“So,” I caught her eye. A grin spread over my lips. “Excited?”
“Oh God, yes.” She beamed as we made our way down a hallway and to the actual airplane. We were in for a long flight, but I knew it would be worth it.
We’d toyed with a couple places to go, and it wasn’t until seconds before booking the flight that we finally decided on Japan as our destination. Everyone went to Europe. I thought about India a little, but when she heard me mention Japan, she just perked up. How could we not go there after I saw that reaction?
We found our way to our seats, sat down, and I pulled out a book. Ally looked around eagerly, taking everything in as if she hadn’t been on a plane before.
I couldn’t wait. I knew as soon as we got on the plane that we’d still be waiting there for at least half an hour, but I didn’t care. It was just so exciting. But I couldn't help wondering if now was the right time.
If Garth was right about Rebecca, and she seemed like she was out to get him, then wouldn’t this just make her even more convinced that he was guilty? I don’t get why she would think that he’s guilty unless she had a reason. I mean, Garth said it was the way she looked at him when she asked if he knew the girl we’d found dead in that house.
The thought made my skin crawl. I still had nightmares about finding that body, and showing houses was still nerve-wracking. It was almost nice that Alyssa had come back.
“Alyssa seemed upset you were going away,” I said, thinking about it.
“I think she was upset she wasn’t the one coming with me.” Garth’s eyes sparkled.
It was common knowledge that Alyssa had been trying to sleep with Garth for a couple years now. Even Garth knew she was, and he knew she was trying to do it because of his money. He had always ignored her advances because of that. But Alyssa had been sure she’d get him—until she saw the flowers he sent me one day. That’s when everyone found out about us.
I have to admit, it made me a little happy knowing that she knew about us.
“Is she still hitting on you left, right, and center?” I asked, trying not to sound jealous.
They worked together. And on some level that was nice, since I’d filled in for her when she was sick and had done an outstanding job, according to Garth. He liked the way I did things better than Alyssa, but she was the one showing houses with him, which meant I didn’t need to have panic attacks about dead bodies.
And that was a big deal to me.
“I think she’s always going to hit on me.” I could tell he was trying to end the conversation; he didn’t like us talking about her very much.
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to stop talking about it but didn’t want to kick the trip off to a bad start. So I dropped it, took his hand and relaxed against the seats.
All in all, the flight would probably be a little cramped, but at least, we were sitting on a two-seat plane, which meant we didn’t have anyone else sitting with us.
I closed my eyes as I heard Garth pick up his book and flip through the pages. It was a self-help book about increasing your chances of success. I wasn't’ sure why he felt he needed to read it—I mean, he was already super successful. But when I asked, he just smiled and said he had to keep expanding. My brow furrowed as I opened my eyes. He had a lot of books at his place, and most of them were nonfiction. I reached out, took the book from him, making sure not to lose his place, and stared at it, my eyes scanning the page quickly. It was going on about the importance of goal setting.
“Hey!” Garth protested.
I ignored him. “This says it’s important to have goals. That the top 3% of the population write them down. Do you?” I turned to look at him.
His cheeks flushed. “Yes.”
I looked down at the list of goal categories.
“What are some of your work goals?”
Garth stared at me, his cheeks darkening. “I can’t believe you’re going to make me do this,” he muttered.
“Why? I want to know what your goals are, is that such a bad thing?”
Garth looked away from me for a fraction of a second.
“You’re going to laugh,” he said. “But right now, my major work goal is to win another big client. And after that, well … to be honest ...” Garth paused, looking around. “I've been thinking about going out on my own.”
My eyes widened. “Really?” What? This was the first I had heard of any of this. Garth was thinking about going out on his own? What about Brent?
“Yes really, and I would like it if no one else knew about it.”
“Why? I mean, are you thinking about it?” I wasn’t stupid; I could see why he didn’t want anyone else to know about it.
“Because, I mean … it would be nice to get away from the company and … and you and I could start something. Think about how well we do together. Hell, we could just decorate. Can you think about how much money people would pay to have us stage their home? With your talent and my name. It would be …”
Amazing is what it would be, but I didn’t say it. I like that idea. Us, going out and doing our own thing. We both worked so hard, and we worked so well together. It could go over really well. We could do really well together, and I knew it. I nodded.
“It’s an interesting idea. We should talk about it more sometime.” Not right now. I needed time to think about it and needed time to get used to the idea. I cleared my throat, looking down at the list.
“What are your relationship goals?”
Really? For some reason, the idea of a relationship goal just seemed strange to me.
“Well, other than taking you to Japan.” Garth bit his lip. “Honestly … I hope this doesn’t freak you out, but …” he paused. “I’d like to settle down within the next few years. I want a wife and a family. I’m not saying you have to worry about that, I mean, we’re still kinda feeling each other out, but I’m in a relationship for the long haul. I guess I should warn you about that.”
My heart skipped several beats.
“Excuse me.” A voice sounded over the microphone. She sounded pleasant and happy. “I'd like to thank you all for flying with us today.”
I tuned her out, not hearing what she said. I was still so focused on what Garth had just said to me. He was looking for long-term. He was looking to make someone a wife. Right now, he was looking at me to be his wife. I couldn't believe it. If only Alyssa had kept trying a little longer. I knew it was a snide thing to think, but we all knew she wanted nothing more than to be his wife. She wanted to be the kind of wife who stayed home and got a new car every year. The kind of wife Garth would never go for.
When I first started working for him, I hardly even knew who he was, but when Alyssa was out sick, I jumped at the chance to make myself known and try to move up in the company. I didn’t think I’d end up sleeping with Garth—after all, that was unprofessional.
The first day I’d gotten a house ready to show him—and I’d impressed him. But that night, he took me out and took me shopping. I wasn’t impressed, I stormed out of the first place we went to. But he made a good point. I couldn't sell billion dollar homes in twenty dollar shoes. He went out and bought me all new everything. When I asked him why he didn’t do it for Alyssa, he said it was because she went out and racked up her credit cards before she even showed her first house. The way he said this, it didn’t sound like he was impressed by it.
And now, here I sat. In shoes that cost $500.
And damn were they comfy. But I was still determined to make my way up in the company. But if I do, everyone will just say it’s because I’m sleeping with Garth. I’d thought about going to the New York branch, but I didn’t want to leave Garth. The idea of going out on our own, of doing something like that together. I could move up and no one could say it was because I was fucking him.
Finally, I snapped back to reality as the airplane started to move. My stomach turned, excitement overwhelming me. In a few hours, I’d be in Japan.
I couldn't believe it. We stepped off the
airplane in Japan, and I couldn't wait to get off the plane and out into the new country. I wanted nothing more than to just push past everyone and get off, but I knew that wouldn't do me any good—after all, I had a suitcase to pick up. And that would take a while to get to. So I waited as calmly as I could as everyone stood and exited the plane. I took Garth’s hand, and we headed through the airport. I took everything in, trying to memorize every inch of it as we headed towards the baggage claim.
Everything was going according to plan. The assistant was going to help me, although she seemed a little too chipper to do the job, she had heart, and she was of use. That’s what mattered here.
I hadn’t expected the girl to be an issue. I’d expected her to tuck tail and run the second a dead body showed up—instead, she started fucking Garth. I thought once his business card was found in her pocket, he’d at least be taken in for questioning. But no. There was something else going on here.
“A cat cafe?”
I stood there dumbstruck. I’d read about them; I mean everyone had—right? We even had one open up back home for a little while, but I was pretty sure it had shut down by now.
Garth took my hand. “I thought it might be a cool place to grab a bite.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal.
When he had said he was thinking about a quick bite down the street from the hotel, I didn’t think he’d already had somewhere in mind. But of course, he did. Garth grinned widely as he pulled me towards the door.
“Come on, the cats aren’t going to come drag you in.” Instead, he dragged me inside.
As soon as we entered the second door, the cats came rushing towards us.
Meow, meow, meow.
We got surrounded by cats in a fraction of a second. I was careful not to trample on them as we moved towards the front counter. A woman greeted us behind it. She spoke, but I couldn't understand her. Garth did. He replied.
My jaw dropped. I hadn’t realized he spoke Japanese. I took a deep breath, trying to pull my jaw back into place as the woman nodded, said something else and led us towards a table with two menus.
We sat down in the corner of the cafe, and no sooner than we sat down did cats jump onto the table. I reached out to touch one; its head rubbed against my hand. My brow furrowed as I stared at the red collar—a tag on it, in Japanese.
My cheeks flushed. Why hadn’t I thought to try and learn at least a little Japanese before we came here?
That was stupid, I told myself as the woman placed the menus down in front of us.
I watched as she left. “Uh,” I picked the cat up and handed it over to Garth. “What’s its name?”
Garth looked down at the tag. “Her name is Lilly. At least, I assume Lilly is a she.” He handed her back to me.
She purred loudly, rubbing against me as I pet her.
“So, um … what are my options?” I stared down at the menu.
“Well, are you looking for American or Japanese?”
“American, for now.” I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to try something new. After all, I was still feeling the jet lag and didn’t want to push myself.
“Grilled cheese and soup?” he suggested, looking up at me over the menu.
“Sounds good.” I nodded as I pet the cat. Another one jumped onto my lap, and I tried to make room, shifting the other one over just in time to welcome a new one.
Furry heads butted against my body, rubbing against me. I laughed softly, trying to pet them all. Of course, that was much harder than I thought it would be.
I glanced up. Garth watched me, his eyes sparkling as he sat there with one cat on his lap. His fingers scratched the little creature softly.
It wasn’t long until the woman returned. She said something, looking from Garth to me.
Garth spoke, pointing to me, and then he said something else. His hands moved in a circle, motioning towards the cats. The girl nodded. He spoke again.
She nodded again and walked away.
“What did you just say?” God, I hated not knowing. I hated having to ask him every time he spoke.
“I ordered our food and some milk for the cats.”
I nodded taking it all in. You could order food for the cats. Interesting.
I looked around. We were the only ones here. Other than the cats, of course. There were ten, maybe twelve of them. I couldn't keep count. They were all moving around too much, except the four we had over here. There were cloth benches and matching black seats. The tables were larger than most cafes, and of course, there was lots of stuff for the cats. Scratching posts, shelves for climbing. There was nothing that could be considered breakable. Which made sense.
I watched as a gray tabby jumped up onto the shelves and made its way across a shelf that went the full length of the building. There were a couple buckets of toys for the cats to play with, but other than that nothing else littered the floor. Speaking of litter. I couldn't help wondering where it was. I hope not in the kitchen!
When the waitress came back with her food, it took a lot of effort not to ask where the cats’ litter was. She held two trays in her hand, one with our food on it and another with little bowls of milk. She placed the milk down on the floor, after serving us our food.
I stared at Garth’s choice. My jaw dropped. Okay, maybe I should have gotten one of those.
“A bento box?” It came out as a question, but it wasn’t meant to.
He nodded.
I stared down at the three superhero symbols. Okay, I was jealous. I should have looked at the menu, instead of letting Garth read it off to me. I will get one before I leave, I promised myself. We were going to be here for a few days and had lots of time to experience everything the world of Japan had to offer.
We’d already figured it out. We were going to relax today, Garth said he already had something in mind within walking distance of the hotel, and then tomorrow we were going to do some sightseeing.
I’d heard the shopping here was amazing, so I told him that as long as we got to do some shopping, I didn’t care what we did.
We ate in silence
“Did you get what I need?”
“Of course, I did.” She sounded mad that I’d even ask. She held a gift bag out to me. It was clever actually. If she gave me a bag, it could have been suspicious. This, well, who could say why she was giving me a gift bag—maybe it was a late birthday present, maybe it was for someone I knew.
I took it from her.
I could have gotten it easily, no one would bat an eyelash if I went into Garth’s office—after all, this is me, but having someone else do it, well. That was just smart.
I’d deal with her later. She might not realize it, but she was disposable.
“So, what about his girlfriend?” She sounded bitter when she said it.
I’d thought she would be easier to deal with though I wasn’t going to admit that. Take her out on a date or two, and she’d be so unsure of herself, she’d be easy to pin against him. She’d be willing to testify against him even. And then everything would fall into place for me.
This one would be harder to deal with. She thought she was in love. No, she’s just money hungry. If I offered her the right thing—power created money—she would be willing to give him up in a heartbeat. That was the sad part about girls like her. They were so self-centered; they didn’t care about who they brought down around them—in a way, a quality to be admired, or at least taken advantage of.
She really was stupid if she thought she was going to get out of this without any issues.
“So ...” She cleared her throat, bringing me back to reality. “When should I expect the promotion?”
“In due time,” I said. “It’s not like you want it to look like you had anything to do with this.”
“And … you’re sure this is going to work? You promised me you’d deal with his girlfriend.” She spat the word like she could not stand it.
She didn’t like her. Good.
“I promise you, I will get her to rethink
her relationship with him.” I planned to do more than just talk to her about it. “But when I call you, you come running. When I call you, I’m going to need your help big time.”
Since she was already involved, no point in getting someone else to do it. The more people I got involved, the higher my chances of getting caught; so right now, it would be just her and me— oh, and the girl I’d already killed.
Japan is a leg country so I couldn't help bringing out my highest pair of heels and a pair of short shorts. The weather was nice; why not show my boyfriend what he had?
I slipped into a tank top and grabbed my oversized purse. Water, wallet, camera—I had everything I could possibly need for my day out on the town—except a pronto Japanese lesson. But Garth had promised to give me a few quick lessons and to translate for me if the need came up.
I slipped into my heels and turned to look myself over in the mirror.
Garth came out of the bathroom. He stopped dead in his tracks, and his eyes locked on me.
“Damn,” he muttered.
My cheeks flushed. “Is it too much?”
“What? No!” His eyes roamed over my body. “I’ve just … never seen you in business or yoga pants…” He licked his lips, stepping towards me.
My cheeks darkened. I could feel my skin burning and turned away, hoping he wouldn’t realize.
Truthfully, I liked the way he’d just looked at me, and he was right. He’d never seen me in anything except work clothes or lazy clothes. We’d hardly even shared weekends together that didn’t involve lazing around the house and getting extra work done for the business. I guess that was the price one paid for dating the owner of the company.
I felt his hands against my thigh. A deep breath passed through my lips as his warm, soft, hands traced up the curves of my body.
“Now we have a bit of an issue,” he whispered in my ear. My heart skipped a beat, and a warm shiver ran down my spine.
“What’s that?”
“Well, I don’t want to take you out. I want to keep you all to myself.”
His grey-green eyes sparkled as I turned to face him.
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance Page 63
