“Oh. That’s really thoughtful, but?—”
“There’s a new dumpling place in town. Asian fusion. Food is incredible.” He’s smiling, friendly and open. “Our treat.”
“That sounds tasty, but I should probably?—”
Dylan appears beside Mason, grinning widely. “And it’s also customary that we bring family. So bring your sister along.”
My brain stutters to a complete halt. “Oh, no. She wouldn’t want to come. She doesn’t like dumplings.”
Dylan raises an eyebrow. “That’s hard to believe. Who doesn’t like dumplings?”
“She’s very particular. About food. And social situations. Especially with new people. She gets anxious.” I’m talking too fast.Slow down. “She’d really prefer to stay home.”
“Well, we won’t accept no for an answer,” Mason insists, and his tone is friendly but there’s steel underneath it. Firm. “We’re a family business, Ash. We want to know our employees’ families, support each other. It’s important to us.”
Jasper appears from somewhere, joining the group surrounding my desk. Three Alphas, all watching me, all waiting.
“It really is customary,” Jasper adds. “We’ve done it for everyone who’s joined the team. Brings everyone closer.”
And then Slater is there too, making it four. Four massive Alphas forming a semicircle around my desk, all focused on me.
The pressure is immense. Suffocating.
I feel like I’m being backed into a corner, except the corner is made of very attractive men who smell incredible and are asking me to produce a fictional sister who is actually me.
“Sure,” I hear myself say. “Why not? I’ll ask her. I’m sure she’ll say yes.”
“That’s the spirit!” Dylan claps me on the shoulder, and I brace myself this time so I don’t topple over.
“Great,” Mason states, and his smile widens. “I’ll email you the address, so meet us there at seven tonight.” Then they head back to their respective offices, and I stare at my laptop screen without actually seeing anything.
My mind is spinning, frantically trying to calculate how this could possibly work. How am I going to pull off being two people in one night?
Ash and Anita. At the same dinner. With four Alphas who are already suspicious.
This isn’t just complicated. This is impossible.
I pull out my phone under the desk and open my notes app, typing quickly.
Plan for tonight:
Option 1: Anita arrives late (how late? 30 min? An hour?)
Option 2: Ash leaves early with an emergency (what emergency?)
Option 3: Keep switching in the bathroom (risky, exhausting, insane)
Option 4: Fake food poisoning for one of them (too suspicious)
Option 5: Learn to teleport
I delete the last one.
This is going to require strategy. Perfect timing. Probably more lying than I’ve done in my entire life combined.
I’m good at lying now, apparently, but tonight is going to be a complete nightmare.
Except, I’ve come this far, so I’m not backing out now.
