Substitute for Lawson

23

- Oh, - a long sigh is heard in the receiver, but he is not tired at all, just the mother continues to marvel at her daughter's naivety. - You are my miracle!

- Mom, I'll send you photos, okay?

- It would be better if she came herself than sent her photos! I also want to touch you! - The usual grunt followed in response, which in this one did not irritate at all. The secretary continued to smile happy about this day, which brought so many emotions.

“Well,” there was an expectant silence in the waiting room. Curious Alice hung over her secretary's desk, which frightened the poor thing. Blue eyes fixed on brown, expressing only bewilderment. - Why are you looking at me like a ram at a new gate? - Kim can not stand it, twisting his mouth to the side. - You have a marriage registration tomorrow!

- Well, yes ... - she agrees.

- Well, yes ?! You will be married tomorrow! - the girlfriend continues to speak excitedly.

"Fictitious ..." Emily adds quietly, staring back at the monitor.

- Something I already doubt, you know. - Alice chuckles, sitting down on the leather sofa. Throwing her legs over her legs, the girl begins to swing her and, with a slight frown on her forehead, clearly begins the brain process. - What will you wear tomorrow?

- Do you need something special? We'll just sign the documents in the registration hall ... - the girl finally broke away from an unimportant business for a long time and, driving away from the table, took the same position as her friend.

- Is not it so? Nice dress, makeup! Bouquet? So! I think I need to shake this curmudgeon! - the lawyer rattled excitedly already intending to run to Damian's office.

- Not necessary! - Amy jumped off the chair and sat closer to Alice, taking her by the hand. “It's not…” she didn't have time to finish, as she exhaled.

- You love him ...

“You're right,” he nods meekly, slightly dying out. A lump clenched unpleasantly in my chest. “But what can I do about the fact that this is just a lie?

- I'm not sure that Lowsen will be able to let you go in a year ... - catching the mood of the secretary, the wife of the general also wilted. - During this time, I got to know Damian from a completely different side than all those girls who naively believe that they saw him all. And you know, we are quite similar to him, - grins at his thoughts, smiling out of the corner of his mouth. - This is probably because we are of the same zodiac sign? Of course, nonsense, but ... - she pauses for a moment, as if pondering something. - The devil knows what is going on in his head at the moment, but it's not so simple. I think so. Even the fact that you slept ... This is completely different, it seems to me ...

- What do you mean? - Amy looked down, trying to understand all the words said.

- I do not know how to explain ... but ... - the girl pauses again, looking around the small room. - We have a short day! So we go shopping! - Alice jumps up, grabbing her friend by the wrist. - Get up!

- But now, it's not even lunch ... - as a typical office worker mumbles Fox. - We're not leaving work ahead of time? What if they fire us ...

- So, stop! - with a long exhale, she interrupts. - Who will dismiss the wife of the general director and practically the wife of the deputy general without their approval? - she is slightly irritated.

- Well ... the head of the department?

- He won't do anything. - the girl chuckles and confidently heads to her office to put on her outerwear and pick up her purse. - Get ready! You have a good reason! - Shouts to her from the next room, forcing Amy to agree, but it seems she is beginning to get used to such antics of a London friend.

***

“Alice just texted me,” Lucas muttered under his breath, putting his cell phone aside. Now it was already lunchtime and both friends out of habit were dining in the restaurant opposite. While Kim stared at the screen of his iPhone for a long time, Damian silently ate meat with juice.

- What did you write? - continuing to actively work with jaws, said the deputy.

- She said that she and your future wife went shopping. He chuckles, glancing sideways at his friend's reaction. Damian, oddly enough, did not react. - It seems that the girls' working day is over ...

- Not having time to start. - in the voice of Lawsen his pedantry barely perceptibly slipped.

“Come on, no matter what you amuse yourself with,” Lucas tried to distract himself, remembering his fish.

- Why did you then agree to take her to work, if you do not take it seriously? Lowsen narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t want it to work at all. He claps. - But this self-sufficiency is terribly infuriating! Therefore, let it be near me, than I will be jealous of her to some colleagues. In general, it seems that it's just time to send someone on maternity leave, I've been thinking about this for a long time. - the corners of his lips rose insidiously, depicting slyness on his face.

- Do you want a second child? - automatically asked the deputy, remembering how a happy friend told him the news that he would have Miya.

- I want very much…

- Son?

- Son ... - twisted in his thoughts he muttered, chewing on his lower lip. - And you?

- What am I? Damian almost coughed.

- Don't you think about children yourself? Kim narrowed his eyes.

- About kids? - twitches his eyebrows in surprise. - Hmm, I'm no longer a green student, fortunately, I think I would not be scared if someone told me What news, but they don't tell me, and would there be someone to want children with?

- And isn't it with whom? - the general grimaced. Damian gave only a questioning glance, preferring food to chatter. - Emily? - continued Kim. - the younger grimaced skeptically.

- Emily?

- Well yes. Why are you looking like that? Aren't you going to marry her tomorrow?

“I’m not because of great love,” he grins, defiantly rolling his eyes. - It's just a game ... An experiment. I'll see how to be married, and then we'll scatter.

- But what is it for? Damian? They don't play with marriages, you know? Especially with naive girls who still dream of princes.

- Don't start, please. - a little growled in response to the deputy. - You are like parents!

“Here,” Kim's lips pursed nervously. Putting his index finger in front of him, he threatened the youngest, like a guilty puppy. - Let's bet that in a year there will be no divorce?

Damian just grinned at the palm offered to him. He himself is not sure that this will not happen. Something had changed since they had slept, as if he was beginning to be drawn to her.

- For what? - hesitating to hold out his palm in response, the deputy asked cautiously.

- I don’t know, for interest and eternal poddeb, to each other, - the director frivolously shrugs his shoulders, playfully winking at a friend. - Come on, if you win, I will never again try to reason with you, I will agree that your life alone is already inoperable.

- And if you?

- And if I? Lucas grinned slyly, as if already anticipating his victory. “Well, I don’t know,” big eyes, as if looking for a clue, crawled around the hall. - As I already said, podyeb is waiting for you.

- It would be better if I chose the money. Damian snorted, offended. “It's my mission to f**k you up forever.

- Why do I need money? I don't need them. Expensive car? I have a whole fleet of vehicles. What else is possible in our case? We've both grown up to argue about toys. Of course you can?

- Okay. Interest is so interest.

Agreeing to a dispute, Lowsen shook his friend's hand, and was about to separate them, but Lucas stopped him.

- Uh, no, small, - remembering how he called him in his distant childhood, he snapped the fingers of his free hand, beckoning a passing waiter. - Kindly break it.

***

If you watch a youth film, you see two best friends go shopping, they have a bunch of branded bags in their hands, a wide smile on their faces and a lot of energy that has nowhere to go, then this is far from reality. Even good shopping centers with bright rooms, good music and helpful staff are terribly tiring. There is nothing special on the hangers, which creates emptiness and frustration.

“We haven’t found anything worthwhile,” Alice sighs drawlingly, settling down more comfortably on a soft sofa in a cafe. There were several packages next to her, but it was for Mia, even for herself, the girl could not decide what exactly she wanted.

- You're right as never ... - echoes Amy, resting her elbow on the table, puts her chin in her palm.

- Maybe we should go to the bridal salon?

- Not. I don't want a wedding dress. - the secretary flatly refuses. No, she, like every girl, just dreamed of feeling like a royal on the day of the wedding, but now this event would be more like an ordinary civil contract.

- Well, I'm not suggesting, it's straight that it is lush, there probably are neat and short ones?

- Not. Let's look for more ...

- Okay. Kim sighs wearily. - Now let's have a bite and move on. - the girl perks up a little when she sees that the waiter is hurrying to the table.

A light snack relaxed the girls a little, so walking past the shopping pavilions, both were closely tracking something interesting.

- Let's go there, - Alice winked coquettishly, pointing to the Chanel brand store.

Having read the sign instantly, Amy pulled up.

- No-no, - of course, she added funds after the housing issue was resolved, the probationary period passed and it even turned out to transfer money to the mother, who sighed more and refused to use them, citing that their daughter needed them more in the big city, but now, when she lived with Damian, she moved mainly in his car and even bought food for them with the money that was on the card. But it seems that she is not ready to buy herself a dress from Chanel.

- Why not?

“I’m afraid to imagine how much at least one scarf costs there, but I’m already silent about the dress. - Shyly looks away.

“Emily,” the girl exhaled noisily. Folding her arms over her chest, she stared skeptically at her friend. - Do you at least understand that, ideally, a marriage happens once in a lifetime?

- I know.

- And?

- What and? You know that in a year all this will be gone. - and this is also difficult to admit.

- I'm not sure about that. You will see, he himself will fall in love with you and will not let you go. - Approaching closer to the dejected secretary, Kim easily throws his hand on her shoulder, hugging her slightly. - Come on, I'm sure we'll get lucky here!

- This only happens in a fairy tale or in novels. I wouldn’t believe that a playboy like him would love a gray mouse. Or how is he there likes to call me? Mumbler? Emily mutters in frustration. In my soul, of course, there is a naive hope, the fact remains that in real life everything is far from the way you want it.

- I only heard it in the first month. Emily, you are far from a gray mouse, and you deserve a lot more than you think. If he himself has not yet seen what gold is under his nose, then tomorrow I will make him look at you in a new way! - the general's wife rattled off in combat and confidently pushed Fox into the store.

“Even so,” the blue-eyed woman pulled up at the entrance. “This won't make it cheaper here.

- Who told you that I make you spend your money? - the lawyer claps torturedly. Assuming that Alice would now start offering her a dress as a gift, Emily shook her head.

- Not. I think I can guess what you are going to suggest ...

"Do you have that card with you that Damian gave you?"

- What?

- Give me a map, that's what. Alice pressed more insistently.

- No, this card is only for ... - does not have time to finish, as the interlocutor interrupts her.

- Exactly, for your needs. This is also a need. He got you into it. We will now pick the chicest dress in this store! As Coco Chanel said: every girl's wardrobe should have a little black dress, but in our case it will be white! - She clapped her hands impatiently and, wrapping her head, began examining the mannequins.

- Can I help you? - helpful consultants, who usually outweighed things from place to place out of boredom, quietly appeared next to them, surrounding two friends and blinding them with their duty smiles.

“Yes, you can,” Alice grunted busily, straightening a loose curl behind her ear.

Today Damian had to go from work alone. When he discovered that he received several SMS notifications from the bank, about where and how much money was spent, he started to call Emily, but she did not take it for a long time, and when she answered, instead of her, Alice's voice was heard in the receiver :

- Don't bother us. - She quickly blurted out, after which long beeps were heard.

- What?! - the man choked with indignation, staring at the screen of his phone. - What are they doing there ?!

Annoyed by this behavior, the man tracked Amy's number by geolocation and, finding his target, turns the car straight onto Oxford Street.

- I don't think I'm doing the right thing ... - Amy was holding the cherished package with the Chanel label in her hands, and inside her everything was jubilant. The echoes of doubt still lingered. She was afraid of Damian's reaction to such impudence, but Alice all this time tried to convince her otherwise.

- Do not whine, - the friend grimaces, sipping a milkshake from a closed glass, which served as a small snack. - This asshole is using you for his own purposes, why don't you ...

- Would you do the same? M? Even if you were used? - Alice was confused by this question. In fact, she would also have resisted and said that this was not correct, but living with Lucas for a long time and knowing these two, the girl began to take it easier, which was what Fox tried to urge.

-In fact, you're right. I also had this. - After a long silence, the girl nodded.

Both stepped outside the department store doors, breathing in the cool evening air.

“He already provided me with everything,” the blue-eyed woman finished awkwardly, seeing off the passers-by who filled one of the busiest streets of the metropolis.

- No matter how strict he may seem at work, but in fact, he is very kind, - the interlocutor nodded in agreement.

A ringtone sounded in Fox's pocket. Finding a call from Damian on the screen, she hurriedly answered.

- Where are you? - the stern voice of the chief was distributed. Emily didn't even have time to answer: - Oh, I can see you all. - long beeps followed, and a second later, Damian himself appeared in front of the girls.

- Remember the devil, - Alice shook her head reproachfully, pulling a satisfied smile on her face.

- What? - he did not hear, but he suspected something, and therefore the look was appropriate.

- Hi, I say, - she chuckles and boldly reaching for the packages that were in the hands of her friend, that she was numb with the arrival of the "future husband" and taking them out of her hands, impudently shoved Damian. - Here!

- What's this? - the man accepted them, but began to look inside with curiosity recognizing the contents. - Chanel? - With suspicion he glanced at his friends, immediately remembering the tidy sum that was withdrawn from his account.

- Yes, Chanel. - the lawyer chuckled contentedly. - Your future wife should shine tomorrow, or do you have something against?

- No, - Damian, it seems, began to understand what's what, therefore, noticeably relaxed. - But why so long? - it was still necessary to find fault with something, so the relaxed face hardened again, and the hand pointed to the wristwatch, which showed that it was already evening.

“I’m telling you, Emily has to shine tomorrow, so we chose everything carefully! - Kim continued to challenge her innocence. It seems that women cannot be trampled on.

- I see tomorrow not only Emily will sparkle, - nevertheless the deputy quipped, fixing a grinning glance at the same numerous paper bags in the hands of a friend's wife.

“It’s okay for you, too. - finally inserted the brown-haired woman and stuck out her tongue.

- I am always beautiful.

Having swallowed by that time the embarrassment and realizing that Damian was not so opposed to their purchases that they made today, she watched with curiosity the comic skirmish of these two and could hardly restrain her laughter.

- What are you talking about. - clinks at this time Alice defiantly rolling her eyes.

- Yes! And in general, you have enough shopping for today. He sighs humbly. - So you're home, - as if a strict parent he hums and turns to Alice, to which she again shows her tongue, but he completely ignores this childish gesture, looks at Amy, who still could not restrain herself and spat out a choked laugh ... - Why are you smiling? BUT? Quickly into the car! - easily hits her with packages in the back seat, and Fox, as if out of spite, begins to giggle, not knowing why.

Sitting in the car, both were silent. After saying goodbye to Alice, the girl developed a lightness in her chest, and thanks to her, Amy seems to have begun to expect something special for tomorrow.

Damian was driving the car in a relaxed manner, but he could not make up his mind to say something. Poking into the touchscreen display, he turned on music for the background, which added some romanticism to the situation.

- Sorry. - came from the passenger seat. Damian shot a quick glance at the girl.

- For what?

- Well, you saw for sure that money was withdrawn from your card. I really didn't want it, it's Alice ... - the girl pursed her lips apologetically.

- Oh, you mean it? He chuckled. - It's okay. That's why I gave it to you. Use it.

- No, this is the first and last time. I can even return your money...

- I do not need. He quickly objected. - That was not enough yet. Tomorrow we will be one family.

- Fictional? She asks carefully.

- Well, - out of habit with a nose and weakly nods.