by Elle Woods
“Are you saying that you’ll do this?”
“I am, but it needs to work. I can’t have it flop and you go back on our deal.”
“I won’t go back on my word. If you do your part and the ruse fails, I will still keep my promise to you. You can have it in writing if you want.”
“That would make me feel better. When do we start?”
“Well, he asked me to check with my bride-to-be to see when she might be free for dinner. When might you be free, my dear fiancée?”
She laughed and smiled at him before her expression suddenly turned serious.
“We have work to do before that dinner. I don’t even have a ring. There is no picture of me in your wallet or your office. We need to lay some groundwork.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Well, let’s start with the picture,” she said as she rose and went to her cupboard. She quickly pulled out a camera and tripod and went to work setting it up.
“What are you doing?”
“You need a picture of the two of us so that he believes I am more than just someone you hired for the night. Now just stay right where you are.”
She focused the camera in his direction before pushing a few buttons and rushing towards the couch. Without warning, she sat in his lap and placed her hand on his cheek.
“The camera is going to go off in six seconds. Look at me, not the camera,” she ordered, giving him just enough time to comply before the flash went off. Her eyes were so blue that a man could get lost in them. He was tempted to lean in closer but the flash startled him. As soon as the picture was taken, she jumped up. He couldn’t help but miss her warmth.
“I will develop the film tonight and get you a copy of the picture tomorrow. That way it will look real to your boss.”
“A very good idea. Have you been a fake fiancée before?”
“No, but I acted in a few school plays. It can’t be that different. I will stop by the pawn shop tomorrow to see if they have anything that will pass as an engagement ring. None of them will be as fancy as what you would buy for your real fiancée, but hopefully nobody looks closely enough at it to realize it.”
“You handle the picture. I’ll take care of the ring. I will stop by with it tomorrow and I can pick up the picture then.”
He smirked at the thought of going into a jewelry store and asking the clerk for the ring that would make the best impression on everyone looking at it.
“Works for me! This could be fun.”
“I think it is going to be quite a bit more fun than I had initially thought.”
“This is really so perfect. I can’t tell you what it means to me to be able to do this so I can stay focused on my art. I promise I am going to be the best fake fiancée you have ever had.”
“Let’s hope you are the only fake fiancée that I ever have!” he said as he rose to leave.
Chapter 3
Open house
Dylan paced his office as he waited for Sarah to arrive. He had hoped to wrap up his day early enough to pick her up at the townhouse but his meetings had all run over. Unlike the women he had actually dated, she had completely understood and assured him that it would be no problem for her to meet him at the office. If only every woman in his life was so understanding.
His eyes drifted to the framed photograph of the two of them that was sitting on his desk. He had thought he could ignore it. However, he often found his eyes drifting to it throughout the day. It should be an odd-looking image, with her in her painting clothes and him in his suit. That wasn’t the case at all, though. It looked natural and they both looked so happy. It was a bit jarring to think that it was all for show. Something about it felt so real.
He was lost in thought when he heard a light knock at his door. He turned to see Sarah standing in the doorway in an emerald green dress. Her wild curls were pinned up neatly, though a few stray curls had escaped and played around her temples. Her makeup was light and golden and she looked as if she was glowing.
“You look stunning. Do you always get this dressed up for dinner dates?”
“Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I went on any date, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If I were really your fiancée, though, I would have put in extra effort when meeting your boss so I decided to just go with it. Besides, it was nice to put on an outfit without any paint stains on it.”
He looked her over from head to toe and saw no evidence of the paint that usually splattered her skin and clothing.
“Did it take you long to get it all off your hands?”
She looked down at them and grinned as if he had just fallen for some sort of joke she was playing on him.
“Good, I fooled you. If you didn’t notice, they won’t either.”
“Notice what?”
“Well, I couldn’t get it all off my fingers. It is the curse of working with oil paint. I finally just gave up and decided to just use black nail polish to hide it.”
“Well, your plan worked beautifully. You look stunning.” She cocked her head, as if his words surprised her. Then she turned suddenly and began to take in her surroundings. She hadn’t visited the office before. Erickson had scheduled their dinner just a few days after he and Sarah made their deal. It hadn’t given them enough time to lay the foundation they had planned and that concerned him a bit. He did not like to be unprepared. In fact, they had only seen each other once since then. It had been the day she gave him the picture and he gave her the engagement ring.
“Am I too early?” she asked as she took a step forward.
“Right on time. Thank you for meeting me here.”
Nobody had ever come to visit him at the office before and he wasn’t quite sure how to react.
“I am a very understanding fiancée,” she teased as she walked towards his desk. Only then did he realize that she was carrying something at her side, wrapped in cloth.
“What do you have there?” he asked.
“Well,” she said, as she began to unwrap it, “it occurred to me that it seems very odd that your fiancée is an artist and you don’t have any of her work in your office. I thought maybe this painting would make things a bit more convincing.”
He looked down at what she had laid on his desk and was in awe. He was not a man who usually cared for art. Dylan found it frivolous and distracting. This painting was none of those things. It was bold and full of passion and color. He could not take his eyes off of it. The woman was a true talent. If he could see it, then the people at her upcoming show were going to see it too. Maybe that would be his excuse for their break up. He could tell Mr. Erickson that she had grown so famous with her art that it had torn them apart. Oddly, the thought of their fake breakup made him a bit sad.
“It’s stunning.”
“I know that you don’t care about art. You don’t have to flatter me,” she told him as she squirmed anxiously. She fingered the diamond on her finger as she waited for his response. At first, she had objected when he gave her the opulent ring but he told her that his coworkers would expect nothing less from him.
“I don’t have to know about art to know this is fantastic. I’ll be happy to have it here. You’re right. It’ll help sell our story. Where should I hang it?”
“Maybe above your desk?” she offered, walking around and studying his walls.
“I don’t think that will work. It needs to be somewhere where I can see it from my desk and where anyone here to meet with me can see it as well. Maybe between the two windows?” he asked, looking at the prime space in the office.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I’ll get one of the handymen to hang it for me tomorrow.”
She slipped her hand in her purse and pulled out a small hammer and hanging hardware.
“That isn’t necessary. I do this all the time.”
“Don’t you think you are a little overdressed to be doing any hammering?”
“Not at all. I can do this as easily in heels as I can in my sneakers,”
she assured him as she walked towards the wall. With a few quick strokes, she had it perfectly placed on his wall. Though he had always disliked the idea of having any art on his office walls, he liked it. It seemed natural there. It was the perfect size and scale for the space and he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“I wondered what that banging noise was,” said Talbot Erickson from the doorway.
“I am sorry; did we disturb you?” Sarah asked as she laid her hammer down on the desk and came to stand beside him. She gently wound her arm through his as though they were truly a couple and he was thankful for it.
“Not at all. I must say, you are the loveliest handyman I have ever seen in this office and the best dressed too.”
She stepped towards him and shook his hand warmly. Dylan could see that Talbot was very impressed by her easy demeanor.
“Thank you so much.”
“Did your fiancée make you come the whole way down here to meet him for dinner? I’d have happily sent a car for you if I had known he was being so unchivalrous.”
Dylan felt himself tense. This was off to a bad start. The man was already suspicious. He looked over at Sarah and expected to see his anxiety mirrored on her face. Instead, she was as cool as could be, grinning up at him playfully.
“That’s my fault. I wanted to surprise him with the new painting I made for him. If I gave it to him at home, he would have had to bring it here himself and I don’t trust many people to transport my art. I feel the same way about hanging it. That’s why I come equipped with my own hammer,” she said with an easy smile and charm that put everyone at ease.
“St. James, you are a lucky man. Your fiancée is as lovely as she is talented. Young lady, your art is stunning. I am surprised that your man here hasn’t displayed any of it here before.”
It was such a cliché thing for Talbot to have said, but it was true. Any man would be lucky to have a beautiful and talented woman as his fiancée.
Before Dylan could even think of a response, she answered again. “That’s my fault as well. I have been working on this piece for him for months, trying to get it just right. I am so particular about my work. They never really feel like they are done.”
“You should never second guess your talent. Your work is impressive,” Mr. Erickson said as he stepped forward for a closer look. “Maybe sometime soon your fiancée will introduce us and I can learn the name of the talented artist engaged to my brightest employee.”
“I apologize. Mr. Talbot Erickson, this is Sarah Winters. Sarah, this is Talbot Erickson.”
“Mr. Talbot, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Dylan has spoken so highly of you.”
“Oh, I never stand on formality with lovely ladies, Ms. Winters. You must call me Talbot.”
“Then you have to call me Sarah.”
Watching the two of them interact was mesmerizing. Sarah was completely in her element interacting with Erickson. She was not at all nervous or intimidated, despite the fact that he was one of the most powerful men in the city. The woman was just her genuine self no matter who she was speaking to.
“It’s a deal, Sarah. Tell me, have the two of you ordered a car yet?”
“I was just about to,” Dylan answered. “Would you like me to call one for you as well?”
“I think that we should all just take one car. That will give me more time to get to know your talented fiancée. My wife will be so eager to hear about your work. She loves art and artists.”
“That sounds lovely. That’s alright with you, isn’t it dear?” she asked.
“Of course. I’ll call and have one of the company drivers meet us in the lobby.”
“Perfection,” Mr. Erickson said as he offered Sarah his arm and led her towards the elevator.
“Talbot, Dylan told me that you and your wife have a wonderfully romantic story about how you met. Will you tell me in the car on the way to the restaurant?”
“It is my favorite story to tell,” the man said as he launched into his tale.
He spent most of the car ride telling Sarah the story of how he met his wife, in even greater detail than he had when he shared it with Dylan. For his part, Dylan just sat back and watched her charm his boss with ease. She was asking all the right questions and laughing at every joke. It was quite a sight to behold. She was the epitome of grace and warmth. Erickson was wrapped around her finger by the time they arrived at the restaurant.
As they made their way through the crowded room towards their table, Dylan caught sight of the woman he had seen so many times in the pictures in Erickson’s office. The second his boss caught sight of her, he lit up. She echoed his glow as she rose and went to him without a moment’s hesitation, embracing her husband as though it had been ages since they had last seen each other. When the two separated, Erickson turned his attention back to them.
“Grace, I would like you to meet Dylan St. James and his charming fiancée, Sarah Winters.”
Grace reached out and embraced both of them as if they were old friends. Usually such things made Dylan uncomfortable but there was something about the stately woman that put him at ease.
“I’m so glad to meet you both. It does my heart good to see young people in love. I know that Talb has been over the moon since he learned you two were engaged.”
“I’m so happy to meet you! Your husband just finished telling me the story of how you met. It’s so wonderfully romantic. It must have been so wonderful to find the love of your life at such a young age,” Sarah said as Dylan pulled out her chair so that she could take her place at the table.
“My husband, the romantic! He loves to tell that story.”
“It is the most important story of my life. Without it, none of the other moments would have mattered at all,” Erickson said as he leaned over and took his wife’s hand. It was a simple gesture but it seemed so intimate that Dylan felt as if he should look away.
“You have always been the sweetest man,” she said as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
Dylan suddenly understood why his boss was so fixated on others finding the same bliss in their personal life that he had. It was clear that he was madly in love with his wife and drew a great deal of pleasure from it.
“Tell me,” Grace said, “how did the two of you meet?”
Those words brought the first sign of anxiety he had seen yet on Sarah’s face and he suddenly realized that they hadn’t come together on a story about that moment. It was an oversight on his part, to be sure. After all, how could they sell their story without a story about the first time they encountered each other?
“Honey,” Sarah said as she turned to him and took his hand, “why don’t you tell it this time?”
“Sure,” he said, grateful that she had remembered that he had already told a version of the story to Erickson. By letting him tell the tale, it at least ensured that she wouldn’t say anything to contradict him. “It was at a fundraiser for the museum. I don’t usually care much about art, but a friend who is on the board of trustees asked me to attend. Sarah was there talking about the importance of art and I was taken by the passion that she had for it.”
“Dylan was so sweet. He kept asking me questions to keep me talking. I couldn’t take my eyes off him in the crowd. I was afraid that the whole room could hear my heart pounding because I was so moved each time he spoke.”
He liked the sound of the story, though he knew that was not what would have happened. He would have lurked near the bar trying to get a few moments with any of the big shots who might have been in the crowd. He would never have spent time interacting with an artist at an event like that.
“A wonderful story. Are you an artist yourself or just an enthusiast?”
“Grace, the woman is extremely talented. I have the privilege of seeing one of her works that she brought to Dylan’s office this evening. It took my breath away. You’ll love the way she uses color and texture.”
“You are too kind, Mr. Erickson.”
“I recall you
promising to call me Talbot.”
“You are too kind, Talbot,” Sarah said with a laugh that seemed to infect all those around her.
“Tell me about your art, dear. I love the arts, though I have no talent for creating it myself.”
“Mrs. Erickson, you must not say such things! The joy of art is creating it. If you get joy from the process, then you are already a success.”
“You must call me Grace. You, my dear, have a much different idea of success than most people. I admire that.”
“I have to confess I am much harder on myself than I am on others!”
“My fiancée is far too modest. Her entire home is filled with the most vibrant art. She has her first solo show coming up in the next couple of months and she has been working incredibly hard to prepare for it. We’re both dedicated to our careers.”
He found it surprisingly easy to talk about Sarah as if she was his fiancée. She was an impressive woman and it wasn’t hard to find complimentary things to say about her. She was clearly pleased by what he said, squeezing his hand and smiling up at him in such a way that he was almost fooled into believing that she was truly his fiancée.
“You, Dylan St. James, are very biased,” she told him as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. The gesture shocked him, and yet it made sense. They were supposed to be an engaged couple and engaged couples were physically affectionate with each other.
“Well, I think there is only one way for us to settle this. Talbot and I will just have to come to your show and see for ourselves.”
“That is so kind of you to offer. I would love to have you there. I would hate to take up so much of your time though. If you would rather, you can just stop by and see my studio at a time that’s more convenient for you.”
Talbot seemed very pleased with the offer and he and Grace exchanged a knowing smile that made Dylan feel a tinge of jealousy. It might be worth getting that close to someone else if it meant that you could share moments like that.