Mr. Anders grunts. “’Kay. I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for your input.”
Once the call clicks off, I find myself in a staring contest with my boss.
He breaks the silence with, “That was actually more tame than last time.”
I fix a smile on my face. “What?”
“Last time, he suggested a whirlwind romance, culminating in a June wedding. I guess he’s assuming I already know that part of the plan, though, so now he’s just focusing on giving me the steps to get there.”
I swallow.
Rising, Mr. Anders looks down at me, deathly serious. “If we’re following theprofessional’sadvice, I think we need to go costume shopping before wedding dress shopping. Halloween is next week, after all. Then June is in only a matter of months.”
My head shakes, violently.
His head tilts. “But you said…”
“IthoughtPR would be up in arms trying to defuse the situation!”
He sighs, steps forward, and crouches in front of me. “I know. Which proves that you don’t understand how these things work. Trust me. It’s safest to make them think they’re getting what they want, but then be boring about it.”
Trust him?Trusthim? He’s already lied to me once, and hejustlied on the phone to his PR manager when he said he’dsee what he could do. I can’t trust him. “How exactly was having me pinned to my carboring, sir?”
“It wasn’t. I wasn’t being intentionally boring then. Because you told me you didn’t want to ‘fake date’.”
My breath shakes. “So this is my fault?”
“No, it’s my fault. Completely. All of it is.”
My shoulders bunch, and I whisper, “I wish you’d just be honest with me.”
“I don’t think you’d like that.”
“In the same way I don’t think you’d like me completely uncensored?” I ask. “What if we’re both wrong?”
He sits there on his haunches, arms settled against his knees. Moments slip by. Calculations run through his eyes. Finally, he says, “Are you willing to find out?”
Something prickles my skin, but I say, “Yes.”
“Okay. In that case. From now until your contract ends in February, you’re stuck with me. No matter what happens, you stay. And I will be honest. Painfully so. And you will beyou. No more muting. No more stopping, rethinking, and trying tobacktrack. No more biting your tongue. If you promise that, I’ll promise, too.”
This feels completely dangerous.
And, worse, it feels like he’s been trying to get this out of me ever since I started working here. With prodding. Then bets. And now this.
I say, “Is your promise worth as much as mine?”
“If you catch me in a lie, I will give you anything you want, anything at all. I will write that in ink and have it notarized. If I lie, you will be at liberty to destroy me, to enact whatever justice you deem appropriate.”
“I’d have to prove you lied, though.”
“I can have it outlined that you don’t.”
“That seems really risky on your part.”
“Probably because it is.”
“You’d have to trust me. Completely. To do something stupid like that.”
