The Stand-In Read Online Free Page A

women for weddings. They call these hired women ‘stand-in bridesmaids.’ Basically, if a bride is a total loser and has no friends, she goes to Margie and she hooks her up with fake friends for her wedding.”
    “Are you shitting me? It sounds like a prostitution ring. You sure they’re not hiring these girls as a ‘last hurrah’ treat for the groom? A final kick at the can of bachelorhood?”
    “That’s what I’d like you to find out. The agency says they cater to professional women whose lifestyles don’t allow for intimate friendships, but there has to be more to it than that. See if you can shadow one of these stand-in bridesmaids and get the scoop. Tell them you’re doing a feature for… Bridal Wreath .”
    “I won’t lie and tell them I work for a wedding magazine. I’ve never lied to get a story, Jake, and I won’t start now.”
    “Still trying to prove you have scruples, huh? Who are you trying to prove it to, Paddy? Me or yourself?”
    “I have scruples.”
    “Awesome. Luckily for this job, you can leave ’em at home. Anyway, find out what would make someone hire these people, and see what’s up with these bridesmaids. I’m sure you’ll dig up something with your considerable charms.”
    “And why do you think your male readers will care about professional bridesmaids?”
    “Come on. Hot bridesmaids for hire? It’s a wet dream come true. I’d bet every single one of my readers has tried to bag a bridesmaid at some point. Even if there isn’t anything shady about this agency, a well-written expose on these women could make for major fantasy material.”
    “And you sell fantasy.”
    “By the ream. The dorks who buy my magazine think they’re walking, talking Greek gods. And there’s nothing they like more than feeling they know everything about women.”
    As much as their conversation made him feel in need of a shower, he considered a few angles and realized he could make this one hell of an interesting story. Okay, Jake was looking for some sort of misogynistic point of view, but he didn’t need to give it that sort of treatment. Sure, the writers at Player were known for sinking to slightly seedy depths.
    He didn’t need to.
    Yes, he’d be scoping out bridesmaids-for-hire rather than crooked city councillors, but he could make it work. He had no choice. If he wanted to survive in his field, he had to make this story sizzle. He leaned back in his leather seat, enjoying the cushion of soft hide under his back. “What if it is a cover for some sort of brothel?”
    “Well, wouldn’t that be awesome?” Jake’s mouth widened in a feral grin. “Then it would be our duty to expose it, don’t you think? As well as the women who toil for this Margie Kent. You’ll make it work.”
    He grinned at Jake, humoring him. Perhaps this Kent woman just operated a weird business. And then again, maybe there was something sordid underneath it all. Ever since Jake mentioned it, the hairs on the back of Patrick’s neck had stood straight, bristling with curiosity. He knew when something sounded wrong. His instincts hadn’t failed him yet. They’d helped him sniff out that fool Councillor Rendez last year, when he’d proven the randy politician had had sexual liaisons with not two, but three, women outside his marriage.
    So he wasn’t hounding bureaucrats at City Hall anymore. He could make the most of this assignment. Yeah, he’d find the dirt on these bridesmaids, and when he did, he’d share it with the world.

Chapter 2
    Patrick sat across from Margie Kent, and wished her massive desk didn’t obscure his vision of the mile-long legs he’d glimpsed earlier. The bridesmaid recruiter was busy scrolling through some pages online, flipping through the files of her recruits. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see through her highly polished veneer, to see if the persona of a pimp hid somewhere underneath the coifed hair and false lashes.
    “Let’s see,” she said, almost humming. “I could