Josh caught himself staring rather adoringly at her firm backside as she moved in front of him. He yanked his gaze away. If she’d caught that heated look, she’d probably run straight out the front door without her precious releases. He cleared his throat, attempting to distract himself from the delectable sight ahead of him. “So, where will the photographers be?”
“We’ll have several in front of the house to catch the guests as they arrive and enter, as well as a few in each room to mingle among the guests and take candid souvenir shots,” she called over her shoulder.
“I still think that’s kind of off-putting.”
She flashed an amused glance at him. “How many charity functions have you been to?”
Josh paused with one hand on the stair railing, lips pursed in thought. “More than I can count,” he answered. “Why?”
Emma raised a brow. “And have any of them
not
had photographers snapping pictures the whole time?”
“Oh.” He frowned slightly. “Huh. Yeah, I guess I mostly don’t pay attention to them.”
“And neither will your guests. What’s the point of giving to charity if people don’t see you doing it?” she asked. There was an edge to her voice that suggested this was perhaps something a client had said to her.
Josh chuckled at the statement. He was sure a good portion of his fellow philanthropists felt exactly that way. “I suppose you’re right.”
At the top of the stairs, he ushered her toward his office, noting that her back had gone stiff. He made a point to leave the office door open as they stepped inside.
“I wanted to thank you again, Emma,” he said, hoping to put her at ease as he shuffled through the papers on his desk for the photo releases, “for helping make this whole endeavor run really smoothly. I don’t mind telling you, given my inexperience, when Martin first suggested a party planner . . . I had some nightmare visions. But you’ve made the process really pleasant, and I appreciate that.” He glanced up at her.
She was standing on the other side of his desk, spine ramrod straight, her hands clasped behind her back like a shy schoolgirl. Her head was down, eyes apparently locked on the surface of his desk. He couldn’t read the look in them through her down-swept lashes.
“I was just doing my job,” she said, the quiet tone returning. “But I’m glad you’re pleased. Clarice will be delighted to hear you’re happy with your Picture Perfect experience.”
He handed her the release forms, trying not to frown at her subdued demeanor. He liked the sparkling, bubbly Emma much better. But he doubted she’d appreciate him commenting on her behavior change. If she was nervous about being alone with him, it would only make the situation worse. Instead, he smiled. “I’ll be sure to tell her, then. You will definitely be getting more of my business in the future.”
Emma nodded, clutching the papers. “I should get back downstairs to make sure those tables are being placed correctly.”
“Do what you’ve got to do.” Josh bit back a small grin. He couldn’t deny that he felt a small thrill of masculine satisfaction knowing she was affected by his closeness. As she turned on her heel and hurried from the room, he found himself once again contemplating asking her out after the ball was over. Some part of him couldn’t help but think that if he could get Emma away from the mantle of her job, he’d see more of the effervescent personality he’d only caught glimpses of so far.
And Josh really liked the idea of that.
One more day
, he thought. Then he could nab William Ransler’s signature on the dotted line of a contract and score a date with an intriguing woman all at once. His week was shaping up to be pretty fine.
“Holy moly, Ems. You look
amazing
.” Todd gaped at her, green eyes wide. Emma spun around in surprise, feeling the luxurious swish of the fabric around her legs, and clapped a hand to her throat, where her heart now resided.
“You should be resting.” She’d only picked him up from the hospital a few hours ago. His surgery had gone well, or so the doctor said. Now he just needed to rest and recover. She, on the other hand, had a ball to attend.
Todd sat gingerly on the end of her bed with a wince. “I am resting. It doesn’t take any energy to compliment my big sister.”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes. But she smoothed her palms over the silky fabric at her stomach. The double-sided tape she’d used was supposed to be professional grade, but she was still nervous that it would give way at a critical moment. A lot of her bare skin was already on display—legs, arms, back, cleavage—so she didn’t want to hit any extra levels of indecency. “It looks okay?”
“Better than okay. Especially with the new hair.”
Emma touched her fingertips to the elaborately coiled updo. She’d taken the precaution of going to a hairdresser several towns over, just in case anyone thought to ask around about her, post-theft. The girl had gone above and beyond the call of duty. Not only was Emma sporting a style that would be the talk of any Red Carpet Event, but the stylist had dyed her long, straight locks a deep, shimmery black. The temporary color would wash out within a few days, but that was all Emma needed.
She bent to reach for a pair of slender, black stiletto heels. The tape held firm, and neither nipple made an impromptu appearance. She breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped into the dangerous-looking shoes. “Do you really think I can pull this off?”
“Of course I do. And so do you. Now, get your mask on.” Todd grinned, and she could sense his excitement. Her own heart was pounding, too, like it had been since this morning. Her hands had trembled so badly she almost couldn’t paint her toes and fingers in a bright poppy red. But it wasn’t nerves. Todd was right. Emma had to admit she was just as excited as her brother. Maybe more. It had always been this way—when she broke him out of that stupid summer camp or convinced his friends she’d been jilted at the altar. Playing the roles he thought up was fun. And harmless, she told herself. A small part of her argued that Josh might not agree with her assessment, but honestly, what was one old watch to a Hollywood mega-producer?
“Hold on. I need to do the contacts first.” She’d practiced putting them in and taking them out a dozen times since Todd had given them to her. It still felt a little odd, having to touch the slippery surface of her own eyeball, but she found she could do it with ease. She did so now, blinking her eyes to situate the contacts and watching her green irises turn suddenly brown. Finally, she affixed some more skin adhesive to the mask’s edges and pressed it into place.
As the picture on the website indicated, only a small portion of her forehead, cheeks, and chin remained uncovered by the black lace butterfly with its red satin underpinning. She turned back to Todd, grinning. “Well?”
Her little brother inspected her from head to toe, brows rising high on his wide forehead. “I watched the transformation myself, and I’m still having trouble believing it’s you.”
Emma’s lips curved upward in a pleased smile. “That’s just the pain medication talking. But it’ll have to do, I guess.” She knew it would. In her gut, she just knew it. Even if he did somehow catch a glimpse of her across the crowded ballroom, there was no way Joshua Owens would recognize her as the deferential woman who’d planned his soiree.
“Walk me through it again.” Todd watched her affix the large, chandelier earrings and smiled as she clipped their great-grandmother’s rubies around her throat. The necklace complemented the outfit perfectly.
She fluttered long lashes at him in the mirror. “I’m going to go in—”
“With your fake invitation,” he interrupted.
“With my fake invitation,” Emma continued. “First, I’ll locate Joshua. As soon as he’s downstairs, as far from the office as possible, I head upstairs, sneak in, grab the watch and skedaddle.”
Todd frowned, eyes a little glassy. “I thought you said the doors were going to be locked?”
Damn it, she hadn’t meant to tell Todd that. But she’d been distraught about his surgery and rambling at his bedside before he woke up. She didn’t realize he’d heard it all. She laughed it off. “Why would he bother? It’s not as if he can’t afford twenty replacements if anything gets stolen. We’d really be up the creek if he did, wouldn’t we?” Thank goodness Todd was still fuzzy from his meds, because she didn’t at all want to explain to her little brother how she really planned to get inside that office.
She hadn’t even realized she’d been considering it, as she waited for Todd to get out of surgery, until the solution popped into her head. Josh said the hallway doors would all be locked. But the hallway door was not the only one that led into his office. She knew, from looking at the blueprints, that there was one other entrance.
Through Joshua Owens’ bedroom.
Of course, the hallway door to that would no doubt be locked as well. But if she could convince him to open it. . . . Seducing the gorgeous billionaire was the only way to get the watch back.
Partially
seducing, she corrected. She just had to get Josh to think she wanted to get him in bed, so he’d take her to said bed. Once inside his room, she would find some excuse to be alone for a minute and slip away into the office. She’d be gone before he knew it and he’d never be the wiser as to her identity.
“Hey, what about the hair?” Todd asked suddenly. Emma blinked, sliding a sleek metal cuff onto her wrist.
“What about it?”
Todd flapped a hand at her, his pain meds clearly in full gear if the dazed look on his face was any indication. “Won’t Owens notice it’s a different color next time he sees you? Even a guy will spot a thing like that!” His green eyes went wide in alarm. Emma just shook her head.
“We went over this, remember? It washes out in a few days, and I took some time off from work, now that the ball is completed, to care for my recently injured bonehead brother. By the time I have to see Josh again for the post-event follow-up, my hair will be back to normal. And I think you need to lie down.”
“Did you just call me a bonehead?” Todd’s brows lowered until they almost touched his nose, but the intimidating frown was somewhat compromised by the SpongeBob pajamas he was wearing.
“I did,” she said. “And you are. Now, lie down on my bed and rest. I have to get going if I’m going to make it to my pick-up point in time.” She felt a small shiver at the clandestine sound of the words. She’d hired a driver from a limo service Picture Perfect didn’t use and arranged for a car to meet her at a location outside of town, so she could arrive at the ball in a style similar to the other guests.
Todd leaned slowly backward until he was lying flat on her comforter. Smiling, Emma grabbed a quilt off the rocking chair in the corner and draped it over him. His eyes blinked sleepily up at her. She smoothed his hair away from his forehead and dropped a quick kiss there, wiping away the resulting red lipstick print. “Rest, T-rex. I’ll be home in a little while and, dad’s watch will be back where it belongs. I promise.”
He nodded, eyes already closed. “Thanks, Ems. You’re the best.” He was snoring before the last word was even completely out of his mouth. Emma watched his relaxed, sleeping face for a moment, remembering who and what she was doing this for, before she gathered up her wrap and purse and closed her bedroom door.
In the short hall, she paused, closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to steady her nerves. She always got a sudden case of electric butterflies right before launching herself into the thick of one of Todd’s schemes. She cleared her throat briefly and then spoke, her voice a full octave lower than usual, with the edge of a smoker’s rasp. “Watch out, Joshua Owens. Ready or not, here I come.”
Emma handed the gawky footman her invitation without meeting his eye. She wasn’t worried he’d recognize her. She had very little to do with the staff members, for the most part. But she’d been around the super rich long enough to know they rarely made eye contact with service people.
He opened the door with a flourish and bowed low. She’d have to commend Charlotte on his behavior. Only, she couldn’t, she remembered, because she wasn’t supposed to be here. She sighed. She’d think of another way to convey her approval to her teammate. Emma paused just inside the doors, stunned at the full effect of the decorations. She’d seen Shinae’s sketches, and even been present for various aspects of the set-up. But seeing it all put together was breathtaking.