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“That would definitely take the heat off.”
“I mean it. I need a smoke screen, just for a while. Have someone come to these things with me for a few months. Not that you’re not great company, but you get it. Me just existing isn’t working.”
“I mean, you could hire a pro. Compensate her fairly and treat her nicely, of course, but that is an option.”
Olin cringed internally. He respected the hell out of sex workers. It took all the social skills and then some that he just didn’t have, including patience. His buddy Michael Bradbury actually owned a website that catered to the sugar daddy crowd. It was how he met his wife Kayla. But Michael oversaw thetopof the top of the business side. He didn’t interact with any of the members. The thought of getting to know someone new and unvetted? No. He felt comfortable with Xeni because he’d met her through friends.
“Do you know anyone?”
“Do I know anyone who will pretend to be your girlfriend?” Xeni asked.
“Yeah, sorry. That a dumb question.” Olin stretched his neck again and tried to settle with the thought that there would just be more Hannahs and Cindys until he died.
“It’s not a dumb question. I’m just trying to think. Most of my friends are down to clown, but they are all taken. Except Meegan.”
Olin had heard about Meegan. She used to teach kindergarten with Xeni before Xeni quit. And she was Duke’s cousin. Meegan introduced Xeni’s husband to Duke and now Mason was a part of his tour and studio band. Duke and Mason introduced Olin to Xeni. Like he said, he liked people who were trusted by the people he trusted. Olin had met a few of Duke’s sisters and his mom, but he’d never met his cousins.
“What’s she like?” Olin asked as they continued on past the Palisades. In-N-Out was getting closer.
“Actually,” Xeni laughed a little. “She’d be down for some nonsense like pretending to be your girlfriend, but you might have to pay her too, if you want her on your arm at fundraisers and stuff. We have to deal with that kind of small talk with parents and donors at Whippoorwill. I know she wouldn’t want to do it on the weekends for free.”
“I’ll double her salary,” Olin said. Xeni laughed again, but the more Olin thought about it, the more the mere idea seemed to lift some of the discomfort from his shoulders. Nothing annoyed him more than unnecessary side missions. He had a handful of events to attend before the end of the year and they all served a purpose. None of it had to do with him speed dating his way through Los Angeles’s available bachelorettes.
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the In-N-Out in Venice. They loaded up with burgers and fries, a shake for Olin and a Coke for Xeni, then parked and ate. There was no way in hell he was waiting another minute to finally fill his stomach. They stuffed themselves and then Olin drove Xeni back to her house in Jefferson Park. He lived in Venice so her place was out of the way, but he didn’t mind.
They talked about the upcoming Los Angeles Arts gala and their plans for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. By the time they made it back to Xeni’s house, Olin had made up his mind. He put the car in park as she turned to him.
“Thanks for the lift. Let’s hope Garza wins and all of these lunches with terrible food will be worth it.”
“Fuck. Yeah.” Olin knew how ridiculous he was about to sound, but he had to ask. If Xeni said no, he’d move on and never mention it again. “Hey, do you think you could ask Meegan? If she’d help me out. I’m really sick of people bothering me.”
Xeni smiled over at him, shaking her head.
“What?”
“You’re just, like, actually hot and tall and rich and sweet. I wish I could find you a real girlfriend. And not ’cause I think you’re some fine piece of meat to be handed off. You deserve to be loved by someone who loves you back.”
He’d opened up to Xeni about a lot, but not everything. There were a few years where even his brothers thought the disastrous way his parents’ marriage had imploded had led to his current stance on love and relationships, but that wasn’t true. The games of dating didn’t make sense to him, but really, he just couldn’t be bothered. He couldn’t say that to most people though because too many viewed relationship related PTSD as theonlyexcuse to pull yourself out of the dating pool.
Olin knew what he wanted in a partner and so far he hadn’t met that person. He knew immediately when he liked someone’s personality. He knew when he was attracted to someone sexually. Those components had not come in one single package. So he was single and he was fine with that. He didn’t need to spend any of his free time on the prowl. It just wasn’t important to him.
“Not sure such a person exists,” he said, a partial admission.
“Not with that attitude,” she said with a wink. “But yeah, I’ll talk to her. Worst she can say is no.”
“Thanks. I’d really appreciate it.” He said goodbye to Xeni and then headed back to his house on the canals. His chocolate Doberman, Pamela, was still asleep in her crate when he went to let her out. She woke up as soon as he opened the crate doors. They headed a few blocks down to the beach and walked along the water for a while. He waited until they got back home to check Xeni’s Instagram profile to see if he could find any pictures of Meegan.
He found plenty. The best ones were from Xeni and Mason’s vow renewal. Olin hadn’t known them yet so he wasn’t invited, but Meegan Whalen was there. One thing really stood out about her. Meegan had a beautiful smile.
two
Meegan Whalen sat in her car and stared at the chrome S on the Passat parked on the street in front of her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a Passat, but there it was looking back at her. TV night with her girls was waiting for her, just a dozen yards away. She just needed to wrap up this extremely urgent phone call with her mom. She let her head fall idly from side to side, a distraction to keep her hand from fiddling with the heat.
“Meegy?” Her mom’s voice came through the speakers.
“Yes, Lynne.” Meegan turned off her headlights, but left the engine running.
“Okay, I have it. Don put it on the fridge. June twentieth. You’ll be out of school right?”
