Page 33 of Fake it For Good
“Your what?” she asked loudly.
“Noelle. My fiancée.”
“Your fiancée,” she repeated and then started laughing. “You don’t have a fiancée.”
I looked at her and waited for her to read my face.
“You’re serious?”
“I am.”
She clucked her tongue and shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but we both know you are not engaged to anyone except your job.”
“Please, Dana.”
“Alright, alright, alright,” she said. “I’m just your assistant. I won’t ask questions. Whatever you’re doing is your business. Two rooms. Should they have an adjoining door?”
“No,” I murmured.
She gave me a look and shook her head again. I walked back into my office and closed the door to make the call. Noelle answered on the first ring. “Hey,” she said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hi, are you busy?”
“Nope,” she replied. “What’s up?”
“I know it’s really short notice, but are you available tomorrow? Actually, the next two days.”
“Think of me as your genie in a bottle,” she said, laughing. “Your wish is my command.”
If only that were true. Then again, what was I going to do with a wish that involved her? Nothing. That’s what. Nada. “I like the sound of that,” I said. I didn’t know if I sounded creepy or flirty.
“You’re paying me. I am yours to command, so to speak.”
“I have an event in Houston tomorrow,” I told her. “It’s a new toy startup. We’d fly down tomorrow and be back the following day, possibly the day after. Does that work for you? Can you get the time off work?”
“You are my work,” she reminded me.
I found myself smiling as I spun around in my chair to look out the window. If I was a teen girl, I’d be twirling my hair around my finger. “Did you get a dress?”
“I got three,” she answered. “The lady at the shop assured me they were perfect. What kind of event is this? I want to make sure I pack correctly.”
“Cocktail party,” I answered. “A cocktail dress for the party and something casual for any day events. We’ll probably go to dinner at least once, so a dress for that as well.”
“I’ll be ready,” she said.
“Can you meet me at my office downtown?”
“Absolutely.” She sounded eager. It would have been flattering if I wasn’t paying her to be eager to stand at my side.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said and lingered for a moment before ending the call.
I spaced out for a minute, enjoying a brief fantasy involving my hands on her very full breasts.
“Fake, Cane, fake. This isn’t real.”
12
NOELLE
