He gives a one-shoulder shrug. “I won’t presume to tell you what to do, Miss Tate. I’ll make other arrangements.”
“Don’t,” I say. Getting a chance to see him in action is too good to pass up. “I don’t care about the band, so don’t change your plans because of me. I have plenty of work I can do at home.”
A look of relief settles on his face. “Okay. That’d be great. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Will you be available to talk Monday morning?”
“Sure.”
He walks over to the back of the tent and picks up a paper carry bag overflowing with fresh flowers. “Nannabeth stashed these for me earlier.”
“They’re gorgeous,” I say. “Are they for a date?”
He gives me a serene smile. “Goodbye, Miss Tate. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
He walks down the aisle, and I’m ashamed to say I watch his back until he disappears.
I’m still staring off into space when Asha gets back.
“What did I miss?” she asks, carrying two bags filled with clothes. Guess Nan was right about where she’s been.
“Could you call Joanna?” I say. “I’m going to need a ticket to that concert tomorrow night after all.”
NINE
Rock Shop
“Eden, do you want another drink?” Asha ducks her head around my bedroom door and frowns when she sees me working on my laptop. “Hey, come on. It’s Sunday night. Time to kick back and let your hair down.”
I gesture to the funky hairstyle she and Joanna inflicted upon me half-an-hour ago. My regular frizz has been flat-ironed into smooth, sexy curls. “It’s down, even though I would have rather put it in a ponytail and been done with it.”
“Don’t be grumpy. We’re going to a club. You need to look club-hot.”
“Is that different from normal-hot?”
“Of course. How do you not know this?”
“Because I don’t go to clubs.”
“Okay, then just take my word for it. Do you want another cocktail? We have time for one more before we have to leave.”
I look back at my computer screen and shake my head. “No, I’m good.”
“K. Be ready to go in twenty.”
“Will do.”
When she leaves, I continue sifting through some of the information Toby sent me regarding the warehouse we found in Greenpoint. There’s so much stuff here, I don’t even know where to start. There are deeds to the building, leases, past tenants – but trying to find a thread that will lead me to Max’s real identity is like finding a needle in a haystack. He must have some connection to Reggie Baker, or else why was his name registered to the mailbox?
I’m searching for more info on Reggie when an email alert pops up. I click it open.
From: Maxwell Riley <[email protected]>
To: Eden Tate <[email protected]>
Subject: Behavioral Guidelines
Date: Sunday May 7
Dear Miss Tate,
Further to our conversation yesterday, following is a list of guidelines to be used in our upcoming dates. Please do your best to strictly adhere to them.
1. When you encounter me in the coming days, I may look/sound/act differently than you expect. Please respect the integrity of my characterization and do not block or dispute the information I give you. For any role-play to be successful, the participants need to suspend their disbelief. I know you’re a natural skeptic, so accepting me as a different character may be difficult, but I’d ask that you do your best to immerse yourself in the experience.
2. Whatever character I choose for our date will be attracted to you. Please put your mistrust of me aside and accept the truth of that scenario. The only way for you to write a balanced article about me and my popularity is to fully understand my clients and their thinking, and that means opening your mind to a world of uplifting and life-affirming romance. Pretending and deception are two totally different beasts, and for you to understand why I believe my work isn’t immoral, it’s important you learn the difference.
3. Trying to break my concentration or pulling me out of my chosen character will not succeed. I advise you to mentally catalogue burning questions you have regarding my methods, and I will answer them in a separate interview session after the date. Addressing me as Max or breaking the illusion for any reason will result in the termination of the date, and our arrangement.
4. Until we reach the end of this experiment, describing my methods to outsiders is strictly forbidden. I understand that your sister is privy to sensitive information regarding me and my identity, and that’s partly due to my choice to involve her in the Kieran scenario, but please, no one but her must know. By all means, keep notes of what you discover for the purposes of research, but make sure that research remains confidential.
5. Our dates may involve physical contact. I want to reassure you that I will not force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. I do not engage in, nor do I condone, sexual assault. I may have threatened to kiss you yesterday without your consent, but I had no intention of going through with it. To that end, if at any time you feel I am overstepping my bounds regarding intimate physical contact, simply use the word, ‘veto’, and I will stop. These experiences are designed to empower you, not make you feel threatened or frightened. If you are in extreme distress, saying veto three times in a row will immediately end the role play. Because you’ve made it clear that you do not wish to be kissed during our interactions, I will require a verbal directive from you to overturn this decision.
6. As I’ve previously mentioned, clients are free to touch most of my body. This includes, but is not limited to, my face, hair, arms, chest, and back. You may not touch me below the waist without express verbal permission. Any violations of this guideline will result in the immediate termination of our date. I will also limit my physical interaction with you to the aforementioned areas. I will naturally refrain from touching your chest unless expressly invited to do so. Overt sexual contact is not part of my service. You may ask me to touch you in more intimate ways, but it will be at my sole discretion as to whether or not I comply. My decision on these matters is final. Prolonged or continued coercion on your part will result in the immediate termination of our date.
If you have specific problems or objections to anything contained in this correspondence, please let me know by return email immediately. Lack of response will be interpreted as a tacit verbal agreement to abide by this document.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Regards,
Max.