Pretend For Me

by Laurent, River

  He was eyeing us both with interest. Lorraine had been playing it so cool. Well, I didn’t want to be the one who was going to make a fool of the both of us. I did my best to play it cool, but I wasn’t doing a very good job when I opened my mouth to say hello and nothing came out.

  “Grayson, Gabe Grayson,” he introduced himself.

  The name was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t remember why. Was he some sort of famous model or actor? Lorraine always kept up celebrity news and I wondered if she knew who he was. I glanced at her and she looked a bit in awe herself.

  “Sophie Hudson and Roberta Allen,” Lorraine said, waving her hand first at herself, then in my direction.

  "I don’t think I’ve seen either of you here before," he remarked, his tone deliberately casual.

  I felt a rush of nerves running over me. Had he figured out our game? Do these people have antennas that alert them to outsides crashing their spaces? He looked completely at ease in this place—the direct opposite of me, in fact.

  Luckily, Lorraine tossed her hair over her shoulder and airily announced, "We only recently became beneficiaries of this charity," she replied.

  His eyebrows rose.

  "Or, uh, benefactors. I forget what the right word is." She grinned.

  "Depends if you’re donating or receiving," he quipped smoothly, raising his glass to his lips and taking a sip.

  His voice was doing things to me. I couldn’t even look him in the eyes.

  "Ha, ha." Lorraine pretended to chuckle, but her cheeks were a bit pink. She must have known he was already lost to her.

  His eyes slid over to me.

  My hands had become clammy with sweat and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. I didn’t want anyone to talk to me. Especially, not him. I was happier when I was sitting down, just watching everyone else.

  "And what do you do?" he asked. There was no doubt that the question was aimed at me and me alone. He had a nice mouth; soft full lip, if they were taken separately, no one would have said they belonged on his strong, masculine face, but they were perfect on his face.

  "Uh…” I glanced at Lorraine who widened her eyes as if to say, go on, go for it. “Uh, I—um… run a publishing house," I replied, tossing my hair the way Lorraine had done in the hope of claiming some of her confidence. It didn’t work. My braid swung around and hit me in the face. I could feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

  He didn’t even blink an eyelid. A confidence came off him in waves, like he knew he owned this place and didn’t care who else knew it. "Oh, yeah? What kind of books do you publish?”

  "Mostly romance," I replied, surprisingly myself at ease I felt with this subject. "Some erotica."

  "Sounds stimulating," he murmured softly.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of him; couldn’t figure out if he was playing with me or if he was serious.

  "You mind if I borrow your friend for a dance?” he asked Lorraine, as he extended a hand towards me.

  No way, this could be real. No way, did the hottest guy in this room just walk up to me and ask me to dance with him. I looked over at Lorraine, half-expecting her to say no because we made a pack in the limo on the way here to stay together and not allow ourselves to get separated no matter what.

  "Not at all," Lorraine shot back, grinning at me and waving her hands in a shooing motion in my direction. "Go on, go and have fun. I’ll be waiting right here when you get back."

  Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was some kind of joke at my expense. I turned back to Gabe Grayson and reached out for his hand, but as soon as our skin touched, I felt an explosion of shivers coursing down my spine. I nearly pulled back in shock. This was more than I could wrap my head around.

  I could feel the eyes of other women staring at him. He was so handsome, so impressive… I had swallowed the hard lump in my throat.

  As we approached the dance floor, the band, as if in some prearranged plan by invisible powers that ruled the universe, switched things over to a smoother, slower number. He pulled me in close so that I was pressed against his body. His hands were on my waist as he moved us slowly around the dancefloor. I felt as if I was floating, as though the rest of the dancers had faded away around us, and it was just the two of us sweeping around the room a few inches off the floor.

  "So," he murmured in my ear, as other dancers surrounded us on the floor. "Something tells me you don’t make a habit of coming to events like this.”

  "Not really," I confessed. "We— we—uh, just became a part of the charity, so I guess that’s a—"

  "No, I mean," he cut me off. "You don’t seem like you come to these kinds of events at all. This is your first one, right?”

  I paused for a moment, pulling back and looking at him, and I knew my silence must have given away the truth without me even telling it. Wincing, I decided that I might as well just come and tell him. "No," I confessed. "Both Lorraine and I are waitresses and a woman at the restaurant gave Lorraine the tickets to this place as her tip. Lorraine felt like we should come down here to have a good time, see how the other half lives, I guess."

  "So, no publishing company, then?”

  I shook my head decisively. "Nope."

  "Pity. I was going to ask you about the Fifty Shades thing," he teased.

  I smiled, beginning to relax now that I didn’t have to keep the game face on. "You can still ask me. I read erotica, so I know a thing or two about it.”

  He laughed, the sound rich and delicious. “I’ll bet you do.”

  "By the way, I’m Willow and my friend is Lorraine.”

  He smiled. “Willow suits you much better.”

  “Tell me, how did you know that we were faking it? I thought we were doing a pretty good job."

  "I knew the moment I saw you that you didn’t belong here."

  I stared up at him dismayed. All the excitement inside me shriveled up. I hated the idea that he saw right through us. Did everyone else know too? Did we look really foolish? “Is that why you came over? To mock us?” I demanded, hurt to my core.

  He frowned. “Whoa, not so fast. When I said you didn’t belong here, it was a compliment. Look around you. This club is populated by men with one foot in the grave, their spoilt playboy sons, their wives, or their whores. You don’t fit in any of those categories, do you?”

  I stared at him. “So why did you come over?”

  "I came because I have a proposition for you."

  Chapter 6

  Willow

  "Hey, buy a girl a drink first," I protested weakly, even though there was nothing to protest against. If he’d straight-up asked me to leave with him, head back to his apartment, and spend the whole night hooking up, I’d have done it.

  Maybe it was the couple of glasses of champagne Lorraine and I had in the limo or maybe it was just those piercing blue of his eyes, but I didn’t have it in me to say no. Or if I even wanted to. After all, when was the last time someone as gorgeous as him even looked twice at me?

  Never was the straight answer.

  "Uh… it’s not exactly that I need you for. This is going to sound completely crazy," he continued, his voice low and caressing. "But I think you can help me out."

  "In what way?" I asked, furrowing my brow at him. I couldn’t see anything I had that a man like him could possibly need.

  "Well, my grandfather started Grayson Incorporated when he was younger, but I’m the one who turned it from the fledgling business into the billion-dollar concern it is today. I’ve worked my ass off for years to get it there and make sure it stays there."

  "Well, good for you,” I replied, not quite sure where he was going with this.

  "The problem was my grandfather would never sign over the business to me. He had always said I had to wait for his will to inherit the business," he continued, a tightness in his jaw tipping me off to his intense irritation. "He passed away last week and I was sure it was going to be mine…"

  "But?”

  "But it turns
out that he has some stipulations in place," he replied, lowering his voice. "I have to marry and produce an heir in the next year, or else he’s going to hand the business I busted my guts to make successful to my deadbeat cousin."

  "Holy shit," I muttered. "That’s crazy. Why does your grandfather even want that for you?” I demanded. "It doesn’t make sense. If the business is successful—"

  "He was worried I was becoming a workaholic and losing sight of the really important stuff in life," he explained. "I guess he had a point, even if I think he’s overstating how important the rest of that stuff is."

  “Um… why are you telling me this?”

  "Do you like being a waitress?’

  "The money is useful, but I suck at my job, so there’s that."

  He laughed

  I grinned. Something about being in this place with him made me feel far removed from the grim reality of my day-to-day life. Here, there was no rent to pay, no bills due, no worries about Leo screaming from the kitchen that I’d screwed up an order.

  Gabe stopped laughing abruptly. "I need someone to marry me.”

  "Well, that shouldn’t be too diff—" I began, but then I saw something in his eyes and realized what he was asking. I jerked back with astonishment. "Wait—are you asking me to...?”

  "I know it sounds crazy. Trust me, I get it, I do… but it doesn’t have to be for long. Less than a year. Just until the rights to the business are signed over. "

  “Why me?” I croaked.

  “Because I looked across the room and saw you,” he stated simply.

  "You are right. This is crazy,” I said shakily.

  “Come on,” he mocked. “You got dressed up and pretended to be someone else just for fun.”

  “Yeah, and you saw right through me. So that’s how good an actress I am.”

  “Even the best actress would have failed, because this is a tightly knit club of insiders. You can’t gatecrash it.”

  “Anyway, we came out for a night of fun. You’re asking me to pretend for a year and oh, and there’s no way in hell that I’m getting knocked up by you and giving up my own baby. What sort of woman do you think I am?" I huffed furiously.

  "I’m not asking you to do that," he replied calmly. "I’ll get a surrogate to take care of that. You will have to wear one of those fake pregnancy bumps for a few months when you are out in public though."

  "Why would I do that?” I demanded. "Because it sounds like I’m doing you a hell of a favor without too much in return"

  "A million dollars," he replied.

  “What?” I gasped. My throat felt like I’d just swallowed a ten-pound cherry.

  “I’ll give you a million dollars to be my wife for a year.”

  My jaw dropped.

  For a second, we stared at each other. He didn’t say anything else just looked at me with a determined look in his eyes. Then I broke his stare to glance around. Maybe I was expecting the people around me to point out the hidden candid cameras to me and reveal this whole thing as a cheap gag. But no one was paying any attention to me at all.

  “Will you do it? Will you pretend for me?”

  "A million dollars?” I repeated, trying to wrap my head around the enormity of what he was offering me. It felt as if I had fallen into a rabbit hole. These kinds of things just did not happen to me.

  "Yes, and you get everything that comes with living my lifestyle," he explained. "Money, free time, travel… anything you want. You just have to stand there and look pretty on my arm when I go to events, that’s it."

  "That sounds a little too good to be true," I said, not letting myself get carried away.

  "A million dollars and a few months of your life," he urged. "You just have to make sure that you keep this a secret forever, and you get the money."

  “What about Lorraine? I must tell her.”

  He frowned. “No.”

  I was clear. “I won’t do it if I can’t tell her.”

  He sighed. “Okay. You can tell her, but you must get her to promise not to tell anyone else.”

  I paused, taking in what he’d just said to me. I would get to come to events like this all the time, whenever I felt like it. This world would be open to me. I wouldn’t be an outsider anymore. I would be on the arm of this gorgeous, rich, successful man. And for only a few months work I’d get a million dollars. Wow! This would change everything for me. And for Lorraine. We could afford a new apartment. I could to go to college, and get my degree, to pursue the career I was really passionate about.

  "I’ll do it," I blurted out, not even sure what I was saying. I didn’t know if I actually truly believed him, or if I thought this was all a load of crap that would later come out as a bald-faced lie, but look what was at stake? No more having to put up with snooty customers, no more worrying about creepy Joe screaming at me over the serving counter, or having my pay docked for breaking their expensive china. But the best part was I would get to play at being the wife of this gorgeous, successful man. Yeah, I could live with that.

  "Excellent," he replied smoothly, his eyes shining as though he had just pinned down the deal of a lifetime. He took his phone out. "Give me your number and my secretary will be in touch tomorrow to take you shopping."

  My eyes widened. This just got better and better. "S-shopping?”

  "I think a new wardrobe might be in order," he explained. "Not that you don’t look great, but if you’re going to fit in with my crowd..."

  "Yeah, yeah, I get it," I agreed, thinking back to the sweats and tee I was wearing before I’d come out.

  "We can meet for dinner to go over the details," he continued. "If that works for you?”

  "That works great for me," I replied. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. Was it really happening? I didn’t even know that I believed it, not entirely, but he kept smiling at me, his face warm and inviting, and I suddenly felt the urge to lean forward and kiss him. Which was crazy, because I barely knew him, but at the same time not at all, because I would be marrying him soon. If this scheme he was selling, was anywhere close to the truth.

  "Here you go.” He handed me his phone.

  I tapped in my number quickly before I handed it back to him.

  I realized I was just standing there in the middle of the floor. Suddenly, I could feel Lorraine’s eyes burning into the back of my head. “Right. I guess I better get back to Lorraine.”

  “Want me to escort you back?”

  I shook my head slowly.

  “See you at dinner tomorrow?”

  “See you at dinner tomorrow,” I echoed. I think I was still in a daze.

  He nodded formally then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

  Chapter 7

  Willow

  Slowly, I turned back to see Lorraine gesturing excitedly for me to come over to her.

  For second, I didn’t move at all. The rest of the room fell away and all I could see was Lorraine. Dear Lorraine. She was the one who brought me here so she deserved at least some of the cash I was going to get form this deal… if it was real, which I wasn’t sure of yet. As I watched, I saw her face change, her expression looking worried. I grinned suddenly and all the joy of earlier came back instantly.

  "Hey, hey, hey!” she exclaimed happily when I made my way back over to join her. "Did I see you giving Gabe Grayson your number?”

  “Who is he?” I whispered.

  “What? You don’t know who he is? If I wasn’t living with you, I would think you’ve been living in a cave in North Korea.”

  “Who is he?” I asked again.

  “Unbelievable.” She shook her head. “He has been voted the most eligible billionaire by GQ three years running and you’ve never heard of him! Anyway, please tell me you are seeing him again?”

  I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find shape to the words that just wouldn’t come out. I smiled at her, finally, and took a deep breath, readying myself for what came next. This would change everything. I couldn’t wait to share it with her.
"Lorraine," I announced. "I think there’s something I need to tell you."

  I moved forward and cupping my hand over her ear hit her with the incredible news. When I pulled back, her mouth was open.

  "Oh, sweet baby Jesus! This is big! This is real big. Are you sure he was serious?”

  "I think he was," I replied. "But I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when his secretary calls. Or doesn’t."

  "A million dollars," she breathed, like she was afraid it would get frightened and fly away if she made too much noise around it. "That’s an insane amount of money. Think of everything you could do with that..."

  "That we could do," I corrected.

  She cocked her head at me. "What are you saying, Willow?”

  "I want to give you half," I explained.

  Her eyes looked like they were going to roll right out of her head. "You’re kidding," she gasped. "You can’t give me—that much. T-that’s too much. It wouldn’t be fair. I mean—"

  "I want you to have it, Lor," I stated firmly. "If this turns out to be true. I wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for you, remember? I have you to thank for all of this. You’re the one who got that invitation and blackmailed me into going."

  “That’s true, but still.”

  “No buts. We’re like sisters. That’s what sisters do for each other.”

  “No they don’t. I know of sisters who kill each other for less money.”

  “Can you stop it? We’re sharing the money and that’s it. That’s if he was not messing with my head.”

  “But—”

  “Just think what you can do with the money, Lor. Haven’t you always wanted to start your own boutique?”

  "True, but you’re my best friend, and if you think I’m just going to let some random guy slide in and steal you away from me, then you’ve got another thing coming," she told me with no room in her voice for argument.

  “I ain’t going nowhere, babe. More than ever, I’ll need someone who can keep me sane.”