“What if they don’t want to?”
“What to what?” I asked, wondering how I’d fallen into the Twilight Zone.
“What if your kids don’t want to be in the business?”
“I don’t know. Surely one of them will want to. That’s not a concern right now.” I couldn’t let her veer me off our current topic.
“You’re asking a lot.”
I swallowed knowing that she was right. I was lucky she wasn’t calling a lawyer right now. “I know. I’m clearly willing to fudge the truth with LaMont, but I am aware that I’m being completely inappropriate with you right now. I’m sorry about that. But this company is my life. My grandmother’s life. I’m willing to do whatever I can to keep it alive for future generations whether they’re my kids or my brothers’.”
She rolled her eyes. “Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you?” She exhaled a breath. “Can I think about it?”
That was more than I expected or deserved. “Of course, Ms. Nichols.”
She laughed. “Perhaps under the circumstances, you should call me Kellie.”
4
Kellie
Sometimes I had experiences which in retrospect, I wondered if I’d misunderstood the situation. Maybe I hadn't heard the conversation correctly. That was what I was thinking about the conversation with Ryan and Mr. LaMont. But each time I replayed the conference call in my head, I came up with the same conclusion; Ryan Strong had asked me to fake marry him for a business deal. But then I’d think that couldn’t be right. He was my boss. He was a serious, focused man with integrity. He couldn’t have suggested we travel to Italy to go through a marriage ceremony.
For the rest of the day, I argued with myself about what had happened. And by the time I headed home, I still couldn’t be sure he meant what he’d said or that I’d understood what he meant. The only solution was to tell my sister about it and see what she thought. Natalie was more than my sister and roommate; she was my best friend too. I trusted her and felt like she’d be able to help me sort through this confusion with my boss.
“He said that? That you could get away with a pretend marriage if you didn’t get a license?” Natalie asked, as she pushed one of her lavender curls away from her face. She sat in one of our mismatched dining chairs, one foot propped up on the seat. She sipped tea from a psychedelic coffee mug she’d made in seventh grade.
“Yep. Then he said how important the company was to him and he’d give me a bonus.” I poured the cooked fettuccine noodles through the strainer and dumped them back in the pot.
“I don’t know how you’d have misunderstood that. It sounds clear to me.”
I put the jarred alfredo sauce over the noodles and stirred. “So, I guess I need to decide if I’m going to do it.”
“Of course, you’ll do it.” She stood, setting her mug on the table and going to get forks out of the drawer to set the table.
“What do you mean of course?” I frowned at her.
“Did you miss the part where he said he’d give you a bonus? You should ask for enough to pay off your student loan. Maybe even negotiate a raise. You know, our rent is going up soon. Dumbass landlord.”
She was right. A financial bonus could be a big help to us. I was paid pretty well for being Ryan’s assistant, but it was expensive to live in San Diego, and I did have some significant student loans.
“It seems like lying,” I said scooping noodles onto plates and handing Natalie one.
“I don’t know. If you’re actually having a ceremony, it’s not a lie. The only untruth is that you two aren’t in love, but it’s not like it would be hard to pretend to love Ryan Strong.”
I sat at the table and stared at her.
“What?” she asked, twirling her fork in her fettuccini noodles.
“Why would it be easy to pretend to love my boss?”
“Because he’s hot. And he’s rich. And he’s nice to you.” Her tone sounded like she was saying “duh.” She wasn’t wrong. Just as Andi had said earlier, Ryan was handsome and had a lot going for him. But he had a much bigger thing working against him; he was my boss. Plus, he’d never given me any indication that he was attracted to me. No leers. No appreciative glances at my body. No unwanted touches. Well, there was his hand on mine during the call, but he wasn’t trying to make an advance. He was trying to win a business deal.
“And you’re not chopped liver either. You just need to stop dressing like a nineteenth-century schoolmarm and accentuate your assets.”
I looked down at my white blouse tucked into my navy skirt. “Schoolmarm?”
Nat rolled her eyes. “It’s fine for work, but you need to let loose a bit. Find your style.”