The Pretend Boyfriend novel Chapter 52

"What are you going to do now?" his uncle asks.

"I don't know. Clear my name. And then I'll think of something."

He does not ask for money or even any help, and his uncle does not offer. Brian wasn't expecting him to. He knows this is something he has to go through alone to prove something to himself. And to his uncle.

His uncle nods. There's a glimmer of respect in his eyes. Respect Brian doesn't often see.

"Good luck in clearing your name, Brian. It's going to be an uphill task, from what I read about your case."

"I know."

His uncle stands up and proffers his hand for Brian to shake. Brian takes it.

When he steps out of his uncle's office, he feels as if a load has been taken off his shoulders.

"Interesting," Sam says as she peruses the documents the private investigator has given her. "So her real name is Adele Jankovic. Why did she change it?"

"No reason stated."

"She changed it last year, along with her apartment, her job." Her life, Sam thinks.

"She even had a visit to a plastic surgeon around that time."

"Really?" Sam's mind is running wild. "To change her face?"

"Boob and nose job."

"Oh wow." Sam can never understand people who do that. Sure, she's as insecure about her ability to attract men as the next woman (though her insecurities have gotten a lot less since she started sleeping with Brian). "Why do you think?"

"I'm only able to produce hard facts, Ms. Fox, not the reasons behind it, unless she has visited a therapist."

"Has she?"

"Not yet."

"Interesting." Sam flips to the next page. "She works for an upstart pharmaceutical company which specializes in new, cutting-edge technology."

The PI stabs his thumb on a dossier. "I thought you would find this interesting."

Sam takes it. The file is on an experimental drug called CKZ2486 which is hailed as the new Ambien. She reads quickly and arrives at what the PI has circled in red ink: OVERDOSE MAY CAUSE SERUM SODIUM AND POTASSIUM ABNORMALITIES, AS WELL AS ELEVATED BLOOD UREA AND SERUM CREATININE.

Sam stares at the walls of her new apartment. She hasn't even fully unpacked yet. There are not yet any pictures on the walls of her lounge, which is half the size of Brian's bedroom. The lovely new white sofa is a vision amongst the red-and-white striped armchairs.

She seizes a carton and holds a pair of chopsticks up to him. "So here we are, celebrating our first day of freedom."

Only it feels so empty.

He takes the carton and chopsticks from her. "I'm going to try tweezing a pizza with these. I'm going to have all the time in the world to learn new tricks." He glimpses her computer screen. "Sending out resumes?"

"Yeah." She sighs. "Only there are probably a thousand applicants for each one."

"Maybe now is the time to follow that dream." He waves a prawn ball with his chopsticks. She notes that he wields them like a pro. Probably spends his entire life eating take-out dinners.

"What dream?"

"The gym dream."

"Brian, I don't even have the money to keep this apartment, let alone start a gym."

"I'll give you the money." He observes her face. "OK, I'll lend you the money as a partner. It will be our gym. You can run it, since I know fuck all about running gyms, and I can do the marketing and advertising."

She stares at him as if he has suddenly grown a third eye. "Are you serious?"

"If I were any more serious, I'd be dead."