“Fine. What do you suggest? Lobotomies?”
Her teeth ground together like she was considering it. “No. Something less surgical. We fake it. For the board. For HR. For all the agents expecting a show.”
Fake it. Of course.
A laugh scraped through my throat. She was offering exactly what I needed to appease my grandfather: an olive branch. But it wouldn’t be Valerie unless her branch was wrapped in thorns. She just didn’t know how deep that offer cut. I wasn’t sure if I could stomach the version of us that was nothing but a detached, spiritless performance.
“No,” I said finally.
She blinked, not expecting that. “No?”
I stepped closer. “Not with each other. We fake it out there.” I jerked my head toward the glow of the pavilion ahead. “But never with each other.”
She paused for a breath, a flicker of something softening her expression. But it vanished as her chin tipped up, her lips curving, slow and dangerous.
“I think I see what you mean. Like this?” Valerie angled her head and addressed a tiki torch like it was a department manager. “Why yes, it was Grant’s genius and thoughtful idea to institute agency-wide healthy snacks in the breakroom. You know what they say, an apple a day…”
Then she shifted her hips, turning back to me as her hands slid up my chest, catching the lapels of my suit and giving them a firm tug.
She went up on her toes and spoke in my ear. “This suit makes you look like a stuffy corporate goon who doesn’t like to have any fun.”
And just like that… all was right in the world. A sardonic smile tugged at my mouth as she dropped back to her heels.
“And the award goes to… Valerie Spellman.” I brushed her hair off her cheek and leaned close enough to feel her breath. “But I thought a man who’s boring, buttoned-up, and prefers doomscrolling to keeping his girlfriend happy was your type.”
Her green eyes flared. “At least he knows how to use his phone for more than swiping right.”
I swallowed a laugh and shook my head. This was one hundred percent going to backfire, but at least it would be fun.
Valerie stepped back and held out her hand like a dare. “All right. That felt good. Tonight we’ll be esteemed colleagues. Maybe even… friends.”
“With benefits?” I arched an eyebrow.
She snorted through her teeth. “You would say that. Friends with fine print.”
I closed my hand over hers and gave it a shake. “Ah, legalese... now who’s the corporate stooge?”
She looked into my eyes, a deep and soulful search. “I’m suddenly reconsidering the lobotomies.”
“Too late, Spells.” I spun her toward the pavilion. “Tonight, we dance on eggshells. Hope you can twirl better than you can walk in those shoes.”
“Don’t you dare say it…”
I nudged her forward. “I told you so.”
Chapter 5
Valerie
“Pose for a photo!”a familiar voice chirped as Grant led me into the pavilion.
Fake icicles dangled over our heads like wind chimes, hanging from an arch woven through with a garland of bright red hibiscus and glittery pine cones. The pavilion glowed like a tropical snow globe, and Sage hovered at the entrance snapping newsletter photos.
She lifted the camera in our faces, a wide smile on her lips that melted like a snowman on the equator. “Oh. It’s you two.” The camera dropped to her side. “Never mind. Your combined scowls will shatter the lens.”
“Relax. If we break the camera, I’ll have Purchasing order a new one,” Grant said, snaking a hand around my wrist before I could make a beeline for the cheese display. I needed cheddar on a cracker, and maybe a schmear of honey to tame the riot in my stomach.
What was I thinking proposing this ridiculous scheme? Whoever made up the sloganfake it till you make it, wasn’t faking it with Grant Delaney. A man who could simultaneously joke about shrimp skewer impalement while lookinglike a tax man I’d like to see with his sleeves rolled up… tie crooked…
