Page 14 of Gross Misconduct

“How juicy is it?” she asked, popping some pita in her mouth.

“Juicy enough that I had to sign an NDA, and I can only tell my advisors.”

Tangi nodded and smiled. “So I’m obviously one of your advisors?”

“And Wolseley, when she has time to talk to us.”

“Then this is juicy. You have my word that I will keep this strictly confidential.”

“You can’t tell Ethan, at least not until I tell you, you can.”

Tangi was vibrating with excitement. “This is going to be good. Okay, you have my word. Now spill.”

“Jeremy and I are going to be putting on the performance of a lifetime as a couple, to get him and the team through this scandal.”

Tangi’s hazel eyes narrowed. “Oh. That’s not what I was expecting.” Disappointment dripped from her voice.

I wasn’t expecting her to reactthatway, so I explained it all—from Clay’s proposal, my negotiation, to my discussion with Jeremy afterward, but she didn’t seem all that impressed. In fact, she seemed turned off by the whole thing.

“You know I’m not going to hold things back from you because I would expect the same from you, so here are my two cents: I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”

“I know what you’re thinking. That it’s all a bit likeIndecent Proposal, but this is totally different. I’m just fake-dating the guy, and then it’s over.”

“But Clay Rothesay is paying you to do it. Like a glorified escort.”

Now that she put it that way … “It’s not like there's sexual favors in return. It’s more likePretty Woman.”

“Vivian was a prostitute.”

Suddenly, my office with a window was feeling gross, along with the new chunk of money in my bank account. I massaged my temples, contemplating it all. I loved my friend for her honesty, even though I hated what she had to say. “So you’re telling me to give the money and office back? And back out?”

“I’m telling you, you should do this because you want to. Or in your case, because I know how you think, and it’s achallenge for you to make this work. But when you add the money and the office, and then the potential condo at the end … no, it’s not good.”

And I’d just moved into that office! But Tangi was right. The ick factor was too much. I’d have to see Clay in the morning to tell him the deal with off, or at least the monetary part of it. That’s if I still wanted to go through with this charade. Did I? It was one thing to do it for the team and to show my commitment, but wasn’t that still gross?

“Why did you have to awaken my conscience?”

“Because you’d hate yourself later. But I will commend you for the fantastic negotiation you did. And if I were you, I’d still insist on the job security aspect of it. I guess the real question is if you want to still go through it—for nothing—and help Jeremy out. That part is up to you.”

I thought about that for a second. “I would like the challenge of it.”

“I know he rubbed you the wrong way that first day here, but he’s really a good guy. He’s one of my favorite guys on the team. And maybe the two of you would have fun.”

“Highly doubtful,” I said, taking another piece of spanakopita. “He seems goofy. And didn’t you say he’s a big-time player? Sorry, but he’s not my type.”

At that, Tangi laughed, and I bristled a bit.

“I have no idea what your type is! We’ve been friends forever, and I have no idea what kind of guy you like. You date them a few times, and we never see them again. Unless you’re keeping some secret boyfriend or husband somewhere.”

I sipped some wine and tried to give nothing away. I didn’t exactly have a long dating history. The first real boyfriend I had was Nigel, and we dated for a few months my first year in college. He’s the first guy I had sex with, and that hadn’t been earth-shattering. No surprise we broke up a few weeks later.But then there was Eli. I hadn’t told Tangi and Wolseley about him because they wouldn’t have approved. He was my boss at Richardson’s and fifteen years older than me. We’d started dating after his divorce, and I’d fallen hard for him. But everything about our relationship had to be a secret. He didn’t want his kids to find out, he certainly didn’t want anyone at Richardson’s to find out, so everything we did was always in the shadows. When I finally got tired of it, I confronted him. He didn’t take kindly to that and dumped me. Within a month, I had been “promoted” to the Canadian division and shipped off to Toronto. He had to have known that the Canadian expansion was in dire straits, and not even a year later, I was laid off and out of his hair forever.

Looking back, I clearly had a daddy complex. Eli was the wise one, who took care of dinner, who bought me nice gifts, and made sure I was safe. What a crock of shit.

“No secret boyfriend or husband. How could I keep that a secret from you and Wolseley? As for my type, I’m not even sure.”

“Tell you what, I have an idea. If you are going to fake it with Jeremy, let’s do a trial run and have a nice night out. Maybe a lounge for drinks? I would love a night out. But there is one thing I want you to promise me.”

I groaned. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this condition.”

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