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“He’s old-school and believes the only way someone can be successful in life is if they’re successful at home. To him, that means a family.”
Nick’s eyes bugged out. “A family?” he yelped.
“Yes. But that’s not what I need from you. I’ve been pretending to have a boyfriend for the past several months to appease him, but in order for the ruse to work, I need to produce this boyfriend and fool my colleagues and family into believing we’re madly in love. Toward the end of the contract, I’ll announce our engagement, and that should satisfy my father’s micromanaging until I get my inheritance.”
“And once you get it?”
“We’ll have a very public breakup. Once the papers are signed, we’ll have a very public breakup. I’ll get to keep my inheritance, and no one will bother me about settling down while I’m nursing a broken heart.”
“That’s…” He blinked rapidly. “Rich people have weird problems. How long is this job for?”
“Three months.”
He gave a slow nod. “So how does this work?”
“You just play the part of my boyfriend. I’ll provide you with everything you need, including a driver and an appropriate wardrobe.”
“Wardrobe?” He perked up. “Okay, what else? It can’t be that simple.”
“Most of the events will take place in Seattle, and a few will be out of town. You’ll need to travel with me and spend a portion of the time living in my house.”
“In yourhouse?” he squeaked.
“It would be for optics and convenience. You’ll have your own space and be on your own schedule.”
“I can’t just pick up and put my life on hold for three months. I have a job. Hopefully two jobs. And what about my roommate? I have bills and—”
“All that will be taken care of. As part of our deal, I’ll prepay six months of your expenses now, and another six months when the job is complete.”
“Allmy bills?”
“Yes. All of them, including your full rent for both you and your roommate.”
“But what about my jobs?”
“I’ll be paying you more than enough. You won’t need to work for a long time,” I assured him.
He rolled his eyes. “Typical rich-guy answer. Money aside, I can’t leave my bosses hanging. I’ve been at the café for five years. I like it there. What’s my manager gonna do if I take three months off? She can’t just hire a temp. And what about the club? I like working there. It’s my happy place. You might have money coming out of your asshole, but I don’t. I need to think long term because whatever you’re going to pay me won’t last forever.”
“You won’t have to quit,” I said, impressed with his work ethic and strategic way of thinking. “I’ll work around your schedule the best that I can, but you’ll have to make an effort to work with mine.”
He resumed gnawing at the corner of his mouth, thinking. “Okay. What else?”
“What do you mean, what else?”
“I mean, what else do you expect of me? To look pretty and bat my eyelashes at you in public?”
“Essentially.”
“And in private?”
“I have no expectations for when we’re not in public.”
“Really?” He pulled a face. “How much is the pay?”
“One thousand dollars a day, another five hundred per event you attend, and a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus if we’re successful.”
He gaped at me. “You’re insane.”
