Page 9 of Fake for 7 days

"I hardly think so. If he could be convinced with technical facts, he would have given you the contract already. Right?" Don's argument was undeniable. "He's unlikely to say anything different just because you present these facts to him in person instead of giving them to him in writing," he added.

I was silent. Don was right.

Unfortunately.

"Buddy, I've got to go," Don said at that moment. "Keep me updated on how everything develops."

"Sure," I replied. "Take care."

I hung up, turned around again, and clenched my jaw as I looked out the window. There was no trace of my previous high spirits. I had thought I was the sure winner, but now I was in quite a pickle.

I wanted the contract.

Desperately.

And I definitely didn't want a woman in my life.

Especially not Abigail.

I DIDN'T NEED a woman.

But I needed this job. Outshining Cameron was my ultimate goal.

I glanced at the clock.

About eight hours left until my meeting with Abigail's father.

I had to come up with something by then.

Something that would make it clear to him that there was no way I could get involved with Abigail again.

Chapter 3 ~ Isabella ~

"Ican'tfindit!"I turned around in front of the mirror in my bedroom, searching, and let my gaze sweep over the scattered clothes. Today really wasn't my day. It would be best if I called the whole thing off and curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea. I was much more in the mood for that than... celebrating.

"You're definitely not going to find that necklace this way, Isabella," my neighbor Hayley replied, amused. "It's probably buried somewhere under all the clothes you've so generously spread around here."

"But I was looking for the necklace yesterday too, and it was still tidy in here then!" I said desperately. "It's the necklace with the green stone that Joanna gave me for my birthday last year! It's really important to me!"

"It'll turn up, I'm sure," Hayley tried to reassure me. "You'll see, as soon as you've tidied up in here, the necklace will appear in some corner and you'll wonder how you ever could have missed it."

"The green stone would go so well with this dress!" I looked at myself in the mirror and turned back and forth again.

"You look really great even without it." Hayley was doing her best to cheer me up. She was right. The knee-length, light green party dress with the fine organza fabric complemented my dark hair and brown eyes well. The necklace would have simply made the outfit perfect.

"Today is really a shitty day," I grumbled. "I shouldn't even go. I should call Judy and claim I'm sick. I can't even afford to go. A bachelorette party. A bachelorette party in a fancy hotel. That's unnecessary spending. I didn't have the money before. Now even less, since I don't have a job anymore."

"Whether you're almost broke or completely broke, that really doesn't make a difference, Isabella," Hayley wisely remarked. "You should have some fun. You really need it, especially today. You've earned it, my dear!"

For Hayley, that settled the matter. She got up from the huge light gray beanbag from which she had been watching me and went into the living room.

"I'm going to water your plants," she called through the half-open bedroom door. "I noticed when I came in earlier that they're all half dead. When was the last time you watered them?"

"No idea," I answered and leaned forward to check my makeup one last time. Was the lipstick not smudged? Did the eyeliner look good? If I was going out, I at least wanted to look perfect.

"You really should take better care of your surroundings. If these plants weren't so withered, everything would look a bit cozier in here and you'd be in a much better mood!" Hayley sounded cheerful, but determined.

"I've been fired and have no money, where am I supposed to get my good mood from?" I replied grumpily, once again wondering if it was such a good idea to go to a bachelorette party right now.

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