14 Months 11: March

14 Months 11: March

"Well, explain it to me again because I don't understand," Sophie sighed.

"The events on the first of the month are public affairs increasing in the calibre of people you will encounter. Like in the Pygmalion story or My Fair Lady movie, the point is to take someone with no breeding or knowledge of the elite society and teach them how to fit in without being spotted as a fraud. The more you engage with these people without them realising that you haven't been to a dinner like this before, the better you do and the higher you are scored," Trent paused to check her understanding.

"Right so I am Eliza Doolittle, and Darius is Henry Higgins, so to speak," she said and nodded.

"Right, sort of. Tonight, you are going to the annual CWA fundraiser, and that stands for?" he asked as he had every time, he mentioned the acronym.

"The Country Women's Association," She answered automatically.

"Good, now, the women who run this organisation are both politically and socially motivated as are their husbands. It's important that you remember the names and faces of the main players in this circle. Not knowing them will get you a cold shoulder and any credibility you might have won by being attached to one of the Blackjacks and their business empire will be worth nothing."

"But who judges which of the girls does better? Who decides who gets what points?" Sophie went back to her original question. "If these first of the month events are mandatory and the other ones are only voluntary, then these must be worth more points than the other ones. I feel like I am playing this game without a rule book and the rules are so convoluted that I could trip on any one of them at any time."

"At the New Year's Ball, they brought in experts to judge the dances," Trent said. "At the National Art Gallery Gala event, you were judged on who made the fashion section of the newspapers and magazines both glossy and online covering the event. For tonight's event, it could be the number of invitations you get to join various committees, or they could plant their own people in the crowd tonight to gauge how well you can talk about the various charities the CWA run or support."

"But you're not sure because they could do either or both or something completely different," Sophie sighed again. "So, the point of quizzing me on this stuff for the last week is what?"

"To make sure you are prepared for any scenario that is thrown at you. Now, who is this?" Leo held up a photo and tried not to smile as Sophie rolled her eyes at him and gave him not only the name of the woman in the picture but that of her husband and children and her preferred charity that she had started herself.

Despite her protestations, Leo and Trent continued to quiz her the entire time her team fussed around her getting her ready for the event. She was glad to have them back even with the limitations placed on them by Darius and Zander who maintained that allowing her to go to the bathroom alone was a mistake they should have known better than to make. For that reason, when she went out now, she had Tina who never let her out of her sight, and although no one had said anything, Sophie got the impression that the woman could look after not only herself but anyone in her care.

As she emerged from the stylist's chair to slip on her shoes and take the small clutch bag prepacked for her, Trent and Leo gave her the once over nodding with approval before allowing her to look in the full-length mirror. This time her dress was demure with a high neck and full skirt. A translucent overlay softened the metallic pink with appliqued flowers in small bursts spaced widely around the hem and bodice. It was pretty, she thought, but not like the sexy clothes she usually dressed in for these events. Tonight was not going to be a Rita Hayworth night, and she considered her options. My fair lady herself Audrey Hepburn could be demure, sweet and at times funny. The dress could be interpreted as a twist of the iconic Sabrina dress. Yes, she could be Sabrina, charming and yet determined. She breathed deeply and drew the persona around her.

As was usual for the events the men had dressed while she was being groomed and Sophie descended the stairs to find them waiting for her. This time, however, only Darius stood there with Tina and Asher beside him. She paused on the stairs frowning as she looked around. As if reading her mind, Darius spoke.

"After the incident in the airport at the last event, we made a last-minute decision to employ a decoy that Zander would take to the dinner while Ash accompanied us with Tina," Darius explained.

"Oh," Sophie said quietly. She tried to keep her expression and tone neutral, but she felt like she had just been punched in the gut. Zander was taking another woman to this thing. A decoy that looked like her and was probably smarter and funnier and didn't have panic attacks or meltdowns, like her. She shouldn't care so much; she wasn't anything more than a pawn in their game, and she knew that but..." she swallowed down all of the feelings of insecurity and jealousy as she walked down the final steps and into Darius's arms.

"Tonight will be no picnic for him either," Darius said softly recognising the pained expression in her eyes. He wasn't jealous of their relationship because they had never excluded him from it, but he wondered if she would feel the same way if it had been him on his way to pick up another woman. Zander was doing this to protect her. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make for her. "We weren't able to find a close enough match until today. It was very last minute which is why we didn't give you warning. I'm sorry, Angel," he said softly, as he held her.

"You look stunning, Cookie. Good enough to eat even!" Asher grinned lightening the mood.

"The colour suits you," Tina said, eyeing her appraisingly.

"Thanks, you look amazing as always," Sophie complimented in return. Tall and muscular without being fat, Tina wore a simple black sheath dress that she made work with her curves. In Sophie's eyes, the woman looked terrific in workout clothes as well. She was pretty sure Tina could make a dress out of hessian sacks and still look beautiful.

"And what about me?" Asher complained then did a twirl on the spot for the two women.

"Tina is a lucky woman, indeed, to be escorted by such a handsome man. Luckily for me, I have my own handsome escort, or I promise I would be very jealous," Sophie held back a girlish giggle as Darius rolled his eyes and picked her coat up from Trent who had followed her downstairs.

"We had better get going then," Darius said and indicated the door where the car waited to take them to the airport. They would go straight to the venue from the plane and return home directly afterwards. Neither Darius or Zander wanted to risk staying another night in a city they didn't know as well as their home town. Even with all the added security, Sophie's appearance and rumours of her background were well known to the entire underground now. Although the brothers hadn't discovered anything concrete yet, they were sure there was some sort of bounty for delivering her to her family or their enemies.

When they got to the airport, Sophie was relieved to find Stella, David, Layla and Connor would be flying with them. If she had needed a distraction from her thoughts of Zander with another woman, these people would do it. They gushed over each other's dresses and found seats close to each other on the plane so they could talk about the game and who had lost their place when yesterdays scores were sent out.

"We're down to eleven girls now, but I don't think I ever met the girl who left and her partner," Sophie said.

"How do you know who is who it's just numbered on the scoreboard," Stella asked.

"We worked it out because Darius checked in pretty late from what I understand so he could see all the players who had checked in before him," Sophie explained.

"So you know our numbers?" Layla asked.

"Yours is more of an educated guess because you were the last in," Sophie shrugged.

"I guess that makes sense, good old lucky thirteen," Layla grimaced.

"I think being in the middle would be better than being number two, or thirteen," Stella agreed.

"Mimi was five, and that number is gone now, and number six, which was Ryder and Karen went yesterday," Sophie informed them. "Our numbers are all clustered together in the middle of the scores though you are both doing better than me," she lamented.

"Seriously? I thought you'd be at the top for sure!" Stella was surprised by the revelation.

"Not even close," Sophie laughed. "Layla is doing the best of all of us."

"Shirtless Connor strikes again," Layla laughed and glanced to where Connor sat in deep conversation with his brothers. "He really hates when I say that, but you have to admit it's a sight to behold."

"None of the brothers are hard to look at shirtless or not," Stella agreed. "Where's Zander?" she asked as if she suddenly noticed he wasn't with them.

"Picking up his date for the night," Sophie said, trying to keep her voice steady as if it didn't matter to her even though her stomach twisted every time, she thought about it.

"His what?" Stella spluttered and coughed trying to swallow the sip of her drink she had taken before Sophie spoke.

"Darius has passed his physical, and there is no need for Zander to fill in anymore," Sophie shrugged.

"I don't buy that for one second, Sophie," Stella accused. "There is no way he would move on so fast."

"I guess you'll see when we get there," Sophie said, letting her anxiety about the situation creep into her voice. She didn't mention that the girl was a decoy intended to throw off anyone prepared to ambush Zander because he had been the one accompanying her when they had been stopped in the airport on the way to the Gala.

"I have to admit, I find it hard to believe too," Layla said gently. "How do you feel about that?"

"It doesn't matter, does it. We are all here for a limited time, and then we are all replaceable for the next game and a new set of thirteen women," Sophie said softly not wanting the men to hear, but the two women looked at her as if they hadn't considered this themselves. "Mimi is gone I doubt anyone is concerned about what happened to her after the game. She needed help, and I know the council were going to provide it, but I haven't asked how she was doing, have you? I didn't even know the name of number six, but she's gone now too with whatever payout figure they agreed on. Ryder will move on, just like Zander is," she tried to explain.

"Nope, still not buying it," Stella said. "He was too protective and caring with you to just walk away and find someone new. Especially given all the revelations of the viewing night and meeting the other brothers."

"I agree with Stella. There has to be more to it than just moving on, which I doubt he is doing," Layla said in her quiet, thoughtful voice as she looked over at the brothers.

"Look at them, something is going on for sure," Stella said after following Layla's gaze. "I thought they were going to start being more honest with us about things. I know one way to find out what's going on," Stella undid her seatbelt and stood moving to approach the brothers.

"Sophie said Zander isn't with us because he is picking up a date for dinner tonight?" Stella asked David directly. He had promised to tell her the truth at all times if she did the same for him, and she hoped he would keep his word.

"That's true," David confirmed.

"That's bullshit!" Stella challenged.

"That's true, too," David chuckled. "His date is a decoy in case the people who stopped him and Sophie at the Airport on their way to the gala are watching him. "He's trying to keep the people who want you three back in the family watching him while we sneak in the backdoor."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous. I thought we weren't supposed to be taking any more risks," Layla said, coming to stand beside Stella.

"He knows what he is doing, and he has Nick and Kai and their dates with him, Kai doesn't have Connor's chest, but hopefully no one asks him to take his shirt off tonight. Nick could pass for me in a pinch. The people looking for us will be concentrated on them we hope, which will give us some much-needed freedom to move while we are here in a family stronghold."

"And when were you going to fill us in so that we didn't give Zander and his date the cold shoulder or a piece of our minds?" Stella indicated the two other girls standing with her, listening to every word of the conversation.

"I did tell her before we left. It was a last-minute decision, I was just filling everyone in on," Darius said glancing at Sophie who looked upset by the whole situation. "I might have left out a few details, but Sophie knows the date is a decoy."

"Good grief," Stella rolled her eyes at them all. "You guys have got to do better than this or we will keep fucking things up that you put in place because we don't know any of the details!" She shook her head. "When are you all going to realise, we don't have to put up with this shit, and we all have alternatives now that will cut out all the bullshit and drama." She turned on her heel and stalked back to her seat. "Let them chew on that for a while," she thought.

"You too?" Layla asked.

"Yes, right after Jack took Sophie. Tom showed up and gave me the same deal I am assuming both of you got. If we fall off the points ladder, they won't let the council take us. They will have an escape plan ready; we all just have to hang in there for another month at least while they get everything together. Tom said you were both given the same deal and we could call anytime it got too much," Stella said.

"It was Matt who came to see Connor and me," Layla admitted.

"Who are these people?" Sophie sighed. "I just don't get it."

"Money can get you prestige, but true power comes with whether you can wield it over others and how well you do that. We're caught in the middle of a power grab because of the blood ties we have to families we didn't even know. Even Mimi, although the council already has her sequestered away somewhere," Layla added. "My dad was a thug, a mercenary for the families. He wasn't a bad guy but was in a bad situation that he couldn't find a way out of, I tried but... well, you know my story. Connor fought for me to trust him though so there's that."

"Similar to my story but I didn't fight, I took my lemons and said pass the tequila," Stella admitted. "I know a losing bet when I see one, so I made the best of a bad situation and jumped at the chance of freedom when David offered it to me."

"I didn't know anything about any of this," Sophie explained. "As far as the rest of the world knows I'm dead, a ghost. I was hidden away by my cousin, I think, with an abusive man who loved the power that gave him. Then I was a runaway, with nothing and no one until a club owner offered me a safe haven. The cost was my body eventually, but at each juncture, it was my choice to go further down that road. I wasn't forced into the life I had before Darius came for me. I chose it over being homeless and alone."

"I guess I never had to survive on my own. Once my Dad died, and I went to the police, they came for me," Layla admitted, and Stella nodded in agreement.

"It's not fun trust me. I would do pretty much anything to avoid going back to the streets again," Sophie said quietly. "It's why I took the contract, the money and a chance of a new life at the end of it."

Sophie needed them to know she wasn't like them. They were taken and forced into a life neither of them wanted, while she chose her path. Yes, they were all survivors in their own ways but surviving was different from living, and while they could make their escapes and survive on their own. Sophie wasn't sure any more that she wanted to leave the safe space she had found between her two lovers. No matter the arguments or consequences of her foolishness, they remained steadfastly by her side, until now. Until Zander left her to take another woman on a date, decoy or not, he wasn't with her for the first time at an event this year. She was jealous and hurt despite knowing why he was doing it. She would rather be in danger than see him with someone else now.

*****

Zander could see the hurt and betrayal in Sophie's eyes each time he caught her glance in his direction. He tried to get close to her to speak to her and reassure her this was all fake, that not being at her side was killing him but each time he got close she would scurry away again. It didn't help that his date, Anissa, was playing her part to the hilt and acting like a love-struck bitch in heat. He had to pry her off him most of the night while maintaining the illusion that they were a couple. He hated what was happening but to keep Sophie safe, he could endure it for one night at least.

Sophie did her best to avoid Zander and his date all night. From the first moment she had seen them, she felt they had a history. They had comfort with each other that was not easily achieved with a man like Zander. They were either lovers or had been in the past. It occurred to Sophie that the woman was probably a girl who had played the game with Zander in the past that he had asked to help him as the decoy. Still, it twisted her stomach into knots to see them so at ease with each other and touching in the loving gestures a couple might make as they sat at the table next to theirs during the dinner portion of the night. Sophie barely ate, and as people started to stand and mingle, she was one of the first out of her seat and heading away from the spectacle her decoy was making with Zander.

She had relative freedom of movement because she had Tina following her everywhere within the big events hall, as Darius and Asher got bogged down in conversations with the ladies of CWA and the husbands looking for contributions not only to the CWA but political campaigns. Spotting Zander getting closer to where she stood at Darius's side, she smiled and excused herself moving toward a table at the edge of the room where several older ladies sat talking and chuckling.

"May I join you?" Sophie asked. "You look like you are enjoying the evening over here and I have to admit I am not very good at the politics of these nights," she blushed slightly as an imperious hand was waved toward an empty chair at their table.

"We were just discussing an old movie I saw on television last night in the hotel," One of the ladies explained their mirth.

"I love older movies. I had a neighbour who lived for them, especially the musicals. Which movie were you talking about?" she asked, genuinely curious. This was a subject she at least knew something about.

"Sweet Charity, with Shirly McClean, do you know it?" the lady asked.

"Oh yes, the rhythm of life was one of the first songs I learned to play on my neighbours' piano. I had trouble reading at school, and the sheet music seemed to jumble a lot in front of my eyes too, but once I learned the basics it wasn't hard to pick up the songs from the movies," Sophie said, blurting out way too much personal information in the anxious state.

"You struggled to read?" another of the ladies asked.

"I still do though I am much better at it now. I have to practise and use some little tricks I have learned over the years," Sophie admitted.

"Tricks like what?" the woman asked, looking at her intensely.

"Well, I try and stay away from the glare, soft light from a lamp is better than a glaring overhead light. Or I use a transparent overlay in soft pastel colours. Like the menu's for tonight have been printed on matt paper rather than gloss so there is no real glare for my eyes to try and adjust to and that makes it easier to read the words properly. If that makes sense," Sophie tried to explain. "I think that's why I like to practise with old books. The pages are discoloured over time. Don't ask me about new releases, just the thought of the stark white page with hard black text makes me nervous."