This might be the most annoying morning after that Elana has ever experienced. She might not have put up with this if she drank enough to forget exactly what kind of night she had. Fortunately for her, she didn’t drink enough.
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“Either way,” the man continued, “the fact that you know nothing is part of why you’ll suit my purposes perfectly.”
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“I’m sorry,” Elana said, the indifference in her tone making the words a mere formality, “but I do have things to do other than be here to suit your ‘purposes.’ My own actual life is stressful enough.”
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“What’s stressing you?”
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“Nothing you need to know, shrink.”
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“Mm-hm. Well, I get the sense that finances could be at least one of your stressors. Young people nowadays seem to have some monetary issues.”
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“You say that as if you’re not also a young person.”
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“Clearly I am,” he confirmed. “I just have different concerns.”
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Not knowing what to make of that, Elana fell back on her normal response type: deflection. “Yeesh, I don’t know how I didn’t hear it before, but the private school upbringing is dripping off your words.”
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“Scholarships can do a lot for a kid. But that’s why you would be perfect for this.” He was not going to give in to her evasiveness. “You’re in the apartment of a strange man, with whom you’ve spoken for less than an hour’s worth of time. You’ve been crass with your words every time you were afforded the opportunity, but smart enough to know how to use those words to go after what you want. You clearly were not invited to the conference last night, but as long as you were there, you charmed the guests enough for them to think you belonged.”
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You’re quite the sweet talker. The urge to say this, and make another suggestive quip about his experience using these kinds of words on women who might fall for them, was biting at Elana. She, however, decided on a different option.
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“‘Conference’ is an interesting way of saying ‘party’,” she noted.
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“It wasn– there you go again! You almost had me. The way you listen for things to pick up on, I just feel that could be put to use in a way that’s mutually beneficial.”
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Elana was not yet convinced. “You still haven’t even hinted at what you want from me.”
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“It’s simple. I need you to meet some people. Smile, feign as much grace as you can, and pretend to be interested in whatever subjects may come up.”
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He wants a pretty girl on his arm to shmooze some people he knows? Elana tried not to make it obvious that she may now understand the nature of this request. “And why does it have to be me?”
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“Honestly? It doesn’t,” he responded. “You just seem like you can adapt easily.”
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Well, there was no denying that. Being on her toes is not new to Elana at all, but there needs to be more to make it worth her while.
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“So? Exactly how will you afford my time?”
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“Easily,” the man smirked, annoying her. “We can discuss payment more later, but for now… How about this apartment?”
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“You want me to move in with you?” That definitely sounds like it would cost extra.
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“No, no need to worry about that. I will not be living with you. In fact, you can even find a locksmith and have them change the locks for this place. If you agree, of course.”
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The apartment… wasn’t bad. Modest, but well furnished. Smaller than one would expect judging from how high up it was, but still noticeably larger than her last place.
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“Hm… It’s a passable start,” she answered, “but before that, we should at least know each other’s names, right?”
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The man mulled over his answer, but extended his hand shortly after. “You can call me TJ.”
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“Is that what the people you want me to meet call you?”
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“Actually, yes,” TJ said. “And will you give me your name?”
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Not convinced of TJ’s transparency, Elana decided to make a small change of her own. Time to put a commonly mispronounced part of her name to good use.
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“Just call me Anna.”
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A fake name for a fake relationship.
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