“Jude McConnell is about to become your fake boyfriend,” he corrected. “I won't divulge financial details.” Namely, that all Camden descendants received one lump sum from the family trust at the age of twenty-five. “But I will say that we're not to waste the money that comes to us through the Camden family sitting on a beach in Bermuda. We're expected to use it in entrepreneurial and charitable ways.”
“If you’re expected to be entrepreneurial, then why didn't you become a business tycoon or a doctor or a lawyer? I would’ve thought that’s the career route a Camden would’ve taken.”
“Iama lawyer.”
Her head pulled back. “A lawyer who works for the FBI? Why?”
He hesitated.
“The truth, please,” she added.
“I like doing what I can to make sure the good guys win,” he answered honestly.
“Huh.” She appeared to think that over. “Even though you weren't recognizable to me, you're from a well-known family. I'm guessing that you're recognizable to some Mainers as part of the famous Camdens. What if we're out somewhere while you're posing as Jude McConnell and you're recognized?”
“The chances of that aren't as large as you might think. I purposely keep my family connection quiet. Only my friends and co-workers know I'm part of the famous Camdens. But if I were to be recognized, I'd handle it.”
She drummed her fingers. “When we put you forward as the representative of the buyer of Cedric's secrets, Cedric and Vincent will look into you closely. I can totally picture them doing a reverse image search of your face online. If they do, we can't have them learning that you're really Jude Camden.”
“Agreed. The Bureau has a department called A/FID, which stands foralias or false identification. They're the ones who crafted my alias. They'll run a thorough reverse image search of my face and make sure all the hits that come up in response are for Jude McConnell.”
They held eye contact.
“Okay,” she said. Then, “Let's eat.”
They carried their bowls to the table and sat across from each other. With plants and clutter between them as a centerpiece, they started on the food. He didn’t usually eat a meal made of nothing but carbs, sauce, and cheese. He was more of a protein, vegetables, chocolate guy. Still, the pasta was delicious. Maybe not good for him. But good.
She'd claimed that eating would not make this meeting less productive. But it was hard for him to concentrate with her across from him, pasta flavors in his mouth, candle smells, and music.
“I cannot believe,” she said, “that I'm going to pose as the girlfriend of a Camden heir for this FBI operation.”
“You're posing as Jude McConnell's girlfriend and Jude McConnell has nothing to do with the Camdens.”
“Right, but Jude McConnellisJude Camden and it's becoming clear to me that we have a more important problem than getting our details about your backstory straight.”
“Which is?”
“You are not the type of person I would date.” She circled her fork in his direction. “For one thing, your social circle probably includes the Vanderbilts and Hiltons.”
“And yours includes the Bettencourts,” he pointed out.
“The Bettencourts have to interact with us because they're related to us by blood.”
“Chaz is wealthy.”
“Chaz is wealthy because his dad owns three car dealerships. You're the type of wealthy that owns half of America. Every time I've interacted with people in your tax bracket, I've found it difficult to relate to them. They're not usually very . . . normal.”
“I'm normal.”
“Of courseyou'dthink that. The rest of us don't. All that to say, the altitude of your social circle as well as your personality are going to make a supposed romantic pairing between us tricky to pull off.”
“What's tricky about my personality?”
“You're too strait-laced for me. Very controlled and tidy.” She reached across and moved his water glass to the wrong side, then pointed his knife away from his plate. She glanced at him expectantly. “Does that bother you?”
“It's fine.”
She waited.
