He didn’t seem to notice. “His prognosis is good, although he’ll need to undergo radiation therapy.”
“That’s good. I mean, about his prognosis.”
“It is.” He pressed his lips together and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk. “What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room.”
“Of course.”
He nodded and there we were with the eye contact again. “My father’s illness isn’t his only issue right now. He’s also suffered a series of financial losses.”
I nodded, not sure what to say.
“My brother and I will do what we can to help him, but it’s important this information doesn’t become public. If his board of directors gets wind of this, they’ll vote him out. He’ll lose the company he’s spent his lifetime building.”
“Okay.” Had he just said brother? Since when did he have a brother?
“He’s liquidated most of his assets, which includes the building he was living in. And given that he’s undergoing cancer treatment, he’s moving in with me.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“Indeed. But I’m sure you can see how my father’s relationship with Svetlana is suddenly a much larger problem than it was seventy-two hours ago.”
“You didn’t tell him?”
His eye twitched, the only sign of emotion I could see. “No. It’s complicated.”
“That’s the understatement of the century. So you’re moving your father in with you and… what, he’s going to bring his new girlfriend over?”
“Yes. And until I can get rid of her without causing more problems for my family, I have to deal with her.”
“Okay, that’s… unfortunate. But why are you telling me all this? And what does it have to do with my relationship status?”
He took a deep breath. “I need a girlfriend.”
“Oh, do you need me to make dinner reservations, or…”
“Not a real girlfriend.” His expression softened, hinting at a bit of the personality I’d thought I’d seen on Friday night. “I’m not interested in dating anyone right now. But I also can’t have Svetlana thinking I’m single.”
“So you need a fake girlfriend.”
“Precisely. I’m glad we’re on the same page. I’ll need you to move in.”
“Wait,” I said, holding up a finger. I felt like I’d blacked out and missed part of our conversation. Move in? What the hell was he talking about? “Not on the same page. I don’t think even we’re reading the same book. Move in? What?”
His nostrils flared. They did that when he was frustrated or impatient. “My father already thinks we’re dating. So the obvious solution is to continue with that ruse.”
“Let me get this straight. You want me to pretend we’re dating?”
“Yes.”
“And move in with you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you insane?” I asked, practically hissing out the last word.
“You did an excellent job on Friday.”
I felt my filter smash to pieces, and I did not care. “Walking around with you at some event in a red dress is not the same as moving in with you and pretending we’re together. I have a life. I can’t just shack up with my fucking boss because he needs someone to pose as his girlfriend.”
“Well, my father put me in this goddamn position, and it’s not like I’m fucking happy about it. I’m going to have the woman from hell sauntering around my house like she owns the place. He brought her over yesterday and it was the longest hour of my fucking life.”
We stared at each other, like we were both shocked at our own outbursts. And our copious dropping of f-bombs.
He cleared his throat and adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves. “I’ll pay you.”
Damn right he was going to pay me.
Wait, was I considering this? I couldn’t be considering this. Going to a gala was not a big deal. In fact, it had been kind of fun. And his dad had seemed super nice. Seeing him again wouldn’t be the worst. But posing as Shepherd’s girlfriend? Living with him? How would that even work? It was a disaster waiting to happen.
My phone vibrated in my hand and I glanced at the screen. It was a text from Annie.
Really, universe? Really?
If I did this, he’d owe me big. Huge. Enormous. I could forgo whatever bonus he offered me and ask for his swimmers instead. Be the Fairy Sperm-Mother for my sister and Miranda. Make their genetically perfect baby dreams come true. Granted, I might be dooming them to raising an emotionless robot child. But if that was what they wanted…
But Shepherd wasn’t necessarily as emotionless as I’d thought. I’d seen glimmers of something in him on Friday night. Maybe it had just been the drinks, or maybe I’d imagined it. But I had a feeling there was a teeny-tiny, minuscule little crack in Shepherd’s emotionless façade. A hairline fracture. Maybe he wasn’t the only person in the world impervious to my sunshine.
And if it meant I had a good case for asking him to donate his baby batter…
I opened my mouth to reply and had a sudden out-of-body experience. It was like I was floating, looking down into Shepherd’s office from above. Listening to someone else talk.
“All right. I’ll do it.”
9
Everly
“You’re what?” Nora asked, her drink clutched in her manicured hand. She looked at me like I’d just told her I was moving to Mars.
“I’m going to temporarily stay at my boss’s place. Just for a few months. So not permanently. It’s temporary.”
“You mentioned that,” Nora said, giving me the side eye. She wasn’t buying my story.
I was trying to avoid telling them about the fake girlfriend thing, but I could see it wasn’t going to work.
We’d gone for our usual run and were sitting in the bar at Brody’s. I’d ordered a martini, but I wasn’t in the mood to drink it. Ever since I’d said yes to Shepherd’s offer this morning, I’d been wallowing in the assistant who’s just agreed to be her boss’s fake girlfriend version of buyer’s remorse. It might mean I could get what Annie wanted, but the reality of it was starting to overwhelm me.
“Okay, circle of trust?” I held my hands out and they each clasped them, nodding.
I took a breath and told them about what had happened Friday night. And about our conversation in the office this morning. I didn’t give them the details about what was happening with Shepherd’s father. I simply told them that for personal reasons I couldn’t disclose, he was moving in with Mr. Calloway. I knew I could trust Hazel and Nora, but confidential meant confidential. I didn’t mess around with that when it came to my job.
They were properly horrified by Svetlana whoring her way into Richard’s life. And I thought maybe they’d understand and be supportive about my decision to go along with this admittedly insane and probably too-elaborate plan.
“You’ve lost your mind,” Nora said when I finished. “Why the hell did you agree to it so quickly?”