Scene 2

The entire way home Lincoln kept going over the meeting he had with Alexander Dunn. The man was going to replace the current head of the Florida branch of Mega Corp Mr. Salizar and he wanted him… him to fill his shoes when he moved up! Being an intern at Mega Corp was his first real job and it was supposed to be an internship for a real job… not to jump to running anything. “Calm down, calm down, there is nothing in writing it all could just be the man messing with him. The man with almost no sense of humor was just messing with him…” He couldn’t let something like this just pass him by, could he? What about those hoops he had to jump through? The training, yeah, yeah that was just normal, but saying he had to get engaged to have the position and married to keep it. Lincoln stopped the freight train or at least slowed it down at that thought, questioning it. “Did he say I had to get married? Or was it implied? No way he is going to put that in writing and if I don’t then the opportunity would be gone.” This felt like a movie like that old Eddie Murphy movie where he swapped lives with the investment banker.

Parking his car, Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, gripping the steering wheel tight with the other as he stressed about his situation. He would love to this just to be good news and it supposed it was, but it had strings, so many complicated strings. He couldn’t call his parents to give them good news, it wasn’t like he could just say Hey I’m going to get a job being one rung down on the corporate ladder for an office in Florida for one of the worlds biggest companies, all I have to do is get married. Do you happen to know anyone that would like to marry me on zero notice? No, that was crazy thinking and he wasn’t sure why he called Madison, it wasn’t like they were friends. She did have a good head on her shoulders he supposed and god what he wouldn’t give to see her walking down the aisle toward him… but that was lust talking, not love and then there was Jacqueline well Jackson. They were dating, sort of but he… she was obviously still trying to sort their life out. Sure they already had some fun, but Jackson didn’t seem fully open to living as Jacqueline even though it was obvious to… at least him that is what his friend wanted.

“Aspirin, I’m going to need something for my head and then I will do what Madison asked… just to talk things through. He had thrown a lot at her when he called her walking out of the building, telling her how he might have a chance to be in line of succession to run the Florida brand of Mega Corp, making more money then he ever dreamed he would make on a check that didn’t come from the lottery and all he had to do was get married.

“Okay, sure you have fun with that. Linc you are forgetting I grew up with Jackson, just because we are living together doesn’t mean I’m going to participate in pranks.” Lincoln hadn’t expected her to think he was messing with her, but he wasn’t sure what to think or in what order to think things when he had called her, but when he insisted he was not lying she laughed and said “Sure, how about we talk this over back home.” She didn’t sound like she believed him, but he needed someone to bounce ideas off of and he just knew talking to her brother about it would freak him out. With a course of action in mind Lincoln tried to keep himself calm as he made his way upstairs, inside his apartment. He had only gone about three feet in when he saw Madison coming out of Jackson’s room, her room and Jackson’s old room.

Lincoln felt something catch in his throat, plans of getting something for his pounding head forgotten as he looked at the young woman. Madison always dressed or far as Lincoln had seen in a way that was appealing, but he wasn’t sure he had ever seen her in something that wasn’t pants. Sure she liked wearing tight jeans, but he hadn’t actually ever seen her in a skirt before. Today she was dressed in what looked like a white satin skirt that came just above her knees, a gold satin low cut blouse with puffy short sleeves and sparkly pointed toe three inch heels. “You, you look great.”

Madison put her palm to her cheek as she smiled. “Think so? Maybe I should dress like this more often?” She did a slow turn, her smile growing to touch her eyes looking at her brother's friend. She didn’t often dress up, but seeing people have reactions like Linc’s made her consider making the effort more often.

“Yea…” Lincoln stopped talking before he finished the word, trying to not put his foot in his mouth. “You look wonderful, but I would never tell you how to dress.” Madison tilted her head to the side, leaving it there as she appraised him, her smiling never fading.

“You seem smart enough, at least at times.” She teased. “Now that I know you think I’m beautiful and you know that I think you at least can be smart, shall we pick up where we left off on the phone?”

“I ahh didn’t say that.”

“So you don’t think I’m beautiful?” Madison pressed one of her hands to her heart like she was hurt.

“No you are…” She was having fun teasing the man, seeing him get flusters. Taking a few steps closer, Madison stopped half a foot away from him.

“You doooo think I’m pretty.” Madison fluttered her mascara covered eyelashes at him, giving him a good look at her blue eyes.

“I mean, yeah, but so would anyone with eyes.”

“Awww, you are so sweet.” Madison reached out putting her hand on his chest. “It is too bad you think I’m pretty, but not smart.” She spoke to him like his action made her sad, adding a pout.

“What?!” Lincoln felt so confused

“You tell me how pretty I am, but then you expect me to swallow some story about needing to get married so you can get a job replacing your boss. By all accounts that I have heard has ignored your existence for the last year.”

“That is true but… can we just sit down please?” Rolling her eyes, Madison walked away from Lincoln to go sit on the couch. “Fine and relax I’m only dressed up because I had to go into the office. Work from home, but have to go in to show my face so they know I still exist. Like my work didn’t already do that.”

“Maddy… Madison.” Lincoln wasn’t sure if it was okay to really call her by the nickname Jackson called her.

“Maddy is fine.” She shook her head just slightly when he paused after saying her name.

“I can’t stress this enough, this was a real offer. My boss, Mr. Dunn pulled me into his office, I thought this was just a meeting about me getting a full time position or worse being told I wasn’t needed anymore, something he also may have said in reference to me being an intern still. Me falling through the cracks.”

“And then he offered you the keys to the Wanka Factory?”

“No, nothing like that, but kind of?” Madison gave him a flat expression, he wasn’t normally this nervous or hesitant and while it was fun messing with him before it was getting old quickly. “It is a lot less I am the right man for the job to lead and more of a… the right man to do exactly what he tells me to do and keep the wolves at bay or people from back stabbing im or something.”

Holding up her hands, Madison squinted at him. “Whoa, whoa. Are you telling me he wants you to take over his job, to really just be his flunky?” The phrasing didn’t help Lincoln feel any better, but it was a giant step forward that she was taking him seriously.

“I wouldn’t call me that, not with how much money I would make in salary alone, let alone quarterly bonuses. I would just be working under him, he knows how to run things already and it would only make sense to do what your supervisor tells you to do, especially when they have already done that job and did it well.”

“So you would be a very well paid flunky.” Her words were still flat, but the corners of her lips were curling up. She was already a flunky in the corporate machine, working on what her bosses, god she hated having more than one boss. Doing what they said, doing it how they wanted and going back to redo things so that it was also done the way the other boss wanted it done and then one of them or both of them taking credit for her work or pushing blame on her when code wouldn’t work, that she said from the start that would be the outcome. All that and she still was just a junior, having to pay her dues till they bumped her title and then she could begin job hopping till she got the wage she thought she deserved and then after all that… she would still be a flunky like everyone else, just paid better. And here was Lincoln going to skip the middle steps, all because more than likely he was male and well maybe his boss didn’t think he had a backbone.

“I guess if you want to look at it that way, but I just need someone I can trust to talk to about this.”

“So for the keys to the Wanka Factory you have to get engaged? Why are you talking to me about this? We aren’t exactly friends and I’m not sure why you would trust me.” Lincoln clenched his jaw for a few moments.

“Maybe not, but we could be. You already know I think your pretty and have a crush on you and…”

“You have a crush on me? Awww.” She put her hand on his forearm, realizing the aww was a bit insulting, but she had to admit that it was awfully cute that someone would have a crush on her. “That is flattering Linc, it really is.” When girls started talking like that they usually went into how about we just be friends talk, a painful path.

“Maddy, I do, but that isn’t why I came to you. You are smart and brilliant sometimes.” Madison raised her eyebrow at the word sometimes, but left her teasing unsaid. “I need help, I need to put a ring on someone's finger and I know Jacqueline would run for the hills if I tried upgrading the relationship from dating to getting married.”

“Pretend relationship to pretend engagement, seems like the right step, a bit fast for a fake relationship, but you crazy kids could pull it off.”

“I’m serious Maddy and I don’t think it is pretend not after she dragged me to a work closet and gave me a blowjob when I talked about going on a date with a girl from the office.”

“Wait, wait, what? That happened? Are you fucking with me? Also gross, but also really?!”

“Yeah, that happened and we also had some fun the other night, we talked in the morning I was apologizing but she said how it was okay and we should do it again. And, and I umm tried doing some research. I’m not a psychologist or anything but I found people talking about how some people run away or hide from who they really are when that person wouldn’t always be accepted by people or those close to them. Thinking about all of this, I played a prank on Jackson to see if I could get him to put on a dress and show up at work and instead he comes in glammed up, looking amazing… literally looking like your younger sister.”

“I did have a big hand in that, giving him little choice. I wanted to get back at him and maybe take him down a peg.”

Lincoln shook his head. “No, you may have pushed him, but there is no way Jackson does anything he doesn’t want to do and definitely doesn’t do this for a few bucks. Heck he had the chance to tell HR this was all a misunderstanding, but chose to let them think he was trans instead of fessing up or even just quitting.” Madison frowned, leaning back on the couch more as she crossed her arms, pondering everything.

“I think this is what he wanted, secretly and we gave him the chance to be himself, but he doesn’t feel secure enough to actually say it. He needs to be pushed into it, like the bet the other night and allow me to umm… you know.”

“Umm, I know? You just told me my little brother wants to be my little sister and gave you falacio in a broom closet. No need to beat around the bush I think.”

“Supply closet.” Madison gave Lincoln a hard look, like it mattered the type of closet it was that he got blown in.

“Alright, if that is true, why not talk to her about all this, lay it out, strike a deal.” Lincoln shook his head again.

“I really think that would be too much, getting married, I mean some girls make books about how they want that day to be and I don’t know if that was something Jackson thought about before he got the chance to be Jacqueline, but it being setup to be fake could be devastating. Heck I don’t know. This is why I’m talking to you.”

Still leaning on the couch, Madison pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek contemplating something before leaning forward. Well if your true love, my little sister won't marry you it should not be too hard to find someone to fake marry you when there is that big of a payday in it for them.”

“She isn’t my…” He started to say, but Madison wasn’t done talking and just spoke right over him. For fifty percent of your assets while you are making the big bucks I would tie the knot with you. How long do you think we would have to keep it up? A year? Two years?”

“Maddy, that wasn’t what I was getting at, but really? You would really marry me?” She leaned in close, giving him a big toothy smile.

“Going from confessing your love for your crush to her saying she would marry you, big day for you Linc and why not. You are good looking, down right handsome in the right light and really it would allow me a lot of freedom far as careers go if I didn’t have to consider how much I made. When we inevitably divorce, I’m sure our families would be heart broken, but I wouldn’t hit you too hard with alimony and it wouldn’t be real so you wouldn’t care if I kept seeing people like Callie and…” Madison looked the young man up and down, giving a little shrug. “We would be married so we could have a little fun too, so long as you don’t get all super serious and possessive and I would give you the same freedom. Though I’m not sure I’m okay with you sleeping with my new little sister at the same time as me. I can be kinky, but any thoughts of you getting a three way with the two of us needs to be quashed now.”

“I… yeah, umm that sounds, that sounds good.” Earlier his mind was moving like a freight train, not wanting to properly slow down, now it felt like his thoughts were moving through molasses, he really did need that aspirin for his head.

“Yeah? That sounds good? Not much of a romantic are you there Lincoln Hatch.” Madison paused briefly after teasing the man, thinking of her younger sibling and what Lincoln was telling her. It did make sense, a crazy kind of sense and if Jacqueline was willing to do that with Lincoln, it made her wonder if it was just because her sibling wanted to explore her new femininity or if she really did have genuine romantic feelings for her friend.

“We could also, I suppose use this to make Jackson think he needed to pretend.” She made air quotes around the word pretend. “That she wanted to marry you by saying we were going to tie the knot for all this and lay it out that I’m only a backup in case she wants to do it. Would be a shame, I already know what kind of car I was going to get you to buy me.”

Standing up from the couch Lincoln started walking towards his bedroom. “I need to get something for my head, this is all just… just yeah.”

“My future husband has such a way with words.” Madison said, clasping her hands together, holding them next to her cheek as she spoke dreamily. Lincoln stopped after opening his door, looking back at her.

“Do you really think that would work?” He asked, ignoring her teasing, something he really should have been doing all along. Madison shrugged.

“I have no idea, but at this point I have learned that you have some tough decisions to make, that the person I grew up with isn’t who I thought they were, though when you mentioned before about something happening between you I thought maybe he was bi like me, but now I leaning a lot more to what you were saying. That they definitely need to see a therapist to work out their deal and that I apparently have a price.” Madison pursed her lips, looking off to the side at nothing. “Not sure how I feel about that last one, I would say it makes me feel cheap, but dressed like this and how much I would make rules that out.”

Blinking at Madison a few times, Lincoln nodded his head once, already unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I definitely need an aspirin.”