Chapter 4
Molly glanced curiously toward the office door.
The Miller siblings were all behaving oddly.
First, she had walked in on Eli and Michelle having a conversation that then caused Michelle to act weird.
Then Katie disappeared into the office. When Eli emerged, he had a hard-to-read expression on his face, but she caught him glancing her way far more than he usually did.
The office door finally opened, and Katie emerged. Her eyebrows were furrowed as if she were deep in thought. She walked behind the counter and leaned against it. There was a reprieve in customers after the lunch rush, so Molly had been getting a head start on cleaning.
“Good conversation?” Molly asked.
Katie shrugged. “Weird really. Michelle has big ideas, and she’s trying to talk everyone else into following along, per usual.”
“Oh, yeah?” The curiosity was pricking at her mind. There was something she didn’t know, but she had a strange feeling it involved her.
Katie ran a rag over the countertops before stopping and turning to face Molly. “Okay, I need to know.”
Molly turned off the water at the sink where she was washing dishes and dried her hands on a towel before turning to face Katie. “Yes?”
“Michelle has this wild idea that if Eli has a pretend girlfriend that he could scare Lauren off from stalking him constantly.”
Molly nodded. “Makes sense. It worked the other day when he pretended he was seeing me.”
Katie’s lips lifted into a smile as she stared expectantly at her. Molly looked back in confusion until…
Oh… Oh.
“Me?”
Katie shrugged. “I know it’s a weird thing to mention.
Especially since you’re an employee, but it kind of makes sense.
You’re here most of the time when he’s here…
all the time when Lauren is here, so it’s convenient.
But Eli is worried he’ll be sued for sexual harassment.
Michelle is convinced that it doesn’t happen in small towns.
” Katie rolled her eyes. “Then Michelle suggested having Jameson draft up an agreement, but Eli said it wouldn’t benefit you at all.
So Michelle said we should give you a bonus check for helping him out, but then Eli said he doesn’t want it to sound like you’re an escort. ”
Molly stared at her with wide eyes as Katie word-vomited an entire conversation that had happened in the back office. “Wait, what? An escort?”
Katie sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Is that the only part you heard?”
“No.” Molly shook her head. “Let me get this straight. You guys were just discussing getting Eli a fake girlfriend to scare Lauren off, and you were hoping I would be said fake girlfriend?”
“Yep.”
Molly wasn’t sure what to think. Did she get butterflies around Eli when he had his arms around her? Yes. But did that mean she wanted to be his fake girlfriend only when Lauren was around? Not really. The temptation of wanting more was too great. Plus it seemed like it could go badly… fast.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Molly said.
Katie frowned. “I understand.”
A customer walked in, and their conversation ended. It wasn’t brought up again.
When Molly got into her apartment later that night, she sagged on the couch. Her feet were killing her after standing all day. She kicked off her shoes and propped her feet on the coffee table.
“Oh my God, that feels amazing.”
She sighed and stared at the blank screen of the TV for a moment before pulling her cell phone out of her purse. She clicked on her best friend's phone number and hit call.
It only took a few rings for her to pick up.
“Molly? Oh my God. Molly, is that you?”
Molly rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the smile on her face as she replied. “Oh, come on. It hasn’t been that long, Becca.”
“Oh my God! It is you! Where have you been? I thought you died.”
“Alright, cut the act. You've made your point. I don’t call enough.”
Becca laughed. “No, you don’t. How have you been? How are you liking Storyville?”
“It’s good. You should come visit. It’s a great town.”
“I don’t think small-town life is for me, babe.”
Molly sighed. “I know. But visiting won’t hurt.”
“Bored already, huh? Need your bestie to come entertain you?”
Molly laughed. “Nah. I’m good. I’m always happy to see you, but it’s not because I need entertainment. How are things back home?”
“Boring without you. Otherwise, it’s just the same thing, different day. How’s the new gig? Missing corporate life yet?”
Molly shook her head, even though Becca could not see her. “Not at all. I love the new job, though. It’s a quieter pace and not as stressful.” She knew exactly what Becca meant, which was why she needed to leave Denver. “I miss seeing you every day.”
“I miss seeing you, too.” She could hear Becca shifting on the other end of the phone. “So, tell me about your work. Meet any hot guys yet?”
Molly laughed. “How long have you been waiting to ask that?”
“Um, since the moment you left. Duh. So, spill. Any hot guys?”
Molly’s thoughts immediately flashed to Eli. “Well, there is one, but he’s kind of my boss.”
“Ooh, forbidden fruit. I like it.”
She snorted. “Yeah. Kind of.”
“So, what’s going on?”
Molly sighed. “He’s different from the guys I’m used to.”
“You mean, the pretentious assholes you dated here?”
“Precisely.”
“Girl, that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah. It is.” Molly bit her lip. “So there’s this customer that comes into the store and basically throws herself at him. He’s getting fed up with it, and now his sisters are proposing I pretend to be his girlfriend to get this other girl to back off.”
“Shut up!” Becca said. “Molly, do it!”
“I’m worried it’ll complicate things, and I’m finally happy.”
Becca sighed. “I understand. But what would it all entail? Just some flirting at the store when she’s around?”
“Probably, yeah.”
“Well, that’s not that complicated. It’s not like you’ll be spending the night at his place.”
Molly flushed. Just the mere thought had her fanning herself. She couldn’t imagine actually being in his house… where he got naked and showered.
Okay, chill out, Molly.
“Did I lose you?” Becca said through the line.
Molly shook herself back to reality. “Oh, sorry. I got distracted.”
“You won’t be spending the night at his place, right?”
“What? No, of course not.”
Becca snorted. “Ah. You were picturing yourself at his place.”
Molly knew there was no use in denying it. “Sue me.”
Becca cackled. “God, I miss you.”
“I miss you.”