Brittany was just getting to the point where she sometimes didn't feel like an impostor in a dress, but a pink taffeta bridesmaid's gown was another story entirely.
Then again, she reminded herself, this time she really
was
an impostor.
Doing her best to forget how silly she felt in the garish gown, Brittany sipped her ginger ale (after Switzerland, she'd sworn off alcohol on the job in favour of always staying in control) and admired the suburban Denver springtime out on the country club grounds. She'd never been to Colorado before, and in prison it was one of the idyllic locales she had often read up on, and seeing it in person was a thrill even if she was on the job.
"Can you believe Annie got married so quickly?" came the voice of a fellow bridesmaid, and Brittany turned to see the chubby blonde she'd hit it off with at the rehearsal. "You think she's pregnant?"
"None of my business, but that'd be my guess." Brittany could only wonder who thought it was a real wedding and who knew the truth, and she was under orders to trust no one.
"How do you know her again?" asked the blonde, who had told Brittany her name but Brittany had forgotten it in the crush of names and faces.
"I'm a longtime client of hers," Brittany said, having memorized her briefing as always; Annie's cover occupation was as a travel agent. "We've gotten to know each other pretty well over plans for me to go to Europe the past couple of summers."
"Really," said the blonde. "Because she told me you were sorority sisters."
Brittany kept her cool, and could only hope Angie and Joseph had heard that on the microphone pinned to her bra. Their hot new recruit had used the wrong cover story! "Well," she said, "If you know Annie, you know she's a storyteller. I was never even in a sorority." Her new friend did not need to know just where Brittany
had
spent a couple of years living in close quarters with lots of other women.
"Mmm, I've never found that, actually," said the blonde. "I've known her since the fourth grade and she was always honest as far as I could see. Look, I'll level with you...Erika, is it?"
Brittany nodded.
"I think something's up here. Annie's a sensible gal, not at all the type to rush into things, and this Richard guy -- I don't know, something about him really doesn't smell right. Too perfect, and not really Annie's style, either."
"An investment banker can afford to be any woman's style," Brittany offered with a grin.
But her new friend wasn't convinced. "If you believe that, you really don't know Annie at all. Look, she's my best friend from way, way back and I just don't want to see her hurt. If you know what's really going on, I've got a right to know. And we can start with, just how did you become maid of honor when you barely know her?"
"If you want to know the truth of it, Sarah," Brittany said, having finally recalled her new friend's name, "Annie told me it's because she knew how you tend to get worked up about things like this and she wanted someone more clearheaded in charge."
"Excuse me?!" Sarah slammed her champagne glass down on the nearest table, hard enough to surprise Brittany when it didn't break.
"We can argue about it later, I promise," Brittany said. "Right now, I've got the collection to take care of."
"Bitch didn't trust me with her presents," Sarah whined. "And where does an investment banker get off asking for cash gifts anyway?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Brittany said, thanking her lucky stars that Annie had at least gotten one part of the script right: just on time, she tapped a spoon against her glass and rang the party to silence. She took up her spot at Annie's right, and flashed her practiced smile at everyone.
"Thank you all for a lovely wedding day!" Annie called out. "As Richard and I told you all, we're both old enough to have all the kitchen utensils we need. What we do need is a fresh start on our home, so your cash gifts are appreciated." This brought on a round of groans that Brittany privately agreed with, even though she knew the real purpose of the "gifts". "I know it's not the most personal of gifts, but it's what we need, and we appreciate everything you can spare. You'll have found the red envelopes in your programs today. Now Erika here will be coming around to collect them, and you have our word she'll be discreet about it all. Thanks, everyone!"
Richard, the groom, tried to start a round of applause, but it got only the most tepid response. Once again Brittany was dying to know who knew what among the crowd, but she had no need to know.
In fact, she reflected as she set about collecting the red envelopes filled with cash from the guests, it was far better that she did not know. The more she could pass as the hapless young lady with the day's most distasteful task, the better.
"I'll double this if you give me your phone number!" offered one man as he handed her his envelope.
"Dream on," Brittany grumbled, drawing a round of laughs from the man's friends, who were smart enough to hand over their envelopes and say nothing else.
"Do you find this appropriate, dear?" asked one older woman as she handed Brittany her envelope.
"I wouldn't do it at my wedding," Brittany allowed.
"Bless your heart," the woman grumbled. Brittany longed to reassure her that she agreed completely, but there was no telling who really thought it was just a wedding and who knew the truth.
Annie did manage to get one other thing right: as Brittany completed her circuit of the room and had her satchel full of red envelopes, the bride took her cue and kissed Richard on the lips, drawing hoots and hollers from all their friends and setting the coast clear for Brittany to slip out the rear exit. No one noticed.
No one except Brittany's new friend Sarah, in any case. To her horror, as soon as Brittany was out in the crisp spring air, she heard Sarah calling, "Wait! Erika!" A furtive look revealed that Sarah had caught the attention of a few other guests, who now turned to see her leaving with the cash.
The plan had been for Brittany to stroll down the driveway to the curb, where Angie was waiting in a limousine identical to the bridal one, and for Brittany to simply explain she was taking the money back to the hotel for safekeeping if anyone asked. But the plan hadn't accounted for a busybody like Sarah, who was now out the door herself and rushing after Brittany.
She had only one option left, and that was to outrun Sarah. Fortunately, Brittany the dancer and former soccer star was more than capable of that. She gathered up her skirt and broke into a sprint, hoping Angie would see what was going on and open the car door for her to dive in. To her immense relief, she did. Sarah wasn't even halfway down the driveway when Brittany leapt into the car and landed sprawling on the bench seat across from Angie, who yelled, "Step on it!" at the driver. They were off before Brittany could sit up or Angie could get the door shut, but not before they could see Sarah had attracted several other guests.
"Excellent work, Brittany," Angie said once they were safely on their way, the limo roaring through the suburban streets as quickly as the driver could go safely.
"I can't believe Annie got the backstories wrong!" Brittany snapped, as she fastened her seatbelt and handed over the cash.
"We'll have words with her on that, believe me," Angie said. "But the important thing is, we got the money and, with the serial numbers on the envelopes, we'll know who gave what." Angie pulled an envelope out of the bag at random to make sure the tiny numbers in the corner were present and legible.
"We've still got to get away," Brittany said. She looked behind her, but couldn't make out anything in the limo's rear window.
"Don't worry," Angie said. "They'll be looking for us at the Hilton, and --"
"Angie, quiet!" came Joseph's voice in both their earpieces.
Angie complied, and the two women exchanged knowing glances. No need to say what they both knew -- the "groom" and his fellow Mansfield Consulting goons had a line on them, and now they knew the limo wasn't bound for the Hilton, where the wedding party had stayed the night before. Now Brittany could only hope they wouldn't guess Angie and her team had been hiding right under their noses, around the corner at the Marriott.
As the limo made its way through the downtown traffic and drew to a stop just off the Sixteenth Street Mall, Brittany longed to hear Joseph give the all clear. He didn't, and they both knew what that meant. Angie nodded with a concerned look, and opened the limo door.
Brittany did her best to make the satchel full of cash look like just another pocketbook as she stepped out of the car. She didn't dare look back as they stepped up to the hotel entrance, but Angie did whisper that there was no sign of anyone following them. She had, in her few days in Denver, gotten to know Sixteenth Street well enough to know she would only stand out so much even in a bridesmaid's dress, and had no trouble shrugging off what attention she did get.
The lobby offered no clues that anyone might be spying on them, but Brittany knew well enough by now to assume someone was. She was ready to hike up her dress again and kickbox anyone who accosted her, but that proved unnecessary as they made it to the elevator unmolested. Once there, Angie pressed the third-floor button and slipped a key card into Brittany's hand.
As the elevator opened on the third floor, Angie held up her hand to signal Brittany to stay where she was, and scoped out the hallway. It was empty, and Angie beckoned for Brittany to follow her down the hall. Once they were safe in the luxurious room with its two queen size beds, Brittany let out a sigh of relief. "That was close!" she said.
"Shhhh!" Angie held her finger to her lips, and looked more than a bit angry with Brittany, who realized her mistake now -- if the Mansfield guys hadn't known where they'd gone, now they would. Brittany felt like slapping herself silly, but she contented herself with leaning back against the door while Angie took the envelopes and stuffed them into the safe in the wardrobe.
Once she had the money secured, Angie grabbed up a notepad from the desk and wrote on it, "Not a word until Joseph gives the all clear!"
