Java, the café, was where we frequently took our breaks from work. Sure, we could have had the coffee in the office, but going next door gave the illusion of getting away for a while and sometimes — often — that was needed.
“I know you, man,” Jim continued. “I also know there is something else that brought this on. Meet me at the cafe in five minutes.”
“Righto.”
Jim was already sitting at a table in Java when I arrived, good to his word that he would be there when I was. It made sense, really. Not only did he work in the law firm, but he also co-owned it with his sister and could really come and go as he pleased.
My boss was easy to spot among the other patrons, not only because he was one of the few wearing an expensive tailored suit, but also due to his jet-black hair and bright green eyes. With that combo, he just stood out. In all honesty, as far as appearances went, he and I were kind of opposites. I was blonde as compared to his dark hair. I was also a good deal taller.
“English toffee cap, right?” Jim asked as I approached his table, proffering the paper take out cup my way.
“Yeah,” I said, a bit surprised that he remembered.
“So, spill,” he said, as I slid into a chair and took the first, calming sip. Coffee makes everything better.
“My mother —”
“Oh, dear,” he said.
“That’s what she said,” I smirked.
“Come again?” Jim asked, trying not to laugh.
“Mom likes to say that,” I explained, trying to keep things light. “She is coming to the gala for my Governor’s award.”
He nodded. “Well, that makes sense.”
I picked up my drink, took another sip, and nervously tapped the fingers of my right hand on the paper cup. “You haven’t heard the worst of it.”
“Sorry, please, continue.”
“She is coming, as is my dad —”
“Is your sister coming?” Jim asked seriously, knowing how much my whole family stressed me out.
“Apparently.”
“I see,” Jim said, nodding again, but he didn’t have the whole of it yet.
“So, the whole crew is coming, and my mother invited Gina.”
From across the table, Jim stiffened. He raised both of his eyebrows and let his mouth fall open. “No!”
“Yes.”
“Not good,” Jim observed, with a grimace.
“Don’t I know it. I tried to fight it but—”
“Resistance is futile,” Jim said and then took a long sip of his coffee.
I sat back and ran my fingers through my hair. “Exactly. So now I need to find a way to let Gina know that I’m really not interested, short of dumping a punch bowl over her head.”
“Not big on subtly, is she?” Jim asked.
“Nope.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, each taking long sips and letting the coffee work its magic on our brains. A bit of a smile started to play on my boss’s lips. I wondered what he was thinking. After a few more moments, he was grinning. “How about a fake fiancée?”
“Come again?” I asked.
Jim laughed then scooted his chair forward. “I know it sounds strange, but it can really work. You know Leo? The new guy at the office?”
“I know of him,” I said.
“He met his wife a similar way,” Jim explained.
“Really?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling full of disbelief. That really couldn’t be true. What even was a fake fiancée?
“Yeah, oddly. His wife is a good friend of mine. She needed someone to go with her to her high school reunion and hired Leo to pose as her fiancé. Apparently, he did a really good job because they ended up falling in love.”
I snorted a laugh. “Oh, so they hadn’t really lied as much as been chronologically challenged,” I said.
Jim laughed too. “Pretty much, yeah,” he concurred.
A fake fiancée, huh? Maybe the idea wasn’t crazy. Having a hot girl by my side with a ring on her finger would certainly tell Gina to back off. Then after a few weeks, I could tell my family that things went south, and hopefully, Mom would be off the Gina kick by then. It was a simple plan.
“It’s not a bad idea,” I admitted, still mulling it over.
“Thank you.”
“I’m just pretty sure it would break my mother’s heart if she thought I got engaged without telling her,” I admitted, sighing. “She wants to know all my business.”
“True.”
I picked up my cup and found myself tapping on it again. “Though if it banishes Gina from this realm for all time, it might be worth it.”
“You make her sound demonic,” Jim pointed out, raising one eyebrow in a questioning look.
“Mom or Gina?”
“I was thinking Gina,” Jim clarified.
I laughed. “Can you blame me?”
“Not really,” Jim admitted. He knew the whole story.
“Now, I just need to find someone willing to commit an emotional fraud,” I said, getting into the idea.