Page 27 of Never Say Yes To Your Best Friend (I said Yes)

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I practically finished my drink, but I could have flagged someone down for her or gone to the front to ask.

“It’s not a big deal. I’m not dying here or anything. It’s busy, and they’re probably short-staffed. But these look divine.” She’s not complaining. She’s looking for the brighter, finer points.

And the finer points come in huge crab leg form. She breaks one open with her bare hands and, like the first night, takes a huge bite of the meat. Her eyes get heavy as she chews, and she has that look of pure bliss that can only be derived from mouthwateringly epic goodness.

I crack a crab leg open myself, dip it in the butter, and yes. Yes, she’s absolutely right.Wow. This gets five stars. It getsallthe stars.

“I’m not sure about the crab banana split thing, but we could have bonded over crab legs. When they’re this good, people might believe it.”

“It’s probably best to keep things as true as possible,” she says in agreement.

“That’s what people say about the best lies. They have the most truth in them.”

Lying. That’s what this really is. It’s not a charade, and it’s not a game. I’m lying to my parents. I’m faking all this. I set the crab leg that I’m holding back onto the plate. My stomach is suddenly not very hungry at all, and Evilla notices.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, looking concerned.

“I should just tell them. Everything,” I say.

She gives me a hard look. “I think you should, but at the same time, you also have to weigh how much harm that woulddo. What is worse now that you’ve already ventured down this path?”

“I should tell them. There’s more harm in lying. There always is. My mom might be mad at me, mad and hurt, and it will make me feel terrible, but who knows what she might do or feel when I say we’ve broken up? It will be me destroying all the hope I allowed to grow for two months. I should never have started this. Yeah, that’s what I want to do. I release you from having to be my fake girlfriend. And everything else stays the same with the company.”

She’s stunned, but unlike me, she’s good at recovering. She doesn’t say anything about how irrational I’ve been or how impulsive I am. She also doesn’t mention the company I bought because, for the first time in my life, I made an emotional decision.

“Okay. Uh, do you want help with that?”

“No. No, definitely not. I’ll be fine,” I mutter with a wave of my hand.

“I can come with you for emotional support if you want,” she offers.

“I’m a grown man. I can handle it,” I assure her.

Evilla is a good person. If that was in doubt after our first date, it’s not anymore. Everything she’s done since then has proven that she’s selfless, graceful, smart, and kind. She doesn’t even give me a weird look or mention anything about me not having previously been able to handle it, hence why we’re even here. She doesn’t wish me luck, and she doesn’t look at me like she doesn’t believe I can do it.

Instead, she grabs a crab leg and raises it in the air. “I give this place two great big crab legs up. And when I described my family, I wasn’t completely honest. I mean, I was, and that’s the problem. We’re so bland, so unremarkable. It would be nice to just be a little bit different. Maybe that’s why my momgave us such wild names. She was trying to insert the smallest amount of excitement into our lives. I wished for so long that I could be amazing or have something super cool happen to me. Gen’s parents became rich pretty much overnight. We stayed best friends even after she moved across the city and started going to a different school. They were still cool, and my life still overlapped with hers. They didn’t forget me, which was so kind of them. They made it possible for Gen to stay Gen and for us to stay best friends. When I was little, I used to think something was just around the corner for my family, too. Then, when I got older, I hoped it would be coming for me. Not getting rich or anything. Just getting…something.” She huffs. “Well, something happened, alright. Something super shitty that I never saw coming.”

However, she doesn’t elaborate. Should I ask? She’s giving all the vibes ofdon’t ask, or you’ll be sorry. Also? I don’t want to talk about it, and I’m sorry I wedged that door open. Let’s shut it. Let’s shut it up tightly.

“Anyway, if only my younger self could see my present-day self now. Faking being someone’s girlfriend and then maybe not faking it. Who would have ever thought?”

She’s back to smiling, and I’m back to being drawn into the infectiousness of it. Even with this thundercloud looming over my head, I can appreciate being here right now. In the past, I’ve had trouble being present in the moment. I’m always busy planning for the future, anticipating my next move, and seeking good investments.

But right now? I’m right here with Evilla and the crab legs.

Chapter nine

Evilla

“Hey, I’m not trying to gossip, but have you noticed anything off about Mr. Montfield?”

Mabel Oxford leans against the counter in the lunchroom. She’s heating up a bowl of soup that smells incredibly divine. It’s spicy and meaty, and I wish I had the cooking skills to create something like that. Soup just isn’t the same unless it’s homemade.

“I’m not trying to gossip either, but what do you mean?” I’ve noticed. I’m just surprised other people have too. Then again, I think it’s fairly obvious.

“He was so happy the first week here, but now he looks like a well-used mop, and I mean that in the kindest way. He’s still making so many great changes. I’m so glad he’s the one who bought this company and not some ogre who has a secret hate for pudding. That or someone who just can’t translate their great ideas into workable strategies, or one of those people who thinks they’re way above everyone else. Or worse, a self-serving money-hungry power-eating trash bin who only cares about profit and doesn’t give a shite about the people below him working their butts off to get that margin.”

“I kind of see that,” I say.

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