Everyone gasps. I even see someone grabbing
the champagne bottle closest to them, just in
case.
”
Frank narrows his eyes, like he’s won.
く
He thinks I took the bait. He warns me:
“Josie, can you just stop being ridiculous?”
I ignore him, change my expression, and say
with a sweet smile:
“That dress looks terrible on her. It’s so
boring and outdated. If she was flat, it would
be flattering, but Lauren’s got a killer figure.
It’s a shame…”
Frank’s jaw drops.
Everyone’s confused.
Lauren gets it right away.
She pouts at Frank:
<
“Frank, didn’t you say you had this dress
custom–made for me? I only wore it because
you asked me to. Even Josie can see it looks
awful. Don’t you even care about me?”
That clingy act? Only Lauren can pull it off.
I squeeze my hands into fists, trying not to
laugh.
This is great. Now everyone’s staring at Frank
again.
If he admits he cares about Lauren, he was
lying before. This whole thing was just a
setup.
If he doesn’t, all his efforts will be for nothing.
I fold my arms, watching Frank squirm.
He’s sweating.
But he catches on quick.
To avoid ruining everything, he sucks it up
and says:
“Lauren, I… I care about you.”
Frank’s cheating right in front of me, and he’s
hoping I’ll lose it and start a scene.
But I don’t flinch. I even take a sip of
champagne, grinning at them:
“Wow, perfect match! Get together! Get
together!”
Frank’s starting to panic. He shoves Lauren
away and hisses:
<
“Stop it!”
“Stop what? I think Lauren’s great; she’s
landed so many deals for this company.
What’s wrong with you, Frank? Why is she
still a secretary? You should’ve made her
head of marketing already!”
I raise my eyebrows, putting him on the spot.
The others stop focusing on the “catfight”
and start paying attention:
”
“Yeah, Lauren’s been here for three years,
working 24/7. Why hasn’t she been
promoted?”
“Didn’t they say they were announcing the
new head of marketing at this party? It’s
gotta be Lauren…”
Lauren used to be careful about taking
advantage of her position; she wouldn’t want
to make Frank look bad in public.
But now she knows what he is. She’s not
going to let him get away with anything.
She winks at me, then grabs a ring box from
Frank’s pocket when he isn’t looking.
She holds it up, showing it off to me:
“Josie, don’t try to mess with me and Frank.
He’s going to propose! See? He bought me a
ring!”
Frank’s face goes white when he sees the
box.
Chapter 2
Emily’s about to pass out, she’s shaking so bad. Her face is practically paper white.
I turn on the waterworks, three seconds flat. I
pinch my thigh for good measure.
“Frank… is this true?” I ask, all shaky and
pathetic.
I’m not usually the damsel–in–distress type.
But I’m channeling my inner–Emily right now,
and the crowd is buying it.
“Dude, Frank’s totally playing two women.
What a loser…”
“Seriously, Josie’s a freakin‘ heiress. Frank
should be kissing her feet.”
Frank’s losing it. The public isn’t on his side.
“Enough!” he yells, trying to regain control.
Lauren plays along, shutting her mouth.
Frank takes a breath, forces a smile. Then he
walks toward me, grinding his teeth.
<
He slides the ring onto my finger, right in
front of Emily’s face.
It’s too small; he almost can’t get it on.
I smile like an idiot, acting like I didn’t notice
a thing.
Frank takes another breath, puts on his best
“happy” face, and announces:
“Sorry about that, everyone. This was
supposed to be a surprise for my girlfriend.
As for Lauren…..”
||
He chokes. He notices Emily’s gone.
Frank starts to panic.
I’m not letting him off the hook.
Last time, I made a huge scene, and the
whole company hated me.
Lauren lost out on the marketing director job
because of all the drama.
And some distant cousin of Emily’s, a dude
named Ethan, got the position instead.
