The Fake Engagement

Eliza didn’t sleep.

Preston’s assumption about her overthinking everything annoyed the hell out of her. She didn’t overthink anything. Like an assignment back in college, there needed to be a good background. She was preparing for the worst.

“You look pissed,” Juliet said.

She’d woken up an hour too early.

Glancing up at her friend, she noticed how perfect she looked. Not a single hair out of place. Her makeup wasn’t too much, but enough to enhance the beauty of the woman beneath.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She slumped into her chair. “I think this ruse Preston wants me to partake on is headed for failure. You know how I feel about that.”

“You are the anti-failure queen.”

“I have never failed. I have always been ready and prepared. I don’t think I can do this.” She ran a hand down her face. She was so tired, and she’d gone without any kind of makeup. The chances of her smudging mascara onto her eyes were too damn high. She’d look like a clown.

Juliet placed a strong cup of coffee beneath her nose and the scent of the beans was already giving her a high.

“Have I told you how much I love you lately?”

“Nope, and certainly not enough.”

They both chuckled, and she breathed in the scent of her coffee. “This is so good. I need this like an IV into my system right now.” She took a sip, not caring that it burned as it went down. She needed all the help she could get.

“You shouldn’t let this bother you. If your boss is ready and prepared, you’ve got this.” She put a reassuring hand on her arm.

Smiling, she sighed. “You’re right. I know I shouldn’t care. It’s not like I know his parents.”

“You’re going off a hunch?” Juliet asked.

“You two are losers first thing in the morning, you know that?” Mackenzie asked, coming out of her bedroom. She looked a mess. Her hair was a nest on top of her head. Her face had lines from a crumpled pillow, and she rubbed at her eyes as if she was still a child.

Eliza couldn’t help but laugh at the pajamas she wore as she walked past them to get her own coffee, as one of the shorts had ridden up her ass.

“Your ass hungry today?” Eliza asked.

“Starved.” Mackenzie pulled the shorts out and moved toward them. “What are we talking about at this time in the morning?”

It was like evolution had taken place in their kitchen. They were all different forms of the walking man from neanderthal. She wrapped her arms around Mackenzie. “I love you,” she said.

“Love you too. You’re still freaking out about your engagement to your boss?” she asked.

“Yep. Pretty much.”

“If he’s not worried and it’s his family he’s getting you to lie to, I’d just go with it, you know? You can’t be held responsible if this goes pear-shaped.”

“You’re right, you’re absolutely right, but once I set myself on a task, I have no choice but to complete it. You know how it is.”

Mackenzie let her go, yawning with her mouth wide open, her eyes closed. “I don’t believe it is even possible to think right now. I’m so tired. Today’s the day.”

“Possible takeover bid?” Eliza asked.

“Yep. It would seem Doug’s Advertising will be no more in a few short weeks.”

“Wait, hold up,” Juliet said. “Since when did you go from having a suspected takeover bid to it being completely confirmed? What did I miss?”

“What did you miss? My boss’s son finally got his father to agree that the best thing for the company is a buyout. The truth is he doesn’t want to do any of the work. He’s looking for a big payday, and the rest of us are just going to get passed over or fall with the ship. I’m already looking for a new job,” Mackenzie said.

“You’ve been fired?” Eliza asked.

“No. I haven’t been fired. You know I’m damn good at what I do, but I’m not going to sit on my ass and hope they don’t fire me. You all know when a takeover bid like this happens that people are let go. I’m not going to be one of those women.” She shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ve got some money saved up for rent.”

“Do not even go there, silly,” Eliza said.

“Yeah, so not cool,” Juliet said.

“We’ve got each other’s backs. We have since we were kids. If you need time to get a job, then it’s yours.” Eliza wrapped her arms around her friend, and Juliet moved from behind the kitchen counter and hugged her best friend.

Mackenzie burst into tears. “I love you guys. I’m so sorry.”

“Let it all out.”

“I loved this job. You guys know I did. It was a lot of fun, and I was able to do my own thing, explore my creativity. A big company is going to try and squash me.”