Everything had to be perfect, from the line of her skirt to the dip of her pearls. She needed to look the part as her life was slowly was crumbling around her. If the Prophet got word of the Dillan/Wendell fiasco, or worse yet that Lola creature, her life and career would come to an end. Which was why she was going to give the newspapers something else to focus on. The perfect life of one Sofia Robards - the woman who could balance love and a career and reform a notorious womanizer.
It would be difficult but well worth the end results. A spotless reputation.
First she needed to look perfect, which required a bit more work than she usually would have bothered with but it was all for a purpose so she grudgingly applied her lipstick. She couldn’t let the public see anything was wrong, especially not her intended red herring, the man she planned to act as her fellow deceiver would never agree to any plans then.
Next she needed the perfect man to use as a shield, someone acceptable, someone pure, someone wealthy, someone that her mother would go into raptures over, someone she would never fall in love with. Someone like Jasper Christie. Once she talked with him and brought him over to her side he would see the logic in the scheme she had been musing over for the past week. After all he was the ideal candidate for such a venture. That man had something, she wasn’t sure what but something was off. He was hiding something and probably paid the same little fees to the prophet to keep his name out of its trashy society section, he had to if Edward had seen that Carmen creature lurking about him. Carmen only lurked if there was a story or money…
And so with all on mind Sofia had come up with a fool proof plan to end her problems and the hypothetical ones Jasper possessed – they could pretend to date. Be the ideal couple in the public eye and keep those eyes there rather than in their real personal business. From her slowly developing knowledge on the most eligible Christie he would be rather keen on such a diversion. That paired with the fact that his house was large enough to have more than one spare bedroom and was a mere 3 blocks from her flat made it all the more do able.
Sofia was more than willing to set up and elaborate shadow show for the press if it meant they wouldn’t bother with looking into the disappearance of Dillan and the reappearance of Wendell. She could wave to those that had trailed them ‘home’ and then disappear into Jasper’s home for what they would assume was a passion filled night while really she would be slipping back to her place to finish the day’s paperwork. They could look perfect without an ounce of chemistry and it would take a mere hour or so out of their daily schedules.
All of this logic was what had led the department head to be knocking on Jasper’s locked door. Hopefully he would be game enough to at least hear the plan through.
Jasper had finally put up his still-booted feet after closing the shop when there was a knock at his door. It hadn't been an especially busy day; the midwinter doldrums had set in around the Alley and business was sluggish, but he'd occupied himself transfiguring some bright new pink diamonds for the spring collection. It was a task that required a lot of concentration, and he'd been glad for a rare day of quiet. Mercifully, Atlas had agreed to take Rudolph with him when he went to visit Margot.
He'd been about to reward himself with a martini for successfully completing another day without snapping at a customer. Jasper hated winter anyway; all the grime on London's streets did nothing for his shoes and cuffs and there was nothing quite as miserable as going into a gig or club wet from chilly rain. Now he had the added burden of the Cal-- debacle didn't even begin to cover it. He really hadn't effectively come up with a word that explained what a disaster everything had turned into. Cataclysm, perhaps. The only upside to the scenario was that his parents had never sorted out the extent of their relationship; then he would have been drinking a lot more.
As it was, having one's former boyfriend unexpectedly confess to heinous crimes didn't exactly brighten the day. His chief annoyance had been the method of confession; by actually doing the right thing and going to the authorities, Cal had deprived Jasper of his right to bitter long term revenge. Bastard. Sure, he'd gotten in a bit of spur of the moment violence, but that just didn't have the same fulfilling sense as continued emotional torment. He'd been hard pressed in recent weeks to keep up a smile for customers and not bludgeon Atlas with his pet's femur, so he wasn't in the mood for company. He mixed the martini a bit stronger than usual and took it with him downstairs, hoping that it was just Atlas and he'd lost his house key or Rudolph and his hand had fallen off on the doorknob again. If it was a late-coming customer they could piss off.
The silhouette behind the shade when he got downstairs was definitely not Atlas, nor was it skeletal. In fact, it was distinctly and attractively female. Consider Jasper curious. He shifted the martini to his other hand and reached for the lock, glancing down at his black Dior Homme suit to make sure it was still pristine.
Sofia Robards? She was just about the last person Jasper expected to find on his doorstep, especially dressed up in clothes a bit less severe than the office attire she usually had on when he saw her around the Alley. Jasper had long had a sinking suspicion that Sofia didn't especially like him; they'd run in the same social circle since childhood but never been more than the most casual acquaintances. Sofia's love affair with legality hadn't endeared her to Jasper, despite his mother's frequent comments about what a lovely daughter the Robards had. Nonetheless, she did have a lot of social connections and enough money to afford some of his most extravagant pieces, so he had to put on a good face.
"Miss Robards, what a surprise." He smiled and held the door. "Won't you come in?"
He wanted to tell her to come back tomorrow, when he'd had time to prepare himself with a relaxing day of martinis and Cary Grant films, but he forced his 'customer voice' out.
"I'm just having a drink, why don't you join me?" He led the way upstairs before she could argue and possibly smudge his newly polished cases with curious fingertips. "What brings you here?"
"Miss Robards, what a surprise. Won't you come in?"
Sofia smiled as she quickly assessed the man. He was different than she remembered but then again she had lost track of the man for quite some time. Taller than her, but not too tall. Dark hair and she could see why her brother tried to emulate the man for a period of time. He would do perfectly.
"I'm just having a drink, why don't you join me?"
He didn't give her time to answer, or even time to hint at the slightly awkward nature of her visit. Off they were practically sprinting though the shop past displays of various gems and up a flight of stairs. Jasper certainly was not going to try to sell her anything. There that was going to make it even less awkward. Didn't pickups usually happen over drinks? So her propositioning him was going to happen in a customary manner...
Sofia reinforced her smile. No matter how she spinned it things were going to be awkward. She just had to keep her eye on the prize.
"What brings you here?"
Only the desire to make you my pretend boyfriend. "Well I suppose that drink. I'll take whatever you are having." She responded, very sure that she was going to need the fortification to get around to the topic.
Jasper handed her martini without a moment's hesitation, only a curious smile giving her some clue as to what he was thinking. Sofia took a small sip. He made his drinks strong. Thank merlin!
"Lovely. Thank you." Another sip, this time much larger.
"Now I suppose you must be wondering what I am doing here. I'm afraid that's rather awkward - We will get to that in a moment. First a hint." Another sip and a quick look at him through veiled lids. He still looked pleasantly curious. It was rather alarming to be in the presence of another well trained pureblood. She had gotten used to the impostor Dillan's real Wendell's ways. So easy to read.
"How is you mother doing? How is she taking your unwed and uncommitted state?" She asked, unable to help but give a slightly abashed smile at the end of it.