Natasha had made her living out of pretending, and it was even easier to pretend when it was something she wanted so badly. She wanted that normalcy back, that carefree feeling they’d had yesterday. Maybe it would only last a moment, but it was a moment she would gladly take.

“One accounting report that bad and they’d banish us to Siberia,” she said, crunching on another cracker. She knew what he was doing, laying back and away from her, but she played dumb. As much as his hypocrisy was annoying she didn’t want to fight right now. If he wanted to starve himself she didn’t have it in her to argue.