Page 15 of Fake it For Good
“Noelle,” Della dragged out my name. “I see.”
My eyes widened and I shook my head. “No,” I mouthed.
“Yes,” Marie said and turned her back to me. “I really do hope you will find another date for me, but I really think Noelle is better suited for this particular job.”
“I see,” Della said again. “Let me take a look. Thank you for your honesty. I’ll be in touch.”
Marie put the phone back into her pocket and smiled at me. “Now, we wait for your phone to ring.”
“What if we’ve offended her?” I said with a groan. “As much as I didn’t think this was a good idea, I really got myself hyped about that money.”
“And Della will call you,” she insisted.
“You heard how she went on about her instincts and how she never failed,” I reminded her. “You just stepped all over her toes and basically said you knew better.”
She grimaced. “I know. I hope it doesn’t blow up in my face.”
“Thank you for making the sacrifice, though,” I said as we started walking again. “It means a lot.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “I want the kids to have a good Christmas, too. This is my way of helping.”
“Well, thank you,” I said and gave her a hip bump.
We both fell quiet. The absence of my phone ringing was deafening. My heart sank a little. Marie was a beautiful woman. She’d been raised with money and was far more refined than I was. She didn’t live the life of a wealthy socialite these days, but she had the background. She knew when to kiss someone on the cheek and when to shake their hand. She knew which fork to use at a fancy dinner and she had traveled the world. It made sense she would be a more desirable pick for a wealthy man looking to impress friends.
“She’ll call,” Marie quietly said.
“It’s okay.” I forced a smile. We walked across the street to get our usual smoothie. It was a splurge I was soon not going to be able to afford. The smoothie was the only reason I did these stupid runs. If I couldn’t have a smoothie, I didn’t want to run.
We walked and sipped our drinks. Then my phone rang. We both stopped walking and looked at each other. “Answer it!” she shrieked.
I checked the number and it was definitely the agency. I got butterflies in my stomach. What if she was going to tell me I wasn’t compatible with the client? I took a deep breath and told myself not to be disappointed. Whatever happened, happened.
“Hello?”
“Is this Noelle?” Della asked.
“It is.”
“Hello, Noelle, your friend Marie suggested you might be a good fit for a client looking for a date,” she said.
“Yes, she told me,” I said. “I’m really sorry. She just knows my experience with toys and the holidays. We don’t want to undermine you or suggest you don’t know best.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I took another look at your profile and I think Marie might be right. But that isn’t up to me to decide. I would like to arrange a meeting between you and the client for tomorrow night. Does that work for you?”
“Yes!” I reined in my enthusiasm. “Yes, that works for me.”
“I’ll message you with the time and place.”
“What should I wear?” I asked.
“Something nice,” she said. “It’s nothing formal.”
“Okay, thank you again,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “I hope it works out. If it does, I’ll be in touch and we’ll get the contract signed.”
I ended the call and looked at Marie. She was grinning like a fool. “Well?”
