Page 23 of Fake it For Good
9
CANE
Iwalked into the factory feeling good about things. It had been a while since I had felt so positive. I was looking forward to the day. “Good morning,” I said to one of the employees getting ready to go onto the floor.
I had a basic office at the warehouse. I didn’t do a lot of work from the office. It was more about housekeeping with the manager that ran the facility. I liked to check in from time to time. I wasn’t expecting to see Denton on the floor.
He spotted me and waved before pointing to the office. I nodded and continued on my way. We both spent a lot of time at the factory. Usually, we didn’t show up on the same day. I poured myself a cup of coffee from the breakroom and stood at the rail looking at the production below.
Most of our toys for the season had already been sent out, but there were always last-minute orders to be filled. We tried to predict which toys were going to hit big, but it was a crapshoot. All it took was one mommy blogger to review a product and give it a seal of approval and sales skyrocketed. That was what had happened last week. Educational toys were all the rage.
He came upstairs and gave me a funny look. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m meeting Noelle here.”
“Who’s Noelle?” He looked confused.
“She’s the woman I told you about,” I reminded him. “The future Mrs. Claus.”
“You’re meeting her here?”
“I wanted to show her around,” I said with a shrug. “I actually upped the game. She’s going to pretend to be my fiancée. I thought she should know what it is we do here. We’re spending some time together to get to know each other a little. It’ll make it easier to sell the engagement if we are comfortable around one another.”
“Really?” he asked. “I didn’t think you were actually going to do it.”
“Did it,” I said. “Signed the contract and everything.”
“Wow. I can’t believe you did it. How well do you plan on getting to know her?”
“Just enough to make it appear we are more than passing strangers,” I said. “It was her suggestion. I agreed with her—to a point.”
“Ah,” he said and nodded his head. “That’s the Cane I know. You’ve got a twelve-foot wall around you. You’re not going to let her in.”
“I don’t need to let her in,” I said, shaking my head. “I just need to give her the pertinent facts about who I am and what I do. We covered the basics already. I know how old she is, and she has no family.”
“Oh, well hell, you’re ready to walk down the aisle,” he said, laughing.
“I’m not interested in getting to know her all that well,” I said. “She seems nice enough, but there’s no point in learning about each other’s deep dark secrets.”
“I think she does make a good point,” Denton said. “You can be a little stiff around people. No one is going to believe you’re engaged if you are your normal self.”
“I’m not stiff.”
“Yes, you are,” he said. “You keep people at arm’s length. I can’t say I blame you, but it’s a thing.”
I sighed. “I know, but I’m not going to fake this thing to the point it feels like my last sham marriage. Kelly was fake. I faked it every time I was with her. Anytime we were in public, it was a performance. I know how to fake a marriage. I don’t want to fall back into old habits.”
“You’re not actually marrying her,” he said, laughing. “It’s a month of pretend. Are you going to take her out?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“You should. Get seen. Take her to a Broadway show and a restaurant you’re sure to be seen at. Introduce her without actually introducing her. When she shows up to the Macy’s Day event, it won’t be a huge shock. You’ll just casually slide her into the role. You don’t want that to be the story. It’s got to be about the company.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to work either,” I said. “I think I’m broken.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
“Broken. I’m not the guy that dates or has flings or even fake flings. I don’t really know how to flirt or look flirty.”
