“You could have snuck off for a night. Come on.”
Will was five years younger than me, and while he worked hard, he played even harder. I still liked a good time, and I couldn’t function at my job if I didn’t blow off a little steam once in a while, but I hadn’t wanted to be anywhere but with Julie this weekend. Something Will wouldn’t have understood, and something I was even still making sense of, given that she’d been on my mind since the airport.
“No, I couldn’t have. I’m sorry to disappoint you.” I almost laughed at the sadness pulling at his features. “I have work to do, and so do you.”
“Yeah, I can tell you wasted a weekend in Vegas since you have such a grumpy-ass attitude.”
“Again, don’t you have work to do?” I asked on a sigh as I reached for my tumbler of coffee.
“So you were at the wedding the whole time? What were you, a third wheel?” He snickered, still not budging.
“No, my best friend Julie and I hung out while the couple went off on their own. I wasn’t a third wheel, but I didn’t go off and do anything I’d be ashamed of upon my return.”
“What a waste,” he said on an exaggerated sigh. “Wait, Julie’s the hot brunette, right? The one who visited you in January?” He leaned against the doorway of my office, not getting my not-so-subtle hint to leave. “And the one with the long legs who could wear the hell out of a skirt.”
He wasn’t the first friend to mention how hot Julie was, and it wasn’t the first time Will had brought her up since he’d met her.
However, this was the first time I’d wanted to clock him in the jaw for it.
“Yes, that’s Julie,” I said, pain shooting up the side of my head from the tight clench of my jaw.
“Damn.” He crossed his arms, letting a whistle seep through his teeth but still not moving. “How do you hang out with her so much and not hook up with her? You’re, like, made of steel or something.”
“She’s my best friend. That’s how. Bye, Will.”
“Okay, geez,” he said, pushing off the wall. “I know when to take a hint.”
“No, you actually don’t.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll see you later.”
I had to laugh when he gave me a mock salute before turning to leave.
I didn’t plan on telling anyone other than HR that Julie had been upgraded from best friend to fake wife, but Will’s interrogation had me on edge, even if I didn’t have far to go.
I’d emailed HR once I got home on Sunday, explaining I had gotten married over the weekend and needed to add my new wife to my insurance plan as soon as possible. Everything was supposed to stay confidential, but a partner traveling to Vegas for a weekend and coming back married would get around the office soon enough.
Julie was so worried about what I’d say to another woman I was dating about our fake marriage, and that was still among the least of my concerns. Once I confirmed that she was covered and there would be no interruption to her care or medications, I didn’t care who found out or what they would say.
“Hey, Landon. Sorry to interrupt. Oh hey, Will.”
“Nice to see you, Bonnie,” Will crooned at Bonnie, one of our HR managers, as he lingered in my doorway. Bonnie was in her sixties, with the company since before the merger, and always had a sweet, motherly way about her. She wore big, rimmed glasses that often dangled on a chain around her neck and didn’t dabble in office gossip. I’d breathed a sigh of relief when she’d called first thing this morning to tell me she was taking care of my request personally and—thankfully—hadn’t said anything other than congratulations.
“So much paperwork for a Monday morning,” Will noted, eyeing the thick folder in Bonnie’s hands.
“Go. Back. To. Work.”
Will was a good friend, but I had to fight the urge to push him into the hallway to get him to leave.
“It’s a tragedy to go to Vegas for a weekend and come back this tense.” He shook his head before he finally headed out.
“I took care of everything in the system, but it will take a while for Julie to get her insurance card. She should be able to use the group ID number in the meantime, but here’s a paper she could show a doctor or pharmacist to process.”
“Thanks, Bonnie,” I breathed out, the relief already palpable, as I plucked the folder from her hands. “And thanks for getting on this so quickly,” I said, lowering my voice in case anyone was out in the hallway.
“Of course. I hear we’re probably losing you soon when that New York branch opens.” She regarded me with a sad smile. “Good to be closer to your wife, though, I’m sure.”
“Nothing is definite yet, but yes. It would be good to be close.” And it would be, just not for the reasons Bonnie was probably thinking. Or maybe it wasn’t that different, because being away from my “wife” had made me a grumpy bastard from the time I’d gotten out of bed this morning.
