AN: The dialogue is going to diverge a bit more moving forward, and some redundant scenes will get skipped over, obviously.
As always, comments are very appreciated!
/
One minute Amanda was fidgeting in her chair, the next she was being whisked out of the office by familiar hands. Lee's too-wide grin was a sharp likeness to Davenport's earlier leers. 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire'.
She couldn't believe the stream of endearments gushing from Lee's mouth, "Baby Cakes", "Little Woman", "Cookie Face"... It was enough to make Amanda tear at her hair. What had happened to her being a one-time fluke?
Trying to salvage the interview, she turned to Davenport. The executive looked positively baffled. Over and over again his head bobbed between Lee and her résumé, eyes moving like pendulums.
"I swear I don't know-" she started to say, but Lee interjected.
"Come on, cookie face, it's three o'clock feeding time!" he said in a tone that was both comforting and condescending, placating and patronizing. "Timmy, Tammy and Tommy are very hungry."
And just like that, she was muscled into the hall.
So much for Honeycutt Typewriter.
At first she was silent. She walked with fists swinging at her sides and several profanities at the tip of her tongue. When she looked over at Lee, she saw his jaw similarly clenched. A muscle pulsed and spasmed along his cheek.
They passed a number of office workers and emerged into the open air. Amanda deliberately avoided eye contact while Lee held open the door. Only when they'd reached the crosswalk did she start screaming.
"What the Sam Hill do you think you are doing?! First you cannot get rid of me fast enough, then you barge in, drag me out of an interview for a perfectly good job-"
Once the tirade started it could not be stopped. Her voice rose at an alarming rate, heedless to the pedestrians around her. Lee endured this with barely a flinch.
"-You say you are my husband which I DO NOT find funny, and WHERE do you think you are taking me?!"
Still facing forward, Lee said, "We're getting married."
Amanda dug her heels into the cement and turned on a dime. "That's asking too much."
"Ah ah-!" A firm pressure on her elbow stopped her in her tracks. Lee wheeled her in front of his chest and grasped her by the arms. "I've got an assignment to last the next three days. You're going to pose as my wife."
He was a hair's breadth away, close enough that Amanda could count the gold flecks in each iris. His breath wafted through her bangs and a shiver ran down her spine.
"I see." She swallowed, then lifted her chin. "Well, find someone else~"
Sickly sweet, she slithered out of his arms and stomped in the other direction. It took only seconds for Lee to catch up with her. His fingers fitted themselves along her bicep but Amanda didn't budge.
"My exact thought! Believe me, it's not my idea," he said through a dry chuckle.
"Oh! Well thank you! That makes me feel so much better! Who do I have to thank for that lovely scene back there?"
She brushed away his touch with barely a second glance. Lee smoothly planted himself in front of her.
"Billy!" he spat. "He ordered-" With a visible effort, he calmed and remedied, "Er, he suggested, that we enlist your services for this case. Especially since it is right up your alley."
Amanda was not so easily soothed. She fit one palm against her hip, appraising him with all the venom she could muster.
"Really! How so?"
Sprinkling in compliments betwixt sentences, Lee explained the intrigue behind the Betsy Ross Estates. He told her about guerilla guns, a late-night call to the local Congressman, and a missing woman. Finally, he rationalized Billy's plan and the finer details of their cover. When Amanda still said nothing, he threw in a few comments that alluded to a hefty compensation.
The intersection was raucous with blaring horns and dozens of hurried feet, but the silence from Amanda was deafening.
"...So how 'bout it?" Lee prodded.
She took a breath, squared her shoulders, and spoke with a level voice. "If you think, for one second, that I'll play house with you for three days, then you have no business working in intelligence."
For a while Lee just stared at her, digesting her reaction. His face gave nothing away.
"...I guess we should talk about it, huh?"
"What for? There's nothing to talk about."
"I think there is."
"No, there isn't. It happened and it's over now. You said so yourself."
Amanda shoved past in a huff. Lee grabbed her by the arm again, gentler this time.
"Look, would it help if I said sorry?"
One of Amanda's eyebrows disappeared under her hairline. Any apology from Stetson would be insincere at best, insulting at worst. The fact that he was trying to have this conversation in the middle of a busy street spoke volumes.
"OK, I get it, you're pissed," said Lee, a tad desperate now. "I gave you the brush-off and that was insensitive of me or whatever. But Amanda," here he broke to flash a dazzling smile. "I really do need you."
There was a pregnant pause as Amanda considered the proposition. She wasn't fooled, but she was intrigued. Ever since she was a child she'd had an inquisitive streak; it got her in trouble more often than not. She let him squirm for a minute longer before relenting.
"Go on."
/
Six hours later, Amanda finished unpacking the final box in her fake suburban home. Her "husband" had been most unhelpful throughout the move, preferring to let the agency crew take the lead. She found him reclining against the living room bar, glass in hand.
Despite herself, Amanda became a little heady at his proximity. She battled the feeling by putting the couch between them, as if furniture could shield her from his influence. Lee was wearing chinos, a blue button-up, and a sweater overtop. It was not his usual look—not by any stretch of the imagination—but domesticity suited him.
He canted his head at her. "Drink?"
"No, thank you."
"You sure? You look terrible."
Amanda's cheeks puffed before a blast of air rocketed between her teeth. How had this man charmed his way between her legs, again?
"Well, thank you very much. What do we do now?"
"Our next step is infiltration. We need to figure out how these people work, worm our way into the community," Lee said with some distaste. For once the man appeared to be at a bit of a loss. "Any ideas?"
"Wow." Amanda didn't bother to stop her scoff. "You really don't know the suburbs. The last thing we need to worry about is meeting people."
As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Amanda rushed to receive the welcome wagon. The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity and voices. Amanda felt like a bobblehead as she greeted each guest. Her new neighbours were eager to examine the house and the couple that inhabited it.
"Welcome to the neighbourhood!"
"Nice to meet you."
"Oh, this place is darling!"
The parade of people poured through the entranceway and flooded the lounge. Most of them carried gifts, and soon enough a pile of goodies had accumulated on the coffee table. Lee watched and waited, eyes widening a fraction at the mass of humanity invading his space. Unsurprisingly, he made for a good actor. Only the slight stiffness in his handshakes gave away how overwhelmed he was, and even that was subtle.
The two of them scrambled to put together some last-minute hors d'oeuvre. A flurry of bean dip and cocktails left the kitchen while they flitted between rooms. Under Amanda's instruction, Lee was stationed by the blender.
"Nowhere in my contract does it say that I have to make daiquiris. I hate this assignment and I want a divorce," Amanda heard him mutter over the drone of the blades.
She tried not to take that too personally.
Outside the safety of the kitchen, Lee slipped seamlessly into the role of suburban husband. They made a decent team in navigating the sea of strangers, allowing themselves to be tugged from one conversation into another. Everyone was keen to introduce themselves and it was a challenge to juggle all the names in Amanda's mind.
"So Mrs. Morton, your husband's in the commodities business!" said a man named Mr. Dalton.
"Oh, yes-" Amanda sputtered.
"Seems like he's done very well for himself!" He glanced about the room.
"Uh, yeah he's-"
"You two been married long?"
"Well, y'know, it hardly seems like any time at all…"
At that moment Lee draped an arm over her shoulders, fingers weaving through the ends of her hair. Amanda tried not to quiver. She was equal parts enraged and aroused.
"First marriage, huh?" said someone else.
"Your husband tells us that you're anxious to become involved in the neighbourhood!"
"Tiffany wanted to be here, but with a new baby and all..."
A stout, friendly-faced lady turned to Lee. "What about you, Mr. Morton? Are you two planning on having any kids?"
Her friend hissed at her side. Amanda vaguely remembered her name being 'Dana'. "Judy!"
Amanda quickly adjusted her hair, cheeks blazing as she examined the ceiling. It was a struggle not to lose her composure.
For his part, Lee reacted with practiced ease. He brushed the comment off with a casual smile, but the hunch in his shoulders did not go unnoticed by Amanda. Was that also a part of the act? A young husband nervous about expanding his family?
"Not quite yet, Mrs. Wainwright. But who knows." He flashed her a wink and tightened his squeeze on Amanda. "The night is still young."
Amanda was mortified at the cacophony of cackles. Without thinking, she buried her head in Lee's armpit, hiding the blood in her cheeks. The contact was brief but the damage was done. Judy Wainwright let out a little "aaw" and Lee awkwardly patted her on the back.
If not for their cover, she would've scrambled clear across the room.
For the rest of the evening Amanda paid special attention to one Harriet Rosemont. Lee had mentioned her name being found on one of the gunrunner's bodies. She was an unassuming woman, blond, with a haughty air but a well-meaning spirit. Somehow she was involved, although the Agency lacked the faintest idea why or in what capacity. Apparently she'd come up clean in Francine's screening. Betty Bodine as well.
The only connection that Amanda could draw was that both women worked for Connie Beth Cosmetics. It was flimsy, but it was the only lead they had.
The housewarming was in full swing when the doorbell rang for the second time. To her relief, Lee offered to get the door, and she was left blessedly alone. Conversations continued to flow around her but Lee failed to reappear. After a while, curiosity got the better of her.
She excused herself from Harriet's chilly company, tore herself from Judy's hiring pitch, and peered around the corner. Lee caught her gaze, grave-faced in front of a uniformed figure. Amanda figured it was a tardy guest, until a police officer meandered into the foyer.
"Is a Mr. Bodine here? I'm afraid I have bad news."