Page 50 of Fake it For Good
“Me either.”
“What did she want?” he asked.
“She wanted to know who my fiancée was,” I said with a smile I couldn’t hold back.
He threw his head back and laughed. “No shit?”
“Yep.”
“Is she jealous?” he asked. “Why the hell does she care? You haven’t had anything to do with her in years, right?”
“Not a word. She wanted to know who Noelle was and she threatened me.”
“What in the world could she possibly threaten you with?” he asked. “She took everything you had. Does she think she’s coming back for a second round? She can’t, can she? She doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, right?”
“No, she doesn’t want my company,” I said. “She thinks she’s going to overtake us as the number one toy company.”
“Does she even have a company?” he said.
“She says she’s number two.”
“Only in her fucking head,” he said, laughing.
“She says she just did some big new deal and will jump to the top of the industry,” I said with a shake of my head.
“Any bets it was with that guy trying to peddle his garbage to us a few months back?”
“I can almost guarantee it,” I said.
“Can we ban her from the office for good?” he asked.
“I won’t give her the satisfaction,” I muttered. “Fuck her. She’s only coming around because she’s bored. I’m not playing her games. She’s out of my life for good. I want nothing to do with any of that drama. I’m not going to let her worm her way back in. Period.”
“Good, because I can’t deal with that woman,” he said. “Ever.”
18
NOELLE
Iwaved to Marie from across the street. I waited until the light turned white, giving me the all-clear to rush across the street. It was always like a game of Frogger. I didn’t know how the other people did it. I couldn’t just stroll along like I had all the time in the world. I did not share that same leisurely attitude. I was not trying to get splattered on the windshield of a taxi driver driving like a damn fool.
“You look good,” she said with a look of confusion. “Something is different about you. I haven’t seen you in a week, but you look, I don’t know, younger.”
“I don’t think time works that way,” I replied.
“I don’t know what that man was packing between those legs, but it must have been magical,” she teased.
“Stop. Don’t be vulgar.”
“I’m serious,” she said. “He should bottle that up and sell it. You are glowing. Have you been seeing him?”
“Not since we got back from Texas.”
I pulled open the door to the Goodwill. Behind me, Marie busted into song. “He’s got the magic stick…”
“Stop,” I groaned. “You’re acting like I’ve never had sex before.”
“It has been a while. I’m celebrating. And I’m really only teasing you because I’m jealous,” she said. “Can I initiate takebacks?”
