Page 16 of An American in London

I pull my mouth into an apple-pie grin. “Hi,” I say.

Ben frowns but doesn’t say anything.

“This is our new project manager,” Mr. Jenkins says. “She’s going to be helping me prepare for your health check, among other things.”

Someone’s hooked a cannonball onto my insides as realization dawns. Ben, the Daniel De Luca doppelgänger, the guy I flat-out refused to help last night, is my boss’s most important client.

Chapter Seven

As I’m climbing Cowcross Street—and “climbing” is accurate, since the road is as steep as Everest—I make a mental note not to visit San Francisco anytime soon. I also remind myself never to look up the origins of London street names ever again. Cowcross sounded like a cute, eccentric name. A Google search set me straight. Apparently, the name pays homage to the cows that have been herded up this road to their slaughter. I’m in Smithfield, the meatpacking-slash-slaughtering district of London. It’s probably not an area I would have visited, but I have a front door to find.

InSunshine on a Rainy Day,Daniel De Luca played a down-on-his-luck artist on the brink of giving it all up when he meets an heiress in front of his favorite painting at a gallery. I’m trying to find the front door of his studio flat in the film. It might seem odd to want to visit a front door, but the scene where he and Jennifer Elm, my second-favorite actress of all time, argue and he runs out after her, barefoot, into the rain-filled street is one of my favorites.

Daniel barefoot in a rainstorm is a scene to be savored. And I’m hoping it will bring me luck. Finding out the guy who may or may not lose an important deal because I declined to be his fake fiancée was my boss’s most important client wasn’t the highlight of my week. I don’t think Ben will say anything directly to Mr. Jenkins, but he might be predisposed to nitpick the health check documents because he knows I prepared them.

After Ben dropped off the key ring, we had an awkward introduction where we kinda sorta acknowledged we’d met before. Mr. Jenkins was distracted and didn’t push for details. Since then, I haven’t stopped thinking about Ben and whether I should have accepted his offer. Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money. And Ben? He seemed like a nice guy who needed my help.

My phone buzzes and I take a climbing break to see who’s calling. Panting, I think of the added insult to injury for those poor cows, who were forced into a grueling workout before being put to their death.

It’s Melanie. We still don’t have the time difference figured out, so we’ve been missing each other’s calls. I have so much to tell her.

“Finally,” she says as I answer.

“I miss you.” It isn’t how I’d planned to start our call, but hearing her voice triggers something in me.

“I miss you too. New York City isn’t the same without you.”

It’s only been a week, and it wasn’t like we saw each other every day when I lived with Jed, but I know how she feels. There’s something about knowing your best friend is a cab ride away that’s reassuring.

“How are you?” I ask, wanting to hear all the news. Coming to London was so sudden. I haven’t seen our group of girlfriends since Jed and I broke up, and I’ve only heard from Melanie. They probably don’t want me to think they’ve been gossiping, but of course they know we’re not together. And they must know I’m in London—I posted an image of Green Park to Instagram a couple of days ago.

“Same old, same old,” she replies. “I want to hear about you. Are you leaning in to rediscovering Daniel De Luca? Have you come across the man himself during your quest? I’m convinced you’re going to. I feel it in my soul.”

Daniel De Luca quests. Maybe that’s a business idea I could run with if I get fired.

“I haven’t seen the real thing, but a Daniel De Luca look-alike offered me twenty grand to pretend to be his fiancée, and I turned him down and then found out he’s my boss’s most important client so ...London is interesting if nothing else.” London is more than interesting. Setting work aside, I love how very different it feels from New York, and how similar it is, too—like the cities share the same bass line but have different melodies or something.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to break that down for me.”

I start walking up the hill again, taking my time, trying to keep an eye out for Daniel’s blue door as I tell Melanie about Ben. I explain how I met him in Green Park at the very spot Daniel De Luca met Julia Alice inLove Me Like a Boss, then how I bumped into him again and again. I recap dinner and how we went from strangers to discussing engagements. “So I received my second proposal of marriage in London. Who’d have guessed?”

“And he has a jet? Have you googled him? What did you say his last name was?”

“No idea,” I reply. “I never asked.” I pause for a second. “Of course I know his last name. It’s Kelley with anEbefore theY.” I put Melanie on speaker and type his name into my phone.

She must be doing the same thing because she squeals. “He’s gorgeous. And you said no because ...?”

Melanie sounds incredulous, like I turned down a marriage proposal from Daniel De Luca himself. Panic starts to echo in my ears. Did I do the right thing? I thought my best friend would be high-fiving me through my phone for saying no. She was always encouraging me to voice more of an opinion with Jed.

“To be clear, you’re looking for a reason beyond the fact he’s a total stranger? And I didn’t know he was a client of the bank at the time.” The panic grows louder.

I’m met with silence on the other end of the line. I can’t believe Melanie disapproves of my decision. We’re usually on the same page about most things.

“You think I should have said yes?” I ask. “He could be a people trafficker. Or a drug baron. Or—”

“A handsome, single guy who needed a woman to pretend to be his girlfriend and was prepared to give you a hefty chunk of savings, which you’ve been complaining about not having.”

Melanie soundsdisappointed. We probably could get a bigger place if I had a little more cash. My stomach curdles as the panic mixes with regret. Was my refusal too rash? “But you know the saying—there’s no such thing as a free lunch. If he was offering me that much money, there had to be a reason.”

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