How to Marry Your Frenemy (How To Rom Com Series Book 1)

by London Casey

  “Me?” I asked.

  “Aren’t you two together?” the woman asked.

  Callie laughed. “Not a chance in hell. I work with him.”

  “Oh, okay,” the woman said. “Office romances are tough.”

  “Should I get in on the fun and show off my chest too?” I asked as I stood up.

  I towered over both the woman and Callie.

  The topless woman.

  Her tits were perfect.

  I moved my eyes to the right.

  But Callie…

  Christ.

  “I need another drink,” I said.

  “Lift your shirt first,” the woman said.

  “Aren’t you just devilish?” I flirted.

  “They call me Dani the Devil. I actually have a devil tattoo. You can’t see it right now. Which means you know where it is, right?”

  I smiled. “Maybe I can give the devil a little kiss later, huh?”

  “Maybe,” she said.

  I saw Callie seething.

  I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and lifted it.

  Dani the Devil put her hands to my stomach and ran her long, fake fingernails up to my chest. She purposely scratched at my nipples for good measure.

  Then she looked at Callie. “You may want to rethink the office romance thing. Good lord, this man is jacked…”

  I lowered my shirt and moved Dani the Devil’s hands.

  “I’ve seen much better,” Callie said. “I won’t lower my expectations. Not with these.”

  Callie cupped under her chest.

  Guess where Dani the Devil touched next?

  That’s right.

  She took her turn touching Callie.

  It made me grit my teeth, and almost made me jealous.

  I sat down and looked at Vince.

  He made an O with his lips and shook his head.

  “Drinks,” I said. “Lots of drinks, please.”

  “I’ll be right back with them,” Dani the Devil said.

  “Can’t wait to see you again,” Callie said with a wink.

  They both laughed, knowing what they were doing. They knew that men weren’t capable of thinking about two women together. No matter how tough we tried to be about it, it completely fried our brains. Two sets of lips. Two sets of tits. Four hands… four tits… then another set of lips on each… so much to touch, kiss, play with, insert…

  I looked down at the table.

  Goddammit.

  I felt Vince nudge me.

  I looked at him, blinking because I felt like I hadn’t blinked in three hours.

  Which might have been true.

  The drinks kept coming, and so did the women.

  Everyone wanted to see and flirt with Callie.

  And she played into it like I never thought she would.

  The women saw Callie as comfort. A break from hearing guys tell them they were beautiful and that they were going to leave their wives for them.

  And Vince just kept slipping money along the table like it was being printed right behind him.

  The entire situation was fucked up.

  If Callie really wanted to be a bitch, she could have went after Vince for any number of things that had happened so far.

  That wasn’t Callie though.

  She had her own way of handling things.

  Her top shirt was balled up on the table.

  Meaning she sat in that thin-strapped, tight undershirt.

  I couldn’t help but stare.

  And that’s why Vince nudged me.

  “You okay over there, nephew?” he asked with a laugh.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Just enjoying the night. Feeling a little drunk right about now.”

  “Yeah. Me too. I’m feeling a lot more than that.”

  “Relax, Vince,” I said. “She can probably hear us. And she can definitely sue you.”

  “It would be worth it,” he said. “You might want to roll up your tongue though.”

  “What?”

  “You’re giving yourself away there, Jackson,” he said.

  “Her? Callie? Never.”

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  I turned to face him. “I’m just looking at nice tits and nothing else. Got it?”

  Vince leaned back. He put up his hands. “Sure thing, nephew. Sure thing.”

  I looked at Callie and she was staring right back at me.

  With drunk eyes.

  Just like the night she came over to my place.

  I pointed at her chest. “Not bad. I mean it.”

  She grabbed the shirt off the table and put it back on.

  “There,” she said. “Got your spank bank filled now?”

  “Oh, that was all for show? For me? You’re too kind, Callie.”

  “What can I say? I have a heart somewhere behind these amazing boobs.”

  God. Damn.

  I nodded. “I don’t think there’s a heart. Not that I would go looking for one. I have a one-track mind.”

  “Well, you better think of another track. You know I’m going to be your boss soon, right?”

  “Oh, you two again with this,” Vince said.

  “I’m just being honest,” Callie said. She stood up. “I’ll be right back. I have to use the ladies room.”

  She walked away and Vince caught me staring at her ass.

  “Nephew?”

  “Vince, I already said never,” I said, almost licking my lips.

  Vince laughed and clamped his small yet firm hand to my arm. “Never say never, Jackson.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Callie

  Sometimes it was almost too easy.

  Sitting at the private booth with a private dancer on the table, I kept looking between Jackson and Vince. They stared up, grins on their faces like a kid on Christmas morning seeing presents under the Christmas tree.

  I had the same grin, but for a different reason.

  Their minds danced with all shapes and sizes of breasts, like clouds blowing through, bouncing into one another.

  Fucking men.

  My mind was focused.

  The company. The business. The promotion.

  I could run the entire company.

  I could position myself to do that too.

  Why in the world would Vince just hand the keys to Jackson? Vince was an asshole, but he was smart too. He was calculating and had a lot more planned out than most gave him credit for. Take the LoriTech deal. He found the company on a whim… or so he said. Vince didn’t work on whims. He did love to gamble and take risks, that part was true.

  He also-

  “How are you feeling, sugar?”

  My thoughts broke up as Vixxy leaned down toward me.

  That left her ass pointed right at Jackson.

  I saw her hips gently wiggling.

  I smiled ear to ear.

  Her handful sized breasts dangled near my face.

  Was all this weird for me?

  Of course it was.

  Nobody but me needed to know that.

  I reached up and touched Vixxy’s cheek.

  “You’re beautiful, Vixxy,” I said.

  “Same to you, Callie,” she said.

  She inched down to her knees and turned a little, pointing her ass at Vince.

  She was good. She knew how to work the table.

  I respected her.

  She knew her business, perfected her art, and understood her customer.

  And for that she probably made a ton of money and left a lot of guys ordering another drink and adjusting their boners.

  I turned my head just a little so Vixxy could kiss my cheek.

  When she did, I looked at Jackson and winked.

  He had his mouth shut but I could still tell he was gritting his teeth.

  This was driving him nuts.

  No matter how hard he tried to fight it off, the thought of me with another woman was too much for him to handle.

  Vixxy leaned back and rested her back against the pole in the c
enter of the table.

  She put her head back and began to rock her body as though she was riding some guy.

  I looked at Jackson again and nodded.

  His lip fluttered for a second like he was going to curl it, then he turned his head to focus on Vixxy.

  I went back to thinking.

  Vince had all the data on LoriTech. What he wanted was for Jackson and I to do the same research he had done to make sure everything was on the up and up. But he didn’t ask for the help. He never wanted to look weak. Researching wasn’t weakness, but to Vince it kind of was. He wanted to be the guy who knew everything all the time. Nobody knew that he stayed up until all hours of the night looking into companies, ideas, etcetera…

  I knew that though.

  I kept my eyes open and studied everything and everyone.

  All I needed to do was show the same care that Vince did and…

  “How about another drink, Callie?” Jackson offered.

  Vixxy had turned to face Vince.

  I leaned to my right and looked around her ass cheeks.

  She wore a thong in the sense of the word thong. It was three pieces of red string. Thinner than thread.

  Jackson leaned to his left to see me.

  Our eyes locked.

  Vixxy’s ass wiggled.

  The music throughout the club thumped.

  He thought he was going to get me to crack over a strip club and unlimited drinks?

  You’re a dead man, Jackson, and you don’t even know it.

  Okay, that last drink was the one that put me over the edge.

  The second it hit my stomach, a signal blazed through my body to stop.

  Anything after that drink and I was going to be making out with a toilet for the rest of the night.

  And there was no way in hell I was going to (a) throw up at the strip club and (b) allow Jackson to hold my hair and be there while I threw up.

  “One more?” Jackson asked.

  “Of course,” I said.

  “You really know how to handle yourself, Callie,” Vince said.

  “Is it really that surprising?” I asked.

  Vince pretended to shiver. “You can be damn cold sometimes, too.”

  “I have no choice. I’m living in your world, Vince.”

  “My world?” he asked.

  “It’s all about the men, right? Look where we are right now. Nothing but tits and ass. Drinks overflowing. Asshole guys with these fantasies that one of these women will go home with them.”

  “That part is true for me,” Jackson said.

  I looked at him and curled my lip. “What?”

  “Vixxy’s one friend. Shelly’s another. I think she’s on stage right now.”

  My head whipped to the right.

  I squinted my eyes.

  There was a woman on stage that had hips like a battering ram. Curves like an hourglass. Big and full breasts. And a piercing in each nipple.

  “Bullshit,” I said.

  “What does it matter to you?” Jackson asked. “Our bedroom walls don’t touch. You won’t hear me fucking her.”

  I looked at Jackson again. “Well, good for you.”

  “I take it you’ll need some batteries for your fun tonight?”

  “Fuck you, Jackson,” I said. “It’s heartwarming you worry about me like that. But, honestly, fuck you. And you know what?” I moved my eyes to Vince. “I played your game tonight. How about we go somewhere else now? My choice.”

  “Where to?” Vince asked.

  “You want to go to a male strip club, don’t you?” Jackson asked.

  I laughed. “See? That’s your problem. You think I’m as pathetic as a guy. I have no desire to go see some guys slapping their balls against the insides of their legs while pretending to be a cowboy or a construction worker.”

  “No?” Jackson asked.

  “Look, we all know that a woman’s body was meant to be looked at and cherished. But a man’s body? Please. You’re all just tools. Replaceable by something with batteries. So don’t get too cocky over there, Jackson.”

  Vince slapped the table. “This is why I can’t lose you two. Ever. You’re my rock stars. And it’s why I need to talk about something.”

  “Like what?” Jackson asked.

  Vince folded his hands and leaned against the table. “I think we should talk about your bonus.”

  “A bonus?” I asked.

  Vince nodded. “I’ve been keeping an eye on things. This deal is a big one. You two together are what the company needs. The fighting and pressure is just perfect.”

  “Meaning what?” Jackson asked. “Someone has to rise up, Vince.”

  “He already knows it’s going to be me,” I said. “He just needs to find a way to let his nephew down gently.”

  I was saying things that the drinks allowed me to say.

  But we were all drunk.

  “I like Callie’s idea,” Vince said.

  “You do?” I asked.

  “What the hell does that mean, Vince?” Jackson asked.

  “About leaving here. Let’s get out of here. We can go somewhere else.”

  “Talk in quiet,” I said.

  “No,” Vince said. “We’ll talk here first. How does the number one sound?”

  “One?” Jackson asked.

  “With some zeros behind it…”

  “How many?” I asked with a sly grin.

  Vince winked at me. “I maybe have stumbled across a cool million.”

  “A million dollars?” I asked.

  “Fuck,” Jackson said. “That’s the bonus?”

  Vince nodded. “You two are the best I’ve got. I can’t lose you. Either of you. I refuse to let that happen.”

  “So you’re paying us to put up with each other?” I asked.

  “Not quite,” Vince said. “Eh, maybe. You know me. I’m a risk taker. I’m a gambling kind of guy. I think of crazy ideas. So I’m just… I don’t know. I’ve been sitting here all night wondering how to give you the million.”

  “Check?” Jackson asked.

  Vince laughed. “Right. That would be easy.”

  “That’s what we’ve earned, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Vince said. “You’ve earned it.”

  “So what’s the hold up, Vince?” Jackson asked. “She and I argue for fun. We’re frenemies. Do you know what that is?”

  Vince nodded. “I get it. You’re nice when it counts. Backstab each other when it’s profitable to be selfish. I get it.”

  “And we make you a lot of money,” I said. “I’m still coming for the promotion, Vince. But the bonus I’ll gladly take. I just moved into an apartment that has me stretched way too thin. Not to mention my…”

  I touched my lips.

  What. The. Fuck. Callie.

  I just spilled something I should have never spilled.

  “Ah, you’re broke, Callie?” Jackson asked.

  “Far from it,” I said. “Forget what I said. Moving is always a financial burden. Just the first month though.”

  “Hey, who am I to judge?” Vince asked. “Life is tough. It’s hard to find something or someone… right?”

  “What does that mean?” Jackson asked.

  “You two. This thing is going to explode eventually. Either Callie is going to quit.”

  “I’ll never quit,” I said.

  “Or leave,” Vince said.

  “Give me the promotion and I don’t have to leave.”

  “Or something bad is going to happen,” Vince said. “I can see it. So allow me to stop it from happening. My way.”

  “Your way,” Jackson said.

  “One million dollars,” Vince said. “It’s yours. You two split it, enjoy it, maybe I’ll even throw in a little more. We’ll see how this thing goes.”

  “What do you want from us?” Jackson asked.

  “A partnership,” Vince said.

  “What?” I asked. “Oh, wait. You want us to work together, don’t you? Like in the sa
me office or something. Right? You want us to get along.”

  “Sort of,” Vince said. “I’m thinking more along the lines of go really fucking big or go home and jerk off.”

  “Vince,” Jackson said.

  “Okay, okay,” he said. He showed his hands. “Here’s the plan… one million dollars.”

  “In exchange for what?” I asked, getting annoyed.

  Vince smiled as big as I had ever seen him smile.

  “I want you two to get married… tonight.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jackson

  “Married?” I asked. “Are you kidding me?”

  “What’s wrong?” Callie teased. “Too afraid?”

  “Not at all,” I said.

  “Then it’s settled,” Vince said. “Let’s get out of here and have some fun.”

  Callie started to stand.

  “Wait a second,” I said.

  “Cold Feet Jackson,” Callie said. “That’s your new nickname.”

  I pulled myself from the booth and stood tall.

  I looked down at Callie.

  All around me there were beautiful women, topless - and more - but I couldn’t take my eyes off Callie.

  Was she serious right now?

  Was Vince serious right now too?

  “Let’s get this night going,” Vince said. “I’ll settle the tab and we’ll go for a ride.”

  “This is insane,” I said.

  Callie grabbed my hand. “Too worried about me?”

  “Why would I worry about you?”

  “I’m going to be your wife,” she said. “You should worry about me. Right?”

  She closed in on me and I stepped back.

  I bumped into Vince, then got out of his way too.

  Callie laughed.

  She was eating this up.

  She was pushing at me.

  Challenging me.

  She knew nothing about me and my feelings on the subject of marriage. Or engagements. Or even relationships as a whole.

  Vince patted my back. “Something wrong, Jackson?”

  I looked at my uncle. “You’re fucking serious with this?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “One million dollars. Get married. See how it works. You two have to get along. You have to make it so everyone sees it as real. It’ll be a shock at first, but oh well. You’ve been having a secret fling for a long time, okay? And you decided to just get it over with and get married.”