Page 8 of The Backup Groom

Stella has always been my rock, my biggest supporter, and is the only reason I think I’m sane today. In a lot of ways, she’s like my Uncle G, especially with her blunt honesty.

“I can’t believe you are finally going to have sex again,” Stella said. “I barely remember what it’s like. Two people are required, right?”

“Stop joking around,” I said. “I have a major predicament on my hands.”

“I don’t see the problem. Marry Ryan. Collect the cash. Live happily ever after.”

“Okay, well, first of all, this is all based on the assumption that Ryan would actually want to marry me. We haven’t talked in years. And if that’s not enough, it would mean I would marry for money! Hello? I would feel like a total prostitute.”

“You’re not selling your body. You’re buying a future. Big difference.” Stella suddenly lost her smile and her back stiffened. “Incoming. It’s Huck the Schmuck.” She had nicknames for just about everyone, including our boss.

She called him Schmuck for short, but not to his face.

The conference room door flew open, making me jump.

“What’s going on in here?” Huck said.

I opened my mouth, then closed it, not expecting the question.

“We’re ironing out some details on a few items,” Stella said, which wasn’t an actual lie.

“Is that so?” Huck’s gaze popped back between me and Stella. “Which account are you working on?” He obviously knew we weren’t working and wanted to give us a lecture to make us feel bad.

“We’re working on the Coffee Crawl,” Stella said without missing a beat.

Have I mentioned how much I love my best friend?

Her answer was perfect. Besides advertising, Pacific Beach Media also does event management and was contracted to manage and produce the local Coffee Crawl. Sure, we weren’t truly working on the event together, but it was as close to the truth as we were probably going to get.

Huck glared contemptuously. “And why is Amber working on the Coffee Crawl?”

Stella mirrored his body language. “You encouraged us to work smarter, not harder, to work as a team. And since Amber is the most creative person in the building by far, she is obviously the logical choice to give me advice.”

He studied Stella for a moment. “Advice on what?”

“I don’t want to bore you.”

Huck kept pressing. “Indulge me.”

Stella smiled. “I’d be happy to type up a list for you.”

Unfortunately, he called her bluff. “All right then. I’ll expect a full update on the Coffee Crawl by the end of the day, including everything Amber helped you with.”

“Not a problem,” Stella said. “I’ll go ahead and cancel my appointment with the San Diego Zoo to make time for your update.”

She was so quick on her feet. I’m grateful for how many times Stella has saved me from the wrath of our jerk boss. Not that I want to encourage her dishonesty, but I am the worst liar in the world. The guilt from my deception always makes my voice crack and turns my face bright red.

Huck was on his way out, but stopped in his tracks and flipped back around. “You will do no such thing. Forget the report.” He pointed to me. “I don’t want you to be working on the Coffee Crawl. You have more important things to do. Got it?”

I barely got the words out. “Okay.”

He turned back to Stella. “And when you need help in the future, I expect you to go directly to Frannie. As the new creative director, she’s more capable of helping you thananyonein the building.” He glared at me, even though I wasn’t the one who’d said it.

I had thought about it, though.

“Frannie was out getting a massage,” Stella said. “Again.”

Huck grounded his teeth. “She worked late last night, so I approved that.”