“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she gushed and slid into the booth. She wore a black pantsuit that was tight on her breasts and waist, demanding my attention in not so subtle ways. Her hair was pinned up with a single long strand brushing against her outfit, and her eyes were smudged with charcoal. I tried to pay little attention to her face, but it was difficult. She was alluring and beautiful, and it had been rather long since I’ve last been with anyone. “I was doing a cross-promo with my roommate, which took way longer than normal.”

I leaned against the booth as she spoke. “It usually takes maybe an hour, but tonight we were promoting each other along with some meal bars that—”

“I don’t give a shit what you were promoting,” I interrupted. “And I don’t care that you were late.”

Maddie blinked and shut her mouth.

“We’re here because I want to ac

cept your offer, but before I do, I have some ground rules that I want to go over first. Okay?” I asked.

“Sure?” she responded and ordered herself a drink as the waitress returned. We each ordered a small meal, neither of us truly interested in eating.

“This needs to look like a real relationship, to everyone,” I began. “So you’ll have to sleep over at my house a few nights a week. But not in my room. You’ll sleep on the couch or in one of the guest rooms. But you have to come to dinner once a week with my mother, and you have to be the perfect girlfriend, and soon fiancée.”

“I can do that,” she said. She didn’t seem taken back by my requests.

“You have to take lots of pictures of us together, and make them public so that my mom sees,” I said.

“Wait.” She leaned forward. “Your mom is active on social media, but you’re not?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” I said. “We also have to make Ron think it’s real. He’s a fucking terrible liar, and he’ll blab the truth to my mom if he finds out the truth.”

“You’ll lie to your best friend?” she asked, almost in shock. I clenched my fists.

“I’m lying to my dying mother,” I said. “So yes, if I can lie to her, then I can lie to my best friend. And you better lie to your cousin, or else the deal is off.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Got it, anything else?”

“This relationship is for the public eye only,” I said. “Nothing intimate, or romantic. I don’t even want to be alone with you if I don’t have to. Nothing physical, that’s for sure.” I wasn’t entirely sure why I added that last part.

“No sex?” she clarified. “I think I can live with that.”

“Which means nothing romantic with anyone else either,” I added. “The last thing I need is for someone to think you’re cheating on me.”

“And vice versa?” she asked. “You won’t sleep with anyone else?”

“Of course not,” I said. “As far as everyone else knows, I’ll have eyes only for you.”

Our dinner arrived, and Maddie happily dug in. She didn’t seem nearly as upset about the entire situation as I was. I barely touched my food throughout the rest of the meal. I did, however, finish my drinks.

“So, I’ll stay at your house a few nights a week. Dinner with your mom once a week. Be the perfect fiancée, and take lots of pictures. Tell everyone that we’re in love, and refrain from sleeping with anyone else, but I can’t sleep with you.” Maddie summed it all up. “Are those all the rules?”

“I reserve the right to add more if necessary,” I said. “But yes, those are the rules. Do you think you can handle that?”

Maddie took a long swig of her drink and tore off a piece of bread. She had finished her chowder, and dunked the bread into my soup. It somehow came off as an intimate moment, and I wanted to yell at her for it.

“I think I can handle that,” she said. “Actually, I know I can. I accept.”

I nodded, expecting as much.

“Now, you said you wanted to be compensated for this. How much?” I asked.

It seemed Maddie hadn’t truly considered it until then. She bit her lip and looked at the ceiling as she said, “Half a million.”

I heard her, but I asked her to repeat herself.

“Half a million,” she said. “Up front.”

Tags: Claire Adams Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net