Page 20 of The Wild Card

“I’m happy for you,” he says. “You deserve something good.”

The words hit harder than they should. I nod again, not trusting my voice, and escape into the hallway.

Foster is waiting for me at my desk, because of course he is. “You look like you just swallowed a grenade,” he says. “What happened?”

“Daniels wants to meet my girlfriend.”

“Your what now?” Foster’s coffee cup freezes halfway to his mouth. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?”

“Since I told him I did. Just now. To get out of the Alaska thing.”

He sets the cup down slowly. “Okay, back up. You lied to Daniels about having a girlfriend?”

“Not exactly.” I scrub a hand over my face. “Remember your fake girlfriend idea? The roommate thing?”

“The thing I was joking about? That you were absolutely not supposed to actually do?”

“I found a roommate. She moved in yesterday.”

Foster stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “And?”

“And I may have… added a clause to the roommate agreement. A girlfriend clause. Outlining the terms of a fake relationship arrangement.”

The silence stretches between us.

“You put it in writing,” he says slowly.

“It seemed practical at the time.”

“And she agreed to this?”

I don’t answer.

Foster’s eyes go wide. “She doesn’t know.”

“She skimmed the contract. Signed without reading the whole thing.”

“She—” He breaks off, pressing his fist to his mouth. His shoulders start shaking. “Damn, this keeps getting better.”

“It’s not funny.”

“It’s extremely funny.” He’s fully laughing now, his shoulders still shaking. “You tricked some poor woman into being your fake girlfriend, and now Daniels wants to meet her?”

“At the charity gala. Next weekend.”

Foster loses it completely. He has to grab the edge of my desk to stay upright. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’m glad my impending doom amuses you.”

“Impending doom?” He wipes his eyes. “Try impending murder. When she finds out, she’s going to kill you. Slowly. With whatever kitchen utensil is closest.”

“She’s a cookbook author. She has a lot of kitchen utensils.”

That sets him off again. “You have to tell her.”

“I know.”

“Like, today. You have to tell her today.”