Veil of Deception

“Are we all comfortable with the plan? Hogan, do you have any questions?”

“Yes ma’am. No questions.” I reply quickly. Mostly because this meeting has dragged on longer than it should’ve and it’s not like I had a choice in the matter anyway. I’m the newest agent on the team so naturally I do a lot of the bitch work. Which in this case means going to a wedding. A freaking wedding. I think my director thinks I’m going to mess up so she can fire me, but that’s not going to happen. Everyone else on our team follows their orders blindly and does whatever she says. I ask so much as a question and I’m scrutinized. It’s less of a team and more of a dictatorship. That’s not what I signed up for when I went through the academy. Even the army wasn’t that bad.

Flipping over to the back side of the case report, I see the demographics of our subject, Bruce Vanderlyn, and his closest associates. Of course, the other owners and members of the board, but more specifically those he has poker nights with and are invited to his daughter’s wedding tonight. Anyone he trusts enough to get involved in illegal activity will be at this wedding. No doubt the grand event is to keep Bruce’s spoiled brat daughters happy and out of his business. There are no pictures next to their names, but I’m sure I can put a picture together in my head. Once I’m done looking through the file, I head out. The expansive estate has a long driveway leading to the main building, but you can tell it has a lake or pond in the back as well as gardens. As much as I hate wealthy people who throw their money around, this isn’t a terrible place to get married. Who am I kidding? This place is beautiful.

Skipping the ceremony, it will be easier to slip in during the transition to cocktail hour. When I hear the applause, I know it’s safe for me to slip in. Acting like I just came from a smoke break, I greet a few people as I weave in and out of the crowd towards the bar. You can’t go wrong with an open bar. Tonight though, I’m only allowed to have a few spaced out drinks to fit in with the crowd since I am working. I’m almost halfway done with my first beer when a woman comes over to join me. I wouldn’t have looked twice if she didn’t order two tequila shots. That got my attention. I’m all about a little drinking, but the wedding just started. And by the look of her outfit, she’s in the bridal party and has probably been drinking all day already. She throws back the first one and I’m further impressed, but her body language tells me a different story.

“Why do I get the feeling those aren’t celebratory shots?” I ask, taking another sip of my beer. She laughs. The kind of laugh that can turn any sour mood up. Her brows furrow while she looks at the second glass before tossing it back and grabbing a lime from behind the counter.

“I’m Matt”, holding out my hand to introduce myself.

She puts her shot glass on the bar top and shakes my hand. “Brooke, maid of honor and sister of the bride”.

“Ahh so she’s a bridezilla. That why you’re stress drinking.”

“You have no ide-wait. How do you know the bride and groom?”

I didn’t expect someone to pick up on me so quickly. Leaning into whisper in her ear, “Actually I was bored so I’m wedding crashing”.

“Considering I know every single person here…I believe you”, she laughs and orders an actual drink. Suddenly, her name is being yelled from across the room. She pretends not to hear it until the bride gets close when she says, “speak of the devil herself”. I can’t help but laugh at how she talks about her sister. It doesn’t take long for me to realize why though.

“Brookelyn, I need you to help me with-who’s this?”, she points at me.

The look on Brooke’s face is pure panic. She swallows the lump in her throat and grabs my arm. “This is Matt, my boyfriend. I thought I’d surprise you.”

“We didn’t plan for this in the seating chart. Where on Earth is he going to-”.

“He’s fine here at the bar. Don’t worry, I made sure nothing would get messed up I promise.” If the bride was my sister, I would lose my freaking mind. She lets out a relieving sigh before telling Brooke they need her for pictures. My fake girlfriend tells her she’ll be right behind her. The bride picks up her dress and heads back in the same direction she came from. We stand in silence for another minute or two before she turns to thank me for not throwing her under the bus.

“I’ll be a pretty girl’s date any day, but I should at least know why so I can play the part”. I regret asking as soon as I see her face turn from flattered to depressed.

Brooke senses that I’ve picked up on her change in mood, so she tries to brush it off and grabs my beer to take a sip. “Well, since you’re a stranger and did me a solid I guess you should know…My sister, Rachel, just married my ex-boyfriend…who I caught cheating on me…with my sister. Mid-sex and all. And I’m the only one who seems to see how fucked up that is.” I must be a deer in headlights because Brooke looks at me with a shy smile before I turn and order another beer. Finally, a real laugh out of her. “Now you understand my thirst”, we cheers our drinks and talk for a few more minutes before she excuses herself to tend to the bride. “Thank you…again.” When she puts her hand on mine, I feel how warm she is. Not in temperature, but in soul.

Admiring her as she walks away, I’m left feeling…confused. I had all these preconceived notions about what I’d be doing tonight and the kinds of people I’d be meeting, but nothing in the case file could’ve prepared me for Brooke. I figured Bruce Vanderlyn would have daughters that acted like the evil stepsisters from Cinderella. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Well about one of them I should say. Rachel seems to fit the bill exactly. The sway of Brooke’s hips in that dress could make a man fall to his knees. Most brides wouldn’t let any of their bridesmaids wear something that would outshine them. I guess when you have a conceited bride she thinks she’ll be the center of attention regardless, but she’s wrong. Brooke steals the show in my book.

I finish my beer before walking around more. Grabbing a small plate for some hors d’oeuvres, I’m not getting a plated meal so I need to eat what I can now. Especially if I’m going to be drinking. Gotta keep my head straight. Looking around I see a few familiar faces. The men from the file, my key subjects in Vanderlyn, Johnson and Associates, are here with their young wives. It didn’t give ages or pictures of Bruce Vanderlyn’s immediate family, so I wonder what his wife looks like. Brooke and Rachel look in their mid to late twenties, but who knows. I talk to a few people who know the family professionally introducing myself as Brooke’s boyfriend. They all have nothing but good things to say about the family and Bruce. Oh sure, a man who gives his daughter a lavish wedding can’t be a bad guy. Laugh my ass off.

With Brooke finished up with photos, a middle-aged woman comes over as we prepare to clear our appetizer plates. She asks who I am and the closer she stands to Brooke I know that’s her mom. The nose and smile are the exact duplicates. Not the twenty-something year old second wife I was expecting Bruce Vanderlyn to have. I guess I didn’t give him enough credit. After introducing me, she asks how long we’ve been together. I make up something sweet and kiss Brooke on the cheek to make it look convincing. The blush that rises to her cheeks makes the hair stand up all over my body.

Thankfully, Mrs. Vanderlyn pulls some strings and gets me a seat at the head table with their immediate family. These people are just serving me opportunities on a silver platter. As the first course finishes, no one seems to care that Brooke gets up to leave so I give her a minute or two before I follow her. Walking out onto the patio, I see her walking down to the gazebo by the lake. It’s dark out, but her sequined dress makes it impossible to miss her.

She doesn’t notice me behind her as I lean against the wood post of the gazebo watching her look out onto the water. I feel pulled to her effortless beauty. Walking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and hold her back to my chest. We talk and laugh for the better part of twenty minutes before she turns to face me putting her hands on the inside of my jacket resting on my core.

My face hurts from smiling so much tonight. As I run my hand along her cheek and back to her hair, I lose complete control. 

“I wanna kiss you”, I admit. She looks from my eyes to my lips and back again.

“What are you waiting for?” Brooke asks breathlessly.

My lips attack hers and the taste of tequila and citrus overloads my senses. I just want more and more. It’s addictive. When I feel her hand go up around my neck, I add my tongue to explore deeper. The vibration in my pocket alarms me to the situation I found myself in. I pull away from the kiss and rest of my forehead on hers. Keeping my eyes closed for a minute, I can’t sort out the euphoria from the I’m fucked feeling running through my mind.

Once we're back inside, Brooke takes off onto the dance floor, so I take advantage. Bruce and “Uncle Jonas” are more than willing to converse with me rather than dance. He’s not really Brooke’s uncle, but one of her dad’s oldest friends and work associates. They don’t divulge any telling information, but I don’t expect them to. This is about building a foundation.

“Are you coming to Jamaica with us?" Bruce asks out of the blue. "Since Brookelyn surprised us with you tonight, I didn’t know if you were coming. We’re going on a little post-wedding trip with the happy couple and some other family and friends. You should come.”

Taking a drink of beer, I buy some time for a response. The more I think about it even in these few seconds, the more I convince myself not to worry about it. Going on this trip could be what closes this case. I would finally prove myself at work. And Brooke. She knows I’m a stranger and seems perfectly fine with acting like a couple tonight. Why not for the rest of the week? Our flirty vibe will further convince her family and help my case. She hasn’t made any move to want this to be more which works for me. Brooke needs me on this trip just as much as I need her. This week I’ll get close with her father and get him to give me any kind of hint that he’s doing illegal work. Listen in on calls, tag his phone, spend one on one time over some bourbon. After the week is over, we’ll go our separate ways, and I’ll go back to being my team’s bitch and she’ll go back to not getting along with her family. She won’t find out who I am or what my true purpose is being at this wedding and going on vacation with her family.