Page 96 of The Fake Dating Plan

“Em,” his voice sounded anxious, “For a minute there, I thought you would not take my call.” Laura and Dylan were leaning into the phone.

“I thought about it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. How have you been?”

“Is there a purpose to this call?”

“Right. I deserve that. I wanted to know if you’d be willing to meet up and talk.”

“I don’t have the time. I have investor meetings set up. I gotta milk the award glow before the news about you dropping us gets out.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Dylan and Laura both stared at me.

“If it’s about—”

“You don’t have to attend those investor meetings.”

He could not mean what I thought he was implying? He couldn’t be that evil. “Don’t you dare blackball my company? It’s not just me you’re taking revenge on. People are relying on me giving me a paycheck at the end of the month.”

“I don’t mean it like that!”

“What then?”

“Can we talk over lunch? I haven’t stopped thinking about you and what I did to you. It was wrong and you don’t deserve it.”

“Are we still talking about business?”

“I realized something when I spoke to Heron. That you were never wrong. When Chad told me, he was already passed out in bed at that time and you simply crushed on—” I took the phone off speakerphone at the disappointment of Laura and Dylan, who both made silent protests when I put the phone to my ear.

“—the bed. I shouldn’t have assumed, and I was wrong to assume. What I want to say is, I’m sorry.”

“Um, Ax. Can we talk about this over lunch as you said?” My face heated with embarrassment.

“Yes. Of course. Don’t go to the investor meetings. Cancel them all.”

“Yes.” I agreed hastily. I wanted to end the call because Dylan and Laura were looking at each other wide-eyed.

“Good. Great. I’ll pick you up.”

“Yes,” I said, not fully cognizant of what I was agreeing to. When I ended the call Dylan said, “Well, well, well.”

Laura said, “You never told me you slept with Chad!”

“I didn’t sleep with Chad! Now, before, or ever, frankly.”

“What was he talking about?”

I told them everything. Leaving nothing out this time.

“So that’s why he was especially ruthless with you.”

“He hadn’t been able to let it go. See, as I said, it’s hard to convince him once he’s had his mindset.”

“Except,” Dylan leaned back into the chair, “didn’t he just call apologizing?”

Laura, whose attention had turned back to her phone screamed, “Holy shit!”

“What now?” I couldn’t deal with more bad news.

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