by Stone, Anna
Ruby nodded.
Yvonne left the bar. The deal was done. At the end of the year, Yvonne would have her inheritance. Ruby would have her five million dollars. They would go their separate ways.
All they had to do between now and then was convince the world that their marriage was real.
Chapter 4
R uby stepped through the front door of Yvonne’s apartment and looked around. The apartment was huge, and it made the Vegas suite look tacky and cheap. Although it was uncluttered and plainly decorated, it didn’t feel empty. All the decor had a clean, minimalistic richness.
“This is a nice place.” Was this really Ruby’s home for an entire year? She could get used to this.
“I’ve only lived here a couple of years,” Yvonne said. “The penthouse was taken, so I had to settle.”
Yvonne tipped the doorman for bringing their bags up and headed into the apartment. Ruby followed, carefully containing the awe she felt. She didn’t want to look too impressed. That was a turn-off.
Not that it mattered in this case. Yvonne had made herself very clear that their arrangement was purely business, and they were already locked into it by the rings on their fingers. Ruby didn’t have to seduce Yvonne, didn’t have to play the perfect girlfriend. She didn’t have to pretend to be Yvonne’s fantasy. But Ruby had become so used to turning herself into the kind of person her client wanted her to be.
Ruby examined Yvonne as she followed her. Was ‘wife’ really all that Yvonne wanted Ruby to be?
Yvonne led her down a hall. “I have to be at work in an hour, so I’ll make this quick. You can have this room.” She opened a door to the right. “The housekeeper is due in today; I’ll have her make it up for you.”
Yvonne was giving Ruby her own bedroom? Clearly, she was serious about keeping their arrangement platonic. Ruby peered through the door to find a huge bedroom with a king-sized bed and an adjoining bathroom, along with a large sunny window through which the city below them could be seen.
“You’re welcome to replace the furnishings and decor to suit your tastes,” Yvonne said. “On that topic, I have something for you. Wait here.”
Ruby waited in the hall while Yvonne disappeared into another room. When she returned, she was holding a card in her hand.
“Here.” Yvonne handed Ruby the card. It was a credit card bearing Yvonne’s name. “This is yours. Use it to buy anything you need. If you’re going to live here for a year, I want you to be comfortable. Buy yourself a new wardrobe. You’ll need some pieces for when you accompany me on special occasions, but I’ll take care of those. The basics are up to you. Just make sure any outfits you buy are befitting of your status as my wife. That shouldn’t be difficult for you.” Her eyes swept down Ruby’s body. “I can tell you’re a woman of excellent tastes. ”
Ruby bit her lip. Yvonne’s probing gaze made her skin hot.
“Don’t go too crazy,” Yvonne said. “If you want something big like a car, ask me first.”
Ruby nodded. With all these demands, she couldn’t help but feel like Yvonne was treating her like a child rather than her wife. However, something told Ruby that Yvonne would treat her actual wife the exact same way.
“I need a shower before work, so I’ll leave you to settle in. Have a look around. Make yourself at home. You’re free to do whatever you want during the day, but I need you home tonight. We need to discuss our cover story.”
Ruby nodded again. They’d talked about coming up with a cover story when they’d gotten on the plane in Vegas, but they’d been too tired to do anything but sleep during the red-eye flight. It had been Ruby’s first time flying first class and she’d slept through everything.
“We’ll also need to make this arrangement of ours official,” Yvonne said. “I’ll draw up a contract. Usually, I’d have my lawyers do it, but we should keep that part of our arrangement between us, for obvious reasons. I think both of us would feel more secure with our agreement in writing.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ruby said.
“I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything.” Yvonne headed to the end of the hall to what was presumably the master bedroom.
Ruby entered her bedroom and sat on the bed. Distantly, she heard the sound of running water as Yvonne turned on the shower. She looked around her. This was her life now. She’d packed her bags and left her old life behind overnight. But she’d had very little to leave behind in the first place.
And it was all because of him, her last client. Because of him, Ruby had lost everything. She had no friends, having drifted apart from them all while trapped in a toxic relationship. She hadn’t spoken to her family in a long time either. She still had some loose ends to deal with, like her apartment and all her things, but that was all.
Her old life was well and truly behind her. He was well and truly behind her. She had all Yvonne’s money at her disposal. She had all the spare time she could possibly want. She had the opportunity to repair all the damage he’d done, to rebuild her life again.
The only problem was, she had no idea how to do that.
Yvonne rode the elevator up to the Mistress Media offices. As usual, she was one of the first people there. Soon, the sprawling top floor office would be swarming with activity.
Mistress Media was the vision of Madison Sloane, the company’s CEO and Yvonne’s closest friend. Madison had started Mistress years ago, and in the space of less than a decade, the female-led media company had grown from a single publication to an international empire.
Yvonne had been there from the beginning. She was the COO of Mistress, and Madison’s right-hand woman. From a business perspective, Yvonne essentially ran the company. She had better business sense than Madison, a former journalist, so Madison deferred to her in that department. Generally, Yvonne didn’t work well with others, but herself, Madison, and the three others who ran Mistress made an excellent team.
Yvonne reached her office and sat down at her desk, settling in. She had several emails to send, and only half an hour before the Monday morning meeting started. She and the four other women who made up the Mistress executive team held a meeting every Monday morning so they could catch up on everything, business and personal. They were a tight-knit group, most of whom had been friends long before they’d started Mistress Media together.
By the time Yvonne finished with the most urgent of her emails, it was almost time for the meeting to begin. She headed to the conference room. Through the glass walls, she spotted a slender brunette sitting at the head of the table. Of course Madison was the only one of them who was already there. This was despite the fact that it had been Madison’s bachelorette party they’d been in Vegas for over the weekend. Madison had still shown up at work on time and looking none the worse for wear.
Yvonne opened the door and strode inside.
Madison gave her a nod. “Good morning.”
“Madison.” Yvonne sat down at the table. “Recovered from the weekend already, I take it?”
“I’m fine. I didn’t go as crazy as the rest of you.”
“Speaking of the rest of us, where are the others?”
“I saw Lydia earlier,” Madison said. “She should be here soon. I’m assuming Gabrielle and Amber are still recovering, but I’m sure they’ll turn up. By the way, did you take care of whatever it was you needed to do in Vegas?”
“More or less.” Yvonne had told the others that she needed to stay back in Vegas to take care of something. She’d needed time to work out how to break the news of her ‘marriage’ to her friends. However, she still hadn’t come up with a way to do so.
“What exactly did you need to take care of?” Madison asked.
Yvonne folded her hands in front of her on the table, stalling for time. She didn’t realize her mistake until Madison’s eyes fell to Yvonne’s hands.
Madison tilted her head to the side. “Is that… a wedding ring?”
Yvonne rearranged her hands. “Yes.”
“And
why are you wearing a wedding ring?”
“Because I’m married.”
“What? Since when? And to who?” Realization dawned on Madison’s face. “Did you get married in Vegas? Is that why you stayed behind?”
“Yes,” Yvonne said.
“Yes? That’s all? Aren’t you going to explain yourself?”
“What is there to explain? I got married to a woman in Vegas. Her name is Ruby.”
“And?”
Yvonne gritted her teeth. “It’s a long story.”
Madison frowned. “Yvonne, what’s going on? Is everything all right with you? Are you having some kind of crisis?”
“Christ, Madison, you think it’s more likely that I’m going crazy than that I genuinely got married?”
“You have to admit, this is completely out of character for you. And you seemed a little off while we were in Vegas.”
“I assure you, I’m not having some kind of breakdown.” Yvonne paused. She’d been planning to maintain the marriage ruse with everyone, including Madison. She didn’t like the idea of lying to her friends, but the ends justified the means. She needed the world to believe her marriage to Ruby was real.
But as she faced her closest friend, Yvonne found she just couldn’t lie.
“Look, if I tell you the truth, you can’t tell anyone else,” Yvonne said.
“Yvonne, we’ve known each other since we were teenagers,” Madison said. “You know you can trust me.”
“Then promise me that you won’t tell anyone, no matter what.”
“All right. I won’t tell a soul.”
Yvonne gathered her thoughts. “When my father died, he left me an inheritance.”
“He did? You’ve never mentioned it before.”
“Because I was never able to claim it. It came with strings. The biggest one being, I need to be married within ten years of my father’s death in order to claim it, otherwise it all goes to Nicholas. It’s been almost ten years since he died.”
“That’s why you got married?” Madison asked. “For the money?”
Yvonne nodded.
“Are you having financial problems? You know you could have asked me for help. I can lend you something. Or you could ask Amber if you need something more substantial. She’d help you out in a heartbeat.”
Yvonne shook her head. It had occurred to her to ask one of her friends for a loan, but she hated asking anyone for help. “I don’t need the money. I could really use it, that’s all. At the moment, all my money is tied up. I have my eye on some investments. I simply need some capital for it.”
The truth was, her current financial situation wasn’t great. She’d made some risky investments in the past year that hadn’t panned out as she’d predicted. She was far from bankrupt, and she had plenty of money invested, but they were the kind of investments that paid off in the long term and couldn’t simply be withdrawn on a whim. She didn’t have much liquid capital right now.
Which wouldn’t have been a problem if she only had herself to worry about.
Madison raised an eyebrow. “You decided to marry a woman you met in Vegas for money for investments?”
“The marriage is only temporary,” Yvonne said. “We only need to stay married for a year for me to get the money. It’s not a big deal. It isn’t like I’m going to get married for real any time soon.” Yvonne didn’t have room in her life for romance. “Ruby is on the same page about our arrangement. It’s purely business. She pretends to be my wife for a year, I give her a small part of my inheritance. It’s the perfect solution to my problem.”
Madison scoffed. “It’s also the craziest solution.”
Yvonne held up her hands. “It’s already done, Madison. And now that I’ve told you, you can’t tell anyone else. The conditions of my inheritance are clear—my marriage must be genuine for me to be able to claim the money. No one can know that our marriage is a sham.”
“You want me to lie for you?”
“Of course not.” Yvonne would need to find a witness to attest to the authenticity of marriage to Ruby, but she couldn’t ask Madison to do it. She’d find someone else. “All I’m asking is that you keep this to yourself. Madison, you know I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important.”
“You’re right.” Madison sighed. “I won’t say anything. But this is so extreme. Are you sure you’re not in any trouble?”
“I’m fine.” Yvonne paused. “The truth is, this isn’t just about investments. I want to use some of the money to help someone. Nita.”
“Ah. I understand. Say no more.”
“So you won’t tell anyone?”
“I won’t tell a soul,” Madison said. “I can’t say I approve, but you have my word that I’ll keep your secret.”
“Thank you. I mean it.”
“So.” Madison crossed her arms. “Who is the poor woman you roped into your scheme? Her name is Ruby?”
“Yes. She’s an escort. We met at the hotel bar on Saturday night. And trust me, I’m not exploiting her. She’s getting several million out of it. It’s purely a business arrangement.”
Madison smirked. “I’m sure it is.”
“I’m serious. We’re not even having sex.”
“And why not?”
“I don’t want things to get complicated.”
Besides, Yvonne had certain needs when it came to the women she took into her bed. What she required, what she demanded, of her lovers went far beyond just sex. She needed a woman who was willing to surrender herself to Yvonne completely. Ruby wasn’t that woman. Although it was clear that she was far from innocent, it was unlikely she could handle Yvonne’s twisted tastes. They weren’t for the faint of heart .
Madison didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press any further. “Does this mean you need a plus one for the wedding?”
Yvonne hadn’t even thought about that yet. Madison’s wedding was still a couple of months away. “It will look odd if I don’t take Ruby with me. I’ll speak to her about it.”
“Let me know. It shouldn’t be any trouble to squeeze her in. I’ll talk to Blair about it.” Madison smiled. “She’ll be excited to hear you’ve coupled up. We’ll have to have you and Ruby over for dinner sometime.”
Yvonne rolled her eyes and changed the subject to something work-related. However, the others would be here soon, and she’d need to tell them about Ruby. Fortunately, she wasn’t quite as close to them as Madison, so they’d be far easier to lie to.
What was Ruby up to right now? Yvonne had told her to make herself at home, but she couldn’t imagine Ruby doing that. In the short time they’d known each other, Yvonne had gotten the impression that Ruby would simply do whatever she thought would please Yvonne.
It was starting to get to Yvonne. She liked nothing more than a woman who wanted to please her. But with Ruby, it was just an act. Yvonne knew that.
But that didn’t make it any less enticing.
She shook her head. Yvonne wasn’t going to go down that road with Ruby, and she certainly wasn’t interested in anything romantic with the woman. Yvonne wasn’t interested in relationships at all. She didn’t need anyone else. She’d gone through her entire life alone.
And that was how she liked it.
Chapter 5
“ L et’s get down to business.” Yvonne gestured toward the couch at the other side of the coffee table. “Have a seat.”
Ruby sat down. It was telling that the first thing Yvonne had done after arriving home from work was ‘summon’ Ruby to the living room for a formal discussion. Was Yvonne going to behave so coolly toward Ruby for the entire year? That was going to get on Ruby’s nerves quickly.
Yvonne reached for the bottle of scotch on a nearby side table, offering Ruby a glass. Ruby declined. Yvonne poured herself a glass before settling back in her seat.
She pushed a sheet of paper across the coffee table toward Ruby. “I drew up a contract outlining our agreement. I’ll give you some time to look over it, then we’ll sign it later to
night.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ruby skimmed the contract. There was nothing surprising in it.
Yvonne crossed her legs. “Now, about our cover story.”
“Right. I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet.” Ruby had spent the day settling in and shopping for essentials. She’d only gotten home half an hour ago and had barely had time to order takeout before Yvonne had arrived.
“I’ve come up with some ideas myself. The simplest way to make sure we don’t slip up is to tell the truth as much as possible. If there are any elements of our history that we can use, we’ll stick to those.”
Ruby nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“I already told my friends about you,” Yvonne said. “We work together, so it was unavoidable. I wasn’t specific about the details. I told them we met in Vegas a couple of years ago, which is plausible enough.”
“Do you go to Vegas a lot? You don’t seem the type.”
“I travel for work regularly. I go to Vegas often enough. It’s a good place to do business. All the money and decadence help prospective investors loosen up.” Yvonne took a swig of her drink. “There’s a certain type of person who is in their element when surrounded by luxury and excess. Why not take advantage of it?”
Ruby twisted a lock of hair around her finger absently. “Are you one of those types?”
“I’m not so easily impressed,” Yvonne said. “Now, where were we?”
Clearly, Ruby’s attempts to lighten the mood were falling flat. She was just trying to get Yvonne to relax a bit. They were stuck together for a year. Ruby had to get Yvonne to open up a bit.
“So, we met in Vegas,” Yvonne continued. “And since then, we’ve been casually seeing each other. You became something of a lover. I got into the habit of flying you out to meet me for company whenever I traveled. ”
