Lee grinned from ear to ear. “Javier. Hello. Nice of you to call.”
“Yes, well, I think I might have a job for you, if you’re up for it.”
There was something stilted and curious in Javier’s voice. Lee couldn’t quite put his finger on it without seeing the man’s expression. He had always been deeply professional and pragmatic in their dealings before, but this time, Lee could practically feel Javier vibrating on the other end of the call.
“Lay it on me,” he said, glancing quickly to Diana’s window on his computer screen. She’d gone back to work, but if Lee knew her, she was listening in.
“We’ve had a highly unusual and deeply sensitive request,” Javier started slowly. “And since you’ve been given glowing reviews so far, I thought maybe you’d be the right man for the job.”
“I’ve only done two fake dates,” Lee reminded him.
“That’s more than some of the people we’ve signed on lately,” Javier laughed. “We’re all new at this.”
“Thanks for thinking of me, then,” Lee said.
“You might not thank me when you know what sort of request we’ve had.”
Now that was intriguing. “I’m all ears,” he said.
Javier paused like he wasn’t sure how to say what was on the tip of his tongue. “Well, to begin with, there are some strict confidentiality clauses with this particular client.”
“Confidentiality?” Lee blinked. “Is your client some kind of celebrity or something?”
Diana perked up from her work and glanced at her camera.
“Yes, actually,” Javier said.
“He is?” Lee asked, mostly to keep Diana in the loop.
Diana mouthed the word, “Celebrity?”
“He’s actually a pretty big celebrity, although his fame is very new and came suddenly,” Javier went on.
Lee racked his brain, trying to think of which celebrity it could be. He’d never been one to watch a lot of telly or films, but he liked to think he wasn’t completely out of the loop of pop culture. “Who is it?” he asked.
“He’s asked us not to mention his name until we’re absolutely sure we’ve got a good match for what he needs,” Javier said, as if the situation couldn’t get more mysterious than it already was. “But if you’re willing to give the whole thing a go, you can come meet us for coffee.”
“I’m intrigued,” Lee said, putting it mildly. “When do you want to meet?”
“Right now, if you can,” Javier said. “He was just here in the office. He’s had to go off for a costume fitting nearby, but we agreed that if I found someone and you were able to make it over quickly, he’d be back in about an hour to meet you.”
Lee’s jaw dropped. “An hour?” He glanced at Diana through his computer. “You want me to come meet this mystery celebrity who might possibly need me to go on a fake date with them in an hour?”
Diana slammed her hands on her desk, leaned toward her computer, and evidently shouted “Yes! Go! Go!” She’d put herself on mute at the beginning of Lee’s call, though.
Lee had to stifle a laugh. He was glad Javier’s call was an old-fashioned one with sound only. “Okay, why not?” he said, brimming with excitement. “I can leave what I’m doing here and pop down to your office to meet this guy.”
“Great,” Javier said. “Except we’re not meeting at the office. For reasons that will become apparent, we’re keeping Rent-A-Boyfriend’s name and location out of things as much as possible.”
Lee was so intrigued his heart rate had gone up like he’d run a marathon. “Where should I meet you, then?”
Javier gave him the name and address of a boutique coffee shop near the building where Rent-A-Boyfriend had their offices. Since Lee’s flat was off one of the squares in Earl’s Court, it wouldn’t take him more than twenty minutes to get there by Tube.
“I’ll see you in about half an hour,” he told Javier as they said their goodbyes, then ended the call.
As soon as he put his phone down, Diana unmuted herself to say, “What the heck, Lee? Is this Rent-A-Boyfriend place trying to hook you up with some sort of international spy?”
“He’s a celebrity,” Lee said, trying to play it cool as he saved his work on the graphic and closed that window. “He’s probably in the closet and doesn’t want anyone to know he’s going out with a guy.”