A LIE WORTH TELLING

CHAPTER FOUR

Chapter 4

The next morning Courtney called Emma to apologize to her for her off in the party.

The phone rang a few times before Emma answered "Courtney? What do you want?" she asked warily.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I was way out of line," Courtney said "Girl you know how it is when I see handsome and rich men like Alexander" she said playfully "But I'm really sorry for leaving you all alone."

"It's okay, Courtney. I appreciate you calling," she said slowly "So how did it go with you two, did you have fun?" Emma asked

Courtney practically got very excited "Oh my god, Emma. It was wild. We stayed up all night talking, and I don't think I've ever connected with someone like that before. He's smart, and funny, and just...he gets me, you know?" she gushed.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Emma said, genuinely happy for her friend. "It's about time you met someone who can keep up with you. I bet you had him laughing all night with your sarcasm"

"You know me too well," Courtney laughed. "

"I do," Emma said smiling "So, spill the tea, girl. Did you guys...you know..." she trailed off, a teasing edge to her tone.

"Emma!" Courtney exclaimed, her cheeks burning. "Jeez, you're as bad as a rom-com. But...yes. We did," she admitted

"Yesssss!" Emma exclaimed "I'm so proud of you!"

"Proud of me?" Courtney said feeling very surprised "Ain't not the one that preached about not wanting a man to me"

"Hey now, I still don't need a man! I never said I didn't want my s****l needs to be satisfied. Girl got some needs Court"

"Oh my god, you're hilarious! But seriously, there's nothing wrong with wanting a little satisfaction in your life. You do you, girl!" Courtney replied.

"Exactly! It's all about that balance. I'm just keeping my options open, ya know?" Emma said sighing as she gets up from bed.

"I need to go now Court, I got some really big schedule at the office today"

"Ugh, work. The necessary evil of adulthood. But hey, go slay that schedule like the boss you are!" Courtney replied, throwing in a little motivational pep talk.

"Haha, thanks, I'll try not to get too buried in paperwork. I gotta say, it's been great talking to you, as always. Girl talk never fails to lift my spirits!" Emma said, stretching her arms over her head.

"Ain't that the truth! Nothing like a good gossip sesh with your girl to brighten the day. It's like therapy, but cheaper and with fewer questions about your childhood traumas," Courtney joked. "But seriously, go kick some butt at work and I'll be here for the play-by-play later."

"You got it, sister! Talk soon, and don't let those spreadsheets get you down!" Emma said hanging up with a smile on her face.

Then she laid down on her face onto the pillow remembering what she said on the phone "A girl needs a little satisfaction with Luke creeping in her thoughts." "Nope I got to get to work" she said to herself as she leaped up the bed to the bath room to get ready.

Since the fight she had with her Dad about getting married, she's refused to go back home to see them, and have been staying in an apartment she rented. She danced her way to the bathroom not letting the thoughts to spoil her mood.

In 45mins she was ready and off to work. Today's a big day for her in he company because it's a the day she pitches a cutting-edge AI-driven financial analytics platform that uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to provide banks with unparalleled insights into market trends, risk management, and customer behavior. It's a win-win: banks get better decision-making capabilities and reduce operational costs, and she gets funding to revolutionize the industry."

It's a big day for her and she doesn't want any thing to f**k it up. "You got this, boss!" She says to herself in the mirror, with the most epic power pose. "No messing this up, no stammering, no sweating, no blinking. Just pure, unadulterated tech-talk awesomeness."

When she got to the office her PA gave her coffee everyone was ready to make it a big success for her company except for Luke as the company software developer he's supposed to be the first person in office.

"Arghhhhhhh" she yelled in her office "where the hell are you Luke?!" She screamed to herself. They tried calling him but he's line always goes straight to voicemail.

The bank board members who were waiting for the meeting to start. Then there was Luke running into the office half dressed, he knows he's in a lot of trouble and only have one thing to do to save the day. Make a good presentation. His hair still wet and shirt untucked, looking like a hot mess. "Sorry, sorry, traffic was a nightmare! But I'm here now, so let's do this!" He quickly fires up the laptop and starts his presentation, trying to ignore the skeptical looks from the board members. "Alright, let me tell you about this platform - it's gonna change the game. It'll be like having a crystal ball for finance. You'll know exactly what the market's gonna do before anyone else."

Emma was very relieved to see him but still very unhappy and angry. One of the board member from the bank had to stop Luke from proceeding "Ermm can you stop and take a little time to...erm get yourself settled"

"Right...okay..ermm Sorry Everyone." He said apologically

Emma signalled him out of the staged room to talk to him for a sec. "Luke, what the heck were you thinking, showing up like that? You're representing our company, and you look like you slept in your car."

Luke looks sheepish. "I know, I know. I just... I got caught up in the research, and I didn't realize what time it was until it was too late. I promise, I won't let it happen again."

Emma sighs remembering the state she found him last night when they met decided to let it go "Look, I get it. You're passionate about this project, and that's great. Go in there and smash it while I will pick up from where you will stop"