"Who was that?"

The question echoed through my mind over and over and each passing second brought me no closer to a decent answer to give her. Another lie, I should say. Admitting I might think someone like Joker was cute was one thing but flat out telling her the whole truth? Absolutely not. Especially not with Brad standing next to her, staring at me like I had grown a second head.

I had no choice but to lie.

"Oh," I finally managed to croak. "That...was my coworker. I'm just running an errand for work. What are you guys doing?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, pulling my coat tighter around me and praying to every god above that my face wasn't smeared with white and red grease paint. It didn't feel like any was on my mouth but there was no way to tell.

For a moment, the two of them stared at me and it was abundantly clear that neither of them believed me. But they couldn't know the truth. Who in their right mind would jump right to the conclusion that I was somehow involved with a psychotic clown terrorizing the city?

Even though he hadn't technically terrorized anyone except me this time.

Finally, Abby shook her head and looked away from me, turning her narrowed eyes to her boyfriend at her side. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts and I could tell she was thankful when Brad chimed in instead.

"We thought we'd do some last minute Christmas shopping."

I frowned. There weren't many shops or stores on this side of the downtown area of Gotham. In fact, all that was here were banks, various office buildings, and the courthouse right around the corner. But who was I to try to figure out why they weren't being truthful?

My frown quickly shifted into a smile and I nodded. "How fun! You guys doing anything special for Christmas?"

"My family's coming into town," he started, reaching up to rub the back of his head. "Figured I'd introduce them to the ole ball 'n chain, here."

I forced a soft laugh and checked to make sure Abby wasn't staring at me with her blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. They'd softened, but not much and she regarded me cautiously, a small smile on her lips that felt as forced as mine.

I didn't like how quiet she was. If we had just bumped into each other any other day, she'd be talking my head off, dragging me along with them and discussing all of their Christmas plans. The fact that she had barely said two words to me was alarming and I could feel that sense of panic starting to bubble up in the back of my throat.

"That sounds fun." Any wider and my smile was going to look maniacal. I had to calm down. "We should all get together again after the holidays and hang out. Another double date."

And now, her eyes had narrowed again on me. I would have never been the one to suggest a double date had I not been on the verge of a fucking nervous breakdown and she knew it. She knew something was wrong, that I was hiding something and I had to get the hell out of here before she started questioning me.

"Sounds good," Brad said, wrapping his arm around Abby to pull her close. "Right, babe?"

"Yeah. It sounds fun."

Fuck, I was a terrible friend. I could tell in the way she spoke quietly, the way she studied my face, searching for any possible sign that I was lying. I felt as if every single lie I had been telling not only her but myself was written across my face in white and red grease paint.

"Great." I was nodding as I took a step away from them, moving toward a building I had to pretend was my destination. In reality, I had no idea what it was or where I was. "I should probably get back to my errands. Text me later."

It wasn't so much as a request as it was an offering. Please text me once I've calmed down and I can explain this with better lies. Knowing I'd have to do that, because she would be texting me, was already weighing on my conscience.

God, if I even had one anymore.

After the past few weeks, I wasn't so sure.

"I will," Abby said, her eyes meeting mine to let me know that she accepted my offer and that she had plenty of questions to ask me. As reassured as I was that she wouldn't ghost me and she didn't want to immediately end our friendship, the look in her eyes made me nervous.

With Brad's arm around her shoulder, she let him steer her in the opposite direction and I turned on my heel. It would look suspicious if I stood there watching them leave. I had to at least pretend I was telling the truth.

So I walked into the nearest building that looked like it could be somewhere I'd run an errand to. As I stepped into the revolving door, glancing over my shoulder to make sure they weren't watching me, I was reassured that they weren't. Abby looked up at Brad, her mouth moving as she spoke.

No doubt telling him all of her suspicions and I swallowed tightly before letting the door take me into the building.

A receptionist was waiting at a large, round desk situated at a wide wall in the middle of the room and she tapped furiously at the keyboard in front of her. Her head lifted but her eyes never left the computer screen.

While she was busy, I glanced at the letterboard near the elevators and searched through the business names until I found one right in the middle. David and Chapman Architecture Firm, third floor, suite 344. Perfect.

Now I had an official name to go with my lie.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked, finally looking up at me.

"No." And with that, I turned back to the tinted, revolving door and stepped into them. As they spun and I walked with them, I glanced up at my face reflected in the glass. My eyes widened at the smear of red paint just in the corner of my lips.

Fuck.

At least it wasn't white.

Red was easier to pass off as lipstick...though I wasn't wearing any.

Hopefully Abby wasn't that astute to notice a small smudge like this. I quickly wiped it away before stepping out of the revolving doors and glancing at where I had last seen her and Brad. They were lost in the lunch hour rush and I hurried off in the opposite direction, ready to be back home where I could just pretend that things were normal.

I could pretend that I hadn't just committed several acts of fraud, secured my prison sentence, and got finger fucked by a murdering psychopath in front of two of his henchmen. I winced and brought a hand to my forehead, wondering how long I could walk before calling a cab to pick me up.

The thought of walking all the way back to my apartment, cold, ruined, and still wet between my thighs wasn't ideal. I was just glad that I had the rest of the day off-from my regular job and my second job-and could try to get some rest after such a hectic morning.

Luckily, I was able to use my excuse of food poisoning to get out of more than just work. It was useful to use on my parents as well and I felt bad about it, but they didn't seem too upset to know I wouldn't be coming home for the holidays. After all, we weren't a very close family and hardly ever celebrated Christmas with gifts or the usual customs.

I spent a good hour talking to them both on the phone, answering their questions about jobs, my life, and unfortunately, my romantic life as well. They wanted to meet Matt, to which I said maybe. Hell, I wasn't sure Matt and I would even be a thing much longer anyway.

And god, that made me feel wretched.

He was a good guy, a good person. Shouldn't that be what I looked for in a romantic partner? Why was I so brainwashed into wanting the complete opposite? How had I let this happen all over again?

On one hand, I had exactly what I had been looking for and on the other, I had someone who would either lead to my demise or a life sentence in prison. I wasn't sure which was worse.

Probably prison.

Especially if they decided to throw me in Arkham.

I wouldn't last a week.

It was bad enough that I knew that what I was doing to Matt was wrong, that I was trying to have my cake and eat it too with him, holding onto this other life I had tried so hard to live, but Abby was starting to catch on. And not just catch on, she fully believed I was seeing someone else behind Matt's back.

Which had been what she had texted me about the last time I had bumped into her and Brad. The whole night, she asked repeatedly if there was another guy, or if I was ashamed to admit it and she reassured me several times that she wouldn't judge me. If I hadn't felt like complete shit, I would have laughed.

It took an hour to convince her that I wasn't seeing someone else...either that, or she just gave up on trying. A few times I had considered admitting that there was someone else but I knew she'd want to meet him, that she'd question me constantly, and I would slip up and admit something to her that I didn't want to. That was exactly what I was trying to avoid here.

Two days after Christmas, I had agreed to meet Matt at his hotel suite. We hadn't seen each other for over a week and as guilty as I felt about lying to him, I was craving something normal for once. Besides, it had been almost a week since I had heard from the other man in my life.

After dumping me on the sidewalk after my little job, he had gone completely ghost again. The newspapers were looking for anything to publish about him. Clown sightings popped up occasionally, one on Christmas day downtown, caught on a security camera, but it was clearly not him.

For all they knew, he had just vanished.

Hell, for all I knew, he could have.

But I couldn't think about him now. Not when I was currently in an elevator, riding up to the fiftieth floor of the Concord Hotel. To say the place was swanky was an insult. It was downright criminal how expensive everything looked. From the architecture to the wallpaper that I suspected was made with actual gold fibers, I was clearly out of place.

The inside of the elevator was cleaner than my apartment and I could see myself in the reflection of the gold doors like a damn mirror. And I stared at myself as the elevator took me seamlessly up through the floors. I had straightened my hair and pinned half of it back in a conservative, classy kind of style. Or at least I hoped it was.

It fell nearly to my elbows and I quickly ran my fingers through the section at the nape of my neck that always curled against my wishes. Maybe it was time for a haircut.

Jeans might have been a bad choice, but Matt had promised to take me to lunch and I didn't feel like wearing a dress. I paired it with a nice sweater that I hadn't had an excuse to wear since I bought it and tan boots that zipped to my knees. I may not have been Fashion District material, but I could at least act the part.

All at once, a familiar voice echoed in my head. Don't lie to yourself. You're not like them. He had said it to me the night he broke into my house, the night we had fought and ended up on the floor of my living room. You're not normal, sweetheart. Stop trying to be.

I hated that he always knew me better than I knew myself.

The quiet chime of the elevator pulled me from my thoughts and I straightened my shoulders and prepared myself for whatever I was about to walk into. The thought of seeing Cal again made me scowl and I was afraid that after spending so long with Joker and having him on my mind, was going to make me want to lash out.

If he compared me to a dog again, I didn't know if I could just sit back and let the tears well up in my eyes.

The doors opened and I stepped out into the hallway of the fiftieth floor. Stretching in both directions, the rug was a rich, dark blue with fibers of white and gold to make abstract patterns. My shoes sunk into the plush material and I took a deep breath. On one end, the rooms stretched on until the hallway turned to the right and on the other side, was two doors on opposite sides of the hall.

A window was placed at the end and had a nice view of parts of Old Gotham. One of the doors to the left was labeled 556, where Matt had told me their suite was located. I stopped outside the door and lifted a hand, not yet able to bring myself to knock.

There were voices inside, muffled but loud enough that I could hear. I leaned closer and frowned.

Cal was inside and he sounded pissed.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Was it too late to text Matt and take a raincheck? Even though I had blown him off so much lately already.

Ugh.

I should have just broken up with him after the Opera.

There was no going back now. All I could do was convince him to leave quickly so I wouldn't have to be around Cal Hawthorne longer than I had to.

My knuckled tapped the door and I could hear a small commotion inside. Someone was speaking, far too fast for me to hear specifics, and I leaned forward once more. The door swung open, pulling strands of my hair across my face and I peered up at the wire-framed glasses and the eyes blinking behind the lenses.

Cal's assistant seemed to be expecting someone else and upon seeing me, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Oh. It's you."

He turned, bringing the phone back up to his ear before stalking quickly away from me. In his place, Matt jogged up to the door. A grin was stretched across his handsome face and he combed his fingers through the perfect hair on his head. "Hey, sorry about that. Bertram seems to have forgotten his manners."

He lifted his voice just enough that the balding twerp could hear but Bertram only responded by moving further into the suite and around a corner. From deeper inside the apartment-because calling it a hotel room was a gross understatement-I could hear Cal's voice more clearly and the tirade he was on didn't sound good.

I looked up at Matt, hoping he would snatch his coat and we could leave but the sigh on his lips told me that wouldn't be happening. "It's kind of a madhouse in here right now."

"Is everything alright?" I asked, tentatively. The knots in my stomach were starting to twist tighter and I was worried that whatever was happening, had something to do with the little job I had done last week.

"There's been some hiccups in the deal."

Great. So I was right after all. Those hiccups had everything to do with the fact that Joker had swept in and stolen the property right out from under them. Or well, as far as I knew, he had stolen it. Who knew where the money actually came from?

I didn't bother taking my jacket off, hoping it would give him a hint that I didn't exactly want to stick around to hear the commotion. But men weren't exactly the best at picking up hints and Matt turned to lead me further into the apartment.

There was a sitting room that opened to a kitchenette and the corner of the room was made up entirely of windows. Any other time, I'd have loved to stand in the sunlight streaming in to just take in the sights but that was where Bertram had parked himself in a chair. The table in front of him didn't look like it was supposed to be there and I assumed he had pulled it over to spread out his paperwork in front of him.

"I don't care what it takes, Jeffrey, you get me on the phone with them tonight!" Cal was shouting around the corner and I was glad that Matt steered me in the opposite direction where a breakfast nook was set up. The round table had a laptop on it and a few files but he cleared them away as we took a seat.

"I would've canceled our lunch but I wanted to see you." His voice was soft and deep and I couldn't help the smile it brought to my lips. Why was he so sweet? I didn't deserve it.

"I wanted to see you too." It was too damn hard not to tell him what he wanted to hear. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

"Until we got the news of the deal falling through, yeah."

The mention of 'the deal' made me wince and I glanced at the part of the suite Cal was holed up in. A bedroom? Office?

I didn't want to find out.

The warmth of Matt's hand pulled my attention to him and I looked at him, forcing the smile to linger on my lips. He returned it with one of his own. "I know you were sick when I brought it up to you the first time, but there's a charity event coming up that I want you to come to. Dad's a big donor and they're honoring him this year."

I vaguely remember him mentioning something like that and I had assumed I wouldn't be able to attend because I'd be arrested. Now that I had successfully avoided it, there were no excuses. Unless….he had something up his sleeve for the same night. But he'd been ignoring me.

Thinking of him always lit my face with warmth and I tried to push the thoughts out of my head and focus on what Matt was saying to me. I nodded and shifted on the seat. "I remember."

He grinned and I could see excitement light his face. "It's one of my favorite events and the cause is one close to my heart. Environmental issues are something I became passionate about at University and I'm looking forward to seeing how much money we can raise this year."

It was such a rich person's charity that I had to try not to laugh. Don't get me wrong, I cared about the environment, but in a city like Gotham, with so many impoverished areas, people whose homes were destroyed, whose loved ones died...rich people focusing on the environment seemed so pretentious.

"What kind of environmental issues?"

My question caught him off guard and he blinked at me, as if he hadn't quite expected me to want more details. Or maybe he just expected me to nod along and be impressed by his generosity.

Matt cleared his throat and reached up to scratch his eyebrow. "You know," he started. I could see that he was wracking his brain for an answer and it made me fold my arms over my chest and frown. "Climate change and saving the rainforests and endangered animals."

"All of those in one charity? Wow, that is impressive." Sarcasm dripped from my tone and I almost regretted it. I could see him figuring it out that I was making fun of him but he was clearly not used to it.

When he opened his mouth, I prepared myself but he never got a chance to speak. Cal came stomping around the corner across the room and we both whipped our heads in his direction. He had his cell phone to his ear and a foul look on his face that dared anyone to cross him. I almost looked away when his eyes lifted and met mine first then switched to Matt quickly.

The guy wasn't very tall or big, but the way he pierced you with his cold, judgmental gaze was like being cut. The sharp sting, the lingering burn, it was all something I had felt before but with Cal, it felt worse somehow.

He turned to face Bertram and snapped his fingers. His assistant hopped up from his chair and seemed to know exactly what Cal needed at that moment. The guy nearly tripped over his own feet trying to retrieve whatever file or paper from the stack on the coffee table and presented it to his boss with pride.

I watched Cal snatch it from his hand and he spun around to face the span of the windows in the corner, his fist tightening around the pages. He was shouting before I had braced myself for it and I flinched.

"Who the fuck is Jaclyn Napier?"

All the warmth and color drained from my face as I stared at the man across the room. My pulse instantly jumped twenty beats and I could feel it pounding against the veins in my body. Darting my gaze back to Matt, I saw him let out a breath and he shook his head.

"I don't care what you have to do to get it, I want to know everything about this cunt and why she thinks she can fuck with my business and get away with it!" And with that, he lowered the phone and punched his thumb into one of the buttons. In a single spin, he faced Matt and I once more and his mouth stretched into a tight, forced smile. "Matthew, do you have the fax from the lawyer's office? I want the team to scour every line of it and if there's a way we can sue this bitch for every penny she's got, she's going to wish she was never born."

Oh, I was definitely already wishing that.

Sweat was starting to seep through the material of my sweater and I could feel a layer of it collecting along my lower back. I hoped that if either of them noticed how pale I was, they'd assume it was because of all the shouting and intensity lingering in the air. If they got a hold of security footage from the bank...would they recognize me in a blond wig and fancy clothes?

God, why hadn't I done more to conceal my identity? Of course...I would have had I known what the fuck the job had been in the first place.

I blinked.

He knew. He knew this would happen and he kept vital information from me because he wanted me to be in this position, wanted me to be targeted by both Calvin and Matthew Hawthorne. I had told him to stay away from Matt and instead, he pits me against him. That fucking asshole!

How the fuck was he always ten steps ahead of everyone?

My hands clenched into fists beneath the breakfast table and I finally tore my gaze from where Cal stood across the room. Tears blurred the edges of my vision and I blinked them away quickly, ducking to grab my purse from where I had set it on the floor.

"I should go."

"No," Matt said, taking my hand to stop me from draping the strap of my purse over my shoulder. "I want to take you to lunch. They can handle things for an hour, I'm sure. Right, dad?"

He shifted in his chair and I didn't even have to look at Cal to know he was pissed for Matt even suggesting it. Anger broiled off of him and filled the room with thick tension that was starting to make me suffocate. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him lift his phone back up to his ear before he spoke.

"One hour." And with that, he snapped his fingers and Bertram was right at his heels, following him into the room around the corner.

"I thought we could order room service and eat here," Matt said with a sigh, making my head whip up to stare at him. Was he crazy? There was no way I was staying here! "But I'm starting to think that wasn't such a good idea."

"We can reschedule-"

"No. It's fine. Once I'm gone, he'll be too busy to even miss me." Matt stood to his feet and plucked the coat draped over the back of the couch. He slipped his arms inside and I was already heading to the door. The less time I had to spend in this place, the better. "But let's stay close just in case."

I didn't have the strength to answer him. My body was in fight or flight mode and I had to get out of here before I passed out. Not waiting for him, I swung the front door open and took a deep breath of the air that blew across my face, not realizing how hot I was. Once the door was shut behind us, the sweat clinging to my back was finally starting to fade.

Matt led me back the way I had come and as soon as we were in the elevator, thankfully moving far, far away from Cal Hawthorne, I let out a breath. "Sorry about that," he said quietly, staring at his reflection in the doors. "Dad hates to lose. It brings out the worst in him."

Well, then it was probably not a good thing he was up against a guy who felt the same way. A headache was starting to pound behind my eyes and I couldn't concentrate on my thoughts long enough to answer him. All I could focus on was the fact that in less than a month, I had become tangled in Joker's plans all over again and the last time I thought it had been as bad as it could get.

How wrong I had been.

"On the bright side, this just keeps us in Gotham longer." His hand slid around my waist and he pulled me closer, leaning down to press a kiss to my temple. I closed my eyes and laid my hands on his broad chest and like a flash of lightning, all I could see was that crooked, scarred smile behind my eyelids.

Matt's lips moved to mine, catching me in a kiss and I could almost smell the faint traces of grease paint clinging to my senses. God, what was wrong with me? My fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt as he kissed me deeper.

For just a brief moment, while we were alone in the elevator with no shouting fathers or terrifying clowns, I let myself be swept away. The jumbled wreck of thoughts still lingered in my head but I'd become a pro at ignoring them by now.

The chime above the doors pulled us away from one another and I ducked my head with a sigh. The momentary peace had been nice but not nearly long enough to enjoy. Matt cleared his throat and stepped back, dropping his hand to curl his fingers through mine. And as the doors parted to let us off, I felt a familiar vibration at my hip.

My cell phone.

The knots in my stomach twisted tightly, lifting into my chest and I scrambled with my free hand to dip inside my purse. I pulled out the device and stared at the familiar, unsaved number flashing across the screen.

He was calling me now?

My eyes darted around the lobby of the hotel but I could see no suspicious figure lurking, watching me and I squeezed Matt's fingers. He turned to look at me and I held up my phone. "Give me one second."

I didn't wait for him to nod, turning on my heel to hurry to the corner of the lobby where a massive, glass display was hung on the wall. Behind the sheets of glass were pictures of Gotham through the decades and I stopped beside the furthest one away from where I had left Matt.

Pressing the answer button, I held the phone to my ear and held my breath.

"Good morning, beautiful." Butterflies erupted between the knots twisted in my belly and my knees wobbled. I couldn't lose my head just because he called me pet names like sweetheart and beautiful. Not when Matt was waiting for me.

"I'm a little busy right now."

"Oh, I'm aware. Little Natalie playing pretend with the upper class yet again. Say, how are Matthew and his father feeling today?" The drop in his tone to that deep, gravely pitch made my eyes flutter and I quickly shook my head to keep my thoughts straight.

"Something tells me you already know the answer to that question. Can we make this quick, please? I have plans, you know?"

"Hmm." It was such a simple sound but it shot heat through me like a bullet. "Is that what you tell Matthew when he's getting, uh, handsy?"

"Fuck you."

The shrill pierce of his laughter nearly made me pull the phone from my ear and I glanced over my shoulder to check on Matt. He was standing where I left him, checking the watch on his wrist and I winced.

"Mmm, you wish, sweetheart. Fine. I'll make this quick for you. Be ready at six."

"For what," I breathed, already exhausted and not sure if I could take being in his presence on such a short notice tonight. I needed at least a full day to prepare myself but he never gave me time. It wasn't exactly his style.

"Let's call it a business meeting."

"With or without the perks?" Had I really just asked him that out loud? My face flushed bright red that only grew hotter at the sound of his soft, scratchy laugh.

"I suppose you'll just have to wait and find out, Natalie."

And with that, the call ended and I was left standing in the corner of the hotel lobby, blushing like crazy and a little turned on. Okay, that was a lie. Very turned on. I didn't like the idea of a business meeting with Joker because there was no telling what twisted, fucked up schemes he had up his sleeve, but the perks of arrangement definitely appealed to me.

And I'd definitely be giving him an earful for pitting me against Matt and his father in a real estate war I had no idea who to even fight.

Once I had caught my breath, I spun on my heel and hurried back to Matt. A hundred lies fluttered through my head, excuses to give him for the phone call, but I held my tongue. Instead, I took his hand again, smiled and said, "Let's go. I'm starving."

I wasn't, but I knew I would need plenty of energy for what tonight would bring. Whether that meant business with pleasure, or not.