Page 19 of Fake it With Me

We moved from group to group, saying the same stupid drivel. But I went with it.

After an hour, we ended up at a table near the windows. Darek grabbed us both champagne from a passing waiter, and I took a grateful sip.

“You’re doing great,” he said quietly.

“I feel like a fraud.”

“That’s because you are a fraud. We both are.” He smiled and sipped his champagne. “But nobody here knows that.”

“How do you stand these people?”

“Years of practice. And remembering that most of them are potential customers.”

“So this is all just business?”

“Everything is business. I find most of these events tedious. Necessary but tedious.”

I was about to respond when I saw her approaching. Even in a room full of overdressed rich people, she stood out. Bleached blonde hair that looked frozen. Big red lips that were definitely enhanced with fillers, and breasts that had clearly been purchased from a very good plastic surgeon. She wore a white dress that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. If she sneezed, her tits would fall out and the short hem would expose her hoo-hah. And I kind of thought that was the goal. She moved through the crowd like she owned the place.

The man beside her was older, maybe fifty, with silver hair and a deep tan that came from spending too much time on boats. He had his hand possessively on her back. And they were headed straight for us.

“Sasha,” Darek said in a voice that was icy enough to send shivers down my spine.

Then the name hit me.

Oh shit.

His ex-wife. The woman who had abandoned him and Daisie three years ago.

The yacht club was about to get real trailer park. I wasn’t sure whether to run or start filming for posterity.

“Darek.” Sasha’s voice was sugary sweet. Her eyes slid to me with her enhanced top lip curling back. “Who’s this?”

“Sasha, this is Liza. My girlfriend.” Darek’s voice was calm. “Liza, this is Sasha. And Grant Waverly.”

I extended my hand, trying to be polite even though every instinct told me this woman was bad news. “Nice to meet you.”

She looked at my hand like I was offering her a dead fish, then gave it the briefest possible shake. “How… unexpected. I didn’t know you were seeing anyone, Darek.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about my life anymore.” His tone was calm, but there was steel underneath. “Grant.”

Grant nodded, puffing up slightly. “Good to see you, Sullivan.”

“This is my boyfriend,” Sasha said.

“Congratulations.” Darek’s voice held absolutely no emotion. He might as well have been commenting on the weather.

I studied him, looking for any sign that he still had feelings for this woman. But there was nothing. He looked at Sasha the way you’d look at a stranger on the street. Polite disinterest and nothing more.

That, at least, made me feel better.

Sasha’s smile tightened. “You certainly didn’t waste any time moving on.”

“It’s been three years, Sasha.”

“Still, I’m surprised you have time for a relationship, given how devoted you are to your work.” The words were barbed, clearly meant to wound. “Or has that changed? Are you actually making time for people now?”

“I make time for what matters.” Darek’s hand found mine under the table, squeezing gently. Whether for my benefit or his, I couldn’t tell.