Page 2 of Pretend Girlfriend

UNKNOWN: Hi, Joanna? This is Landon. Jack gave me your number.

I held the screen toward Jack.

“Okay,” he admitted. “So I may have already told him you’d do it.”

I let out an annoyed groan. “What if I said no?”

“I knew you wouldn’t, because you’re a smart woman who would see how good this will be for your career.”

“Why does he need someone to pretend to be his girlfriend for a night?”

“I don’t know.” Jack gestured at the phone. “Ask him yourself. I’m just the middleman.”

“You’re a butthead,” I muttered while texting Landon back.

Me: Hey Landon, Jack just caught me up to speed. You need someone to pretend to be your girlfriend for a night?

Landon: That’s the core requirement, correct. Interested?

Me: First tell me why you need a fake girlfriend. Because I can’t wrap my head around why someone would do this in the first place.

“What’s he saying?” Jack asked, leaning across the table. “Let me see.”

I shoved his face away. “Leave me alone, butthead.”

Landon: LOL, I don’t blame you for asking. My family can be… difficult. My brother is getting married next week. I just got out of a long-term relationship, and they’re going to make my life a living hell trying to set me up with everyone they know. If I bring a date to this family dinner, it’ll give me some cover.

Me: What do I get in return?

Landon: Jack said you’re applying for a position at Defense Technologies. I checked the job listing today: there are over a hundred applicants. I can make sure your resume goes to the top of the pile.

Me: Say less. When is dinner?

Landon: Tomorrow night, McCallister’s Bistro. Mom got a reservation for 7:00, but let’s meet at the bar at 6:30 to make sure our story is straight.

Me: Deal. See you then.

“See?” Jack said triumphantly. “I knew you would jump on this opportunity. Now will you tell me I’m amazing?”

“You’re all right,” I admitted. “I’ll call you amazing if I get that job.”

Now that I had agreed to it, the whole thing seemed even more crazy. I was a theater girl in high school, but that was ten years ago. Back then I worked with a script, memorizing lines and then reciting them for weeks in the mirror until they were perfect. This dinner was happening tomorrow, and it seemed like I would be winging it. It was a disaster waiting to happen. Something I never would have agreed to a year ago.

But now, after being rejected for three positions at DefTec? I was willing to try anything. Even something really stupid.

“I kind of want to go to the restaurant and watch from a distance,” Jack said. “There’s no way this won’t be entertaining.”

“If I see you anywhere near McCallister’s tomorrow,” I warned, “I’ll stab you with a steak knife.” I picked up the butter knife on the table and held it toward my brother.

He held up his hands. “Point taken.”

I was still holding out the butter knife when a man behind Jack cleared his throat. “Um, are you Joanna?”

It was my date for the evening, Theo. I recognized his face from Bumble.

But he was way hotter in person than on his dating profile.

2

---