The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  Alyssa shot me a wide smile. "What did he want to talk to you about?"

  I heard the typing on keyboards stop as everyone listened.

  "Just a couple small details." I returned her smile. "Gotta get some paperwork printed off."

  Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Sucks being the paper bitch, doesn't it?" She didn't bother trying to sound sympathetic.

  I shrugged. "I don't mind it. I mean, it is my job. If I didn't like it that much, I'd just quit instead of hating what I do for a living."

  It took everything I had not to make a snarky comment about trying to fuck your way out of doing what you didn't enjoy. After all, it wasn't going to do me any good to pick a fight with her.

  So I printed off the paperwork and read through the listing. I send Garth a quick email asking for some details about the clients we were meeting with. Was it a family? Was it an older couple? A younger one?

  When he didn't get back to me right away, I have to admit, I wanted nothing more than to go over there and talk to him directly.

  I knew I was going to push buttons with Alyssa even if I didn't try to, so I decided it would be best just to cover it when we were on the way to the house instead.

  The lunch hour passed as quickly as most. Around 1:00, Garth stepped out of his office again. He gave me a soft smile and turned to Alyssa, pointing to us both. "You two, come."

  "Are we going somewhere?" Alyssa jumped to her feet frantically.

  I stood, calm as a un-boiled teapot and collected the paperwork. I slipped the papers into a folder and into my purse, circled around my desk and headed towards the elevator.

  "We're getting another house ready," Garth said.

  "And Ally is coming with us?"

  "Yes. I'd like you to watch her work, she ... has some unique tips I think you should pick up on."

  I didn't really understand why we were doing this, I mean why didn't he just tell her what she should be doing? it would be easier that way, wouldn't it? I could stay here and do paperwork, and he could spend his day teaching her. Or just fire her. Get it over and done with and get rid of useless people, I thought bitterly. More so because she stepped close to him; I saw her shoulder brush against his as she came to a stop in front of the elevator door as it opened. The three of us stepped in.

  I noticed Garth stepped away from her, putting me between the two of them. I shot him a look. His eyes sparkled, but he just stared ahead at the elevator doors.

  "We can all ride together," he said. "No point in us all taking our own cars, especially with gas prices the way they are these days."

  It always took me off guard to hear Garth talking about saving money. I mean, he had dropped $500 on a pair of shoes for me without a second thought. So him being worried about gas prices just seemed off, but I have to admit, I liked it.

  I liked that he was conscious of how he spent his money.

  We headed out to his Corvette, none of us speaking as we made our way to it. Alyssa was eager to get into the front seat with him. She kept pace with me until he circled around to the driver's seat. Bump.

  I felt her hip against mine. In five inch heels, I stumbled, trying to catch myself before I hit the pavement. I managed to do so and headed for the back seats as Alyssa slid into the front—looking far too pleased.

  I caught Garth's expression in the rearview mirror. He did not look pleased at all.

  He gunned the engine, and I turned my attention to the window.

  Most of the drive I just started out the window, my thoughts keeping me busy. I wanted nothing more than to reach into the front seat and pull her fake hair out of her head. No. I forced myself to take a deep breath. Getting angry wouldn’t do me any good. I would just get in trouble with Garth, and he would have to take Alyssa’s side. Instead, I was going to make her show her true colors. She talked the entire time. I wasn’t paying much attention, but I think she was trying to find some sort of common ground between her and Garth. He would answer politely, but his answers were always short.

  We pulled into the driveway. I was itching to get out of the car by the time we did. Alyssa seemed to love hearing herself speak, and I for one did not. I hated it. Maybe that was just because she hip checked me to make sure she could be closer to Garth—my boyfriend.

  My heart skipped a beat. I shouldn't call him my boyfriend. It's not like he was actually my boyfriend. We were just ... together-ish. Not actually together. Just fucking. Nothing wrong with it, but there were no titles, and I wasn't going to get confused with all that shit. It would just be easier that way. Take a deep breath. In and out. Just like I'd done all my life.

  "So," I cleared my throat as we stepped out of the car. "You said this was a young couple."

  "Yup."

  I watched Alyssa's brow furrow.

  "Any kids?"

  "Yes, a 12-year-old girl." I nodded, taking it all in. I bet we could make that work. If there was an extra room, we could make it work for her and her friends maybe.

  "Tell me about the parents. You said their wish list included an office—for who?"

  "Both of them." My eyes widened. "They both work from home, and their daughter is homeschooled."

  "Wow." I nodded, taking it all in. So if they could all have a work area, that would be for the best. "Alright." I nodded, we could work with that, and I was going to.

  I waited for Garth to unlock the door. Alyssa insisted on stepping in before me.

  "Oh, this house is so gorgeous," she said in a dreamy tone.

  Garth turned to her. "I know you've been working really hard, but when Ally was showing houses with me, she ... did things a little different. It's a little bit more work, but I'd like you to keep an eye on her while you help us get this place ready to show. Alright?"

  "Of course! Whatever you say." She lowered her head, looking up through her lashes, giving him a coy smile.

  It made me want to puke, personally. I didn't say anything. I just dropped my purse on a table by the door and looked around the house. We had a small hallway that led into an open dining room, kitchen, and then to the left was the living room. Behind the kitchen were two doors. One was a laundry room, the other a spare room. I bit my lip. I could make that work as an office.

  I turned to Garth. "How much time do we have?" I asked, catching his eye.

  "We show the house at 5:30." I nodded. We had lots of time.

  "So, if I want to redecorate?"

  "We can do that. I'm sure Alyssa would be happy to pick up a company truck and get some stuff for us."

  "Perfect." I nodded. I had to admit, I liked that he was setting us up for a little alone time.

  I made my way upstairs as I took in all the stuff we already had that we could work with. We only need a desk and a little more furniture that is going to appeal to a 12-year-old girl. I crossed my arms over my chest.

  "He wants me to follow you around." She didn't sound pleased. "So, what do you want?"

  I bit my lip, turning to look at her. It took everything I had not to be snarky. I forced a smile over my lips.

  "Come with me." I led the way to a bedroom. "I was thinking this would be the best room to stage as a teenage girl’s." It was bright blue and had obviously been painted for a little kid, but maybe with the right decor, we could make it work. "What do you think?"

  "If that's how you want to do it." Alyssa shrugged.

  "Well, is there a room you think would be best?"

  "No."

  I inhaled deeply. Was she being difficult because it was me, or was she always like this?

  I didn't ask. Instead, I made my way through the rest of the house. We'd have to pick up some towels as well. For some reason, a bathroom without towels just rubbed people the wrong way, and I was determined to make this place look perfect. After all, I had a chance to upstage Alyssa without making it look like I was trying to.

  After half an hour, I wrote out a list for her, and Garth called a taxi to pick her up.

  As soon as I watched the taxi pull away with
her in it, I turned to Garth, crossing my arms over my chest. "Alright, what's actually going on here?"

  I doubted he'd brought me along just to show her a couple things—he could have done that all himself.

  "She needs a reality check." Garth shrugged, glancing down at his phone. He smirked. "Anyways, I thought it might be nice for you to get out of the place, and I need to sell this house to them. I need to tip the odds in my favor as much as I can because this is the only house I have listed that they might even consider in their budget."

  I smiled and could feel the blush on my cheeks. He needs to make sure the house sells, and he brought me in on it. I took a deep breath as pressure hit me. He needed this house to sell so he called me in on it. Great, so if it doesn't sell, it's my fault.

  I tried not to worry about it. I mean, I could sell it to them. At least, that's what I told myself.

  "And I thought it might be good for Alyssa to see how hard someone else works."

  "Oh, so she's not just being snarky to me. She's actually that useless."

  Garth laughed, then stopped suddenly. "I shouldn't laugh at that. That's bad of me." He faced me with a smile. "I do feel that if Alyssa were a little more motivated ... it would be best for business. But I have to admit, I also wanted you here to run interference. She's not going to try and touch me every chance she gets if you're here."

  I snorted. I doubted someone else being here would stop her from trying to cop a feel. I didn't say it, though, I'd let him have his hope.

  "Why don't you just fire her?"

  "Why? Because she likes to chat, and every now and then her shoulder touches mine? No, that's not going to cut it."

  I bit my lip. "Damn."

  "Damn?" He raised an eyebrow.

  My cheeks flushed. I wasn't going to admit how badly I wanted her away from him. It's just a little jealousy—nothing that you can't deal with. I told myself.

  It didn't take long for Alyssa to return. She did not seem happy when she did, driving the company truck that was filled with everything I'd asked her to bring.

  Garth glanced down at his phone as she came into the room. His brow furrowed. I saw the look that passed across his face. Worry. Fear.

  My heart skipped a beat. It took everything I had not to ask him what was wrong. After all, as his assistant, I had no right to ask that kind of question. Hell, right now I'm not even his assistant. Alyssa is. For now.

  I still thought he should fire her for being lazy.

  Without a word, I made my way out to the truck, dropped the tailgate and started unloading things.

  Garth and Alyssa came out a few seconds later. Garth was quick to get involved. I hopped up into the bed and handed him things. He'd put them down or carry them into the house. As he made his way towards the front door, I grabbed a box of something—not sure what, but I promised myself I'd check it out when I got inside. I held it out to Alyssa.

  She stared at me with wide eyes. "You ... expect me to take that?"

  "Well yea, it's gotta get unpacked somehow," I said, trying not to sound too snarky. It didn't work, and I knew it. I took a deep breath and forced a smile over my lips. "The sooner we get this unloaded, the sooner we can get to work inside the house."

  She stared at me with wide eyes. Like she couldn't believe what I had just said. Us, working.

  She reached out and took it from me. "It's so heavy!" she complained. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me. Like I was going out of my way to make it hard for her.

  I turned my attention back to unloading the bed of the truck, grabbing a box myself and dropping down from the bed. I took a deep breath, trying to get a feel of the weight in my arms as I headed for the house, passing Alyssa along the way.

  I had the box on the ground and was heading back out to the truck before she managed to make her way into the house.

  "Maybe next time, you can take the heavy box instead," she muttered as I passed her.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was too heavy for you." I gave her a sympathetic smile as I stopped in front of her. "I'll make sure to give you something light next time."

  Without another word, I stepped past her and headed for the truck with Garth behind me.

  He took a desk, resting it over his shoulder as he headed to the house.

  Alyssa came back to the bed of the truck. She did not look happy. I grabbed a few stray pillows and handed them to her. I hope that's light enough for you, I thought as I smiled. I didn't dare say it out loud. I wasn't trying to start a catfight here. I was trying to prove I was better than that—trying to act like an adult.

  Between Garth and I doing most of the heavy lifting and Alyssa's help getting all the smaller stuff, we had the truck unloaded quickly. We parked it to the side so it wasn't the first thing people noticed and then went inside to look at everything we'd just brought in.

  I took a deep breath. Alright, the desk can go down here, and we will keep the upstairs ones where they are. That would make things much easier.

  "You were thinking of this for the office right?" Garth said, reaching for a lamp.

  "Yes."

  He nodded, took it, and headed towards the downstairs office.

  Despite the fact she wasn't happy with me, Alyssa did help out quite a bit, and by 4:00 we had the house ready to be shown. I have to admit, it looked really good.

  "You two keep an eye on the place. I'm going to go grab us some grub," Garth said.

  My heart skipped a beat. I didn't want to be left alone with Alyssa but didn't dare say it. He told us to do something, and I wasn't going to protest. I nodded.

  Alyssa watched him leave the house and head for his car.

  I looked around, trying to find something to do. Something to keep me busy. Something to fix or clean. I can get the oil going, I thought.

  It was a little early, but I didn't care.

  I watched Garth pull out of the driveway.

  "So," Alyssa said as I grabbed my purse, "he seems to have taken quite a liking to you since I've left."

  "Uh ..." I didn't know what I was supposed to say. So I said nothing. I grabbed my purse, headed for the kitchen, and she followed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  "The other girls say you've been spending a lot of time together."

  "I guess. I mean, I've been working for him. Getting the houses ready to show." I shrugged, going through the cupboard until I found a small pot.

  "You've been getting houses ready? That's it?"

  I turned to Alyssa. "You saw how much work I did on this house. I do that much work on every house."

  Her brow furrowed.

  I knew I was avoiding her actual questions, and she was beating around the bush. I didn't care if she didn't like me, or what she thought of me. But I wasn't going to play her game with her.

  "He seemed impressed with you."

  I turned to look at her, and for the first time, I saw hurt in her eyes. Maybe she actually likes him, I thought. It wasn't so crazy to think, was it? I took a deep breath, trying not to let myself get caught up in it. It didn't matter if she actually liked him or not. She wasn't going to date him because I was dating him.

  "I work hard." I shrugged. "I ... do things differently. I sell million dollar homes in twenty dollar shoes." I smirked, using his phrase.

  Okay, maybe these shoes weren't twenty dollars, but I had worn a couple pairs of cheap shoes since I'd gone shopping with him.

  "Do you think I stand a chance with him?" she asked, looking away from me.

  The pit of my stomach twisted with guilt. What was I supposed to do? I took a deep breath.

  "Honestly? You won't like what I have to say, but ..."

  "Then don't fucking say it," she snapped. All hurt from her face, all kindness, all humanity, vanished from her. She crossed her arms over her chest. "The girls were right about you."

  I raised an eyebrow. "What were they right about?"

  "You're a basic bitch."

  My brow furrowed. Basic bitch? What the fuck d
oes that mean? I opened my mouth to ask, then decided against it. Instead, I just smiled. It was good to know what others thought of me.

  "Let me clear one thing up with you, he's mine. I'm going to get him, and I'm gonna marry him." She sounded so sure of herself, and I wanted to ruin it for her. I wanted to make sure she knew that wasn't the case. "If you, or anyone else, get in the way of that, I will have no second thoughts about destroying you."

  I watched her closely. I believed she didn't. She would probably take joy in it.

  Reaching for my purse, I pulled out the almond oil. A smile touched my lips as I remembered how much Garth had missed this. She didn't use almond oil, he'd said.

  "Alyssa, I truly wish you luck," I said, pouring a small amount into the boiling water. Soon enough, the house would be smelling divine. I wouldn't tell her that Garth had no interest in her— or that he knew what she was up to. I'd just sit back and let her make her own bed.

  I heard a car pull into the driveway, and Alyssa went out to check. Seconds later, I heard the door open.

  "Garth!" She sounded so excited to see him.

  I stayed in the kitchen. My mind raced over the events that had just happened. She'd threatened me. She'd suggested she would do anything to have him. She had showed actual emotion and kindness. Or was that just an act? It very well could have been. She's kinda crazy, I thought. And what's a basic bitch?

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and googled it. My jaw dropped. They called me that? I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I was mad about it and knew I shouldn't be, but ... those bitches, I thought as I heard voices.

  Garth's and Alyssa's. She giggled as he said something.

  He came into the kitchen, a wide grin on his face. "That! That is what I'm talking about." He beamed.

  I stared at him blankly. "What?"

  He paced into the kitchen and set down a paper bag on the counter top.

  "I feel like I just walked into a bakery. So much better than apple pie and vanilla. So much fresher, more unique. Everyone does vanilla."

  I wasn't sure if Garth realized he took a shot at Alyssa, but she sure felt like it based on the look on her face.