Page 97 of A Crazy Kind of Love
Saturday the nineteenth of September
Private location—contact Adam or Eden for details
Adrianna handed me the wedding invitation when she buzzed up the next morning, wearing a brown uniform and holding a clipboard under one arm.
I stood back to let her in. “You didn’t have any trouble with the paps downstairs?”
“Oh, no. I go all over the place like this. You wouldn’t believe how few people take note of the UPS guy. I throw this on, and I could walk right up to a counter and order lunch.”
“Do you think that would work for me?” We’d all agreed I couldn’t be seen with Micah until this farce played out since Andy thought we’d broken up. A nice disguise might let us cheat.
She giggled. “I don’t think so. You’d look like you were wearing a costume. The beauty of my disguise is that it’s so different from what people expect to see. When I’m Adrianna, I’m so ridiculous that nobody notices me hiding in plain sight.”
I scratched my head. “When you’re Adrianna? Who are you now?”
She tapped the name tag on her chest. “I’m Andrew.”
“How do you manage to keep it all straight?”
She cocked her head. “Oh, honey. This is how I’ve lived for years.”
“Lord. It must be so hard.”
“Yeah. But sometimes I meet someone magical, like Zion, who sees through all this. And that makes it all a little easier.”
One day I’d get her to tell me her whole story. But it wouldn’t be today. I needed to get into the office.
Adrianna picked up the invitation. “There are more of these. If things don’t work out today, we’ll have to find another way.”
I took it from her and slid it into my pocketbook. “Thanks for your help on this.”
“My pleasure. I’d do anything for Adam, and I miss the fun we used to have messing with the tabloids.”
She gathered her things and put her cap on. I had no doubt she’d dissolve right back into the crowd. I didn’t envy her complicated existence, but I envied her ability to disappear at will.
But today, I needed to be conspicuous. I wanted to wear makeup to effect a hangover, but both Eden and Micah regretfully informed me that my complexion was sallow enough already. An evening in a near coma had taken care of my healthy glow.
Micah had asked me if I was even up for shenanigans, offering me an out. “You could just come home and hang out with Oscar and Felix and me.”
But I was up for it. I had my own reasons to exact revenge on Andy fucking Dickson. And it didn’t hurt to know that Eden would forever love me for going through with it. She deserved her own revenge.
I returned to the office before noon. Zion sat at his desk already and gave me the slightest chin raise in greeting. I slipped the invitation out of my pocketbook to lay it on his desk, but he shook his head. I ran my eyes over to Derek’s desk. He wasn’t there. Crap.
Zion said a little too loud, “Josie, why aren’t you at home? You look terrible.”
Andy flung open his door and stared at me. “You? Get in here, now.”
I dropped my head down, feigning shame and fear. “Yes, sir.”
He waited until I’d entered the office and then slammed the door. He rounded his desk and faced me. “First, you send a complaint about me to HR. And now, you’re back? Are you hoping to pick up your last paycheck? Or turn in your credentials? One of those might be an option.”
His face had turned the color of eggplant. All the times I’d fought back tears in this office, and I couldn’t cry at will. Instead, I scrunched my face up and sniffled. “You were right about everything.”
“What?” A piece of spittle stuck to his lower lip, but he wasn’t the least bit self-aware. “You finally figured out they don’t give a shit about you, right? That act Micah put on for the cameras was just for show, wasn’t it? What happened? Did he stop answering your calls? Or did he actually tell you he didn’t want to date some psycho stalker who showed up drunk at his sister’s house banging on the door after she gave up all his family’s secrets?”
I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t say, “You gave up all his family’s secrets.” I had a response better than words. “I understand you might want to fire me and—”
“Damn straight. Your behavior has been completely unacceptable, Jo.”
