by Rose Cody
“Ouch.” He says, chuckling. “That’s pretty steep. If I knew a fake wife was going to cost me so much I would have just gotten a real one.”
“Take it or leave it.” She says, shaking her head. “I’m not going to do it for anything less.”
“Well, then I guess I’m going to have to take the deal, aren’t I?” He says, leaning forwards over his desk as he extends his hand out to her.
She hesitates before grabbing it, shaking firmly and quickly before pulling away.
“Okay. It’s done.” She says, getting up from the chair and turning around, her heel clicking again against the terrazzo as she walks to the door.
“We leave Friday.”
Chapter 4
Robin pulls the card across the screen, listening to it click and stick against the others, as she lets go of the curser, her eyes catching the time in the bottom corner of her task bar.
She pushes on her desk chair, rolling it out and way from her desk as she begins to get up before the front door to the reception area open, chiming the little, high pitched bell as a man in a suit walks through the door.
“Hi.” She says, trying to hide her exasperated sigh as he walks towards her desk, his briefcase in hand. “Everyone is just about to go to lunch, is there any way you can come back in about an hour?”
“Um, no.” He says softly, shaking his head as he glances around the room from behind thick rimmed glasses. “I’m here to see Mr. Yates.”
“Do you have an appointment?” She asks, sitting back down at her computer.
“He called me this morning.” The man says. “Oh, here he is.”
“David!” She hears her boss say as he steps out of his office. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
Robin glances back before looking up to the older gentleman, as she slides her chair back out and away from her desk.
She steps past them quietly as they begin to chat, trying to make her way down the short hallway to the kitchen to eat her lunch.
“Hold on.” Yates says, turning towards her as she walks past. “Robin, we need you for a little bit.”
“On my lunch break?” She asks, biting her bottom lip.
“We’ll be quick.” He says, nodding his head. “I just need you to sign some stuff.”
“Okay…” She whispers, following them into his office before Mr. Yates closes the door behind them.
“Sit, sit.” He says, walking around to the back of his desk, his lawyer following him as he sits down in his leather chair.
Robin sits across from them, watching intently as the older man opens his briefcase, pulling a stack of papers out from the black case.
“Basically.” Her boss says, cracking his knuckles, the popping sending a chill down Robin’s spine. “Since there’s money involved, I had my lawyer write us up a little contract stating what we agreed and you just have to take a second and sign it.”
“Wow, that’s romantic.” She says, her voice flat as the lawyer hands her the little booklet of papers and a pen.
She quickly flips through the pages, finding her numbers before opening the booklet to the back and signing her name beside the thin, bright orange sticky marker.
“This isn’t because I don’t trust you or anything, by the way.” She hears her boss say as she dates her signature. “It’s just because of the money.”
“I understand.” Robin says, clearing her throat as she hands the contract back to his lawyer who slips it into his briefcase.
“I have extra copies.” The man says, pulling out a copy of the contract and handing it to Robin.
“Thank you.” She whispers under her breath as she rests the papers against her lap.
Kurtis nods to his lawyer, dismissing him and the man clips his briefcase closed.
“Golf on the thirtieth.” He reminds, smirking as he, gives the man a small wave as he steps disappears out the door.
“That’s it? We’re all set?” She asks, rising up from her chair.
“Nope.” He says, leaning back as he shakes his head.
“Can it wait?” She asks, resting the palm of her hand on her belly. “I’m starving.”
“Come on.” He says, getting up from his chair and walking past her as he pulls his door back open. “I’ll buy you lunch.”
Robin gets up, following her boss out of his office as he walks into the reception area, pulling the glass door open and holding it for her.
“Thanks.” She says, brushing her dark hair behind her ears as she quickly steps out of the office.
“Oh.” She says, glancing back through the window at the large clock on the wall inside the reception area. “I have to get back to work in half an hour.”
“Robin.” He says, stopping as he looks back raises his eyebrow at her. “Who’s going to tell on you? You’re with the boss. If anyone comes in, let someone else deal with them.”
“I guess.” She smiles softly as she follows him down the hall and out onto the street, the sunshine warming her as she walks with him down the sidewalk, people in business suits bustling past them.
“You always go back into the kitchen for lunch?” He asks as he steps out into the street, narrowly missing cars as they pass.
“Mostly.” She says, shrugging her shoulders. “I like to eat quickly and then get back to my desk.”
“Why?” He asks, glancing at her as they walk.
“Well, I’m the only secretary in a company of investors.” She says, shielding the sun from her eyes. “I wouldn’t exactly have anyone to talk with anyway.”
“When you meet my family.” He says, opening the door to a busy restaurant. “Don’t be so shy.”
She nods as they step inside the restaurant, the hostess smiling as she watches them walk in.
“Mr. Yates.” She says, picking up a menu. “Your usual place at the bar?”
“Not today.” He says, turning her down. “How about a table that’s a little quieter at the back?”
“Sure thing, sir.” She says, turning around to walk through the crowd.
Robin follows, nervously looking down at her feet as they pass the guests still waiting for their tables.
“Lunch special today is a Cajun chicken wrap with a Caesar salad for twenty five ninety nine and today our chef is recommending the shiitake bacon cheeseburger with smoked Havarti on a fresh baked onion bun.” The hostess says, folding her hands together. “Your waitress will be with you in just a second.”
“Thank you.” He nods, picking up a menu to flip through as Robin watches the hostess walk back to her station.
“Oh, my God.” She whispers, leaning over the table, trying her best to keep her voice low. “Their special is more expensive than any meal I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant before, ever.”
“It’s a good one, though.” He says, placing the menu in his hand back down on the table.
“Maybe they have some cheaper salads…” She says, picking up the menu and opening the first page.
“Oh, please.” He says, sliding the menu out from between her fingers. “Just get the special.”
She nods, her face flushing as she shrugs her shoulders, the guilt of the cost eating at her insides as he watches him raise his hand slightly into the air, pointing his finger upwards as he calls a waitress over.
“A special and the chef’s burger.” He says, smirking softly a the woman as she bows and nods before walking back to deliver the order to the kitchen.
“You come here often?” Robin asks, breaking the short silence, shifting in her seat as she glances back at the people still waiting for tables. “They seem to like you a lot.”
“For years.” He says, picking up his water glass and taking a small sip before placing it back down on the dark wooden table.
She nods her head, taking another good look around at the expensive décor before her boss clears his throat.
“Alright.” He says, sighing out as he leans back comfortably in his chair. “We’re husband and wife. We’ve been married for s
ix months and we got married in Rhode Island. Small ceremony, just us and a few witnesses. You don’t like big weddings.”
“A guy like you wouldn’t have a big wedding?” She asks, brushing her fallen curls back behind her ear.
“Hey, it was at your request. I was just trying to be a good husband.” He says, resting his hand over his chest as he leans forward over the table.
“What if your family wants to see some wedding pictures?” She asks. “What am I supposed to say?”
“What else would you say? They haven’t come in yet.” He says, shaking his head. “Our photographer is a very busy man.”
“I don’t have a ring.” Robin says, smirking as she holds up her left hand. “No ring, no band, what am I going to say when they notice?”
“It’s at the jeweller’s.” He says, chuckling. “We had to get it sized because your fingers got fat.”
“No.” She says, squinting her eyes at him. “My fingers did not get fat.”
She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as she thinks.
“You wanted to get me a custom ring.” She says, nodding her head. “Stuff like that takes a while. If you want it done right, it can’t be rushed.”
“Yeah, good one.” He says, leaning back in his chair again to get comfortable.
“Mr. Yates.” She says, pausing. “Kurtis…”
She shakes her head, resting her elbow against the table as she leans her cheek in the palm of her hand.
“Why?” She asks. “Why make up this big lie?”
“My mom.” He begins, clearing his throat as he sits up straight, resting his hands in his lap. “She’s always nagging me to get married, you know how moms do…” He chuckles, smirking for a second before it falls away. “Well, she has an aggressive form of terminal cancer and she quit her treatment. So when we were on the phone a few weeks ago, I just…” He says, pausing. “I just told her I did.”
Robin sits quietly, chewing on her bottom lip as she gazes down at the table.
“She was so happy. She really was.” He says, picking up his glass of water to take another sip. “I just blurted it out and now I don’t want to break her heart.”
“I’m sorry.” She says, clearing her throat as she breaks the silence.
“Don’t worry about it.” He says, his eyes soft as he looks over to her.
“That’s not…” She says, shaking her head. “That’s not as evil as I thought it was going to be.”
“Evil?” He says, chuckling as his eyes widen as he shakes his head. “Yeah, I guess it’s not the first time I’ve been called evil.”
She bites her bottom lip as she watches the waitress walk up to their table with their meals before she gingerly places them down in front of them before walking away.
Robin stares at her food, her stomach flipping as her flushed ears ring.
“My grandma’s dying.” She blurts out awkwardly, stopping Yates in his tracks as he cuts his bun in half.
She glances up at him as he places his knife back down on the table.
“She’s getting kicked out of her care home and we can’t afford to get her medical care anymore. I don’t want to sit there and watch her die.” She says, picking up her fork before piercing the leaves of her Caesar salad. “That’s why I’m doing this.”
She quietly brings the bite of salad up to her mouth, pushing it past her lips and chewing as Mr. Yates silently chews on a French fry.
“It doesn’t seem so different.” She whispers as she swallows before they eat the rest of their meal in silence.
Chapter 5
Robin has never been a morning person.
No, that’s not true. Her mother has always told her that she used to wake up at ungodly hours to jump on the couch and watch early morning cartoons, the very same cartoons she had watched the night before.
Now though? You’d have to be crazy to try and get her out of bed before seven.
And that’s exactly what happened. A crazy, self-indulgent and very, very rich man has her up and now she’s sitting at the airport at four thirty in the morning.
And he’s nowhere in sight.
She grabs onto her curved neck pillow as she sinks herself lower into her chair, kicking her feet up onto her carry on suitcase as she closes her eyes.
Robin opens them again, glancing around the terminal as she hears the sound of heavy footsteps and a loud, coughing sneeze. She sits up, pulling her pillow off her shoulders as she watches her boss walk towards her, his body draped in a heavy sweater as dark sunglasses rest on the bridge of his nose.
“Good morning.” She says, forcefully, raising her eyebrow as he sits down beside her.
“Shhhh…” He shushes her, wiping his fingers over his eyes under his sunglasses before slowly dragging them down his face, over his stubble.
He scratches at his sharp jawline, clearing his throat as he looks around the room.
“No coffee?” He asks, taking off his sunglasses to reveal the bags under his eyes.
“You’re late.” She says, twisting her body towards him. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”
“An hour ago?” He says, glancing over to the clock on the wall.
“I’ve been completely by myself.” She says. “If we’re going to pretend to be married, then you can act like a pretend husband and get your butt up.”
She sniffs the air, the smell of liquor hitting her nose.
“And you smell like a hobo.” She says, shaking her head. “And you look like one, too.”
“Yeah, I’m a little hung over.” Kurtis Yates says, taking a deep shaking breath. “Nothing I can’t fix up on the plane.”
“Why did you get so drunk, if you knew our plane leaves at five in the morning?” She asks, crossing her arms over her chest as she turns her attention towards the large window, gazing out of it.
“I hate flying.” He says, scratching his scalp.
“You fly all the time. I book your tickets.” Robin says, scrunching up her nose.
“And?” He says. “Doesn’t mean I love being tossed through the air in a metal box.”
The plane is nearly empty as they make their way to their seats, the other would-be passengers clearly making the better choice to stay in bed.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Robin hears Kurtis say to one of the flight attendants as she helps him put his bag in the overhead storage.
“Please.” Robin says, grabbing her boss by the wrist as she sits down. “I think it’s a little early to flirt with the stewardesses.”
“Not a morning person even in the slightest, are you?” He says, sitting down beside her and sinking into his seat.
“Not a ‘wake up at two to board a plane at five while listening to your boss flirt the whole time’ kind of person.” She says, gazing out of the little window. “I get it. If you got it, flaunt it. But I’d just like one day where you don’t push your sexual prowess in my face.”
“Jeez.” He says, shifting in his seat. “It’s gunna be a long trip, isn’t it?”
“I can go if you want.” She snaps back.
“Look, sorry.” He says, clearing his throat. “You’re right, it’s early.”
They wait in silence as a few more people filter down the isles, both of them nodding on and off.
“So, how did we meet?” He asks, rolling his head lazily against the seat as he turns to look at her.
“Does it matter?” She asks, sighing deeply out of her nose.
“Well, people are probably going to ask about it, right?” He chuckles, raising his eyebrow. “May as well come up with a good story.”
“I was your secretary.” She huffs, uninterested. “Sprinkle a little bit of truth in with our bold-faced lying.”
“So, you have the chance to basically make up a new life and you’re still a secretary?” He asks, shaking his head as he looks forward.
“I really don’t care.” She says firmly, pulling her neck pillow higher up beside her ears.
&nbs
p; “Fine.” He says. “You can be a secretary. Seems kind of boring, though.”
“Just make something up. Tell them I’m shy. I don’t care.” She says, closing her eyes. “But for right now, just stop talking. I just want to make it through this flight.”