Page 49 of It's Only Make Believe

I know I shouldn’t bite, but I can’t help it.

“I think there’s only one liar in this and that’s you,” I say.

“She didn’t tell you I’m her ex-boyfriend, did she? Not until I let it slip at the restaurant that night,” he says.

“No,” I say. “But not because of any reason except it’s irrelevant. Do you think I have sat and told Louisa about every girl I ever dated?”

“Tia,” he says. “Her name is Tia, not Louisa.”

“No, that’s your little pet name for her,” I say.

“No, it isn’t. That’s the cover story I used when I slipped up and called her Tia in front of you. She …” he is still talking but I talk over him.

“That’s enough,” I say. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“Because you’re starting to wonder, aren’t you?” he says. “Come on. Do you really think that girl is a Sanchez? She is about as Latina as I am.”

I want to tell him he’s being ridiculous, but is he? I mean he’s certainly not wrong about her not looking like a Sanchez.

“So what? This is just some girl off the street that heard Louisa had an internship here and decided to take over her life and her job? So where is the real Louisa in all of this?” I say.

“She’s not just some random girl. Tia and the real Louisa are best friends, and this is some scheme they cooked up betweenthem. Honestly, I said Tia is manipulative and she is, but she isn’t near as good as Louisa,” Justin says.

I don’t want to believe him, but little things are starting to add up. Like how she told me Sophia wouldn’t acknowledge her in the board meeting. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to draw attention to them being sisters, it was because Sophia isn’t her damned sister. She probably doesn’t even know her. And all of the times someone has called her name, and she hasn’t replied and then pretended she was miles away. Is that because Louisa isn’t her real name, and she didn’t realize they meant her. It even happened on her first day when I called on her in the meeting to stand up. And that time Enrique wanted to talk to her on the phone and she ran from the room rather than speaking to him. Did she really have to use the bathroom, or did she just not want the ruse to be up?

I hate to think badly of her, especially after Justin set me up and I felt the pain of having Louisa – Tia? – only half believe me, but it does all make sense. And why would Justin come up with such a ridiculous lie if it isn’t true? If he wanted to say something to make me think Louisa is a bad person, surely, he could have chosen a less far out there lie.

“I can see that you’re starting to believe me. Do you want more proof? I can call the real Louisa right now,” Justin says.

“Just get out,” I say. “Get out of my office. Get out of my building and never come back unless you want to leave in handcuffs.”

Justin stands up and he has the sheer audacity to smile down at me.

“I’ll leave,” he says. “You were right earlier. My conscience is clear now. If you’re cool with going along with someone who has done nothing but lie to you, that’s on your head now.”

He turns and walks away, and I quickly call through to Mel.

“Make sure that man leaves the building. Follow him. If he doesn’t go straight out, don’t approach him, just call me,” I say.

“Is everything ok?” Mel asks.

“Just go,” I say.

I wait a few minutes and the knock I’m expecting comes. I call to come in and Mel comes in, her face a mask of concern.

“Who was that guy? Are you alright? You look … I don’t know. Shocked!” Mel says. “He left by the way.”

“Sit down,” I say.

Mel sits down and I find myself telling her everything that’s happened with Louisa and me and where Justin fits into it all, and then his accusation about her not being who she says she is.

“What do you think?” I ask.

“I don’t know what to think,” Mel says. “There have been occasions where Louisa hasn’t responded to her name the first time to me too, and that time Enrique called and she ran from you, she put him through without going through me and I went to remind her not to do that, but then she said the caller was Enrique. I was surprised because I never would have suspected the caller was her father the way she was so formal. She gave me the line about separating family and business, but it struck me as odd. But her pretending to be someone else all seems a bit too Twilight Zone for me.”

“What do you think I should do? Hire someone to look into her background?” I say.

Mel thinks for a moment.

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