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“Well, dating the boss may have something to do with it.”
“Hey!” I scolded him as we exited the elevator and walked through the main foyer. He may have been right about dating the boss, but I was still his older sister. “I’ve got this. And it isn’t what it looks like.”
Walking past the mailroom door, I stole a glance through the window. I spotted Clive chatting with a colleague. I imagined myself beside him next week—everything back to the way it was before I’d met Colton. I hated the image.
The café was attached to our building but had a separate entrance. It wasn’t very busy at ten-thirty in the morning, but the space was quite large with an open twenty-foot ceiling. There were three customers in line and a few more sat at tables with their drinks and laptops in front of them. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee improved my mood as I walked toward a table in the back.
“What’s going on, Fran?” asked Marco as soon as we sat down.
I inhaled deeply and debated whether or not to tell Marco the truth. Today was the day I would come clean, so might as well start now. “I lied.”
“About what?”
I sighed. “Everything.”
“You have to be a little more specific than that.”
I sat up straight in my chair and emptied my conscience. “I lied to you when I said I got an advance instead of a new job. I lied to Colton to get the new PA job. I lied to myself when I said this would be easy and I can pull it off.”
Drained from the relief of finally saying it all out loud, I dropped my head into my arms on top of the table.
“What do you mean you lied to Colton to get the job? Did you fudge your resume?”
“No, that’s just it. It wasn’t even my resume. I stood in his office holding some other woman’s resume, and he assumed it was me. He hired me on the spot.” I wasn’t sure if Marco heard my muffled explanation while my head was still in my arms.
“Well… you didn’t really lie to him then.”
I sat up and crossed my arms. Tilting my head to the side, I asked with my voice laced with skepticism, “Really? You wouldn’t consider that lying?”
His lips twitched, but he kept them in check. “Um… well, more like a misunderstanding.”
I smiled this time. I loved my brother for trying to defend me. “Only, I hadn’t corrected him. I took the job instead, knowing I would quit in two weeks. I lied.”
“Why two weeks?”
“That’s when I would have enough money to pay for your first semester at college.”
All humor drained from his face. “You did this for me?”
I nodded, then slapped a hand to my forehead and groaned, “Now I have to go up there and tell Colton the truth.”
“Why?” His question sounded genuine.
Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “What do you mean why?”
“Why tell him now, when you only have two more days until you finish what you’ve started?”
“You don’t understand. This has turned into something more than just a job. He’s not some jerk I’m pulling a fast one over. I care for him and…”
“And?” asked Marco, reaching for my hand.
“And he told me he loved me.” My voice cracked on the last word. I pressed my lips together, holding them firmly with my teeth.
Marco grabbed my hand across the table. “If he loves you, Frannie, he’ll understand.”
Nodding, I agreed. “That’s what I’m hoping. That we can move past this. That when I explain everything to him, he’ll know why I did it and forgive me.”
He gave my hand one last squeeze before he leaned back in his chair. “I know he will. You’re a good person, Frannie.”
