We held each other for a few minutes, just enjoying the closeness, not needing anything else. Finally, I let go. "Come on, let's call Tabby, and set up our job interview."
The next day, both of us felt weird dressed in off the rack "business clothes" that we had just bought that morning, walking up towards Mount Zion from the closest bus stop. We were glad to see that the press media were no longer camped out front. While my appearance was different enough that most people wouldn't mistake me for Sophie Warbird, Mark's build and face couldn't be disguised, even with two days' growth of stubble on it. We'd considered some more drastic options for changing his appearance, but first we had some things to do.
Knocking on the front door, I could see in Mark's eyes the trepidation, which helped me. Regardless of whether it was a real job interview or not, there was something about the whole thing that felt real. Maybe you never get past that feeling, I don't know for sure.
When Tabby opened the door, it was hard for the three of us to carry on with the charade just in case someone was watching. "Please, come in," she said, holding the door open for us as we walked in. As soon as the door was closed however, all pretenses were dropped and she grabbed both of us in a hug. "God I missed you both! How was your trip?"
I showed Tabby my wedding band, upon which she grabbed both my hands and started hopping up and down like an overly excited preschooler. "Oh, I'm so happy!" she almost yelled, pulling me in for another hug. "I only wish I could have been there. I mean, I assumed when you said the two of you were going to be stopping by Las Vegas before coming back, but still, this is awesome. Really awesome."
"I know, but we have pictures and video of the whole thing if you want to watch," I said, prying her arms from around my neck. "I promise. Also, we brought you a gift."
"Ooooh. You didn't happen to bring me some decks of cards from the Mirage or something, did you?"
"No, but we thought you might like this," Mark said, handing over the small gift box.
"What is it? A pen?" Tabby asked, taking the case. I could understand her confusion, the case had originally belonged to a Mont Blanc pen set in fact, and we had those pens set aside as well if she wanted them.
"Open it and find out," I said, trying hard to not grin like a fool. Tabby opened the the small case, her eyes puzzled for a second before she realized what the little device inside said. "Oh my God. Really?"
"Read the note underneath," I said, letting the smile come out. "It's for you."
Tabby took the test, which had a big pink plus sign on the side of it, out and looked at the folded note underneath. Hi Tabby! I'm looking forward to meeting you! Will you be my Auntie?
"Oh hell yeah," Tabby said, before closing the case. Tear glittered in her eyes. "Okay, well, I guess I can hire the two of you then. Come on, we have some video magic to do and you've got some other things I know you need to do."
The video magic was actually pretty simple. Mark, using a quick temporary color dye to shift his hair back to what Marcus Smiley had, along with a shower and shave, filmed a quick ten minute video in front of a green screen in which he announced the forming of MJT Consolidated Holdings which would be a subsidiary of the overall Smiley operations. Since Marcus wouldn't be able to oversee the day to day operations, he was vesting full corporate powers with Tabitha Williams, naming her as President and CEO of MJT, while he and Sophie Warbird would have advisory roles with the company.
A bit of video magic later, and it looked like Marcus was making the speech from inside a tropical hotel room. That, combined with the paperwork we had already filed, would totally pave the way for Tabby to take over.
"Now just a few more things to do," Mark said, taking off his Marcus Smiley suit coat. It, along with most of his Marcus Smiley clothes, were going to be donated through MJT to a shelter for disadvantaged people who needed a hand in outfitting themselves for job interviews. Tabby herself would be making the delivery that day, and the press conference announcing her hiring would be the next day. If things went according to plan, Marcus Smiley and MJT would be very small news.
Chapter 52
Mark
While I'd done it before, breaking into a Federal building always made my palms sweat. In addition to the fact that most of them operated twenty four hours a day, the pure fact was that the FBI, the NSA, and quite a few other members of the alphabet soup that is Federal law enforcement had their fingers in the pie. With none of them really trusting the others, everyone in the Federal building had sphincters that were water tight, which meant that there was always the chance that some security measure I hadn't expected could trip me up.