The Rules of Pretending

Chloe lay in bed, phone in hand, caught in that blurry place between awake and asleep. Her thumb had barely finished scrolling when the screen lit up and began to vibrate.

Adrian. At this hour?

She hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"

"Where are you right now?"

"Where else would I be at this hour?" she said, stifling a yawn. "I'm at home. What is it?"

He didn't answer her question. Instead, he told her to meet him at a quiet restaurant where they could talk privately.

Twenty minutes later, Chloe was dressed, her makeup done with practiced speed, and on her way.

She arrived first and chose a seat at the far end of the table, as much distance from him as the furniture allowed. When Adrian walked in and found her there, he took the chair opposite without comment.

"I thought it best to discuss this somewhere private," he said casually.

"Oh. Okay." Chloe smiled, though it sat uncomfortably on her face.

"Did you memorize everything?"

"Yes," she answered with perfect confidence.

And she began. Name, birthday, family, schedule, habits: she recited his entire profile in a single steady stream, the way a student performs for an examiner.

"Enough!" Adrian barked.

Chloe blinked. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing?"

"Um… I heard the Chairman is very thorough," she explained. "So I memorized your whole profile. Just in case."

"Do you really think he'll ask you to recite it?" His voice was cold.

"Still," said Mr. Ethan, Adrian's secretary, from his seat nearby, "I'm impressed, Ms. Stephanie."

Adrian shot him a sidelong look. Ethan promptly found something interesting to study on the tablecloth.

"If you do it by the book, you can't lose," Chloe said, chuckling. "Go on, ask me anything. I'll get it right."

Ms. Stephanie. It was the name she now had to answer to. Chloe had been forced to leave her real identity behind, and the new name still sat on her like borrowed clothes.

"Is that so?" Adrian leaned back. "Then let's say my grandfather asks to see you on Saturday, two weeks from now. What's the correct response?"

It was a vicious question. Even Ethan stiffened, caught off guard.

Chloe fell silent. She turned it over, searching for the trap. "Well… there's no real reason to say no. If your grandfather wants to see me, I should just say sure."

"Wrong."

"Why?"

"Because that day is our one-year anniversary," Adrian said in the patient tone of a teacher. "Don't couples usually spend that day together?"

"That was a trick question!"

"That's exactly why simple memorization won't always work." He tilted his head. "Are you sure you studied properly?"

Chloe pressed her lips together, then fired back. "Fine. Let me ask you something. What was I wearing the day we first met?"

"How could I possibly know that?"

"Wrong!" Chloe declared. "Of course you should remember. After all, it was the first day we met."

Ethan coughed into his fist to hide a laugh.

By the time the evening ended, the night had grown deep. Adrian did not let her go off alone. He had the car brought around.

"You really don't have to drive me home," Chloe said.

"It's not a favor," said Adrian. "Just accept the ride."

"He's right," Ethan added from the driver's seat. "It wouldn't be proper to let a woman travel home alone at this hour."

Chloe gave in. "Thank you so much."

The road hummed beneath the wheels. Somewhere along the way, Chloe's eyelids grew heavy, and she was asleep before she knew it.

Then her head tipped sideways and landed on Adrian's shoulder.

He went rigid. Before he had time to think, his hand shot out and shoved her away from him.

Thunk.

"Ouch!" Chloe groaned, clutching her head. She blinked around the dim car. "We must be close by now."

"What? We still have a bit more to go," Ethan answered from the front.

"Oh." She laughed softly. "I guess I was wrong." Then, in a lower voice, rubbing the sore spot, "That hurt, though."

Adrian said nothing. A small pang of guilt pricked at him. She had hit her head because of him.

At last, the car slowed outside her building.

"We've arrived, Ms. Stephanie," Ethan announced.

Chloe stepped out, turned, and waved goodbye, thanking them both once more. Adrian and Ethan watched through the window as she disappeared from view.

"About Ms. Stephanie," Ethan said suddenly. "Don't you find there's something oddly endearing about her?"

"Is being overly emotional and easily distracted endearing?" Adrian replied flatly.

Ethan let it go and returned his eyes to the road.

Behind him, Adrian turned toward the spot where Stephanie had been sitting. He thought of her head bumping against the window, of the sound she'd made, and, without meaning to, he began to smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Ethan asked, glancing back.

"It's nothing," Adrian said.

But he didn't stop smiling.