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Chapter 9
Emma
I watch Seth leave work and go into the bike shop. I don’t know how Bryce will take this, but he seems perfect for my sister.
Opening the door, the bell overhead rings. I see Bryce sitting at the front desk, his girlfriend, Alana, beside him doing homework. I know of Alana, she’s the girl that keeps trying to latch herself to Kristi, wanting to be friends.
“Hi, guys,” I say, walking toward them.
“Hey, Emma. How are you?” Alana says, smiling at me. I’ve met her a few times since she became friends with Kristi, and of course, here at the shop when I’d stop in to see Seth working. Seeing these two together reminds me of Seth and me. But we’re different, Bryce and Alana are way more than one-hundred-percent opposite of each other and from conversations I’ve heard, they don’t even like the same anything. It’s weird. Opposites attract and all, but you gotta have something in common at least.
I shrug. “It’s good. I’m moving up here officially in a few weeks, just scoping the place out.”
“What can we do for you?” Bryce asks.
“Well, if you could lock your front door, I will tell you all about it,” I tell them cryptically.
“Take a seat,” Alana says, sounding worried when Bryce comes back from locking the door and switching his sign to closed.
“You told me about how you are looking for some more cash, to expand on the shop, have the garage be for custom builds for bikes and cars, get a website going, and all that,” I say, swinging my hand out toward Alana and she nods.
Bryce frowns. “Uh, yeah.”
I smile. Big. “I can help you.”
“How can you help with that?” he asks confused.
“I will give you the money, in exchange you have to pretend to date someone for me,” I say bluntly.
“No way. I have a girlfriend,” he says, shaking his head.
“Hear me out. You date her for the rest of the year. That’s six months. Then, you piss her off one too many times, so she won’t put up with it, and breaks up with you. I’ll give you half upfront, half when it’s over.”
Alana sits quietly, taking it all in.
“Also, she designs websites, so if you dated her, she’d do yours for free,” I add in that as a bonus.
“I’m not doing it. Sorry, but no.”
“We’re talking about fully expanding here, Bryce. I looked it up, to start, you need at least seventy-eight thousand. Another forty for parts, and I will throw in another twenty to hire staff to hold you over until you rake in the income. That will more than help your shop,” I tell him, almost pleading. I had saved up some money from working at the coffee shop since I was sixteen, plus I have the money from my grandparents. When they died, they split everything between Kristi and me. We got one million each. Since my dad has zero say in that money, nor does he have any idea how much is still left in the account, I know that no one will find out about this. Plus, I’ll still have lots of money in there for myself.
“You should do it,” Alana speaks up quietly, looking down at her hands.
Bryce whips his head around to look at her. “No, I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“But this money will help you out, big time. Date her, cuddle, hand-holding, kisses, just no sex,” she says, looking up to him.
Bryce sits down in his chair. Shoulders slumped. “If you don’t do this, Bryce, the shop will close, you need that money,” she tells him, moving out of her chair to sit on his lap.
“Here, I’ll leave you with her picture, you can think it over, and when I get back in a few weeks, you can tell me your answer,” I say, digging through my purse, fishing out the picture of Kristi I took last week.
“Isn’t that?” Alana speaks up. “She’s my new friend, that’s Kristi.”
Bryce’s face pales, and his expression is something I can’t read. “That’s Kristi?” He quickly shakes his head, and his face goes blank.
“I don’t know now, I actually really like her. She comes off as tough and mean, but underneath, I can tell something is eating at her. She’s super sweet,” Alana says.
I smile. “Just think about it. That money will be yours.”
