the hell is happening?
“You’re supposed to have eyes on the door,” RJ said.
“I do,” Jacob said. “I have eyes on the exit on the sidewalk. No one is getting in or out without me seeing.”
“Just pay attention during your performance,” RJ said. “Ah! It’s time! Baby doll is landing. I repeat, baby doll is landing.”
Porter pulled the car to a stop outside of Odegaard.
And I could already see the chaos that my friends were causing. I climbed out of the car before Porter opened the door for me. I stared at Jacob dressed up as a mime. He had a small crowd around him outside and he was miming pretty perfectly. I mean, I’d never seen a mime perform in person before. But I’d seen it in the movies. I didn’t remember mimes having big fake curly mustaches though.
Jacob saw me and winked.
“Oh, a mime!” my mom said. “Let’s go watch.”
I couldn’t risk her seeing that it was Jacob. “I was looking forward to shopping with you,” I said.
She smiled. “Of course. Me too. But at least let me throw some money in the mime’s collection box.”
I tried to stop her, but she was already weaving through the crowd.
I winced as she stared at Jacob for a moment. I couldn’t watch this. I hurried into the store.
RJ cursed in my earpiece. “What is your mom doing?”
“Paying Jacob. Whose idea was it for him to be a mime?” I walked through the ornate entryway where only a few things were on display. I opened the door to the actual shop and walked in. Hopefully my mom would be right behind me.
“It was his idea,” RJ said. “We needed him to do something to not get in trouble for loitering. But I didn’t expect him to draw a crowd.”
“He’s actually pretty good,” Sophie said in my earpiece.
“Soph, where are you?”
“Your three o’clock.”
I turned to my right. All I saw was a very large woman in the lingerie section. She bumped a rack full of lacy bras with her tummy, almost toppling the whole thing over.
“I don’t see you,” I said.
“You’re literally staring right at me.” The woman knocking things over turned to me and waved.
