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“This is the greatest show,” I sing out loud as I move some papers around on my desk, listening to the soundtrack play out through the speakers on my computer. After our date Friday night, I knew it was time for a relisten.
The truth is, it had been a while since I’d listened to the songs from the movie. But after hearing Charlotte do so and then sharing with her that I did the same sometimes, we scrolled through our favorite songs on the way home from the restaurant after we finished our meal and stayed until almost closing time.
It was the best date I’ve been on, ever, and I can’t fucking wait to do it again.
“Oh! This is the greatest show!” Jeffrey bellows as he comes through the door to my office, arms stretched out on both sides. “Fuck! I love this movie!”
I reach for the mouse on my computer and press pause on the song before turning around to face him, pointing a stern finger in his direction. “Tell anyone I was listening to this and you’re dead.”
Jeffrey’s smile falls. “Why? There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I know. It’s just…something I like to keep to myself, alright?” Yeah, definitely something I wouldn’t share with other people. Charlotte was obviously the exception.
And she’s becoming the exception in more ways than one.
“Whatever, dude. It’s cool. So, have you thought about the Remedy account more? I was thinking we should sit down and run through some ideas, come up with a plan. Time is ticking, my friend.” He taps his finger on his wrist where there is no watch.
“Oh. Uh, not really. I’ve been kind of busy.” I look away from him, knowing I’m slacking on this account, the account that I went after in the first place.
“Busy with Charlotte?” he prods.
“Um, yeah. We’ve been hanging out a bit.”
“Just a bit?”
I turn to face him as he eyes me with a knowing gaze. “Fine. We’ve been hanging out as much as she’ll allow, okay?” I run a hand through my hair. “And it’s my idea. Fuck.”
“What’s going on?”
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I admit what I am finally accepting. “Jeffrey, I’m into my fake girlfriend.”
His eyes go wide. “Noooooo…”
I nod. “Yup.”
“Fuck, Damien. What are you thinking, man? Isn’t this the girl that hates you and vice versa?”
“I’m thinking that the woman intrigues me and I fucking love talking to her. She’s not the same girl I remember while we were growing up. Or maybe she is, but I was too blinded by our rivalry to see who she really was. And now…I just want to be around her as much as possible.”
“Holy shit. And does she feel the same way?”
I think back to our date, to the conversations we had and the orgasm I gave her under the blanket on our laps. She curled into my side, slid her jeans down off her hips, and I made her come on my fingers as we stared up at the stars. Then we drove home and sang the songs to that fucking movie throughout the entire drive. Who the fuck does those things?
People that are in a real relationship.
“I mean, I think she does. Hell, there’s been kissing and touching, lots of touching. And I took her on a real date Friday night.”
Jeffrey smiles, his face softening as he registers my inner turmoil. “Dude…”
“I know. So I’m sorry that I’m slacking. I am. I just…”
“Hey, it’s okay. I get it. If I had a girl like Charlotte giving me attention, I’d be acting the same fucking way.” He takes a deep breath but then grows serious again. “But we have to remember why this all started in the first place, Damien—the Remedy account. We have to land it. If we go into that pitch with a half-ass attempt, Dave will have our necks and then we look like fucking wankers. You want that?”
“Wankers? Are you British now?”
“No, it was just the word that came to mind at the time.” He shrugs.
“Okay. Noted. But I hear you, man. And you’re right. This week we buckle down. I promise we will get to work.”
“It’s a plan. And the next time you see Charlotte, try to pick her brain about her period.”
I wince at his suggestion. “I don’t know. I don’t see how there’s an easy way to broach that subject with her. I can’t just ask her out of the blue. It needs to seem organic.”
He rubs his chin in thought. “Yeah, I think you’re right. But she’s our best bet of getting an accurate glance at what women look for when it comes to that, you know?”
“I’ll see what I can get out of her.”
“That’s all I ask. Okay, let me grab my notepad and I’ll be right back. Shall I order some lunch so we can work through it?”
I glance at my phone, debating if it’s worth canceling my lunch plans with Charlotte. It’s the Tuesday after our date and I was really looking forward to seeing her. But Jeffrey is right—we need to work on this pitch. It has to be perfect and nothing short of brilliant. And if I don’t put forth some effort toward it, this lie will have been for nothing.
“Yeah, sounds good. I just need to make a call really quick.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I watch him leave and then bring up Charlotte’s number and hit the green call button.
She answers after the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi,” she replies, giddiness in her voice. “What’s up?”
“Listen, I hate to do this to you, but I’m going to have to cancel our lunch plans. This account I’m working on needs my attention and Jeffrey wants to work through lunch.”
“Oh. That’s okay, I understand.” I can hear the disappointment in her voice, but she also sounds like she’s trying to hide it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Damien. I understand that sometimes work needs to come first. No worries. We’ll get together soon.”
“How about tonight?”
“I can’t tonight. I have a yoga class with Amelia.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Wednesdays we do our weekly dinner.”
“Thursday?” I ask, hoping she isn’t just making up excuses to blow me off because she’s upset.
“I can do Thursday night.”
A sigh of relief escapes my lips. “Great. Thursday night. My place. I’ll order from Tony’s and we can catch up. Maybe watch a movie?”
“Only if I get to pick,” she counters, a hint of a smile in her voice.
“You got it. Sorry again, Char.”
“It’s okay, Damien. Call me later if you want.”
“I will. Bye, babe.”
“Bye.”
When she hangs up, my chest feels heavy and a part of me yearns to call her back, tell her I was joking and that I’ll be at her office in fifteen minutes.
But the responsible part of me—the part that wants this promotion more than anything—knows that this is the right thing to do. There’s more than one reason why this promotion will make my life easier, and I’ll need to face it soon enough.
And as much as it kills me, I need to remember why Charlotte is back in my life in the first place. It will make this all a lot easier when this is over.
But the deeper you get into this, the less you want it to end, isn’t that right, Damien?
* * *
