Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 30858 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30858 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
“I assume you’ve spoken to my assistant in detail and signed an NDA before coming here?” I asked her.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “And I honestly wasn’t going to come here at all, but I figured since you paid me a sign-on fee, I at least owed you an explanation.”
Is the flu capable of making someone’s eyes that red and puffy? I leaned back.
And why is she shaking?
“I can’t be your wife-to-be,” she said, “because something dangerous has appeared in my life.”
“Please tell me that whatever you have isn’t contagious.”
“Huh?”
“You’re sick, correct?”
“Heart-sick, perhaps.” She smiled. “My boyfriend from college just happened to see me at the bar last night, and he begged me for a second chance.”
She spoke like she was in a romance novel. I felt like I was in the wrong genre entirely.
“I could’ve sworn Miss Dawson told you to stay away from bars and clubs until after this arrangement was over.”
“I was only going there to chat with a few friends, but—” She sniffled again. “Once I saw him, it was like the earth stopped. He was the one who got away.”
“Can he continue staying away for like eight weeks?” I asked. “That’s not that long…”
“He wants us to pick up where we left off as soon as possible.” She pulled one of Jenna’s binders from her bag and placed it on my lap. “Your secret is one hundred percent safe with me, but I’m sorry. I have to follow my heart.”
I’m not even going to fight this one.
“Understandable,” I said. “You need to sign an additional set of NDAs with the security team downstairs before leaving here today.”
“I will, and thank you so much for this opportunity.” She forced me to shake her damp, Kleenex-holding hand. “I really appreciate it.”
She walked away without another word, leaving me with two final wives to try.
That Evening
My “second best” wife option stared at me from across my desk, batting her brown eyes.
Her name was Lydia Moon, and on paper, she’d seemed like all I’d ever want if I ever did get married.
So far, all we’d done was take turns quizzing each other about our likes and dislikes, just as Jenna suggested.
“What type of books do you enjoy reading?” I asked, needing a break.
“Oh, wait a minute.” She shook her head. “Miss Dawson didn’t give me the answer to that question.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “You can freestyle it.”
“Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent.”
“To be honest, I don’t like any books. Reading is boring.”
I paused, my pen hovering mid-note, as if my hand refused to acknowledge what she’d just said.
“Okay… What about movies?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t watched a film in a super long time. That’s just not my thing.”
“What do you like to do?”
“Influence.” She smiled. “I can sell you any product with ease.”
“I mean, whenever you’re not working as an influencer,” I said. “What do you do for fun, like off social media?”
She gave me the blankest stare of the day, and I kept my eyes on the door, anxiously waiting for Jenna to return.
She’s not going to work for me at all.
“Your tie is really nice,” she said. “It’s a Tom Ford, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I get seven percent of every sales lead I send there from my TikTok account.” She leaned forward. “Would you mind taking it off, so I can make a video for my followers about it?”
I checked my watch, already done pretending this meeting was salvageable.
“Um, hello?” She waved her hand. “Yes or no? I can split the profits, if you want.”
I stood up from my desk and walked out.
6
NICHOLAS
Laura Hayley was the type of woman who most men in my position loved to have on their arm. A beautiful brunette with deep almond eyes, she was highly educated and well-traveled.
She was also, unfortunately, incapable of going longer than ten minutes without talking about something other than herself.
“This is my first time dining at this place.” She smiled at me. “I like it a lot.”
“Happy to hear that,” I said. “Like I was saying before, though, do you think you’ll be ready and have everything memorized by next weekend?”
“I think so, but I’m still a bit confused about why someone like you needs a fake fiancée.” She shrugged. “I could call any of my friends, and they’d happily screw you without a contract or a fee.”
“We won’t be having sex.”
“That’s what you claim, but I’m not opposed to it if you change your mind.” She winked. “I’d love to show you some things I’ve learned over the years.”
Right…
“Do you believe your family will buy into this?” I asked. “We only need to snap a few pictures together around them to make this look real.”
“You’re going to love my family.” She clasped my hand atop the table. “It’ll be fine. Anyway, did I tell you about the argument I got into with my hairdresser today?”