Page 110 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

In a split second decision that I could someday regret, I made the rash conclusion to tell Mona the truth.

After making a quick sweep of the nearby patrons and deeming none of them a potential threat, I leaned in closer to her. "Okay. I'm going to tell you. But you have to promise that you won't tell another soul. Ever. Promise?"

Her eyes widened, and her face brightened, wearing that eager expression that surfaced when someone was about to hear the juiciest gossip. "I absolutely promise."

I gave her a stern look to emphasize how serious I was, then leaned in even more, dropping my voice to a whisper. "Jared Jawline isn't who you think he is."

Furrowing her brows, she whispered back, "He's not?"

"No." One more look at the people seated closest to us, but they were deep in conversation as well. "Jared Jawline is in fact... Max fucking Sterling."

She blinked in shock. "What? No. What are you even saying?"

"He was doing the whole undercover boss thing."

"Oh. My. God."

Giving her some space and time to process, I leaned away and began to eat my pizza, my appetite suddenly roaring to life. "Right?" I said around a mouthful.

But she didn't answer, instead searching hurriedly on her phone. Of course she would instantly look up a picture of Max and do a mental comparison. That would be the first thing anyone would do under the circumstances.

And doing exactly what I had done weeks ago, I also knew what her next thought would be... how could we not have noticed? How? In hindsight, it was so obvious.

Several minutes later and several bites later, she finally glanced up from her phone, her expression a mixture of confusion and astonishment. "How the hell did we not see this from the get-go? I just don't get it."

"Believe me, I've thought about that a lot. And I think it's just that you..." How to explain it? "It's that you kind of automatically believe what's presented to you. We just naturally trust the image someone puts out there. We see what we want to see, kind of. And now that we know, it's so blatantly obvious."

"I guess." She took a long sip of her drink. "How long have you known?"

"Right after the retreat."

Her face fell. "So wait a minute. You hooked up with him during the retreat not knowing he was Max Sterling?"

"Yes, ma'am. I sure did."

"He didn't fucking tell you?"

"No, he didn't. He was going to, though. Asked me out on a date and everything." For some reason, I felt the need to defend him. "But, well, I found out before he had the chance to tell me."

"Wow. Fuck. My mind is blown. Absolutely blown." She suddenly gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God, please tell me I didn't say or do anything stupid in front of him as Jared. Did I?"

I lost her for a moment as she disappeared into the recesses of her mind, probably recalling every interaction they'd ever had. But I could easily spare her the agony.

"Actually, Mona, you were really nice to him, inviting him out to karaoke when I was being a total bitch to him. Remember?"

She nodded, eyeing me cautiously.

"Trust me," I continued, "he loved you. He loved everyone at Insight actually. Inside, he's really just a big teddy bear."

"Max Sterling is a teddy bear?"

"Yeah, he is..." Oh, shit. My voice had become all soft and gushy. Maybe Mona hadn't noticed.

But of course she had, her gaze sharpening on me. I took another bite of pizza, washing it down with some ice water, hoping she'd let it slide.

"You really like him, don't you?" she asked.

So much for that. "Likedhim. Liked, past tense."

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