Young and Scambitious (Scambitious #1)

Jane

Jane agreed to the job because she needed money, but she did warn Margaux that she couldn't do it for long.

"You don't need to do it forever," her mother's former "dearest friend" had said. "But I need you for this one. Several weeks at least."

Margaux was in the middle of something and needed an "inside man." Ironically her mother had performed the very same role for Margaux back in the day, when they did this and various other scams together, but now Jane's mom wouldn't have been able to insert herself into the club scene if she tried.

Also, Jane's mom and Margaux weren't on speaking terms. Going on a decade.

So of course Elizabeth Madrid did not really exist. On a certain level, none of these socialites ever really did. To know them in person, meaning to actually shake their hand, or say hello, or serve them food they never ate—that meant nothing, really. They were barely there, and in fact perpetuated the persona. Maybe you were a real person thinking you were interacting with another real person, but you were no different from the tabloid photographer, the gossip blogger, the club spectator. You were an audience, that was all.

It Girl Elizabeth Madrid was just a tiny bit more fake than the rest, though, since she was actually a twenty-three-year-old named Jane, was not really from a "wealthy southern family," and was in fact a con artist. Scammer. Somewhat-professional liar. But if things went well tonight, she wasn't going to be Elizabeth Madrid for very long, so the society groupies need not bother, indeed.

Someone's phone got a text message and it temporarily lit up the inside of the car.

"It's Caloy," Alexander said, referring to the bouncer at the entrance. "Chrysalis just got in."

Jane checked her phone. Wendy did as well.

"Eighteen minutes," Jane said. "Let her settle in."

"Enough time for another topic," Alexander said, rubbing his hands together. "Ever fall in love while on the job?"

"Wendy first."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Hmm, Alexander's other favorite topic."

The car lit up again, this time from an email coming into Jane's phone. She dismissed it by dropping it into her clutch. "But do tell, Wendy. I want to hear all about this. For seventeen minutes."

Technically this was Jane's first job, but the answer to the question was yes, everyone fell for someone while on a job.

She could fall for Alexander, if she wanted to. He was fit, nicely shaped, kept himself mobile because of the shadiness of what he usually had to do. She just didn't like that his dark sideburns were a bit long, although he said it was because of the job, and the rest of his hair was always in a hat anyway. Whatever, Sideburns. The weird thing was that she would probably never trust him completely with her things, because he liberated precious items from their owners really quickly. Hence the Fast Fingers.

But she wouldn't do that, because there seemed to be something going on, or starting, between Alexander and Wendy anyway. She knew that Wendy and Alexander had been friends for longer, and throughout the job she noticed a comfortable flirtation going on between them. Wendy was petite, hair dyed a deep and dark red (for the job, she said too), with dark eyes very nearly hidden all the time by her too-long bangs. Well, as long as she didn't mind the sideburns, then they should be having fun together soon.

Jane did have a story though. It was just six weeks old. It was all she was thinking about lately, to be honest, and good thing she wasn't expected to be truthful most of the time. 

--O--

Six weeks ago, she went to a library. She liked to do that, when she visited a place.