173: Bigger and Shinier

Fenella’s POV Alan laughed softly. He seemed pleased. Was it working? Was my acting convincing enough? “How did this happen?” His laughter grew more amusing and gradually turned into neurotic laughter. Shit! He must have seen through my poor acting! I sat tensely in my seat. My eyes darted back and forth between his laughing lips and the white sedan parked across the street. I started considering mentioning the safe word. My breathing quickened as I waited for him to stop laughing. “Alan, I mean,” my words faltered as Alan raised his hand in the air. “No, Fenella. I don’t want to hear your lies. This is clearly ridiculous.” Alan huffed and shook his head. “How can you reject me outright yesterday and today accept my proposal and say those three words?” He took a quick sip of his tea. I clenched my hands on the table. I didn’t expect this plan to fail so easily. Yes, I shouldn’t have done all this. My acting wasn’t good enough to make him believe me. I was just a lousy actress who could