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

by London Casey

  I was stuck with Jackson.

  Fucking Jackson.

  He was like a parasite. Or a worm.

  Taking his time to invade and destroy.

  After three deep breaths, I remembered what had happened near Jackson’s office.

  The kissing.

  Not just any kissing.

  That was straight up, good old-fashioned tongue fucking. That was the kind of kissing that happened when you were dead drunk and ready to fuck.

  It was so messy and way out of the norm for me.

  Then again, so was getting married.

  For money.

  On a whim.

  On a random night.

  With the end goal being money.

  Big money.

  A big, fat, delicious, perfect bonus.

  Even still…

  I hurried to wipe my lips.

  Now I was acting like a young girl who just got kissed by some gross boy.

  Only Jackson wasn’t a gross boy.

  He was all man.

  Even if he was a gross man, my god, that kind of grossness was something tough to resist.

  The whole keep it in your pants wasn’t going to be easy for either of us.

  But… I meant what I told him.

  I had battery powered pleasure at my disposal.

  I wasn’t afraid to use it.

  I could sail through this marriage thing as long as I needed to.

  Luckily with Vince, he fell in and out of love with projects probably as fast as Jackson fell in and out of love with women.

  Which meant the bonus would be mine sooner rather than later.

  I moved to my desk and looked at Jackson’s office.

  It was empty.

  I took another deep breath and wiped my mouth again.

  I could still taste him.

  I could still feel his tongue moving against mine.

  I could still feel him exhaling a breath through his nose.

  I could still feel the tingling sensation between my thighs, hinting to me that maybe that messy and sloppy and wild and crazy kiss wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

  Fair enough. But I did know the worst thing in the world.

  Being married to Jackson.

  Misha opened the door and I jumped up.

  “Get in here now!” I yelled at her.

  Her face instantly turned red and she shut the door behind her.

  “Close the blinds!” I yelled.

  I felt enraged, which was the only emotion I could effectively conjure up to chase away the fact that kissing Jackson had turned me on. It also didn’t feel all that great that it was morning and my panties had gotten a little more than wet and were now clinging to parts of my body that made it feel weird when I tried to walk.

  TMI? Too. Freaking. Bad.

  Misha struggled to shut the blinds and then faced me.

  She shook as she took out a notebook.

  The only time I got this pissed was when Jackson was trying to fuck me over and I needed to attack back. That was when Misha would take notes and I’d come up with a plan.

  This was… similar, but different.

  “Put the notebook down,” I said.

  Misha dropped it to the floor.

  “Really?”

  “You’re, uh, a little worked up today,” she said.

  “Did you hear the news yet?”

  “No…”

  I took a deep breath and showed her my left hand.

  “Um, what is that?”

  “Jackson has one too.”

  “Jackson… what…” Her eyes went as big as her glasses. She looked like a damn bug staring at me. “Callie…”

  “Don’t get all romantic on me, Misha. It’s fake.”

  “Wait a second,” she said. “Tell me what’s going on here.”

  “You know what’s going on here,” I said. “This is a wedding band.”

  “Meaning…?”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I said. “I married Jackson last night!”

  My voice bounced around the office and hit me harder than the hangover that was still lingering in my head.

  I let out an aaahhh sound and sat down.

  I reached around my desk and had nothing to drink.

  “Want me to get you a coffee?” Misha asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “Wait. No. Yes. No. Stay there.”

  “Callie…”

  I stood back up. “Okay, listen to me. I’m going to say it again. Calmer. I… I married Jackson last night.”

  “On purpose?” Misha asked.

  “Yes. We were at a strip club and-”

  “You went to a strip club with Jackson and then married him. Please tell me you had sex with him also.”

  “No.”

  Misha pursed her lips for a second. “So I told you to go get laid and you ended up married. And still didn’t get laid.”

  “It’s not that simple, Misha.”

  “I’m sure it’s not.”

  “Listen to me here,” I said. “There’s money behind this.”

  “Money?”

  “Yeah. This was Vince’s idea.”

  “Of course it was,” she said. She crouched and picked up her notebook. “You’ll seriously do anything to prove Vince and Jackson wrong, won’t you?”

  “And get one million dollars in the process,” I said.

  “What?” Misha yelled.

  “That’s what’s at stake here,” I said. “I’ll accept your apology anytime…”

  “Okay, fine, sorry,” Misha said. “Keep going.”

  “Not sure there’s anything else to say,” I said. “Vince threw the idea out there and we ran with it. We both want to prove each other wrong. We both want money. So… you know, maybe we have some things in common here.”

  “That’s the basis of your marriage? Hatred and greed?”

  “Misha, it’s not a marriage,” I said. “It’s for show. So you better keep your mouth shut about the truth. This is between us. If anything gets fucked up here, the bonus is gone.”

  “Right. Of course. You know me. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

  “I know you will. I just need someone to know the truth. Because out there” - I pointed to the office window - “I have to let him touch me, kiss me, and act like we’re together and in love. It’s all for show.”

  I caught myself repeating that phrase in different ways.

  All for show.

  Just for show.

  It’s for show.

  Misha just stared at me.

  I gave it a few seconds.

  “Say something here,” I said.

  “I’m just listening,” she said.

  “You have an opinion.”

  “Oh, I do.”

  “Let me hear it.”

  “You don’t want my opinion.”

  “You think I’m crazy,” I said.

  “Yes.”

  “You think I’m going to end up getting hurt or something.”

  “Definitely.”

  I slapped my hands to my desk. “I’m not going to get hurt. I’m going to get money. I’m taking care of myself, Misha. Look at this company. Look at this world. This isn’t some TV show or some feel good story, okay? Sometimes you have to be vicious to get what you want.”

  “I’m not judging you,” Misha said. “I did need to talk to you though. About something that-”

  “See, you think I’m crazy for this,” I said as I stepped from behind my desk. “But you know what I just showed Jackson and Vince? That I’m capable of anything. Without me, they are both lost. They both know it. They thought they were going to put me on the spot…” I laughed. “Jackson wanted to go to a strip club. He thought I was going to chicken out. Guess what? I had more women all over me than he did.”

  “Callie,” Misha said.

  “And then Vince wanted to get tough. And stupid. That’s right. Tough and stupid. Waving around seven figures like it’s a chore for him. Get out of here with that.”

 
“Callie,” Misha said again.

  “Just wait until-”

  “Callie!” Misha yelled.

  I shut up.

  “Sorry,” she said. “But I need you to be quiet for a second.”

  “I am quiet now,” I said.

  “We have to talk about someone else.”

  “Who?”

  “Derrick,” Misha said.

  She cringed.

  I cringed.

  Who was Derrick?

  The guy I was kind of involved with.

  “Oh, I don’t want to hear that name right now,” I said.

  “Too late,” Misha said. “He’s sort of looking for you.”

  “Let him look,” I said. “I’m not hard to find. Let me guess… he called you?”

  Misha opened her mouth.

  I kept talking.

  “Of course he did. He’s another one. He was good for one thing. And even that wasn’t all that good. He was usable. Serviceable. Got it?”

  “Yeah, I know,” Misha said. “You always told me he was convenient. I just haven’t heard his name in a while. And I can tell you haven’t had sex in a while too.”

  “What?”

  “You’re a bitch when you don’t get some,” Misha said. “No offense.”

  “I’ll agree with that.”

  “And now you’re married,” Misha said. “Fake married. Is sex on the table?”

  “With Jackson? No. Nothing will ever be on the table with him. I’m fine. I’ll get my bonus, get a divorce, until then I’ll take care of myself.”

  “Okay, but Derrick is-”

  “I can take care of Derrick,” I said. “I haven’t seen him in, I don’t know, three weeks or so. He thinks we’re in this relationship. That’s only because he’s getting what he wants from me. This is the perfect thing for him. He calls or I text and we meet up and fuck. Then we barely talk and go our separate ways. You know how I met him, right?”

  “Yes…”

  “He thought I was his date from whatever dumb app he was using on his phone,” I said. “He was bold enough to then stay with me as his date walked by. She stopped and looked at him and didn’t say a word. I had to give him credit for that. It was a smooth move to make. I bought into it. But it was never serious.”

  “Callie, this is kind of serious,” Misha said.

  “What is?”

  “Derrick.”

  “Oh, who cares about Derrick?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Um… you’re going to.”

  “Why? You said he was looking for me, right?”

  “Well… it’s a little more than that.”

  “How so?”

  Misha cringed again. “Derrick is here… in this office… right now.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jackson

  “You know, brother, this better be good,” Liam said to me as he stepped off the elevators.

  “Like you were working anyway,” I said.

  “I’m swamped at the moment.”

  “Sure you are.”

  “I’m in the middle of reading through some pretty heavy contracts and you text me there’s an emergency… for this? So you can argue with me?”

  “Follow me to my office,” I said. “Trust me, it’s worth it.”

  I made sure to keep my left hand hidden.

  Liam looked around and whistled. “Sometimes I forget just how much of an asshole Vince is. Look at this office. This is over the top. What a waste of money.”

  I laughed. “You’re just jealous. I told you I can get you in here. You can help with the contracts. Learn how to cut deals. Make some real money.”

  “If I showed you what I got paid, you’d never want to talk to me again,” Liam said.

  I opened the main office door for him. “It’s that good?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Liam said. “But we both know money can easily ruin friendships.”

  “That’s only if you’re borrowing it.”

  “Like you owing me fifty bucks from back in college?”

  “I didn’t borrow that, Liam,” I said. “I asked for it.”

  “To pay that girl’s tab so she’d go home with you.”

  “And it worked.”

  “Wasn’t she married?”

  “Does that matter in the context of what we’re talking about?”

  “No,” Liam said.

  “I can’t believe you still bring that fifty bucks up,” I said.

  We walked toward my office.

  “Hey,” he said. “It was the dead of winter and I had no cash for a ride. I had to walk home alone in that weather. I thought I was going to freeze my ass off. Literally.”

  “And to think… we all survived.”

  I opened my office door and Liam stepped inside.

  I shut the door and Liam put his hands to his sides and turned to face me.

  “What’s the emergency?”

  “You sure you’re ready for this?”

  “No. I have no idea what’s going on.”

  I lifted my left hand and showed him the wedding band.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “A ring.”

  “I see that, Jackson. What… you think you’re a ring guy now? You think you can pull that shit off? Did Vince tell you to start wearing jewelry?”

  “What? No. It’s a fucking wedding ring. I got married last night.”

  Liam did a double take. Then he started to laugh. “Wait a second. I must have hit my head on something. I swear I just heard you say you got married last night.”

  “I did.”

  “What?” Liam yelled.

  “I got married last night, Liam. I’m a married man. Right now. This is real.”

  “What the fu… how?”

  “I was at a strip club with Vince and-”

  “Holy shit, Jackson,” Liam said. His faced turned really serious. “You got fucked up and married a stripper? Are you kidding me right now? You know, it’s one thing to sleep around and be… you… but how the hell do you let this happen?”

  “Liam, I didn’t marry a stripper,” I said.

  “Okay. Then who did you marry?”

  I turned my head and looked across to Callie’s office.

  The blinds had been closed for a while but were now back open.

  Misha was in the office. That meant Misha knew the truth.

  I nodded.

  Liam looked. “Oh, hell no…”

  “What?” I asked with a grin.

  “You married Callie?”

  “Yup.”

  “Tell me you were drunk.”

  “Dead drunk,” I said.

  “How…”

  I laughed and stepped toward Liam.

  I grabbed his shoulder. “Get a drink, grab a seat… and buckle up for this bumpy ride of a story…”

  “You two have been secretly together for a while now?” Liam asked. “I mean… you were just complaining about her moving into the building. That was a lie? I don’t get it. You really… hate her.”

  I leaned against my desk, nodding. “So everything I just told you, you believe?”

  “What? Why wouldn’t I?”

  I smiled. “Everything I just told you was a lie.”

  “What?” Liam asked. He stood up from the couch. “What the hell is this? Are you pranking me? Are you… wait. You’re not married. You’re just fucking around.”

  “No, I’m really married. To Callie. That happened.”

  “Okay. What the hell is actually going on here?”

  “I had to try out my story on you, to see if it worked. And it did. So now I’m good to go.”

  “Good to go for what?” Liam asked.

  “Vince offered Callie and I one million dollars to get married.”

  “Fuck,” Liam said. He shut his eyes and sighed. “Jackson…”

  “I know. I know. Vince is a piece of shit. That’s a whole other conversation to have. I know how he is. But I am not going to let Callie take this company over. I had no choice in the
matter. She was all over it. Prancing around, laughing about it. There was no way I was going to back down from the offer.”

  “Married for money,” Liam said. “I mean, in a way, I guess that’s the best marriage for you. You both have a common goal.”

  “And we both have to keep the story alive,” I said. “Everyone in the office is going to think we’ve been fooling around secretly for a while. It makes sense. They see the banter between us. So instead of it being hate - which it really is - they can think it had been nothing but sexual tension all along. Done.”

  Liam took a deep breath. “Yeah, sure. That works. I can’t… I don’t know what to say here. Congrats?”

  “Say that when I get the money,” I said. “We have to figure some parts out. But this is what’s happening.”

  “Married,” Liam said. He laughed. “And I’m the one standing here engaged. Maybe I should take Miranda to a strip club, huh? Get her a little tipsy and then whisk her off to wherever you did last night.”

  “Miranda at a strip club?” I asked and laughed. “She’s such a tight ass, Liam. She would never. She wouldn’t even let you go to a strip club.”

  “I can do whatever I want, Jackson.”

  “Sure you can. How long have you been engaged now? Ten years? Twenty?”

  “Don’t start that with me,” he said. “We’re taking our time. Making sure everything is perfect.”

  “Because she’s high strung, Liam. She doesn’t want to marry you. She likes the idea of it. If she really did, you two would have been married by now. You know that, right?”

  “Wait a second,” Liam said. “Are you comparing what you and Callie did to what Miranda and I are planning?”

  “Hey, at least Callie stepped up,” I said.

  “Oh, fuck you, brother,” Liam said. “You’re married twelve hours and you’re giving me marriage advice?”

  “First off, you’re not married,” I said. “Second off, I’ve been married a little more than twelve hours.”

  Liam sighed. “Yeah, this is a disaster. Typical Jackson, too. You always find a way to dig a hole and dive headfirst into it. And I already know I’ll be waiting there at the end of the day to pick your ass up and tell you that I was right.”

  “That’s because you’re my best friend,” I said. “And, hey, if Miranda wasn’t such a tight ass, you could have been there last night too. You could have been my best man.”

  “Not a chance in hell,” Liam said. “I want no part of this. You married a woman you can’t stand just to get some money?”