Her eyes practically roll to the back of her head. “Did you already forget about the notebook?”
“That. Wasn’t. Me.” I enunciate every word, hoping it gets through her thick head. “I was taking a call around the corner when I saw a woman about to jump into oncoming traffic. That’s all there is to the story.”
Vivienne grows quiet, her eyes meeting mine for a split second before refocusing on the stretch of sidewalk in front of us. “Why should I trust you?” she asks.
“Trust is built, not earned. If you don’t believe me, then let it be. I can only hope you come to know my character with time.”
She hums, considering my words. “That’s not something a liar would say.”
“Well, that’s because I’m not a liar.”
She lets out a long sigh, shoulders slumping forward as the reality she’s built in her mind comes crashing down. “Can I ask you a question, then? If you answer with the full truth, I’ll reconsider my trust in you.”
“Shoot,” I say with no hesitation.
“What was that whole engineering-news thing Margaret mentioned?”
I avert my gaze to the side, wanting to dodge the question at all costs. Any other topic of conversation would have been fine, but this hits a little too close to home.
There’s a reason I didn’t delve into the nitty-gritty of why I also needed this arrangement. And the truth is, it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with my past.
Aviation is a niche industry, but with a quick Google search and a supposedly high net worth, people’s opinions of me always change. This quickly bled into their perceptions and expectations of me.
Romantic. Platonic. It didn't matter.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked to set people up with free flights, lavish dinners, and fancy hotels. Favors for close friends—and exceptions for family—don’t count, but coming from acquaintances, it stung, especially when I'd hoped it would lead to a lasting connection.
Vivienne, on the other hand, seems to have no knowledge of any of it, and I like that about her—along with the way she makes her hatred for me infinitely clear. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, it’s one of the reasons she intrigues me as much as she does.
Melanie may have threatened us to meet for the purposes of this arrangement, but I’d be lying if I said it’s the only reason I went through with her demands. I wanted an excuse to pick apart Vivienne’s brain a little more.
Now, I realize withholding that information from her was wrong.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I was an engineer. I went to MIT, earned my bachelor’s degree, and worked in industry for a couple of years before setting up my own firm, Archer Aviation. We hosted the event you attended—the one where we wound up in the fountain.”
“Oh…” Vivienne falters, at a complete loss for words. “And the news?”
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, a few news articles are more fitting. So I pull out my phone, type in my name, and hand it over to her. Vivienne looks up at me hesitantly before grabbing it.
Swipe after swipe, click after click, she sorts through about a dozen articles—my name and both our faces plastered all over them. Each headline is worse than the last, but I can’t tell what’s going through her mind when her face is tilted downward, shadowed by the darkness of the night.
“Are you mad?” I ask, not knowing how to move forward with this conversation.
Brown eyes meet mine in a fiery gaze. “Of course I’m mad!” Her arms go up in frustration. “I wish I’d known this before agreeing.”
“I agree,” I admit without delay.
“The least you could have done was be honest with me. This deal is going to affect my own reputation, as well. You’re a public figure, Nate—peopleknowwho you are. I’m a nobody. The most I have online is my LinkedIn and a couple of academic papers.”
Vivienne is fuming, fists clenched on either side of her body. Guilt and shame fill me at the sight. What I did went against everything I stand for. Honesty. Integrity. There were better ways to get over this bump in the road.
“It’s not too late to back out. Nothing’s been announced yet. They may have found your face, but your name is still unknown. Give it some time, and your portion of this will blow over. It’ll be like nothing ever happened.”
Her face softens, the corners of her lips turning downward ever so slightly before she shakes her head. “No.”
“No, what?” I ask, confused.
“No to backing out. I’m one of the reasons this is happening to you in the first place. You wouldn’t find yourself here if I hadn’t been there that night.”
