Day 82: Tales Of Fake Marriages And Business Suspicions
Day 82 Of How To Move On From A Man — 1LD
If you’re new here to 1 Lovelock Drive, welcome! Let me fill you in on what you’ve missed.
I’m Andie and my ex, Douglas, dumped me. This is my break-up, so to speak. Douglas is a power player in Melbourne, worth more than I could ever comprehend.
I have no idea why we broke up.
I work and live at 1 Lovelock Drive. There, my best friend James and I are building Highway, our unisex clothing line. Our two other best friends, GG and Sophia, are investors.
GG is dating Douglas’ brother. Awkward.
My friends have been acting strange since the breakup. Since things have changed, I’ve found papers in James’ briefcase outlining plans for an expensive office space for our business.
The sound of the lift bell chiming was deafening.
Alex seemed unaffected by the volume, probably because he had ridden these lifts every day. For many years, too.
And he wasn’t on edge like I was.
He was comfortable schmoozing people, talking to strangers and making them feel like he had known them forever. He was a stark contrast to me. Stiff, out of place, constantly looking over my shoulder in case someone I knew saw me there.
“This is one of three available spaces in the building. The interest in this particular level has been overwhelming.”
Her name was Yasmine, and she walked ahead to point out the floor-to-ceiling windows and marble kitchen in the centre of the space.
“The refurbishment is highly desired.”
It looked the same as the brochures and etchings James had in his briefcase. At lunch yesterday, I showed Alex.
He said these weren’t casual mock-ups, they were full architectural plans.
You don’t have these drawn up unless it were a done deal.
“And what about additional refurbishments to the space? Can we achieve that?” Alex winked at me as he asked the question.
“Yes, absolutely. Though we do have preliminary plans already in place with our in-house stylist.”
We kept walking through. I couldn’t deny how beautiful the office was. The view over the city was enough to make you fall in love with becoming a city dweller.
And imaging our logo sprawled across the wall sent excitement vibrating through my body. I could understand why James had the details of this place in his possession.
If only he had shared it with me, I thought.
“Now, is this your business?”
Yasmine looked us up and down. We hadn’t told her anything about us, except our interest in the property. I felt my lip tuck under my teeth. Alex stepped in and held my hand.
“Yes, my wife and I are looking to expand our operations. What do you think, sugar?”
I couldn’t contain the laughter.
Being married to Alex? I didn’t even know the name’s middle name.
Considering everything that had happened lately, it was a laughable prospect. Yet it was, for a moment, fun to imagine. To pretend to be married in front of a complete nobody. Living a life that seemed impossible as a reality right now.
That much I could do.
“I love it. Can we see the contracts?”
Alex pulled me into him and whispered into my ear. “Douglas didn’t know what he was doing when he let you go.”
Fuck.
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
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