Page 90 of Hollywood Undercover
It was perfect, actually. She would make the time to pull Bash aside before dinner and tell him what she had been doing all along—dressed as Lexxi—and let the chips fall as they might. He was bringing his friends, so it wasn’t likely that Bash would be upset or cause a scene. Plus, he had mentioned they were Lexxi Rock fans, so they would be thrilled to meet her. They’d probably see Bash as their hero for introducing them. On top of all that, the media was sure to show up the second she presented herself in that purple wig, and with Eva, no less. It was a win-win-win allround.
The limousine stopped, and Eva leaned out, shouting a hearty hello as the driver came around to open the passenger door. “I thought you’d let me meet the sexy firefighter, Lex,” she exclaimed with a cheekygrin.
“You will!” she told her, stepping inside. Alexandra chuckled breathlessly, relieved at escaping Bash without a mishap. She set the box aside and had a good look at Eva. Reaching across the wide seat. She gave her a warm hug. “I’m so happy to see you,hun.”
“Me too,love.”
“You could have given me a heads up you werecoming!”
Eva laughed. “What fun would that be? There’s no flair in the predictable, dear. You know how much I love making anentrance.”
“I forgot who I was dealing with,” Alexandra teased. “On the topic of being unpredictable, I just had the most brilliant ahamoment!”
“Good God. More unpredictable than cutting your hair, dressing like a guy for a month and falling for your neighbor? Oh my God, look at you! Your hair! I absolutely love it, Lex. It’s soyou.”
“Thankshun.”
“Tell me all about it,” Eva bubbled. “I want to heareverything.”
The limo smoothly accelerated away, with Alexandra looking back to see Sebastian’s house shrink in the growing distance. She returned her attention to Eva, and self-consciously ran a hand through her unrulycurls.
“Do you really likeit?”
“I do. Maybe I can do something like that too. I’d need a perm for sure, but we would be twinning around Tucson! That would create a media frenzy for sure, love. The paparazzi would forget all about your time inFrance.”
“God. I can’t imagine. Anyhow, guess what’s in thebox?”
Eva looked down at the parcel sitting between them. “I have noidea.”
“Rick made me a purple wig! He said it’s exactly how my hair was. I can be Lexxi Rock again. It’ll come in handy now that you’rehere.”
“Excuse me for following your orders to fly out and save your ass, darling,” she said,giggling.
“I know, I know. I told you I wanted you here, and God knows I need you. Anyhow, before we get too far, you and I have got to talkstrategy.”
Alexandra filled Eva in on the ride downtown to her hotel. On the way over, she sent a message to Rick, letting him know Lexxi Rock would be stepping out sooner than she had told him. Rick replied by the time Alexandra and Eva entered the hotel lobby. Eva checked in at the reception desk. Just as expected, the desk clerk recognized Eva, but not Alexandra. She was still dressed as Alex Roberts, with a baseball cap pulled low over her face, so the recognition and fanfare Eva received didn’t extend to her. It wasperfect.
She hovered behind Eva like a member of her entourage, smiling secretly at the irony of hiding in plain sight. This alone made her feel better about having gone to such lengths. The female clerk turned up the hospitality, and a moment later, a smartphone camera flashed behind them, followed by a flurry of more flashes. A few people in the lobby called Evangeline’s name. It started with a soft buzz and grew to a large crowd clamoring for her attention. People even came in from thestreet.
“Sometimes it’s such a bother, don’t you agree?” she whispered to Alexandra, raising her eyebrowshigh.
Alexandra grinned and gently threw out an arm, shielding her from the building crowd and more voracious picture takers who came out ofnowhere.
“Eva! Eva! Let’s go this way!” she shouted, turning to face the elevators in thedistance.
A part of her got a thrill from the crush of people, the noise and the excitement around her as she pulled the baseball cap even lower down her forehead. Together, she and Eva forced their way through the lobby area. It took them an extra five to ten minutes to cut off signing autographs and smiling for fan selfies. They dashed inside an empty elevator before anyone could jointhem.
“Yes! We made it!” Alexandrasaid.
“I’m just happy I came, dear. I still can’t believe how much you’ve changed! This is going to take some getting usedto.”
Alexandra chuckled. “Don’t get used to it yet. Rick tells me it might be a while before Lexxi Rock can rock this short hair lookpublicly.”
Eva hugged her close. “I’m so jealous, darling. I wish I could go incognito likethat.”
“Nodoubt.”
The two stared at their reflection in the wall of mirrors around the elevator. It was an impressive contrast, with Eva dressed to the nines in a designer dress, salon-styled hair falling over her shoulders, perfect makeup and stilettos that could kill. At her side, Alexandra felt like she looked drab in comparison, in her casual t-shirt and cargo pants, running shoes, no makeup, and her black, messy head ofcurls.
