Page 46 of Knocked Up by My Fake Fiancé
"What's your relationship like with your mother-in-law?"
He chuckles. "She hated me for the first three years of our marriage, but lately, she's warming up to me."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Hasn't called me a hairy ape with no brains and zero future prospects for at least a month now, so I think I must be doing good."
I chuckle and shake my head. "God save us from monsters-in-law."
"Amen to that, ma'am."
I get to the office with not a single second to spare before my meeting starts. It's with a brand-new client who's planning a super sweet-sixteenth birthday event for her daughter. Her budget is on the lower side for us, but I decided to take her on anyway, because honestly, her story touched me. Her daughter survived a horrific car crash when she was fourteen, and suffered major pelvic fractures and terrible burns. But she was a fighter, and gradually she rebuilt her life, undergoing painful surgery and then the slow path of rehabilitation, until she could walk again without crutches. Now, two years later, they're putting that terrible incident behind them and celebrating the fact she's alive and pretty much fully recovered.
Naturally, her mom wants the party to be perfect, and I want to make it perfect for her. Every once in a while, I take on a passion project like this. The more expensive clients are good for business, but honestly, gigs like these touch my soul and they're necessary to keep me sane.
Sometime around the middle of the afternoon, Ash calls me. It's not the first time. She called earlier that morning, too, while I was having breakfast with Grayson's parents, and again when I was in my client meeting. Obviously, I couldn't answer the phone either of those times, but now that I have a break, I pick up, anticipating what she's going to say.
"Hey, darling."
"Don't darling me. Traitor," she says. "You told me you wouldn't move out till you got married."
"I did, didn't I?" How ironic. "But Ash, babes, I haven't actually moved out. Not really. I'm still sharing the rent and my stuff's still there, and I'll be coming back just as soon as I possibly can."
"Look, Jenna, I'm confused. Worried, even. What is this about? Why did you move in with the guy you were just complaining to me about days ago? This is the same guy we bumped into in the club that night, yes? One minute, you were dancing with him like you were going to rip his clothes off and fuck him on the dance floor. The next moment, he was gone and you wanted to go home and wouldn't say anything. Then yesterday, you announce you're packing to move in with the guy for work reasons. It's all highly suspicious, so come on… give. Has he got some kind of weird hold over you, or something? And don't bother with that bullshit about a secret project, because I didn't buy it the first time you said it, and I'm not going to buy it now. What's happening? I'm your friend; I have a right to know."
A right to know. Funny that she should say it like that. I've signed an NDA, so I actually have a duty to make sure shedoesn'tknow. But if I don't tell her, she'll just keep asking more and more questions, chipping away at me until she gets to the truth.
"Well… it's a secret. I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm not meant to tell anyone."
"Jesus, Jenna, I'm your best friend, for fuck's sake. Now… come on!"
"I know, I know, Ash, and I want to tell you." This at least is true. There's nothing I'd like more right now than to head back to our apartment, put on my bathrobe, open a bottle of inexpensive red wine, and slump down on the couch with Ash to chat everything through with her. She sometimes gets some funny ideas, but she's a good listener, and even more importantly, she's a friend I can trust with a secret.
"But… well, it's complicated. I don't really know how to explain it."
"Well, you'd better figure out how to explain it because if you don't, I'm going to explode."
"Who are you, the FBI? Alright, alright. I'll tell you. Are you alone? I'm not on speaker, am I?"
"No, you're not on speaker, and yes, I am alone. Now, for fuck's sake, tell me what's going on! Are you and Grayson Wolfe an item? How did it happen? Did he sweep you off your feet, Cinderella-style?"
Hahaha, little does she realize the story's morePretty Womanthan Cinderella.
"Not quite, Ash. It's a long story, but basically, we're pretending to date for a short time. By the way, Ash, I'm only telling you this because I know you can keep a secret, so swear to me that you will not tell a single soul about this. I'm serious. Not a soul. Or he will sue me into oblivion. He made me sign an NDA."
"He what?Are you kidding? Yeah, yeah, okay, calm down, darling, your secret's safe, I won't tell anyone. Wait—you're pretending to date him? For what? The media?"
"No, and believe me, this wasn't my idea, but he's paying me. A lot of money."
"Oh my God. Are you sleeping with him?"
"No, of course not!" My voice is high-pitched, and I fumble my mug and splash hot coffee on my desk. "Jesus, Ash."
"That's totally the voice you make when you're lying. You've already fucked him, haven't you? How was it? It was good, wasn't it?"
"No, it wasn't."
"Oh, it totally was! You are lying your ass off right now, and that's why you sound so flustered."
