After a while, she lay down to sleep. Tonight, her libido was at low tide. She didn’t dream of sea faring hunks or have nightmares that ended in her death at the hands of her estranged husband.
Instead, she fell asleep peacefully, not waking before the alarm sounded loudly by the bedside. She jumped, once again disoriented upon waking, and wondered how long it would take to get used to her new life. Popping up out of bed, she showered and changed, eager to get started with things. In all honesty, the biggest thing she was interested in was getting the money in hand for her part in this little game.
She walked out toward the waiting car just as he pulled in, looking up toward the garden as she went. Hank was there, weeding ruthlessly as she passed behind him and called out.
“Have a good day, Hank!”
“Oh, Jo. Sure. Thanks. You have another interview?”
“Just a follow up today. I think I’ve got the job. Keep your fingers crossed,” she called out to him.
“I will do just that,” he replied, going back to his weeding.CHAPTER FOURBy ten that morning, Jo was signing off on an agreement to act as the wife of one Mr. Harrison, who was actually named Dale “King” Wilson. She had learned a great deal about him during their discussions the night before. In fact, she had learned a great deal about things she could have never imagined and was still a bit shocked by some of them.
“I’m the VP of a motorcycle club called The Hell’s Fangs MC. Our president is getting up there in years and is looking to move someone up to take over for him. I want to be that person, but there’s a problem.”
“You have to be married,” she replied.
“Yes. I need a wife.”
“Why would a motorcycle club require you to be married? That seems a bit odd to me.”
“This is a small town and it is important that we blend in. Our club has to seem family-oriented. We can’t afford to run afoul of the locals by acting like some sort of wild gang of hoodlums out to defile their daughters or bang the bored housewives that like to sneak into the bars we frequent. Single guys are asked to keep a low profile and the president is required to come across as a happily married guy that treats all his members like his extended family.”
“Seems a bit much and wow, five mil? That’s a lot to pay.”
“It is, but the money isn’t important. The position is.”
“Why?”
He seemed to contemplate this for a moment as he poured her another glass of wine and studied her face. They were settled into the comfortable high backed chairs nearer to the fireplace, looking into the low flames of the gas unit that was embedded there.
“Do you have family?” he asked.
“No, not really. My mother passed away when I was a teen and my father has been remarried since shortly before then. We don’t really talk, haven’t for years.”
“No siblings? No kids?”
“No, no siblings and I am not able to have kids. As I said before, that was a big issue between my husband and me, the beginning of the end was my not being able to have children. As it turns out, it was a blessing. It would have just tied me to a man that didn’t love me. He was only interested in my giving him heirs to make his parents happy.”
“Did you marry him for love or money?”
“What? Do you think I’m a gold digger?”
“I don’t know you well enough to say, honestly. I know you are considering accepting a large sum from me to play the part.”
“That’s just rude!” she said, suddenly feeling less congenial.
“Don’t be offended. I don’t mean to be harsh. I’ve just been around people a while and I accept that they all do things for different reasons. I don’t judge them for their choices. I’ve made some piss poor decisions myself.”
“I married him because I loved him.”
“Then should I be concerned about you breaking the terms of our agreement, if we come to terms, in order to get back together with him?”
“No. That’s over. What’s broken there can’t be fixed, and I fell out of love with him during the years that I began to see the depth of how cruel he could be.”
“What about new romance? What if you meet someone you want to be with and you can’t because you are obligated to me?”
“I won’t. I’ve had enough for a lifetime and who wants a woman who can’t have kids?”
“Me, at least for the purposes of being a rental wife. I have no desire for kids, fake or otherwise.”
“I guess we are the perfect non-couple then,” she said, trying to keep the bitterness from her voice.
“Does that mean we have a deal?”