My Sister Hid Her Boyfriend Inside My Marketing Firm Until Her Dinner Party

 

My Sister Hid Her Boyfriend Inside My Marketing Firm Until Her Dinner Party

Jake had been working at my marketing firm for six months, and I considered him one of my most reliable employees.

So when he walked into my office on Monday morning with the latest Stratton marketing proposal, I expected nothing unusual.

The report was excellent.

The numbers showed a four-percent increase in engagement, the research was thorough, and everything was presented perfectly.

But while we were discussing the project, Jake mentioned something I'd never heard before.

He had a girlfriend.

Apparently, they'd been together for three years.

That surprised me because Jake had never mentioned her before.

I asked what she did.

He told me she owned a high-end women's fashion boutique in the city. Business had been difficult, so the two of them often spent their evenings discussing advertising strategies and customer acquisition.

I smiled.

"She's lucky to have a marketing manager at home."

Jake immediately became uncomfortable.

He insisted that he kept their relationship and his work completely separate.

At the time, I didn't think much of it.

I had no idea that his girlfriend was much closer to me than I could possibly imagine.

The following evening, my best friend Erin came over to my house.

She was holding the invitation to my mother's fifty-fifth birthday dinner.

The invitation was ridiculously expensive, with thick linen paper and raised silver lettering.

My family had always cared about appearances.

Erin knew that better than anyone.

She had been my best friend since we were fourteen and had witnessed nearly every argument between me, my sister Melissa, and my mother.

She wasn't exactly excited about the dinner.

"After what Melissa did at the Labor Day picnic, you're really going?" she asked.

I reminded her that it was my mother's birthday and that I'd already bought her a gift.

I showed her the small velvet box sitting on my sideboard.

Inside was a beautiful vintage sapphire brooch that had belonged to my family for decades.

Erin picked it up and admired the stone.

But while we were talking, I couldn't stop thinking about Jake's girlfriend.

A woman who owned a struggling fashion boutique.

A woman who had supposedly been dating Jake for three years.

A woman who apparently wanted help with her marketing.

Then Erin suddenly said something that made me freeze.

She mentioned my sister, Melissa.

And for the first time, I began wondering whether Jake's mysterious girlfriend wasn't a stranger at all.

Because there was something about the way my sister had been acting lately.

Something she hadn't told me.

And when I finally arrived at my mother's birthday dinner, I was about to discover exactly who Jake had been hiding inside my company—and why my own sister had helped him keep the secret.