Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 115

Fighting for justice I spent that short night lying in Aren’s arms. There was something bittersweet about it. We were hugging each other without our desires exploding within us or driving us to the edge of sanity. I took pleasure in feeling Aren’s warmth covering my body, his strong arms keeping me from falling off the sofa. His heart beat at a soothing rate, allowing me to sleep soundly

until the merciless alarm woke us up.

He already had his suitcases prepared and was ready to go straight to the airport. I went there with him, watching him get on board his private jet and fly off. My chest suddenly squeezed as if I was saying my final goodbye to him, at the same time knowing that the day I would walk away from him could feel much worse than that.

I wanted to shake off that depressing sensation as soon as I could, and there was only one way I was able to do that: by planning Operation Blue Dreamland. I called Jack and told him what we had and what we could get if we went to Blue Dreamland. I was glad when he agreed that getting into that company fast was our only chance to find the undeniable evidence of their crime.

“But there’s a problem, Cora,” he said reluctantly, “I can’t help you with that. I’m already working full speed on Lan Liling’s reopened case, and today I am taking a group of agents to hunt down former Chief George Richardson. That bastard got tipped that we were trying to get him, so apparently, he escaped from the state.” “I see.” I sighed, and of course, naturally, thought that my next move would be to call Chris. “Chris won’t help you either, I’m afraid.” Jack seemed to be reading my mind. “As far as I know, he would be joining Aren in Paris.”

“Great,” I groaned as my temple vein started to throb. “So what now? Should I just sit and do nothing while those bastards get rid of all the evidence?”.

Jack let out a long exhale before asking, “How close do you have to get to their equipment to get the proof we need?”

“A few feet would be nice, but if we modify our devices it would be enough to be further away but on the same floor,” I explained.

Jack muttered, “Aren is going to kill me for this…” Then I heard him taking a deep breath. “I heard that Bleu Dreamland organizes open tours to attract potential employees. You can use it to get in and out without raising suspicion. But remember, in case Aren asks, it wasn’t my suggestion.”

I chuckled. “Of course, I would never snitch on you.”

Jack’s suggestion sounded reasonable and fairly safe. All we needed to do was to blend in, follow the crowd, and check the readings on our devices from time to time. It felt like a piece of cake, but I still needed a partner in crime, and there was only one name that came to my mind: Norton

***

The Blue Dreamland’s open tour for future employees happened two days later. The tour was about to begin in two hours. In the meantime, we have made the necessary preparations. I wore a brown wig I borrowed from Monique and my grandma’s old pair of glasses, saving only

the rims so as not to go blind in the process. To complete my geeky look, I put on my old grey suit, the one I bought when I was looking for my first job in New York. Surprisingly, it took a lot of effort to look good enough to be labeled as “nothing special.” For most of my life, I was labeled as either a babe or a freak.

Norton had it easier. All he needed to do was to be. His grey-slash-green suit, matching his eyes, and his usual neatly combed brown hair, had already given him the perfect disguise. Who would have ever suspected a guy looking like that of being a serious threat? Of course, that was what made him extra dangerous.

“Do I really have to go there with you?” he mumbled fearfully, watching me put our devices into the purse. “Alan is much more suitable for secret missions.”

“Do you seriously expect someone like Alan to blend in?” I looked at Norton, raising one eyebrow. “He is the complete opposite of the blending-in type. You are the one I need, and believe me, all you have to do is be there and look as if you were interested in whatever they’ll

say.”

Norton nodded, but I couldn’t miss the fear widening his eyes. I prodded his elbow and chuckled. I knew that he would loosen up once we got inside, but currently, if he was shaking a bit more, he would have fallen apart.

He felt more relaxed after we entered the building where Blue Dreamland had its offices. He could contain his stress, shifting his focus to the building’s architecture and technical solutions.

“You are doing fine, Norton. You’re like a pro at this,” I whispered to his ear as we walked to the elevator.

“I’m like a pro,” he repeated, his lips stretching into a confident grin.

As soon as we entered the right floor, the company representative greeted us with a plastered smile, urging us to join the group that had already gathered in the center of the Blue Dreamland’s corridor. I smirked inwardly as we quickly collided with the mass of greyish people, not only blending in but looking more like clones. I found the sight of our group a little sad. I bet that they hadn’t dressed like that because they all liked that color, but more because they had given up on their uniqueness just to fit the so-called “normal.”

After some smugly-looking manager had given us a boring introduction, we entered the long corridors of open space offices on both sides, where the programmers and graphics sat in front of their computers in their little cubicles. I slid my hand into my purse and activated our little wave-pattern-detecting device. After several minutes of the manager’s babbling, I still had no readings on our detector.