“How hard can it be?” Jim shrugged.
Chapter Three
Emma
I had only been a waitress at Java, the cafe near the Howell and Howell Law Firm’s building, for a few weeks. I had worked at coffee shops before back home in Hanford, but it was nothing like the fast-paced hurly-burly of big city L.A. I soon got used to it, though, especially when I figured out how the machines worked and got it down to near muscle memory. I wasn’t a particularly fast learner, but when I got something I had it forever — that was basically what I told them when they had hired me here, and the manager had been really patient with me during my training. I did my best to live up to that trust.
I didn’t usually remember people very well, at least not the ones I saw briefly as customers, but I could have spotted Mr. Jim Howell from across the street in a heavy fog. Ditto for the tall, handsome friend he occasionally had with him when he came in.
The other baristas told me that Jim Howell owned the multi-million-dollar law firm next door. He was easy to spot with his dark hair and general air of confidence. He also came into Java almost every day.
I assumed the blue-eyed man with model-like looks was also employed at the law firm, and the hot lawyer was the star of my latest fantasies. I was thrilled when they showed up during my afternoon shift, and through eavesdropping skills worthy of a ninja spy, I gleaned that the friend’s name was Noah Wells.
I had seen some pretty good-looking men in my twenty-seven years of life, but no one had made my naughty bits tingle as much as the blonde hottie did. My imaginative was quite vivid and distinctly raunchy — especially when it came to Noah.
I was still a virgin, but not because I wasn’t interested in sex. I was just too painfully shy to respond even if a guy showed interest in me, which happened on occasion.
After moving to L.A., I finally decided that it was a pattern that had gone on for too long. I wanted a guy, I wanted to lose my virginity, and Noah was the best candidate yet.
It wasn’t just arrogance that made me think the lawyer was interested. We hadn’t exchanged many words, and none outside the context of ordering coffee, but I could see where his eyes would wander. Usually, they would end up staring at my tits, which, to be fair, were quite big. He also really seemed to like my legs, something he saw a lot of, it being Los Angeles. Short skirts were pretty much standard apparel. I had tried shorts a couple of times but couldn’t really pull them off — in either sense of the word. The zippers tended to stick. Just my luck.
Today when Jim and Noah started talking about how blondie needed someone to pretend to be his fiancée, I could hardly believe it. I knew in my gut that this was my chance. Or, at least the best chance I would get to get close to the man of my dreams. As hopeful as I could sometimes get, I was a stone-cold realist at heart. So much so, that I managed to overcome my natural shyness and walk over to the table, turning the waist of my skirt a couple of times, shortening it by several inches before I went.
“Excuse me,” I said, as politely as I possibly could.
“Oh, hi,” Mr. Howell said. “Emma, right?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied with a smile.
“What can I do for you?”
“Well, I, um, couldn’t help but overhear that you need someone to pretend to be your fiancée, Mr. Wells, and well, I, um, would like to offer myself for the job,” I announced, trying to keep my voice steady.
Their jaws dropped like I had just done a magic trick, and they looked at each other as though to ask, “what the fuck?”
Both men’s expressions made me wonder if I had been stupidly bold. Nervously, I clasped my hands behind my back and fought the urge to tap my foot.
“Seriously?” Noah asked, looking up at me with his sky-blue eyes wide.
“Uh-huh!” I said, perhaps a bit too upbeat.
“Wow,” Noah said, a big grin settling onto his sexy lips, “not only do I get a fake fiancée but a smokin’ hot one to boot. I didn’t even buy a ticket.”
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I blushed furiously. Though, I also couldn’t keep myself from grinning at the same time. Maybe being bold was a good idea, after all.
“How about we meet here when we both get off work?” Noah asked. “We can get to know each other a little bit better.”
“Great idea,” I said, still a bit dizzy.