Page 48 of Fake Married to the Grumps

Nelly’s eyes are pinned on mine like she’s about to say something, but Julia rushes forward first. She tries to touch my hand as she speaks, but I move away from her. “It’s going to be alright, Ethan. We’ll find another way.”

My eyes stay on Nelly even as Julia tries consoling me, and the only thing I can think of is hearing what Nelly has to say.

“Julia, excuse me a moment,” I say, when Nelly turns to walk out of the conference room. I peel Julia’s hands off me, then rush out after Nelly.

“Nelly, wait.”

I catch up with her in the hallway, take her arm, and spin her around to face me. Tears shimmer in her eyes and seeing them breaks my heart.

“Nelly …”

“I was going to say … I think Joe is engaging in corporate espionage,” she begins, her tone flustered as she looks up at me.

“He cornered me this morning and talked about side-lining you and getting a contract to work with the Department of Transportation. He was talking about the same project we put together, Ethan. He stole it from us.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

She hands me the flash drive. “Joe gave me this. I don’t know what it contains, but he was trying to get me to switch sides and partner with him. This isn’t over, Ethan. Something tells me there’s more to his plan.”

I rub a hand over my face, sighing exasperatedly before sucking in a deep breath. “I’ll handle this and—” A thought suddenly pops into my head and shocks me to the core.

Only two people knew of the exact details of the plans I intended to pitch to the investors today. Nelly and me. I definitely wasn’t talking to Joe, so was it Nelly?

No. Nelly wouldn’t betray me like that, and she definitely wouldn’t bring it to my attention that Joe had sabotaged me. If she was helping him, she would cover her tracks.

Julia suddenly calls out, “Ethan!” She walks towards us, and Nelly rolls her eyes, an impatient look crossing her face.

Julia hooks her hand around my arm and cocks her head to one side. “We should head out for lunch,” she says with a smile.

“I’m talking to my wife, Julia,” I reply in an icy tone.

“Ethan—”

I interrupt her. “Our deal was to spark rumors about us, and I’ve done that. I’m not your chaperone, and definitely not your boyfriend.”

“But…”

“Not now, Julia, okay?” I interrupt before she can protest.

I slide my fingers around Nelly’s and pull her with me so that we head to my office together. Julia’s staring at me the entire time, but it doesn’t matter.

Once the door closes behind us, I face Nelly, and she leans into the door, pressing her back against it.

“There are only two people who knew about these plans, Nelly. It’s just you and me, and I didn’t tell anyone. Did you tell Joe? Perhaps hint it to him or—”

“That’s a stupid question,” she answers with a laugh, but when she meets my serious gaze again, the flush on her face slowly fades. Nelly stares wide-eyed at me as she blasts. “You think I did?”

“I’m just saying…”

“You think I’d betray you? Why would I come to you with this drive if I did?” She shoves past me before I can say anything else and walks towards my table. “You’re such a jerk. I came to you, Ethan. I didn’t have to, but I did it because we’re friends and you don’t trust me?”

“I do,” I answer quickly, but my words seem to have little impact because her eyes still reflect her hurt.

“I trust you, Nelly, but I’ve been betrayed by the people closest to me before, so I had to ask. Julia and Joe didn’t just betray me. She passed off my business ideas to him. It’s how he started his company. He was nothing before that.”

“I’m not Julia, Ethan,” Nelly whispers in a broken voice and shakes her head. “You can’t treat me like I am.”

“I know that and I’m sorry,” I say, rushing towards her to take her hands in mine. “I trust you. I’ll figure this out and find out where the leak came from.”

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