Page 29 of Fake it For Good
“It’s supposed to be,” he replied. “Thank you for talking to him without any high-pressure tactics. I’m pretty sure you just charmed the man into signing a deal with us.”
“Hmm, maybe I will be asking for a bonus,” I teased.
“You definitely should,” he said, grinning.
“I really do need to go,” I said. “I had a good time today. It was fun. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Thank you for taking the time to see what I do,” he said. “I’ll walk you out.”
We stopped on the sidewalk.
“Should I wait for you to call?” I asked him.
“I will reach out and let you know when our first event will be,” he said. “I’m thinking we’ll start small. My assistant has my schedule.”
“And I will go shopping,” I said with a sigh.
“Shopping?”
“I need to look the part,” I told him. “I need to look like someone who is your fiancée. Della told us to go to a store and we’d get set up with what we need.”
“I expect semi-formal,” he said. “Cocktail-type dresses would be appropriate.”
“Thank you. I’ll make sure to find something nice.”
I walked away and glanced over my shoulder once to find him watching me. For a brief moment, I imagined him watching me walk away like he was truly interested. Then I remembered he was paying me to be his date for a couple of parties. It wasn’t interest.
It was a job.
11
CANE
“Dana!” I hollered the name instead of using my intercom. Dana was always within earshot. Even with my door closed, I knew she could hear every word. She was like a bat. Assuming bats had the super-hearing I was sure I had read about at some point in my life.
She opened my office door and glowered at me. The woman was plump and reminded me of a tomato. She had fiery red hair and was covered head to toe in freckles. At least I assumed it was head to toe. She wasn’t the prettiest woman on the planet, but I loved her dearly. I respected her even more so.
“Cane,” she said with a sigh. “Why don’t you ever use the intercom? You sound like one of my boys hollering at me when they can’t find a shoe.”
“Because you could hear a pin drop in here,” I said. “The intercom echoes through the office and I feel like such an idiot.”
“What do you need?”
“I need my schedule,” I said.
She pointed to my laptop. “It’s right there.”
“But you always say it so much better.”
“You’re incorrigible,” she said with a smile.
“I know. You tell me every day.”
“One second,” she said. “Do you want coffee while I’m up?”
“No, thank you.”
I did have the calendar on my laptop, but my calendar was always so full that it was hard to make heads or tails of it. I just waited to be directed where to be and when. If it wasn’t Dana leading me, it was Denton. Some days, I felt like a piece on the chessboard. I was just moved around all day. And then I finally got to go home and be completely alone. It was both good and bad. It was a lonely existence, but it was also stress free.
