Dominic

“I’m going out for the rest of the afternoon. If Mark from Everhome finally calls, tell him we already found someone else to supply the flooring for the rentals in Miami. He missed the boat.” 

My secretary, Hannah, nodded and waved as I passed. I wasn’t entirely sure she actually heard me; the woman had to be nearly 90 years old. Not that I dared ask. As I had learned to do, I also dropped a note with the same message on her desk on the way out the door. That way I knew I’d get through to her. I pulled my phone from my pocket and shot off a text to my best buddy, Enzo. 

The two of us had been inseparable since he moved into the house next door in first grade. We’d taken every class together, roomed together at college, and when I became CEO of Voss Enterprises, he was my first hire. 

Dominic: Hey man, I got all of the important meetings out of the way. Are you still down for some golf? We have to take advantage of the sun before the damn rain comes back. 

Enzo: Hell yeah! I’ll just make the new intern finish filing this paperwork for me. And I’ve got questions, bro. There’s a rumor going around the office that you’re getting MARRIED?

My lip curled upward and I tossed the phone back in my pocket. Of course the secret didn’t last ten minutes! However, if Enzo was hearing that the marriage was real, I supposed that was just the beginnings of free publicity. The whole damn city would know within days, anyway. 

I met Enzo at the front doors. His beach blonde hair stuck up in every direction, as usual, and his crooked grin beamed in my direction. He opened his mouth and I shook my head, knowing the idiot would blast the wedding thing through the entire lobby. 

“Let’s take my car.” I pulled out my keys and pressed the button on the elevator to take us down to the underground parking. He fell into step with me, obediently keeping his big mouth shut. For now. 

As soon as the doors closed behind us, though, he rounded on me. He bounced on his toes and waved his hands as he spoke. “So what’s this nonsense about you getting married?! Last I heard, you weren’t even dating anyone. At least, not more than once!”

“Well, the rumor is true.” It wasn’t the entire truth, but Enzo didn’t need to know that. Best friend or not, some corporate secrets needed to stay secret. He’d forgive me. 

His eyes grew wide and he grabbed my shoulder. I pulled away and smoothed my very expensive suit jacket. After another moment, though, his face fell. “You’re just making fun of me. This is another one of your pranks, isn’t it? It’s not even a good one, man. Did you really expect me to believe something that far-fetched?”

“For once, I’m not pulling a prank. I’m marrying Vivianne in two weeks. And if you agree not to be a moron for the next couple of weeks, I’ll let you be my best man.” 

Pretty sure I broke him. Enzo stared at me for a solid sixty seconds after the elevator door opened, his mouth hanging open like a venus flytrap. When he finally got his bearings, he leaned against the wall for support. Dramatic, as usual. 

“Vivianne? Our Vivianne? The ice queen COO who barely tolerates men? How the hell did you manage to pull that off?” 

I shrugged and fabricated a story on the fly. “She’s a pretty good actress, huh? Insistent that nobody knew about us until I made things official.” 

“You bastard. You could have at least told me, you know! I hope you at least picked out a decent ring on your own. We both know I have better taste than you. I always thought we’d do that part together.” He stuck out his lip like a child scorned, and I rolled my eyes. 

But I also frowned at the reminder that I’d missed a step. An engagement ring! “You’re right. I should have had you come with me, because she hated the one I picked. In fact, golf can wait. Let’s go to Tiffany.” 

“Damn, it must have been worse than I imagined.” Enzo pressed the button to reopen the elevator door and stepped out into the dimly-lit parking garage. I followed him to my cherry Mustang in the corner and pressed the button to unlock the doors. 

I couldn’t believe I’d overlooked something so basic in my fake wedding plans. Every news outlet in the city would want pictures of the engagement ring. Tabloids across the country would be judging the success of our upcoming marriage based on how grand it was. And I hadn’t even remembered to have anyone pick one up. 

Traffic outside the office was horrific, as usual. I finally had to push my way into a gap that was far too small, forcing the Toyota now behind me to slam on its brakes and let me in. “We probably should have taken the bikes.” 

I growled under my breath, thinking about how much easier it would have been to zip through this traffic on my motorcycle. But I wasn’t dressed for that, and I wasn’t carrying my clubs on my bike.

“Eh, I’d rather take the car. It’s too muggy out there.” Enzo stared out the window and flipped off the dude behind us, who was still laying on the horn. 

The lunchtime traffic refused to abate all the way to the jewelry store, and by the time we arrived, I was already spitting mad. Enzo, on the other hand, was excited by the glittering things in the window. A damn crow, that man was. 

We finally found a place to park and walked the block back to Tiffany. I opened the door for Enzo and followed him inside. My eyes shot in every direction, not quite sure what to focus on with all the light reflecting from thousands of shiny surfaces. 

“Welcome in, gentlemen. How can I help you today?” A well-dressed employee stepped from behind the counter and approached us. I’m sure he recognized the quality of my suit and smelled money like a shark sensing blood in the water. “Anything in particular you’re looking for?” 

I nodded and swept the premises again. “I’m in need of an engagement ring. And it needs to be a good one. This year’s finest.”