The next morning, Cassandra had planned to go straight to 'Flynn' and confess the truth about her identity to him. But she'd gotten caught up with some work first thing and the next thing she knew it was mid morning. She knew she should check in with the crew anyway, but as she was leaving her desk area, Eve came out of her office and asked her to come in.

Cassandra hadn't really been looking forward to this confrontation. But she sighed and shut the door behind her.

"So how did my date go last night?"

"Hey, you're the one who begged me to switch places with you. And it went fantastic! Jacob is so much fun. Like I said, he's weird but it's so cute on him. And by the way, how was your own date with the handsome Mr. Carsen?"

Cassandra blushed a little. She was used to talking about these things with Eve, even though she didn't really date much. So it came out. "Not as well as yours did, I suppose. But it was really nice. We had dinner and we talked, he's sweet and such a gentleman. I dropped him off at his hotel and I was home by 8." Eve raised her eyebrows. "What? It was just dinner. Though for a moment, it looked like he wanted to kiss me. But the stupid car behind me honked."

"So you really like him?"

Cassandra reluctantly nodded. "I do. And I don't think . . .in the flesh Jacob isn't right for me. But Eve! We have to tell them! We can't keep lying to them. Flynn's gonna be here for months and I might have a real chance with him. I can't blow it with lies."

"This is why we can't tell them, Cass. We'll ruin everything."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, I know you're a romantic who wants to settle down. But all Jacob thinks this is is a Christmas fling and he's okay with it."

"He's okay with it! Oh my God, he totally isn't . . . . Well, have a fling with him as Eve Baird. I don't care."

"But . . .why ruin it? He's only gonna be here for 3 weeks. Then he's off to Boston and around the world. It's back to status quo. Let him have a happy memory of you before you end things. He doesn't get the chance to meet people much he told me. Don't ruin it for him. He meant something to you once."

"But Flynn . . . ."

"And what if Flynn is put off by you lying to him? Then what? All of this for nothing. Cass, look you got yourself into this mess. And you begged me to help you."

Cassandra sighed frustrated. "I did."

"So stick to the plan. Enjoy yourself Cassandra. Tis the season for romance. Live a little. And besides, would you want to mess up their holidays?"

"No and . . . ." Cassandra shook her head. She was stuck and there was nothing she could do about it. Maybe 'Flynn' would understand. That's all she could hope for. And really, if 'Jacob' had been what she expected . . . .

Well, he was heading off to Boston in three weeks and it would be back to long distance anyway. And they'd probably drift apart. Maybe she should just enjoy 'Flynn' for these three weeks and then take her punishment. Maybe he'd understand or maybe he'd not want anything to do with her. But she'd at least have this memory of the way his blue eyes lit up when he talked about something he was passionate about. And . . . .

"Alright, fine, I'll stick to the plan. It's only three weeks right?"

Eve grinned and jumped up to walk her out. "It'll be okay, I promise."

It was after lunch before Cassandra got up the nerve to check on how the special exhibit was coming along. The workers had put the temporary wall up over night but not much else had gotten done. Well as she approached she realized that a whole lot of tape was on the floor marking out where various items would go.

'Flynn' and 'Jacob' were having a spirited discussion in the middle of the room. When they saw her approach, 'Jacob' looked happy to see her which raised her spirits a little bit. 'Flynn' had been looking annoyed but when he saw her approach his expression changed. And while 'Jacob' looked happy to see her, 'Flynn' looked like he'd been waiting all day just to catch a glimpse of her. And she couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh, so glad you're here, Eve!" 'Jacob' said and she turned her smile on him. "We've been having quite the time with the electrical setup and you're just the person to talk to. The handy man hasn't been particularly handy."

"Oh . . . ." And Cassandra realized that while 'Flynn's happiness was personal, 'Jacob's was strictly business. She tried not to sigh. "Well yes, the handy man is only good with quick jobs. Would it be easier if I call the electrician and then have you discuss your issue directly with him?"

'Flynn' nodded. "Yes, that would be perfect, Eve. You wanna handle it . . ." And 'Flynn' stuttered suddenly which was odd. "Stone, want to handle it, Stone?"

'Jacob' had been staring at 'Flynn' strangely and then shook his head as if he'd also been beset by confusion. "Yes, of course, uh Carsen."

Cassandra suddenly realized that she'd have to use her real name on the phone. Luckily the cell phone dead zone gave her a perfect excuse. "Uh, let me step over to the windows and see if I can get them directly on the phone. Sometimes I have to play phone tag with their secretary."

Luckily neither 'Flynn' nor 'Jacob' followed her over to the windows and she was able to get through to the electrician and waved 'Jacob' over. His hand brushed hers as she handed him the phone and again she felt nothing. And she tried not to look too disappointed.

'Flynn' grinned at her when she returned. "Startin' to think you'd never come back to visit us," he teased. And there it was the slow Southern drawl she'd expected 'Jacob' to have. So odd. But then she'd heard of people purposely losing their accents to get ahead. It was very likely 'Jacob' had done just that. At any rate that drawl did something to her and she ended up trying to fight off a blush.

"I got caught up in work."

He nodded his head looking around. "Yeah, know how that goes."

He was starting to say something else when a younger man came into the exhibit area, barely looking up from the iPad in his hand.

"Stone, mate, I need you to come look at this."

Jacob started to freak out. 'Eve' was staring wide-eyed between him and Jones. He and Flynn had told Ezekiel last night about what was going on and the boy had had a good laugh. But obviously he forgot.

Jones was staring innocently at him and at his glare, realization began to dawn across the younger man's features.

"Oh, geez, my mistake Carsen. I don't know what I was thinking."

Jacob turned to 'Eve'. "This is our assistant Ezekiel Jones. He just got back from Australia, the jet lag is bad this time around."

Ezekiel smiled his most charming smile at her. "Yeah, you know not even sure of my name today."

'Eve' nodded, seeming to believe it, then Ezekiel looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Right, right. This is Eve Baird, she's the museum liaison."

"Huh, interesting." Ezekiel said before offering his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Eve."

"Nice to meet you too. Sounds like you have something urgent to discuss, so I'm going to go see if Jacob is done with my phone and leave you to it. I'll see you later, Flynn?"

He smiled at her. "Yes, lookin' forward to it. Bye Eve."

She smiled back and made her way toward Flynn on the other side of the room.

"Jesus, Jones." Jacob growled as soon as 'Eve' was out of hearing range.

"Hey, look this isn't my game. I'm just doing my job."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, for once. So what's the big emergency?"

"Did you get your problem sorted, Jacob?" Cassandra asked him politely noticing he'd hung up her phone.

"Hmm, yes, yes. Thank you." His reply was somewhat absent and he was looking off toward the exhibit.

"Alright then, if I could just get my phone back I'll let you get back to work then. Your assistant seemed to have something urgent."

"Oh right," 'Jacob' handed her the phone and then looked back over toward 'Flynn' and their assistant. He sighed. "Everything is urgent with Jones. Probably got a thumbs down on some social media."

He left without even so much as a goodbye or even a look. And Cassandra rolled her eyes at his retreating back. In person, 'Jacob' really was trying his hardest to turn her off. 'Flynn' seemed fond of him and he certainly was completely charming with Eve. But he treated her as a bit of an afterthought.

Well, he thought he knew Eve. Cassandra mused. 'Flynn' was obviously more than a colleague, the two men seemed like very close friends. So maybe that was it? He was the type that was closed off until he knew you. That certainly would explain why he chose an online relationship. And what he'd told Eve about not getting to meet people.

And in his eyes, she was simply a museum employee. She was there to help him do his job and nothing more. He was polite enough most of the time but that was it. And she supposed that 'Flynn' was probably normally that way too. 'Flynn' had treated Eve politely but that was it.

No, 'Flynn' saw her as special. The way she'd wanted 'Jacob' to look at her only a couple of days ago.

And now . . . .

Now she didn't know which way was up. 'Flynn' threw a complete wrench in all of her plans. She liked him. Wanted to get to know him better. Would have loved to have dated him.

But she was lying to him. And the guilt was going to eat her alive.

She was going to have to start putting him at arm's length. Friendly but not too close. So when the truth came out, she wouldn't hurt either of them.

Except . . .she turned to look at him and as if sensing her eyes on him, he looked up over the iPad and winked at her, she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to do that.