Chapter 6

Margot

We stared at each other for an undetermined period of time and it was amazing to see a carbon copy of myself.

Maria finally smiled, taking several steps closer. When she walked all the way around me, I sensed I was being dissected even more than I'd been in the diner.

"Thank you for coming," Maria said.

"Why am I here?"

When she moved to the couch, sitting down as gracefully as she'd done everything else, I felt more awkward than I was used to but mimicked her action, trying not to knock over the glass as I returned it to the table. Even her perfume reeked of luxury.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, her accent more pronounced than before.

"Because we're doppelgangers." She looked at me quizzically. "We look alike."

"Ah, yes. Very much so." I could tell she was having a difficult time with this.

"While I very much appreciate the money, the tip, and the envelope Leonardo gave me, I do need to be at work in a little over an hour."

"Yes, of course. The diner where you've worked for almost two years. That will be followed by the evening shift at the lovely clothing store where I found this adorable blouse. You will rinse and repeat over the next few days other than the performance tomorrow night of the fabulous play you were in. It's such a shame your ill mother won't be able to see your performance. I personally thought it was brilliant."

I was momentarily shocked that she knew personal things about me. A sick feeling tore into my system and I jerked to my feet. "I don't who you are, but I don't like people being nosy in my business. That's not cool, lady." I noticed Leonardo out of the corner of my eye, hovering like a vulture.

"Please, don't be alarmed. You're right that I was far too abrupt." Maria also stood, her face twisting as she stared at me.

I debated what I was going to do and couldn't help but notice she was obviously in some kind of distress. "Fine, but you need to tell me what's going on and more important, who you are."

"I appreciate your assertiveness. I'm usually that way. It's just this last week has been so… unexpected." She looked away, pressing three fingers across her mouth, closing her eyes briefly before addressing me again. "My name is Maria Rossi. I'm from Sicily."

I folded my arms, staring at her intently. What little she'd told me meant nothing to me.

"I came to your beautiful country and to this city with my family to meet my potential fiancé."

"Potential? And you're just meeting him?" There were already two things wrong with this picture.

She nodded, brushing hair from her face as she sat down once again. And I could swear her hands were shaking. "Yes. In my world, marriages are often arranged. I know very little about the man other than he's rich and as powerful as my family is in Italy."

I found myself sitting involuntarily, eager to hear the rest of this already crazy story. "Go on."

"We were hoping to finalize details for the wedding, but things changed."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Relationships can be difficult." I wasn't certain what she wanted me to say at this point.

She smiled, but I could still gather a sense talking with me was bothering her as much as not knowing was bothering me. "Yes, they often can. I know this might seem strange to you, but I need your help."

I felt as if I'd been dropped into some rabbit hole. "How can I help you? You're obviously rich and travel with a bodyguard."

"That's because I need to. My family has many enemies."

Oh, perfect. Who was this girl? "Why?"

She seemed even more uncomfortable. "Let's just say my father is a very dangerous and influential man in Italy. There are those who want to take away what he's worked so hard to build."

Hence the reason for her bodyguard. "I still don't know how I come into play."

"When I arrived in this country, I was excited at the prospects of the future. While you maybe not understand why an arranged marriage is important, it is still a way of life in my country. My parents' marriage was arranged and they love each other very much. I had hopes that my future would be full of happiness and family."

"What's stopping you?"

She looked toward the windows, obviously finding it difficult to divulge her personal problems with a stranger. Meanwhile, I glanced at my cheap Timex watch, trying to figure out when it would be appropriate to walk out. Yes, I could tell she was struggling but the girl was as dramatic if not more so than I was.

And the uncanny resemblance was almost creepy.

"I wasn't feeling well a little over a week ago. We'd been in town only a few days and when I fainted, my father insisted that I be taken to the hospital. After a series of tests, it was determined that I have a rare blood disease possibly caused by a toxin. The doctors have yet to determine the cause."

"I'm very sorry to hear that and I'm not trying to be rude, but I still don't know what that has to do with me." Although my instincts were starting to kick in and I didn't like what I was thinking.

"Yes, well. It's not only rare. It's fatal." She lifted her head, finally looking me in the eyes. Hers were filled with tears.

Now I felt like a shit. I wasn't normally so rude. Wait a minute. I'd been brought here to a meeting with a stranger. She owed me an explanation. "Maria, I am very sorry. Are you certain there's nothing they can do?"

She rose to her feet, heading to one of the windows. Meanwhile, I glanced at her massive bodyguard, noticing that he wore the same tremendously sad expression on his face. It was obvious how much he cared for her. "As you might imagine, there are more tests to run but the prognosis isn't very good. However, my family is very important to me as is the possibility of an upcoming wedding."

Now we were finally getting somewhere.

I wasn't comfortable sitting still, had never been. So I stood, moving to a different glass panel to stand, a perch allowing me to realize how terrified of heights I really was. "Family is very important to me as well. Is that why you checked up on me?"

"I needed to know that you were a good person."

A laugh bubbled up from my throat. "I like to think I am. Did your bodyguard find out I was as he searched through my life?" I threw Leonardo a glance, hating the snobby and irritated tone in my voice but maybe it was prudent.

She tried to smile but failed this time. "Leonardo has been with the family for years. I consider him more of a friend than a bodyguard, but yes, what he found allowed me to enter into the diner where you worked yesterday. I wouldn't have done so had he not believed you were perfect."

"Perfect for?" I allowed the syllable to elongate.

She licked her perfectly stained lips as she peered at me again. "To stand in for me."

"Excuse me?" My instincts had been right.

"I want to pay you to play the acting role of your life and I assure you that what I can offer you will be more than you might make in a lifetime."

My throat suddenly felt squeezed. I wasn't certain I'd heard her correctly, but it was apparent she was serious. "Let's just say I was remotely interested in this unusual proposition, and I'm not saying that I am, what exactly would I need to do?"

She almost seemed animated, excited as if I'd already accepted her unorthodox offer. "You would stand in for me in every way. Of course, you're not an exact carbon copy of me nor do you know anything about my family and my life in Sicily, but we have three weeks to prepare you. A haircut and highlights. A crash course in my culture and various details, but from seeing your performance yesterday, I feel certain you can pull it off."

Maria made it sound so easy, as if this was something her kind of people did all the time. Whoever her kind of people were other than wealthy and powerful. At least that much I knew. Why did I have a sense they were also dangerous? Maybe I'd been watching too many movies on Netflix, one small comfort I was happy to pay for every month.

"I'm not even certain why I'm asking this but for how long?"

Even the way she chewed on her lower lip was adorable, certainly more so than when I did it almost every day. I'd managed to taste blood the night before when I'd been pacing back and forth in front of the window in my bedroom.

"That's the small catch. At least for a year."

"A year."

"Yes. That's part of the deal my father made with the Thorns."

The Thorns. They sounded like American royalty or certainly owners of a fabulous muscle car manufacturer. "A full year."

"Yes, as I mentioned, you will be paid extremely well for such a commitment."

"And I'm supposed to be you."

"Yes, and you can't tell anyone otherwise."

"Uh-huh. Well, since you already know about my life then I'm certain you know that my mother has cancer. She's been in and out of remission for years and the prognosis isn't good for her either. I can't leave her. I can't pretend."

"Yes, of course. I took the liberty of contacting a private facility in Switzerland, the doctors and scientists there having significant success with some new drug trials. I've tentatively made arrangements to have your mother transferred there, all expenses paid. The wonderful thing about the clinic is that it's in a beautiful mountain town and every patient has a suite with a gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps. They have two chefs on staff at the smaller facility with so many amazing activities and the health care is top notch."

My mouth and throat were completely dry. I was entirely shocked that she'd already put so much thought and effort into this, enough so I was stunned into silence.

"That's of course if you agree. It'll be a business arrangement."

"Except for pretending I give a shit about my future husband. Right?"

She laughed nervously. "Well, yes."

"So let me get this straight. I'm going to become you in a matter of weeks, marrying a man I don't know, but am only required to remain his wife for a year. I'm certain that will include certain… duties." I couldn't even utter the words. I'd meant what I'd said. I wasn't a whore. I wasn't certain any amount of money would ever entice me to do something so insane.

"Yes, and for that in addition to taking care of your mother, you'll be paid two million dollars."

Two million dollars. I was absolutely dumbfounded. The girl was out of her mind or so wealthy that amount of money was chump change. The lump that had just formed in my throat was the size of a small cantaloupe. I felt nauseous. Lightheaded. "This is obviously very important to you. However, I'm not certain I can pull it off. As you said, I don't know your culture."

"You are perfect. Besides, your mother is Italian and I know you speak a little, not that you'll need to, given Daniel was born and raised here."

Daniel. At least I had a name. "Who is this supposed fiancé?"

She turned her head toward Leonardo, who headed in our direction. Miraculously, he had a file in his hand. "You'll find everything you need to know about him, his family, and his business as well as certain things about myself and my family that I'll be happy to give you once you've signed a nondisclosure agreement and a contract."

"Nondisclosure and a contract."

"As you might imagine, if this was to get out, it would be perfect grounds for my father's enemies to cause him additional trouble. Plus, it could prove damaging to the Thorn family. However, please take a few moments and look over the information. I can understand why you'd be hesitant to consider entering into a business deal with someone you've just met. That helps me realize the right decision was made in choosing you."

Right. I had a feeling the idea came to her on the fly since we looked alike, but the lengths she'd gone to was just another red flag raising high in the sky. I was more disturbed than anything yet I took the file from Leonardo's hand, noticing Maria had backed completely away, moving toward a bar on the other side of the room.

I turned away and I wasn't certain why, perhaps needing a small amount of privacy. I wasn't going to try to lie to myself that the offer wasn't amazing. If it wasn't some crazy scam. When I finally convinced myself to look inside, the first thing I noticed was a picture of Daniel Thorn. It was taken at some lavish party, the man standing next to two other men in tuxedos.

What struck me even more than the posh surroundings was how gorgeous he was. The photograph had been taken for a magazine or online newspaper with the kind of caption that fairytales were made of.

Daniel Thorn. Rich. Powerful. Eligible. True American Royalty.

So my assumptions continued to be correct. I flipped through the details, information that included the man's estimated worth from various businesses and real estate holdings. My God. The man was worth billions and he was extremely handsome, so much so a slight nervous twinge tickled my senses.

When I flipped to what little there was about Maria and her family, another strange set of sensations swept through me. Why did I have the feeling her father wasn't just an astute, wealthy businessman with a lot of enemies? I leaned against the window, imagining the possibility my mother could return to remission or maybe even be cured. And the money for only a year would allow me to do anything I wanted to do in my life.

Oh, God. This was crazy. Was I seriously considering this? If so, I had to be out of my bloody mind. It was crazy. I didn't know this woman from anyone. I could be getting myself into a crazy situation. Worse, I could be signing my death warrant.

I had no idea what I was going to do but I knew whatever decision I made would haunt me. Right. Wrong. Good. Bad. The excess information was muddled in my mind. I turned my head, studying her all over again. I was a pretty good judge of people and I had a feeling she wasn't a good actress. She was struggling with this decision.

As I walked closer, she turned around. In her hand was some kind of alcoholic beverage. It was only nine-thirty in the morning, but I had to admit, the drink looked far too appetizing and I wasn't much of a drinker.

Maybe tonight after work I'd start.

"How would this work?" I asked.

"A good question. Your mother would be transferred to the facility quickly, in a couple days. Then you'd move out of your apartment. We'll move into a house on the outskirts of the city, so we have some privacy. Then we'll being your transformation immediately. You'll have a new wardrobe, a wedding planner. Jewelry. All expenses paid of course. But for all practical purposes Margot Rollins will cease to exist."

"As you might imagine, I do have a life here. I can't just disappear."

"You can make up a story about going abroad for an acting gig. Your friends will buy that." Maria's confidence, I'd agree, was already increasing. I could feel it. Meanwhile, I was feeling more like I was making a deal with the devil and I couldn't understand why.

"How do I know this is on the up and up?"

She acted as if she was going to be incensed at first then smiled. "Of course. Being cautious is necessary. You can certainly speak to my doctors if you'd like. My parents are in the next room. I'll be happy to ask Leonardo to go and get them. And I'm certain even with the nondisclosure you'll check the internet."

"Yes, I am a cautious girl. Safety first."

"Yes, absolutely. And I'm certain you'll need a day to think about my offer. Yes?"

I wanted to say hell, yes, but I nodded instead.

"And because you're considering something so… unconventional, not only will you receive the other thousand dollars as promised, I'll also have Leonardo provide you with five thousand more. That should help you understand how serious and important this is to me."

I studied her eyes. She was dead serious. "I can already tell that, Maria. I have one question before I even consider thinking about it. Why do this? You're a beautiful woman. He's a handsome man. You could have anyone you want, even if it's for a short period of time."

She smiled, perhaps from the compliment. "Because this alliance of our two families would make our combined empires the most powerful one in the world."

"Which will add to your extensive wealth."

"You do understand," she whispered.

And there it was, the crux of the reason behind the extensive charade. "Yes, I believe I do."

"Then you should realize that if you accept, you will become Maria Rossi, not Margot Rollins."

Maybe that was the moment I truly began to understand what she was asking of me. Yes, it was the acting role of a lifetime and if I pulled it off, I'd consider it an Academy Award-winning production.

But if I failed, I had a feeling I wouldn't live to see my twenty-fifth birthday.

Now I was shaking in my tennis shoes.