“I Needed a Fake Girlfriend for the Office Party,” the CEO Muttered—Then She Slid Me a Note That Said “Pick Me”
Chapter 5
Dinner with Margaret Carter was nothing like Lena expected.
Margaret didn’t ask about their relationship.
Instead, she asked Lena about her career.
“What do you want to do in five years?”
Lena thought.
“I want to lead a financial strategy division.”
Margaret smiled.
“Good.”
Ethan looked at Lena.
“You never told me that.”
“You never asked.”
Margaret laughed.
“That’s your problem, Ethan.”
“Apparently.”
Dinner continued.
After dessert, Margaret asked Lena to walk with her.
Ethan remained behind.
Margaret lowered her voice.
“Do you love him?”
Lena froze.
“I…”
“You don’t have to answer.”
Lena looked at her.
Margaret smiled.
“I was young once too.”
Lena swallowed.
“We’re not really…”
“I know.”
Lena stared.
“You know?”
Margaret chuckled.
“Ethan has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you.”
Lena’s heart raced.
“But…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t expose you.”
Lena exhaled.
Margaret touched her arm.
“But I will tell you something.”
“What?”
“If you are pretending because you’re afraid of what happens when it’s real, you’re going to regret it.”
Lena said nothing.
Back at the house, Ethan drove Lena home.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Then Lena asked:
“Did your grandmother say anything to you?”
“No.”
“She knows.”
Ethan glanced at her.
“Knows what?”
“That we’re pretending.”
He nearly hit the brakes.
“What?”
Lena laughed nervously.
“She figured it out.”
“How?”
“She said you look at me differently.”
Ethan stared ahead.
“She shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not her business.”
Lena turned toward the window.
“Is she wrong?”
Silence.
Ethan couldn’t answer.
Lena looked at him.
“Ethan?”
He stopped the car outside her apartment.
He turned toward her.
“No.”
Her heart jumped.
“No, she’s not wrong.”
Lena stared at him.
He continued.
“I don’t know when it happened.”
She whispered:
“What happened?”
“I stopped pretending.”
The words hung between them.
Lena’s eyes filled with uncertainty.
“You mean…”
“Yes.”
He reached for her hand.
But before he could say anything else, his phone rang.
It was his chief financial officer.
“Ethan, you need to come back to the office.”
“Why?”
“We have a problem.”
“What kind?”
“The board received documents accusing Lena of manipulating financial reports.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“They’re saying she altered numbers on the Westbridge acquisition.”
He looked at Lena.
She had heard everything.
Her face went pale.
“That isn’t true.”
“I know,” Ethan said.
But suddenly, their fake relationship had become the least important thing in the world.
Someone was trying to destroy Lena’s career.
And they had chosen the worst possible person to stand in their way.
