Page 8 of His Perfect Woman

“We’ll be filling everyone in on the details soon enough. But for now, we hope to see you at the upcoming anniversary gala. Stay tuned to all of our social media accounts and our website for more updates about Victoria’s and my upcoming marriage. And everyone...this is just further proof not to believe everything you read on the internet.”

The crowd laughed and started to disperse. I was screaming inside. It took everything in me not to lunge for the microphone and start telling them it was all a lie. But not only would that make me look bad by association and mark me as the worst PR person to ever represent anyone, it would be horrible for Lucas...who was now, regrettably, my client.

I bit my lip so hard I thought it might bleed and watched everyone head for the doors. Then I spun around on my heels and stormed off the stage. I did not slow down when I heard Lucas running after me.

4

Lucas

I wasn’t sure if Victoria had played along through the press conference out of shock or cleverness...but the answer became abundantly clear to me when she took off storming through the building. I chased after her, watching the unsuspecting people passing by jump out of her way, spilling coffee and dropping papers. She didn’t care. She was like a tornado ripping through with her heels clacking along the tiles.

“Victoria! Wait! I didn’t know what else to do! But it worked, didn’t it?”

“You didn’t fix anything!” she hissed, spinning around so fast that I nearly crashed into her. “You evaded being questioned for today. That’s it! Now what happens when there’s no engagement? No marriage? When they realize you lied!? You honestly think a fake engagement or an unsuccessful one is going to paint you in any better light than before!? No, Lucas! It’s worse, actually! Way worse!”

She took off again, flying out the back door of the building. I grabbed her arm to try and stop her. “We can talk through this. We can…”

“Shut the fuck up, will you!?” she snarled in a hushed rasp, yanking me back inside—into a more private room. “Are you insane!? Do you think, after what you just pulled, you want them catching us arguing in the back alley? God, you’re a PR nightmare! And whoever you’ve been working with has left you severely underprepared. You should have called me sooner.”

“But you’re here now,” I argued.

“And thanks to you, it’s already too late! I can’t believe you did that! What the hell were you thinking!?”

“I saw you there, and...and…” I got lost in her eyes for a moment, which was exactly what had happened on that stage. Every word I said was true, just horribly out of context and wrapped up in a little fib. “It was what they needed to hear. It was the only thing that was going to fix all of this.”

“No! It wasn’t! I stepped up to save you, but before you could even let me do my job, you threw both of our careers down the drain like an idiot!”

“I really don’t think it has to be such a big deal,” I grumbled defensively.

“That’s the problem here, Lucas! You don’t see how big of a deal this is! You don’t understand what you just did! Did you ever stop to consider what that might have done to my own love life? If someone I was dating was out there right now, reading the headlines they’re just now spouting off all over the internet?”

“You said you were single,” I reminded her, crossing my arms. “And that you had no interest in changing that. What’s the harm?”

She turned her back to me, shaking her head. “I’ve worked my whole life to be taken seriously. You know that, Lucas. I want to be seen as the professional that I am, which is exactly why I was here today. Now you’ve ripped it all out from under me and turned me into your stupid trophy wife.”

“Can’t you be both? A professional and…”

“Don’t say it again,” she thundered. “Don’t you dare!”

“We’ll tell them it didn’t work out,” I offered. “In a little while. You know, after the hype of it all has worn down some. Everyone will forget about this in a few months and we’ll both be laughing about it.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” she scoffed, starting for the door again.

“Victoria, please. Wait. Let's talk through this. You want to be looked at as a professional, so act like one. Let’s sort this out together.”

“Together?” She sneered. I’d never seen her so angry. “You have some balls. You weren’t so concerned with sorting things out together when you blurted all that out to save your own ass, without even considering me for a second! And I am looked at as a professional, Lucas. That’s what you don’t seem to understand. I acted like one today by not calling you out in front of everyone. But I am by no means obligated to stand here and talk to you about this for another second.”

“Not even as a friend?”

“I don’t want a friend who would pull something like this,” she shot back, her voice cracking.

The full extent of the damage I had done was rapidly sinking in, and it left me paralyzed as she took off to leave. I didn’t stop her this time.

I sat alone in that back room long enough to be certain that everyone else had left. I was in no position to put on a smiling face for anyone after that huge blow up. After a while, I called my car to pick me up around back so I could sneak out.

I skipped going back to the office and went straight home instead, avoiding all news and media outlets. My company phone shut off, I sent a few texts to Victoria on my cell and called her several times. No answer.

The hiss of the beer bottle I cracked open brought me a little relief, but not much. I took a big swig and plopped down on the couch, peeling off my suit jacket and yanking off my tie, followed by my shoes. A framed photo on the mantle caught my eye—Victoria and me smiling back at the camera in our cap and gowns at graduation, and another right next to it from prom night. We hadn’t attended together, but ended up partying the whole night away after our dates got too tired to keep up with us. That was another thing we had in common—work hard, party harder. No one had ever been able to hold a candle to her in that regard...or in any other for that matter.

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