Just Pretend (Just… #1)

9. Hallie

CHAPTER 9

HALLIE

As soon as I got into the office in the morning, I emailed Clay’s assistant, Dave, to let him know I’d be bringing a plus one with me to the retreat. When my email alert goes off and I see Dave has confirmed the travel plans for James, I know that there’s no turning back now. Everyone is going to be expecting to meet my boyfriend on this trip, especially since Dave is an even bigger gossip than Jasmine. As soon as he saw my email, he probably told whoever was standing closest to him that Hallie Evans was bringing someone on the company retreat this year. No matter how bad of an idea I think it could be to bring James to Wyoming, the wheels are in motion and there’s no turning back. And even if I could call it off, there is no other option. Not if I want this promotion.

I’m about to get my lunch from the kitchen when there’s a knock on my office door and I look up to find Chase standing in the doorway. I clench my jaw, seeing the smarmy look on his face.

“Have you been able to move the merlot in New England?” he asks, leaning against the wall. “I’m getting nowhere in the Midwest.”

“It’s been a tough sell this year,” I nod in agreement, keeping my guard up. There is zero chance Chase came in to talk about a difficult vintage we’ve been trying to move. He’s up to something, and I’m sure I know what it’s about.

“So, I just heard the good news from Dave,” he says, immediately switching gears to the real reason he showed up in my office.

“And what news is that?” I ask, playing dumb.

“Your boyfriend is coming on the retreat,” he replies. I can see his eyes searching mine, looking for any indication that I’m lying about being in a relationship. “I’m so glad James was able to get away from work after all.”

“Yes, me too,” I say with a smile, playing along. I might as well get used to it since I’m going to spend a whole week living in the lie. “I didn’t want to pull him away from his work since he’s so busy, but I would have hated to go on the trip without him.”

I pause for a moment, not wanting to lay it on too thick, but I decide there’s no harm in building up the backstory.

“We’ve never been apart for a whole week.”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” Chase says, though he still looks like a detective, putting on a show in hopes of catching a criminal in the act. “We were all starting to think you drew the Old Maid card.”

“Old Maid card?” I repeat, trying not to let my disgust come through in my tone.

“Sure,” Chase laughs. “I mean, you’ve been single for so long, right?”

“I’m not that old,” I remind him, put off by the idea that I’m going to be alone my whole life. I still have plenty of time to meet someone for real and start a family.

“Does your man play golf?” Chase asks. “We’ll have to get him out on the links while we’re there. I’m sure the brothers will want time to get to know him better if he’s going to be part of the Winter Brother Vineyards family.”

I take a quick breath in, having no idea if James plays golf or not.

“We’ll see,” I shrug. “I’m not sure I’ll want to share him for that long. I seem to remember that the way you play golf goes on for hours.”

Chase’s face falls, likely thinking about last year’s retreat when he kept losing his balls in the woods when he was golfing with the guys.

There is a hard lump in my gut when Chase finally leaves my office. The fact is that I don’t know all that much about James, and he doesn’t know anything about me. If we have any chance of pulling this charade off for a whole week, we’re going to have to learn much more about each other. Otherwise, our ruse is never going to work.

If one comment from Chase can send me into a tailspin about pretending James is my boyfriend, it’s going to be a very long week once we’re in Wyoming. To some extent, we can make things up as we go along—his favorite food, what types of books he reads, preferences and opinions—but I can’t say he knows how to golf if he doesn’t. One wrong move and this entire plan is likely to blow up in my face. We need to play this right if anyone is going to be convinced that we’re an actual couple who has been together for almost a year.

The fact of the matter is that everyone is going to be curious about James, and Chase won’t be the only one who is going to ask questions. I’ve been the office spinster for years, and I’m aware that there is a lot of curiosity about my romantic life, or lack thereof. Even people who I don’t work with directly will want to know more about my relationship. How are two strangers who know next to nothing about each other going to pull this off? Why did I ever think making up a pretend relationship could work?

The only thing I can think of is that James and I are going to have to ramp up getting to know each other—and fast. We have limited time to learn as much as we can. I don’t even know where James went to college— if he went to college. I suppose as a woodworker he could have gone to some kind of trade school or apprenticed for someone. The furniture in his apartment is gorgeous—he had to have learned how to do that somewhere. These are the details I need to know in order to convince anyone that he’s my boyfriend.

The second I walk into my apartment after work, I send an email to my college friend, Heather, who married a guy from Spain so he could get his green card to live in the US. I remember her telling me all about the process and how they had to know the most random details about each other to pull off the interviews in order to prove they were in a relationship. Without going into any detail, I ask her how she prepared for such a daunting task, hoping she gets back to me soon. I don’t have any time to spare; James and I need to get to work right away.

After getting changed, I head back into the kitchen to make dinner, and I hear someone laughing and splashing in the pool. Right away, my back stiffens, recognizing James’s deep, echoing laugh. I let out a huff, shaking my head as I continue cutting up a zucchini. I can’t believe that asshole is with some new woman in the complex pool. Not only is it gross—because I’m sure they’re not keeping it PG in there—but it bothers me that he's not taking our situation seriously. I know we haven’t left for the trip yet, but it would be nice if he could keep it in his pants until after the retreat. Is it really so difficult for him?

I try to ignore James’s admittedly warm and infectious laughter as I continue making my dinner, assembling a veggie lasagna that will double for my lunch tomorrow. I even turn on the TV to watch the news so I can drown him out, but eventually my curiosity overcomes me, and I hurry over to the window to get a look at whatever skank James brought home this time. Peering through the blinds, I look down at the pool below and I’m surprised that it’s not a woman making James laugh, but our young neighbor, Trevor. James is demonstrating the breaststroke and showing Trevor how to blow bubbles into the water, teaching him how to swim.

I can’t help but watch for a minute as James holds Trevor up and helps him swim across the pool. Trevor kicks his feet hard against the surface of the pool, splashing water all over James, who doesn’t seem to mind. He’s obviously good with the boy—patient and understanding, not forcing him to go too fast and staying close by in case Trevor loses his confidence. Not only is it cute to see them together, I also can’t help but feel relieved that James isn’t with another woman.

As I’m watching, James turns and looks up towards my window and I quickly take a step back, cringing as the blinds sway from the movement. I go back to making dinner, wondering why I even care if James is with a woman or not.

Heather replies back to my email as I’m getting ready for bed, curious about my situation but happy to help. Attached to the email is a list of questions she and Matteo used to study up on each other before their office immigration interview to prepare them for anything that might come up. If anything, Heather writes, we were over prepared.

“Oh, perfect,” I murmur under my breath as I send back a quick reply, thanking her for her help without getting into why I was asking.

Adding a printed copy of the attachment to a packet I put together for James, I head next door, wanting to get started right away. Not only do we need to learn everything we can about each other, but I want James to have the itinerary for the trip so that he can familiarize himself with all the company activities and things we’ll be doing at the dude ranch. I don’t want to leave anything to chance. If he can’t ride a horse or if he’s allergic to hay, I need to know before we get there.

“Hey,” James says, looking me up and down as he opens the door for me. “It’s nice to see you again so soon—twice in two days. I think I could get used to this fake relationship.”

“Whatever,” I huff, pushing past him through the doorway into his apartment. “It’s time to get down to business. We have limited time and a lot to learn.”

“Learn?” James asks, closing the door behind me. “About what?”

“Each other,” I reply, holding out the packet containing the trip itinerary and the information about the ranch. “This will help you with packing.”

“Okay,” he shrugs, flipping casually through the pages. “You know, I have packed a suitcase before.”

“And this is to help us get to know each other better,” I continue, ignoring his comment as I hold up the questionnaire Heather sent me. “The more we know about each other, the more it will seem like we are a real couple.”

I help myself to a seat on his couch, claiming the same spot I was in yesterday, taking off my shoes and tucking my legs under my body.

“Come on,” I urge him, patting the cushion next to me. “We have to cover a lot of ground in a short time. I don’t want to leave anything to chance.”

James tries to conceal an amused smile as he heads to his liquor cabinet, opening the door and rooting around inside.

“What are you doing?” I ask with a sigh.

“You need to chill out,” he replies, turning around when he finds the bottle he had apparently been looking for. “And I have just the thing.”

I squint to read the label and then roll my eyes at him.

“Tequila? I don’t think so,” I say.

“Oh, come on,” James replies, already grabbing two glasses from the top of the cabinet. “This isn’t Jose Cuervo; it’s the good stuff. Plus, it will make your questionnaire more fun.”

“Fine,” I give in quickly, not wanting to waste time arguing. “Just a little.”

As we go back and forth with basic questions, I take small sips of the tequila, enjoying the smoky mezcal. Before I know it, I’m halfway through the glass and laughing that James is deep into horror movies.

“Isn’t real life scary enough?” I ask jokingly.

“It’s a total removal from the real world,” he shrugs. “It’s how I disassociate from a bad day.”

“By watching someone else’s even worse day?” I ask.

“Exactly,” James laughs. “What’s your guilty pleasure? RomComs?”

“It’s a cliché, but yes,” I admit. “Especially anything Christmas themed.”

“That is a cliché, but I get it,” James says.

He fills both of our glasses, and we continue to make our way down the list of questions until we get to the section about our families. I know that I need to talk about my sister being autistic, mostly because people at work know about her and have even met Sadie when she’s come to visit. It’s hard to open up to someone I hardly know and don’t trust, but I can’t risk James being caught off guard if the subject comes up.

“It sounds like you two are close,” James says softly when I finish telling him about Sadie.

“Honestly, she’s my hero,” I reply. “She has overcome so much, and always with a smile. She never complains.”

“She sounds amazing,” James says, offering me a smile. “You must be very proud of her.”

“I am,” I nod. “Of course, she would say the same thing about me. She’s my big sister, after all, and she doesn’t let me forget it. She’s protective of me and texts me almost every day to check in. She doesn’t like that I’m all alone…”

I can feel my cheeks flush, and I quickly clear my throat, wanting to change the subject.

“What about your family?” I ask. “What are they like?”

James immediately tenses up, shifting his gaze across the room.

“There’s not much to say,” he tells me, his tone hardening. He then clears his throat and turns to me with a smile that looks like a mask. “I used to work for my father’s company, but I’ve been running my own woodworking business ever since and I’ve never been happier.”

“Were your parents supportive of the change?” I ask.

James’s smile falters for a moment, but then he quickly regroups, leaning in close. I take a slow breath in, my eyes locked into his, wondering what’s about to happen. My heart speeds up and I swallow hard, tasting the smokey tequila.

“You know,” James says softly, almost in a whisper, “there’s a much better way for us to get to know each other than these questions.”

It’s the smooth, slimy tone of his voice that snaps me back into reality as I immediately pull away from James, shaking my head at him.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I ask, though my heart is still pounding in anticipation. “We haven’t even left California yet and you’re already breaking the ground rules! Were you listening to a word I said? You aren’t taking this seriously.”

“Relax,” James says, retreating coolly to his side of the couch.

“Don’t tell me to relax,” I snap, pointing an angry finger at him. “This was a horrible idea. I never should have trusted you. I knew this would never work.”

“Hallie,” James says, opening his eyes wide as he looks into mine. “I was joking.”

I stare back at him for a moment, both disappointed and relieved.

“I know what’s at stake here,” he continues, “but we should try to have a little fun with each other, too.”

“You think this is fun?” I ask.

“No, not even a little bit,” he shakes his head. “That’s my point. I’m not sure you’re even capable of having fun. Do you even know what the words means.”

“I’m out of here,” I mutter, starting to get up from the couch before James reaches out for my arm, tugging me back down.

“I just mean that I can learn your favorite movie and when you took your first steps, but that’s not going to matter if we aren’t connecting on a deeper level. We need to enjoy being around each other. People have to see the attraction, the spark. It has to be more than just reciting a list of facts about each other.”

I take a slow, deep breath in, trying to calm down as I process what James is suggesting. I know he’s right, though I don’t want to admit it.

“Fine,” I nod. “I get it. I’ll try harder in that regard.”

“Who knows,” James adds. “You might end up having a little fun too.”

“I highly doubt that,” I snort. “I think we’ve done enough for tonight. I’ll send you a list of more facts about myself; maybe you can do the same.”

“Aye, aye,” James replies, giving me a quick salute.

“Please don’t make me regret this,” I sigh, getting up and heading back to my apartment.

I’m not even inside before I pass a beautiful woman with short, dark hair and a whole lot of makeup. I hurry inside before I can see if she knocks on James’s door. I seriously can’t stand that guy.