He sounded so certain that she believed him. “I've got this. I'll text him back and let you know what he says.” They disconnected.
She followed Jude's recommendations to the letter by waiting, then sending Cedric a text saying she was looking forward to seeing him, telling him that her boyfriend could join them, and listing her schedule for next weekend.
Cedric
How about Friday? Can you two join Vincent and me for dinner then? What is your boyfriend's full name, by the way?
Cedric was likely asking for her boyfriend's name so that he could have him thoroughly checked out before making the effort to travel across the Atlantic.Here's hoping Jude's alias is airtight.
Gemma
Sure! Friday's good. His name is Jude McConnell. Now that I've told you that, you'll have to assure me that you won't speak his name to anyone in the family. If you do, word will spread like wildfire, and I'll never hear the end of it.
Cedric
Your secret is safe with me.
But, obviously, Rhapsodie's secret was not.
Cedric
Let's eat at 5 your time because that'll be 10 for us. What restaurant?
She took a screenshot of their text message exchange so far, texted it to Jude, then dialed him. When he picked up, she asked, “Which restaurant should I choose?”
“A restaurant in Bangor where we'll be unlikely to see people we know.”
“Cedric likes fancy food. He doesn't appreciate budget-friendly restaurants.”
“He'd probably like Artisanal. Have you been there?”
“Nope.”
“It's good and the location is conducive to having multiple agents on site.”
“I'll pitch that one.” She hung up.
Gemma
How about Artisanal? The food's delicious!
His reply was slow in coming. She envisioned him checking Artisanal's ranking and viewing photos to see if it was up to his standards. Jude had picked it, so she had no doubt it would be up to Cedric's standards.
Cedric
Sounds good. See you then.
She took another screenshot of the last few texts and sent it to Jude.
Jude
Well done, Gemma.
Why did a simple “well done” from Jude feel like a trophy she wanted to set on a shelf to dust and admire?
Gemma
What should we do over the coming days to prepare for the dinner?
