Wow.
She’s impressed even me, and I’m in on this fake wedding idea. But I certainly wasn’t in on all the elaborate details.
"All right, we get the point," Niles says. "There's going to be a big to do. The most unique and special wedding ever. We don't need to go through every item on your wedding to do list."
"I, for one, am rather intrigued and interested," Mia pipes up. "Do go on. I have a question about these details. What is your dress like?"
From the way her eyebrow is raised, I can tell she’s genuinely curious, rather than just trying to interrogate Liz like the men are.
"It's Berta, of course," Liz says.
"Well yes," Mia agrees. "Who else would you go with?"
"Exactly. It's the latest beaded lace and tulle ballgown. It’s called the Belle Rosa."
"Yes! I’ve heard of it,” Mia says.
Liz shoots me a look as if to say, “that’s impossible,” and now I’m sure she’s just making all of this up on the spot. There’s probably not a wedding dress called the Belle Rose, except in her very creative imagination.
“I saw Alison Brie wearing almost as nice of one, in Town & Country," Mia says. "Very nice choice."
"Well thank you," Liz says. "I'm sure you'll love to see it in person, Dr. Malone. You're all invited, of course."
"Oh, nice," Mia says, nodding her head approvingly. "I will most definitely be there."
"For the Berta," Liz says.
"And the hot air balloon," Mia admits. "And monkeys? Really?"
"You know it, girl," Liz says, beaming at her.
"All right," Jeff interrupts. "Well I, for one, have no idea if this girl is as full of shit as Monroe probably is, if she's as batty as her crazy mother—"
"Hey," I tell him. "Have some respect."
"It's okay," Liz shrugs. "I'm used to it. She is pretty batty. But I just found out that my dad's pretty normal, so at least only half of my genetics are defective.”
Her face turns soft and thoughtful, and I love how compassionate she is.
“Plus, my mom's had a hard life,” she continues. “She can't seem to take it well when others don't agree with every little thing she believes in. I've learned a lot about how not to be from her, which is almost as valuable as learning how to be. All I know for sure is that my marriage is going to last a lot longer than hers did."
She winks at me.
What an amazing person I'm engaged to, I think. Then, I have to remind myself. Fake engaged to.
It's just pretend. But I can't help but wish it was real, now more than ever. I'm so glad to hear that Liz was able to talk to her dad. I knew there was more to the story there than Shirley was telling her.
"But anyway," Jeff continues, annoyed. "All I know for sure is that she's not going to sue us for anything. She must really have the hots for Dr. Monroe, to go to these lengths to either actually plan to marry the guy or make up all this stuff about their planned wedding."
"It's not fake," Mia protests. "It has to be real. I need to see this wedding."
"You’ll be a guest of honor, Dr. Malone," Liz says, smiling at her again. “Don’t worry.”
"Okay, that's enough, meeting adjourned," Mark says.
"Just stay on your best behavior for the next month, if that's not too hard of a request," he tells me.
I shrug and smirk, knowing there’s not much he can do. I give the orders around here, not him.
"After this deal goes through, I really don’t care if you marry these monkeys along with this storyteller here, and all of you can go live in the zoo together,” he adds.
"Sounds good to me," Liz says. "I hear that monkeys make very good living companions. Now that that's settled, can I get back to being trained on how to do my job around here?"
"You certainly can," Niles nods at her.
"See you on June 29th!" Mia adds.
And with that, the hot, luscious ass that just saved my own walks out of the conference room.
Chapter 32 – Elizabeth Jane
I'm trying to learn how to keep patients' files, but I can't get my mind off the great performance I just gave everyone in the conference room. I don't know what came over me. I'm normally shy but I was determined to do what was best for Derek.
I feel that I deserve an ice cream sundae for my impressive lies, but instead I need to learn how to put the medical bills in one folder and the doctor's notes in another in the medical records files. I guess it’s time to concentrate on real life and on my actual job.
"Elizabeth Jane, Honey," calls a familiar voice. "Dr. Monroe would like to see you in his office."
It's Trisha, the nurse. I smile at her, grateful for a friendly face. Everyone else around here is obviously not too happy to have me around.
"His office, office?" I ask her, since I'm used to equating the examination room with "doctor's office."
I didn't realize until I started working here just today that each doctor has their own actual office. It makes sense, but it wasn't something I had ever had the need to go to before, so it hadn't crossed my mind.
"Yes, Dear," Trisha says. "So, how are you liking it here so far?"
She squeezes my shoulder.
"So far, so good," I tell her.
I wonder if she knows exactly how good it’s going. But the look in her eyes tells me that she does. And as if reading my mind, she continues, after only a brief hesitation.
"Well, good. And I want to tell you something.”
She purses her lips as if maybe she shouldn’t tell me, but then nods her head as if she’s decided to.
“In my short time here, I've seen Dr. Monroe with a lot of… patients," she finishes, even though I know she means women. "But I've never seen him look the way he looks when he's near you. So, don't listen to any rumors or gossip you might hear around here. Just concentrate on the fact that he's different with you. I can guarantee you that."
"Thanks, Trisha."
At least I have a friend here. That makes two that I have so far, in total. Diana and Trisha. At nineteen years old, I'm off to a slow, but good, start.
I practically skip down the hall to go see Derek, wondering what's in store for me next.
Chapter 33 – Elizabeth Jane
When it comes time to enter my fake fiancé's office, I suddenly feel very shy. He's been my secret lover but now that it's out in the open, things feel different. Not better, not worse, just different.
"Liz," Derek says, as soon as he sees me. "Thank you."
He comes over to me and picks me up; then he sits me on his desk.
"That was amazing."
"It was very convincing, wasn't it?" I ask him.
"How did you come up with all of that stuff?" he asks. "You even knew about designer wedding dresses."
"When one is locked in her room all day by her mean mother, she has time to do a lot of reading on a lot of different topics."
"So, you don't really have those things planned out for our wedding?" Derek asks.
I laugh, but he looks serious.
What the hell?
I feel uncomfortable for the first time ever with him. He'd better not be messing with me.
It's one thing to tell my mom we're engaged so I won't get in trouble. And to extend that lie a bit further for the purposes of saving himself as well. But he'd better not act like what we're doing is for real, unless he really means it.
Oh, shit.
My heart speeds up.
What if he really means it?
I decide to play it cool. I don't want him to know about all the mental gymnastics happening in my head right now because of him.
"I thought you'd appreciate the date I chose," I tell him, with a grin. "Since it's thirty days after your deal's closing date, you'll be home free, right? We can just say, oops, at the last minute, Elizabeth Jane got cold feet. She's the runaway bride, folks. No harm, no foul."
Derek is staring straight into my eyes, as if he can't believe what I'm saying. I suppose he doesn't ev
en appreciate jokes about being jilted by his fiancé, even though I'm just fake, or stood up for his wedding, even though it's just pretend. So, I decide to switch things up a bit.
"Or, hell, by that time they can't do anything to hurt you so just tell them you've returned to your old ways. You're a player again so you can't possibly tie yourself down to any woman, even the fantastic Elizabeth Jane."
"Liz," he says, pulling me in close to him. "Stop it."
I laugh.
"Come on," I tell him. "It's funny. And I saved your ass."
"You did, and I appreciate it."
He clears his throat. He actually looks nervous.
I decide to stop joking. It appears that to him, this is a very serious matter.
"I called you in here to ask you a question," he says.
"Okay, shoot."
He reaches into his lab coat's pocket and I immediately think: condom. He's going to ask me if he can thank me by fucking me. Or if it's okay to have sex with me now that he's my boss. Or how I think it'll feel to be fucked by someone even richer than he is right now— because, thanks to me, his net worth is about to go up even more, along with something else that happens to be attached to his body.
Instead, he gets down on one knee. He holds up a little blue box.
"What the…?" I start to say.
"Shhhhh."
He puts his finger over my lips.
"It's my turn to talk,” he tells me. “And, like I said, I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"My question is whether you really want to marry me on June 29th."
"Really?"
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This seems too good to be true. Just like when I walked into his office for him to confirm my virginity and instead he took it. Except all of this is too good to be true in a very different way.
"I figure since we have a date, and even a place, I should make it official,” he murmurs.
"But… I just now said all of that. Pulled it out of my ass."
"Your sexy ass," he corrects me, and squeezes it. "My sexy ass."
"Okay. I pulled it out of my sexy ass. So where did you get the ring? And the idea to propose marriage to me for a made-up date two months from now?"
"I already had the ring," he says. "I bought it yesterday. I knew that eventually I would want to give it to you, to propose. I just didn't know it would be so soon."
"Oh yeah?" I ask, cocking my head at him. "What made you decide to speed it up?"
He groans. I'm torturing him, purposefully not saying yes or no. I have questions of my own first.
"I had it in my desk drawer, and after I saw what you did for me in the conference room— and how spectacularly you did it— I came into my office to get this ring and give it to you. Because it made me wonder, what am I waiting for? There's no one better than you. I'm so glad to have you as my fake fiancé. And I want you as my real fiancé. Now that we have the date and the place, all I need is a real yes from you."
"But there's a problem," I say. "All of that was just as fake as our engagement. There's no way we could book the Houghton Hotel on June 29th. It's the most popular hotel in town and one of the most coveted wedding dates."
"Wow, Liz, you really are a wedding planner in your fantasies," Derek says. "You're really getting bogged down in these details.”
I smile, not wanting to let on just how much fun it was for me to make up all those elaborate details.
“I think you know I have pull in this town, and I can probably make a wedding there and on that date happen,” he continues. “It might be a bit unconventional… maybe, a brunch wedding, for example… but it could probably happen. And even if it can't, we can tell them we postponed it because someone in our family is sick, or maybe because you're pregnant."
"Pregnant?" I ask, looking at him in a mixture of astonishment, humor and awe.
He's really putting the cart before the horse. I didn't even say yes to his proposal yet and he's already talking about knocking me up.
"Well, there needs to be a little Derek Junior," he says. "Or a little mini- Liz."
I laugh.
"I love you, Liz," he says. "I know I've never even said it until I'm asking you to marry me for real, but I know you've felt it since nearly the beginning."
"I have," I tell him, gazing into his eyes. " I love you too, Derek. I always have."
"Okay then," he says. "Good. My point is that there are lots of ways to change this if it doesn’t work out, but the date and place aren't the important parts of my question. The most important thing I'm asking you is this. Elizabeth Jane Suttell, will you marry me?"
"Yes," I tell him, laying my head against his muscular chest. My muscular chest. Until death do us part. "Yes, yes, yes."
He stretches out my hand and places the large, sparkling diamond ring on my finger.
"It fits me perfectly," I tell him.
Then I can't help adding, "Just like you."
Epilogue
Elizabeth Jane
It’s my wedding day, and I can’t believe all that has happened since my mom first made me go see Dr. Monroe for a purity exam. I went from being an innocent, sheltered virgin to his dirty little slut, his fake fiancée to save his business, and now— the best part— his actual bride.
Today is also the day on which I’ve been reunited with my father. He and I float in a hot air balloon far above Derek and our wedding guests, who are gathered in the courtyard of the Houghton Hotel. The ceremony has started, and I can see Derek standing in front of the wooden wedding arch.
“Awww, he looks nervous,” I tell my dad.
“And he looks proud,” my dad says, and I agree.
Derek stands tall and strong, looking more handsome in his tuxedo than I have ever seen him. His groomsmen stand beside him.
I watch as Diana walks down the aisle as my maid of honor. She looks gorgeous in her couture bridesmaid’s dress, carrying calla lilies. I’m grateful for her, even though I used to be embarrassed when she talked to me. I’m glad she didn’t let my mom get in the way of our friendship.
Tracy follows her. Even from here, I can see her blushing as she notices another of the doctors at the practice seated as a guest in the aisle. There have been rumors that he has a crush on her and that it’s mutual. Some people even say they’re secretly doing the dirty just as Derek and I have been doing. Talk about workplace romance drama.
Then, pairs of animals walk down the aisle, two by two. First come the promised monkeys, then goats, then pigs.
“This is an interesting assortment of animals,” my dad remarks.
“We picked the friendliest ones,” I inform him with a grin. “You’d be surprised how docile pigs are. I read all about them on the Internet, when I was making my selection of animal wedding party members.”
“Oh, I’m sure they are,” he says. “I’ve heard that pigs are smarter than people.”
“Maybe if those people are three years old,” I tell him, with a snort. “But they’re definitely smarter than dogs. And chimpanzees.”
“Leave it to my daughter to find out everything about pigs while planning her wedding,” my dad says.
I smile, grateful that he can be here with me on my big day. Grateful to Derek for being the reason it came to be.
Finally, two elephants traipse down the wide aisle, and all the guests gasp. The way that Jeff and Niles’ mouths hang open is my favorite part of the day so far.
“You sure put together the wedding of all weddings, in a very short amount of time,” my dad says.
His tone of voice is one of admiration mixed with awe.
“It’s amazing what money can do,” I tell him, still amazed myself.
Derek made a sizeable donation to the zoo, as well as to the Albuquerque Balloon Museum, which lent us the balloon that my dad and I are riding in and in which Derek and I will be whisked away after the wedding, for a tour around the city, private champagne toast, and pictures, while our guests have cocktail hou
r before we meet up with them for the reception.
The date had obviously already been reserved by another bride, but money convinced her to change it to an afternoon ceremony so that she would have plenty left over for a lavish honeymoon. And Derek contacted the vast network of caterers, decorators, flower arrangers and other vendors that he keeps in touch with when he entertains other doctors for business deals.
Today is everything I could have dreamed of, and more. Except, as I look down at the wedding guests, I notice an empty chair. I’m reminded that not everything can be perfect.
“Even though Mom’s nutso, I sure wish she was here,” I tell my dad, unable to refrain from commenting on the one negative note.
“I know you do, Honey,” he says, putting his arm around me. “I hope one day she’ll come around.”
Mom was so upset when she heard what I’d been up to that she’d refused to come to the wedding, or talk to me at all. She thinks I’m a sinner and that my marriage will be doomed. And she was betrayed by the fact that I invited my father to walk me down the aisle.
“It’s a lovely day anyway,” I tell my dad. “Thank you for coming.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he says. “I’m so proud of you.”
As the balloon lands and Dad and I climb out, I hear our wedding guests gasp again. I realize that it’s my mom’s loss if she doesn’t want to accept me for who I am. At least I’ve finally learned to accept myself. I’m reunited with my dad, and I’m marrying the love of my life.
My mom has been cruel, to me, and if she’s not sorry, then I don’t want her around. I wish for both her sake and mine that she could change, but unless she does, I’ve learned how to be happy without her mistreatment of me.
And it’s not hard to be happy today, as today is the best day ever. As Canon in D begins playing and I walk down the aisle, I see Derek’s mouth drop open in wonder. I also can’t help but notice that Mia Malone’s mouth is gaping almost as much, as she stares at my wedding dress.
Not only am I getting married today, but I’m doing it while wearing a dress that Berta made specifically for me. It’s called the Belle Rosa, and the designer told me he’s secretly christened it “Elizabeth Jane’s Belle Rosa.” The supplier told me the phone has already been ringing off the hook with orders demanding this unique new dress which I had requested be designed. It’s just one more thing that Derek’s money— and now my money— can buy.
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