“So, you’re saying it’s none of my business.”
Pain flashed in his eyes before he looked away, refusing to answer.
I can’t believe I’m considering this. “What’s in it for me?”
His eyebrows arched high, a grin splitting his face. “Anything.” He lifted his hand like he was swearing an oath. “I’ll do anything you want.”
“You’ll be super nice and polite?”
“Absolutely!” He beamed. “I’ll be the most supportive guy you’ve ever met.”
“You probably shouldn’t go that far,” Laurie warned.
“Why not?”
“Because I might be really ticked if I find out you could’ve done it all along and chose to be a jerk.”
His head bobbed, sharply. “Point taken. Okay, I’ll be fairly polite and partially supportive, but I’ll still give you a hard time.”
“Sounds more likely, anyway.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up in a crooked grin. He jutted his hand forward. “Do we have a deal?”
“Not quite.”
The hand fell to his side. “What else do you want?”
“You agree to call every single one of these donors and make them agree to shell out again this year.” She pointed toward the computer screen.
“I’ll do it,” he answered without hesitation.
“Today,” she added.
“Agreed.”
“And you’ll stay on this project with me until Jarrett comes back or the LA Fundraiser is over.”
From his expression, you’d think she’d asked him to walk across a bed of hot coals. “But Branson would do just as good of a job—probably better.”
“Never mind… you can tell your mother the truth.”
“No, no! I’ll do it! I’ll stick with you for as long as it takes.” He reached out like he was going to grab her arm but pulled it back at the last second.
He can’t even stand to touch me. He’ll never convince his mother we’re dating.
“It’ll never work, Finn.” She moved back to her desk, careful not to brush against him, and settled into her chair.
“Please, Laurie…”
“Sorry, I can’t help you.” Refusing to look at him, she scrolled through the donor list. “It’s for the best. I didn’t want to lie to your mother anyway.”
&nb
sp; His earnest face appeared over the top of her computer screen. “What if I make it official so you won’t have to lie at all?”
“How can you make a fake relationship official?”
“Like this…” He cleared his throat, feet shuffling, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Laurie Fields, would you do me the honor of being my real girlfriend until the end of tonight? I’ll treat you like a queen and buy you anything you want. And I promise to be nice and kind and do my part for the fundraiser.”