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She had temptation written all over her. My mind doesn’t normally go right into wanting to know what a woman would feel like underneath me, but it did in this situation. I love sex, but I’m more of a relationship kind of guy. Casual hookups and one night stands just don’t do it for me. I like having the comfort of a woman around to take her out on dates and spoiling the shit out of her. For me, consistency is key.
Despite my hesitation, I had to hire her. Because the next day, I interviewed four more candidates and again… not a single one met my requirements for the job. Avery was everything I wanted in an employee. Her references and love for organization were a dream come true for an employer.
Now here I am, stuck with my best employee who apparently “doesn’t do” relationships, having to make her my fake fiancé for the night to impress my boss in hopes he sees me as a family guy.
That’s just the thing. Iama family guy. I love my brothers, Thomas and Oliver, as well as my little sister, Emiline. Family is everything to me.
Thomas is a successful investor in the city and we partner on a lot of deals together. He became a single dad after a one night stand that he used to gettheone that got awayout of his head. We all always thought I would be the first to give our parents a grandkid, but it turns out James was the greatest thing to happen to all of us. He’s the coolest and smartest kid you will ever meet.
Oliver is a free bird. After our dad died, we were all left an inheritance from him. Oliver decided to take his and travel the world. We thought he was out of his ever-loving mind, but he started documenting his travels on a blog site and now he makes a shit ton of money doing it. His trips are mostly sponsored by companies and fully covered as long as he blogs about wherever he is staying.
Emiline is the baby out of all of us. She was a surprise to mom and dad after they thought they would have a family of all boys. She’s successfully working her way through an accelerated nursing program. We all couldn’t be prouder of her.
I’m going to admit, I grew up as a mama’s boy. I was always the closest to her, out of all of us. Things changed a lot after our dad died unexpectedly from complications of pneumonia, and she was never the same person. Now she spends her time traveling the world with her girlfriends, and we’re lucky if we hear from her once a month other than a couple texts to tell us she’s okay.
I work in real estate. Not just any residential real estate, but high-end commercial real estate. We don’t sell houses, we sell buildings, skyscrapers, and all the other luxurious buildings you could think of. Thomas and I have our names on half the city. He invests, and I make the deal come to life. It’s the perfect duo that makes us both rich.
It’s just total bullshit Bill is looking for someone to take over his company who is a “family man.” I am the biggest family man in this city, but I just haven't foundthe oneyet to create my own family. However, his top two contenders don't have a wife or kids. It’s between Todd and me. I’ve heard through the grapevine that he’s been engaged to his girl for over a year now and plans to get married this winter.
Me? I don’t even have a girlfriend. That’s why I’m in this situation with Avery Woods. There’s no reason it shouldn’t work. Bill lives in Florida for the majority of the year and only comes to the city in the summer. Todd oversees Brooklyn and Queens, while I oversee Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. And they don’t know she’s my assistant.
My thoughts are cut short when I feel my phone buzz in my pocket and see a phone call from my best friend, Logan.
“What’s up?”
“Is that any way to answer the phone when I call you?” Logan chuckles. “You sound moody.”
“I am moody,” I scoff. “I don’t want to do this shit tonight. Plus, I just dropped eight grand on an engagement ring for a fake fiancé.”
“Ohhhh. I can see how that would make someone moody.” He laughs.
“Don’t start with me, Logan.”
Logan is one of our best friends. He’s been more like a brother to Thomas, Oliver and me for as long as I can remember. He’s a cop here in the city, and damn good at what he does. He comes to these events with us to represent New York City’s finest, and to get access to the open bar. He just so happens to be the biggest playboy of all of us, and always happens to leave these events with someone. My younger brother, Oliver, comes in a close second to him.
“Oh stop,” he snickers. “It’s not going to be that bad. Avery is hot, dude. She’s an animal as long as you don’t feed her too much tequila. You certainly don’t need her breaking out in song and dance singing “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”again.”
I groan thinking about our trip to the beach house where Avery, Kali and Emiline got drunk off tequila and started belting that song while dancing on top of the kitchen counter. It was a sight to see, that's for sure.
“I think she will control herself for the night.”
“I sure hope so,” he huffs. “Do you want me to pick you up on the way tonight?”
“No, I’m good, brother. I have my driver taking us tonight because I have to pick up Avery. I don’t think it would look good if we showed up separately, you know?”
“That makes perfect sense,” he says with conviction. “Well, I will see you there. You got this in the bag. Bill would be stupid to give this to Todd. You’re the man for the job.”
“Thank you, Logan. Appreciate it.”
“Anytime. See you there.”
* * *
The ride to Avery’s apartment has me more nervous than I have been in a long time because I know deep down, I have to treat it as a real date. I have to make a show that we’re happy and in love.
I feel my leg bouncing in place and my heart is pounding a mile a minute. Will people around us know it’s fake? Can I really prove to everyone inside of the Edison Ballroom that I am in love with Avery? I huff out a groan in the back seat as I think about the fact that this is going to be impossible. The two of us genuinely can’t stand each other.
The problem is that our personalities are total opposites of each other. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting her riled up when she throws her snarky comments at me. But that’s really all we have going for us.
