The Truth, Another Lie

Chloe and Aria arrived at the restaurant and were shown to their seats. Chloe still didn't know why she'd been dragged along, but she'd learned not to ask.

She pulled out her phone. "Hey, look this way." They leaned in and struck a pose for the camera.

"Are you sure that salon is really the one all the celebrities use?" Chloe asked, studying the photo. "Look how heavy this makeup is."

Aria winced. "That's because I asked them to do it that way."

She didn't mention that she'd planned all along to bring Chloe to Adrian without telling her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked warily.

Aria's phone buzzed. She snatched it up before the sound had even finished.

"Chloe. Listen to me carefully. President Adrian is on his way here."

"What? Who's coming?" Chloe's voice cracked.

"I didn't have a choice. He found out we were friends and insisted on meeting you," Aria said.

"Then you should have pretended you didn't know me!"

"He said he'd find out on his own eventually. What if he discovers you're his employee?"

"You could have at least warned me," Chloe said, still reeling.

"If I had, you never would have come." Aria shrugged. "Anyway, he thinks you owe him an apology. Just tell him you're sorry."

"Excuse me?" Chloe stared at her, dumbfounded.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Aria said, already rising and gathering her bag. "Okay, I'm off."

"You're leaving?" Chloe asked, panic creeping in.

"Oh, right. Don't forget to put on the wig." Aria tossed a small package into her hand.

"A wig?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Aria bolted for the door.

"Wait! Aria! Aria!" Chloe called after her, already knowing this had been a mistake from the start.

She sprang up, ready to flee herself, and froze.

Adrian was walking through the door.

What do I do? I don't know what to do.

Fumbling, she tore open the wig and yanked it on. In her panic, she knocked something off the table.

"Why now, of all times?"

She crouched to gather it up, and a hand reached down to help her.

"Oh, thank you..."

She looked up.

It was Adrian.

Her stomach dropped, and she sank back to the floor.

Adrian picked up the item—her business card—and read it over before speaking.

"We meet again, Ms. Fake Aria."

Chloe said nothing.

They took their seats across from each other, neither looking up nor willing to speak first.

Adrian turned the card over in his fingers.

"You work at a fried chicken shop?"

"What... oh. That."

Chloe found she had no answer ready.

"I can simply call and confirm," he said, reaching for his phone.

"My family runs a fried chicken shop. Yes," she admitted.

Great. Now he knows where I live too.

"How much?" he asked.

Assuming he meant the menu, she answered evenly, hoping to keep the peace.

"Plain is one thousand five hundred naira. Spicy is one thousand seven hundred naira."

"I wasn't asking about the chicken," he snapped. "How much were you paid to impersonate Aria?"

"That's... it's..."

The words wouldn't come.

"Just be honest."

"I told her I couldn't do it. I really couldn't. But she kept promising me five hundred thousand dollars. That's the whole story," Chloe admitted, shame creeping into her voice.

Adrian lowered his head.

"You risked all this for five hundred thousand?"

"Standing in for someone isn't technically a scam, is it?"

"You impersonated another person and wasted someone's time for personal gain. If that's not a scam, what would you call it?"

"I'm sorry. I needed the money badly, more than my paycheck could cover," she said, equal parts guilty and mortified.

Adrian's mouth curved, unimpressed.

"So you're not just an ordinary scammer. You actually have a job. Some set of skills you've got."

"It's a small, mid-sized company," Chloe said dryly. "Very small."

"And that company happens to be yours."

Aria hadn't gone far. She was waiting by Chloe's car.

I wonder if he brought that handsome secretary of his again.

She immediately shook the thought away.

No. This isn't the time to be thinking about men. You just threw your best friend to the wolves.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, guilt settling over her.

Inside, Chloe and Adrian sat in silence, neither willing to meet the other's eyes.

I didn't do anything wrong except hide the truth. But it'll cost me if he ever learns I'm his employee.

Aloud, she tried again.

"I know an apology isn't enough. I wish I could make up for your time and your feelings. It's not as though I can repay you with money or gifts. You already have far more than I ever will. But I can promise to help you however I can, whenever you need it."

Adrian said nothing. He only watched her.

"Are you still upset?" she finally asked.

He leaned forward.

"In what way do I resemble an ape?"

"...Sorry?"

"Is that why you're angry?" she asked, startled.

"I'm not angry. I've simply never heard anything so absurd. It caught me off guard. That's all."

Chloe laughed despite herself.

"Oh, that. I just said the first thing that came to mind so you'd stop proposing to me."

"The first thing that came to mind?"

"Well, the resemblance is there. The narrow face, the sharp eyes, those long limbs. No one's ever pointed that out before?"

"I told you. I've never heard that before," he said, temper flaring.

"Right. Sorry."

She backed off quickly, privately wondering who held grudges this tightly.

"If there's nothing else, should we call it a night?" She took a breath. "We're short-staffed at the shop, so I still help out in the evenings. I should probably get going."

Her phone rang.

Adrian.

He didn't wait for her to answer properly.

"Save this number, and pick up whenever I call. If you ignore me, or try to vanish..." He held up her business card. "I'll come find you myself."

"Understood," she said.

The two of them exchanged numbers in silence.

"One more thing," he said. "What's your real name?"

She hesitated.

If I give him my real name...

"Stephanie," she said instead.

"My name is Stephanie."