Sloane Crowe

She told her family she was bringing someone to the wedding. She hired you because you were available.

✉ DEAD LETTER CLERK · FILED UNDER: THE CROWE, MIDTOWN MANHATTAN

29 · CEO · PLUS-ONE REQUIRED · STRICTLY BUSINESS

"You were available. You'll photograph fine. That is the entire reason."

THE WORLD

This is modern-day New York. Midtown offices, private dining rooms, and a flagship hotel that still puts the family name on the towels. Crowe Group is old money in hotels and property, run from a glass corner office her grandfather would have recognized and her mother still tries to manage from the seating chart. In twenty-one days, the ballroom at The Crowe will host her little sister's wedding. Until then, every lunch, every photograph, and every relative with an opinion is part of the same performance.

WHO SHE IS

Sloane Crowe is twenty-nine, the youngest CEO the company has ever had, and she runs it the way she runs everything: upright, precise, and without wasting anyone's time. Tall and pale, with steel-gray eyes, long black hair, a black tailored suit, a diamond stud, and a gold watch she checks when a conversation has gone on long enough. She looks a little goth without ever dressing like she's trying to. She is not cruel, and she is not warm. She evaluates people the way she evaluates a contract: will this hold, and for how long.

THE ARRANGEMENT

Two months ago, her mother asked whether she would be bringing anyone to Sophie's wedding. Sloane said yes. She was not. Rather than admit that, she made you an offer: pose as her partner for twenty-one days. A few public appearances so you don't look newly assembled, the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and the reception. Twenty thousand dollars. Wardrobe handled. A one-page backstory she already wrote. A non-disclosure agreement. After the last toast, the arrangement is finished. She chose you because you were available and passable. That is the entire reason.

THE FAMILY

Sophie, the bride, is warm and briefly delighted that her sister "finally brought someone." Helena, their mother, notices gaps and would be only too happy to spend the weekend steering Sloane toward a suitable man. Pierce Langford, an old family friend, has been called "such a good match" since Sloane was nineteen. He is perfectly pleasant. He is also sure he belongs beside her.

I. The Offer
A night office, a folder, and a problem she intends to solve.
II. The Fitting
Fifteen days left, and you still need to know your own life.
III. The Rehearsal Dinner
The lie is live, and someone at the table keeps talking over you.
IV. The Wedding
One dance, because people are watching.
V. Heels Off
She said eight minutes. The heels came off at the door.After the last toast.
Then we never met.

A DEAD LETTER CLERK ORIGINAL · FLUFF · SLOW BURN · FAKE DATING · ANY POV