Page 29 of The Fake Dating War

Three dots appear.

Coleman:Why do you need a fake boyfriend for the wedding? What are you going to do on your week off? What are your plans, Patel?

The way he’s questioning me is odd and insistent, but I don’t know why. To cool myself down, I visualize his horror when he realizes my portfolio beats his. That’s the light at the end of this terrible tunnel. After I survive the wedding, on the last day of the deadline, I’m going to gloat as he watches the scoreboard shoot up all at once.

Closing the chat window without answering, I plan to dive back into work, but then I sneeze. And sneeze again four more times. My face tingles.

Oh, no.

This only happens when Keri from Accounting brings her cat to work. He’s cuddly and cute, but I am so allergic! My hands fumble to my drawer, looking for allergy pills. My finger closes around the bottle. I grab it and rush to the bathrooms so I can splash my face with cold water before it splotches into pink spots.

Seeing an opening, that’s when he moves.

19

JAKE

When Patel leaves, I approach him.

“Fake boyfriend. Why does she need one?”

Leo turns in his chair and clasps his hands onto his lap. “Like I’m telling you anything.”

“Both of you are so loud. I already know about the dates. It’s?—”

“If you say pathetic, I won’t stand for it,” he warns me, any humor draining from his face. “You might be hot, but I won’t let that influence me.”

I cross my arms.

He shuts his eyes, muttering something about forearms.

“I’m not here to insult her,” I tell him. “I’m only confused about why she needs afakeboyfriend.”

“You’re confused,” says Leo, “because no one cares enough to worry whether you’re happily settled down or not.”

He thinks he’s defending her. He is, but he’s revealing information at the same time. Does this mean Tarun Singh isn’t connected to what Leo and Patel have been doing with these dates? Maybe family pressure is all she’s worried about at the wedding, but then?—

“Why isn’t she stressed about the scoreboard?” I ask. “Why doesn’t she care that I’m leading?”

“Because Reema has transcended capitalism. Because winning or losing no longer matters to her. Because she’s realized being a workaholic isn’t all that healthy.”

I simply wait him out.

“Right.” He sighs. “Actually… I don’t know. I’ve been wondering the same thing. She was stressed earlier this year, but about two months ago, she?—”

He stops himself, as if finally realizing he’s talking too much. No point because, with a flash of clarity, I can finish his sentence.

“She stopped obsessively checking the scoreboard,” I say. “She’s been even more stuck to her computer, but she’s not been looking up every ten minutes to see where the numbers are at. She’s also yawning more than usual. At least every half hour, I catch her stifling one.” I frown. “Her face has lost weight, like she’s not eating properly. Not that she ever eats much at her desk, but before she’d go hover by the vending machine and think about it, even though everyone knows if she’s getting something, it’s always those candy packets. And she’s drinking way too much coffee, but not like she’s enjoying it. By the end of the day, she’s choking on it. I also haven’t heard that irritating happy humming noise of hers in a while…”

I notice Leo’s mouth has fallen open.

“I sit across from her,” I justify, as if that explains everything.

“You’d… make a good fake boyfriend,” he says faintly.

Me andPatel?!

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I tell him.

---