Page 15 of Maid For Each Other

“What?” She looked up at me through narrowed eyes. “That’s not an explanation. Yourteamhas never met me.”

She was right, but I pressed the down button and said, “Listen, do you really want to waste time disseminating the logistical details of how you came to your current appearance, or do you want to review the details of our ruse so the evening goes off without a hitch?”

“Um, definitely dissemination,” she muttered as the doors opened and we stepped into the elevator, “but I guess I’ll settle for ruse details.”

“Wonderful.” I pressed the P button, looked down at her—she was about a foot shorter than me—and said, “So tell me about yourself.”

She rolled her eyes like an irritated teenager. “Is this a quiz?”

“Abi.”

“Fine,” she said on a sigh. “I’m Abi Green and I work in marketing at a small company called Anderson Tech.They’re based out of Denver, so I have a hybrid schedule where I work remotely from Omaha for three weeks a month and in the Denver office for one. I grew up here, am an only child, I have no social media because I do so much of it with my job that I justcannotafter five, and I run three miles with my dog every morning.”

I was torn between being glad she’d memorized the details and embarrassed that over the past few months, I’d been forced to divulge random details about my fake girlfriend. I hadn’t realizedhow many white lies I’d told about her until I started compiling the list for Abi to study.

The list made me feel like an idiot.

“Where did you go to college?” I asked as the elevator bell dinged at the underground garage.

“Okay, the assigned answer is UNO, but can we talk about this?” She stepped out into the vestibule when the doors opened, and I gestured in the direction of my parking spot. Her heels clicked as she walked over the cement floor and said, “Some of your answers are just too boring. I think there’s a way to make your girlfriend soundwaymore interesting without screwing up your story.”

“I don’t care if she sounds interesting or not.”

“Well, you don’t want these very important people to think she’s dullsville, do you? Just hear me out.”

I shot her a look that she must’ve read perfectly, because she held up a hand and said, “Humor me for a sec.”

I unlocked my car, making its headlights flash, and she headed in that direction as she spoke. “What if Abi Green went to Yale for a year before deciding to move back because her parents missed her too much? We should brain her up a little.”

“Her parents are dead,” I said, heading for the passenger door to open it for her just as she beat me to it. “Killed in an accident that she doesn’t like to talk about—you should know that.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” she said as we both climbed into my car. “I did my homework and I know that they’re dead, but we could tweak the timeline a little. If Abi goes away to Yale, that illuminates her intelligence. If she comes home for her parents,we’re showcasing what an angel she is. Then, when they pass, she is the most tragic and beloved of all characters.”

Okay, she obviously thought this was a Lifetime movie. I turned on the car and said, “No.”

“Also, why did you take out my parents? Why would you add that depressing detail to Abi’s backstory?”

I sighed and buckled my seat belt, offhandedly wondering what kind of perfume she wore. It was light and fresh and reminded me of summer. “My parents asked me about Abi’s parents.What does her dad do?My mind went blank so I…”

“Unalived them,” she said, but there was a little smile on her red lips. “Brutal.”

I gave her what I hoped was a severe look because I needed her to understand. “We aren’t changing anything, and this isn’t a game. Stick to the script and we’ll be fine.”

“But,” she said, her shiny lips reflecting the dash lights. “I need to understand her motivations if I’m going to nail my character.”

“You aren’t a damned actress, Abi.” I ground my teeth together for a second, trying to keep my cool. “Just say ‘Nice to meet you’ when I introduce you to someone, and that’s that. Don’t get cute.”

She stared at me for a long second, like a lot was going on in that head of hers, and then she just said, “Fine.”

7

A Car with No Name

Abi

“What kind of car is this?” I asked.

I didn’t really care, but I couldn’t let the silence go on any longer.

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