Marrying his Brother: A Fake Fiance Romance

by Tia Siren

  “Professor Ross,” Dean Jeffrey said, noticing me standing in the middle of the floor looking down at my phone.

  “Dean,” I said, swallowing hard and shoving my phone into my back pocket. “How are you?”

  “I’m doing well,” he said. “You have met Arthur, right?”

  “Provost,” I said reaching out and shaking his hand. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Yes,” he said suspiciously, looking me up and down with his beady eyes. “What brings you all the way out to Providence?”

  I stood there for a second staring Arthur in the eye, his hand holding to mine tightly. I could feel my heart beating frantically in my chest. The dean was staring at me from the side, both of their faces turning suspicious. I wanted to ask them the same thing, but I knew that it would be inappropriate. I cleared my throat and smiled.

  “I’m here with my girlfriend,” I said, making up a quick excuse.

  “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” the dean said, smiling.

  “It’s pretty new,” I said, chuckling nervously as Arthur released my hand.

  “What does she do?”

  “Uh, do? You mean as a job?”

  “Yes,” the dean said, looking down at his watch.

  “Therapy,” I said, thinking fast. “Physical Therapy.”

  “Very nice,” Arthur said. “I had to see a physical therapist once for the nerves in my spine. Very helpful, though I still get a crick from time to time. Maybe you can bring her in sometimes and introduce us. I could use her services.”

  “I’m sure she would love that,” I said, smiling.

  “Are you bringing her to the annual Professor’s Dinner next month?”

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” I laughed. “But I’m sure she would love to come if she has the time in her schedule.”

  “You need to find yourself a good professor’s wife.” The dean laughed. “Ready and able to come to your events. It makes you look better. Just a piece of advice.”

  “I appreciate it,” I said, faking a smile.

  These guys were complete assholes, and I felt bad for the women they were married to. I couldn’t imagine going home every day to either one of them, much less being at their “beck and call.” It made me appreciate Kylie’s boldness and independence even more, knowing there were women out there like the ones married to those two douchebags. Just as I thought about Kylie, she came around the corner, smiling when she saw me.

  “You’re still here,” she said, looking from me to the dean and provost, her smile fading from her face.

  “Miss Cook,” Jeffrey said. “Fancy to see you here.”

  “Dean Morris,” Kylie said, quickly gathering herself and shaking his hand. “What a pleasant surprise.”

  “You two know each other?” I was a little confused.

  “Of course,” Jeffrey said. “Miss Cook is one of our prized students, keeping a perfect GPA her entire time in her undergraduate program. We have met several times to discuss her future with the college.”

  “Oh, that’s great,” I said, shaking my head, ignoring Arthur’s glare in my direction.

  “I hope this isn’t your girlfriend,” the dean said, half laughing.

  “Ha!” I laughed. “Of course not.”

  “No, no,” Kylie said, laughing. “My mother is upstairs visiting. I ran into Ben and his girlfriend earlier, though I thought they had already left. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have given your personal business to the world.”

  “He already told us about his girlfriend,” Jeffrey said, looking at both of us carefully.

  “Oh, good.” Kylie put her hand to her chest and feigned relief.

  “How is your mother? I remember meeting her at graduation,” the dean said, smiling coyly.

  “Oh, she’s great,” Kylie said. “Tired but great.”

  “Maybe we can get lunch while she’s here,” he smiled.

  “Um, yes, of course, though she isn’t here for long.” She laughed. “She has her life, but she wanted to come see me for a day or two.”

  “Too bad,” Jeffrey said smirking. “Maybe next time.”

  I watched Kylie’s face as she smothered on the charm, sucking up to the dean as they discussed her mother and her semester at school. I was almost shocked and impressed at how quickly she came up with those lies and just how convincing she was with it. Most people would find that alarming or a warning of some sort, but I was relieved she was quick on her feet. It could have been a disaster, though I wasn’t sure if the dean was actually buying it, and I could feel Arthur’s eyes boring into the side of my head while I stood there. He was a pious man anyway, and all I really cared about was whether Dean Jeffrey believed our story or not. He was the man with the final say in everything, besides the president of the college, who rarely came around.

  “Well, I better get going,” I said, smiling. “Gonna go get us some coffee and bagels.”

  Before I could walk away, Grant came walking around the corner, looking down at his coat. As his eyes moved up, he stopped in his tracks, staring at the four of us. His face was panic-stricken at first, but in true Grant style, he quickly shook it away and gave one of his charming smiles. He pulled his coat over his shoulders and walked forward, reaching his hand out to the dean and then provost.

  “Dean Jeffrey, it’s good to see you, sir.” He smiled at the dean.

  “Professor Evans,” the Dean said, his face no longer trying to hide his suspicion. “It looks like a party here today.”

  “Provost,” Grant said, shaking Arthur’s hand.

  “Professor Evans, don’t you have some business plans due soon to the office?” Arthur crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Of course,” Grant smiled. “All the little stuff is getting finished up as we speak by the assistant professors, and then Ben and I will put it all together for you. No need to worry.”

  “I am assuming it’s not your girlfriend or mother bringing you to Providence today,” the Dean said, lifting an eyebrow at Grant.

  “No,” he laughed. “I came here to hang out with Ben and meet his girlfriend. I thought he was taking a long time, so I came down to check on him.”

  “I see,” the dean said.

  “Did you get the food yet?” Grant looked at me with wide eyes.

  “No, I ran into Miss Morris here and the dean and provost,” I said, smiling. “I had to stop and chat.”

  “Oh, Miss Morris, my apologies for being rude. How are you?”

  “I thought you two ran into her yesterday,” Arthur mumbled.

  “I just came this morning,” he said. “Wanted to give Ben and his girlfriend some privacy last night.”

  “I see,” the dean responded.

  My nerves were shot, and I could tell the dean was no longer buying anything we were saying. Arthur had obviously not believed it from the moment Kylie had walked around the corner, but he was an old dickhead who didn’t bother me much. I knew he pulled weight with Jeffrey, though, and that was the part that made me nervous. He had never been nice to me, not even during my ceremony of acceptance when I became a full-time professor. There was something about him that just gave me the creeps, and I could tell he was already trying to decide my fate as we stood there. I glanced over at Kylie who was standing there with her hands folded in front of her, her gaze fixated on the dean. She wouldn’t even dare to think to look at either of us and was playing dumb to the dean’s obvious suspicion.

  “Well,” Kylie said patting her legs. “It was really good seeing you all, but I have to grab some coffee and get back to my mother. She leaves this evening, and we’re going to go out shopping.”

  “Wait just one moment,” the dean said, putting up his hand. “I’m not sure what is going on here, but I find it offensive that you think that I’m stupid enough to believe this is all some crazy coincidence.”

  “Dean, I seriously hope you don’t think,” Grant said, stopping as the dean raised his hand.

  “I seriously hop
e you don’t think I won’t look into this further,” the dean said quietly. “We pride on ourselves on our reputation and discreet nature. You know perfectly well what you can expect if I find what I think I will find when I go digging. I suggest you all go home and think about the game you think you’re playing.”

  With that, the dean and provost turned, walking toward the elevator. Once they were around the corner, I let out a deep breath, fear floating through my mind. I turned to Grant, but he shook his head.

  “Not here,” he whispered. “We will all talk later. Just go home.”

  Kylie nodded and walked off toward the doors, not even stopping to grab a cup of coffee. Grant patted my shoulder and nodded, trying to calm my nerves. I shook my head and lowered my eyes, pulling on my coat and heading for the door. I looked to my right as I exited the hotel and watch Kylie walking up the street. I turned left and started walking to my car several blocks away. To say I was worried would be an understatement. We had just walked into the lion’s den, and though we had done our best to get out of it, the dean was right. He wasn’t a stupid man. I could still feel Arthur’s uncomfortable stare boring into my soul, and I wondered immediately what Monday would bring. This could be really bad, and I hoped that Kylie was okay.

  Chapter 14

  Kylie

  I turned right out of the hotel and just kept walking, wanting to turn back and talk to the guys but knowing it could only make things worse. What kind of luck was that? We had an amazing night, expressing ourselves to each other, having amazing sex, and then bam, we run head-first into the dean and provost of the college. It would have been bad enough if it were a student, but these men pretty much ran the place for the president of the university, and they held all the cards now. We had been so careful, and I knew it was nobody’s fault. How could we have known they would be at the same hotel in the same town at the same time as us? It was seriously bad luck.

  When I got to the car, I got inside and let out a deep breath, feeling almost suffocated by the anxiety. I pulled my coat off and turned off the heat before pulling out and heading toward home. My mind wandered my entire drive, taking me down all sorts of different roads. They couldn’t actually prove anything other than us being in the hotel at the same time. I needed to take a deep breath and calm down. When I got home, I went inside, happy that Piper wasn’t there. I really didn’t want to have to explain to her what happened. She would freak out worse than I was, especially since she really was proud of me for getting my graduate degree from an Ivy League school and would kill me if she knew I had put it all on the line for these guys.

  I went into my bedroom and lay on my bed, still dressed in my coat and shoes. I rested my hands across my stomach and stared up at the ceiling, feeling like I had fallen into the Twilight Zone. I was worried about Jeffery and Arthur and what they might be thinking. They had stumbled onto a gold mine, especially since they always seemed to be on a witch hunt. I had seen more than one student leaving Jeffrey’s office in tears, and though I had only seen the nice side of him, I could tell he had a mean streak inside of him waiting to get out.

  I sighed and got up from the bed, wanting to clear my mind of all of this, at least for a little while. I took off my coat and hung it up, heading over to my desk to peruse social media for a little while. There was always enough mind-numbing crap on Facebook to keep my mind occupied for centuries. I opened up my account and scrolled through the different posts. I noticed that I had a notification, so I clicked on it and waited for the picture to pop up on the screen. As my fingers moved over the keys, I froze, staring at a picture of me, Grant, and Ben standing in the lobby of the hotel talking after Arthur and Jeffrey had walked away. My mouth fell open, and I leaned back in my chair, completely shocked at what was on the screen.

  I’d always hated social media. It was an excuse for people to air their and others’ dirty laundry for the entire world to see. I had never had an issue with Facebook, though, especially since I was a really chill person with very little drama, until now at least. I scrolled down and saw the note at the bottom that read, “I think Kylie is sleeping with these professors. Who else agrees?” Oh god, what in the hell was going on? I clicked on the comments and gasped, seeing that over two hundred people had commented on it. Some people defended me, some people commented on Ben and Grant, but the majority of them voted that I was sleeping with them. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.

  I stood up from the desk quickly, knocking over a cup filled with pens and watching them as they fell to the floor at my feet. Everything was going in slow motion, and I felt like I was having a full-out anxiety attack. I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, tears filling my eyes. All I’d wanted was to fulfill a fantasy, and then after that, I’d actually started to fall for both Grant and Ben. I felt like it was something real, and that had made me think I was invincible. From the picture on social media, though, I could tell I was absolutely not invincible. I didn’t even know who the girl was who posted it or any of the commenters. Maybe that was a good thing.

  I walked back over and sat down in front of the computer, taking in a deep breath and closing my eyes. I let my nerves fall to a simmer and clicked on the icon in the top right of the picture. Maybe I could report it and have it taken down for cyberbullying or something. At least at that point, no one I knew would have seen it, or at least I thought so. As I scrolled down the list, I noticed it gave me the option to untag myself. Untag myself? I clicked on my face, and it took me to my page where I was staring at the same picture in my feed. She had tagged me in it, and it had been on the front page of my feed for at least two hours.

  “Fuck,” I screamed, slamming my hands down on the desk.

  I quickly untagged myself, hoping that my mother hadn’t been online that day, checking up on me like she did on a regular basis. Not only that, the dean was my friend on Facebook along with many other prominent figures at the college. I had used my account for networking not gossiping like everyone else. I picked up my phone and conference-called Grant and Ben, completely panicking.

  “Hey,” Grant said, answering.

  “I’m here too,” Ben responded.

  “Guys, it’s terrible. It’s fucking terrible,” I said in tears.

  “Calm down,” Grant said sweetly. “What is terrible? Take a deep breath.”

  “Okay,” I said, breathing deeply. “I got home and went online, trying to get my mind off everything that happened. When I got there, I noticed I was tagged in a picture. It was a picture of the three of us in the lobby of the hotel after the dean and provost had left. People are saying that we’re sleeping together, and it was on my personal page for two fucking hours before I caught it. The dean is on my friends list.”

  “Whoa,” Ben said.

  “Okay, calm down, both of you,” Grant replied. “They can’t fire or expel anyone for a stupid rumor. Did you ask to get it taken down?”

  “Yes, I sent a note to Facebook before I called you,” I said quietly.

  “Hopefully, they will do that. I need you both to just relax,” Grant said. “It is what it is, and we will handle it as it comes. Now, both of you get off the phone and go do something else. Take your mind off it. We will all talk soon. Okay?”

  “Got it,” Ben said, trying to force a confident tone.

  “Yeah,” I replied with a sigh.

  “Kylie, we will be okay. I promise,” Grant said before hanging up.

  I hung up the phone and sat back in my chair, feeling completely lost and helpless. How had this spun out of control so fast, and who the hell had taken that picture? It was just a picture of us talking in the lobby. How bad could that really be? I knew the school had a zero-tolerance policy with fraternization between students and professors. It was one of the first things they told us when we went to orientation my freshman year, but they didn’t have any real hard evidence. Still, the sight of me online with that tag was disheartening, and I felt like I had been violated in some way. This was the fir
st time in my life that anyone had put me under attack, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it.

  I sat back up in my chair and scrolled back to the picture, clicking on the girl’s page who had posted it. She was a pretty girl, not a student at the school but who lived in the area. I hadn’t ever met her before, so I had no idea how she would even know who I was, much less put all of that together from a picture. I decided I needed to find out, so I sent her a message asking her if she was at the hotel. I could tell she immediately read the message, and I held my breath as those little bubble marks flashed across the screen, showing me she was typing back.

  “No,” she said.

  “Then how did you get that picture?” I typed back.

  “My cousin was there and took the picture,” she typed back. “The one you dated last year.”

  I switched back to her page and stared at her name, but it didn’t ring any bells. I clicked on her pictures and started to scroll through them, trying to figure out who she was talking about. I only dated like three guys the year before and none of them were worth my time. As I scrolled through, though, I stopped, staring at a picture of her with a tall, sandy brown-haired boy. My mouth dropped open and my eyes closed, realizing exactly who she was talking about.

  “Fuck,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Unbelievable.”

  His name was Tory, and I had been on six or seven dates together. We had waited to sleep together, actually really enjoying our time with each other. One night, we got drunk and started talking about sex and the things we had never done that we wanted to. I had brought up being submissive, and he’d seemed really into it. One thing led to another, and we’d slept together. Unfortunately, he took the dominant thing a little too far, and I felt really uncomfortable with him the next day. I ended up breaking it off with him, even after talking about everything, knowing that I would never get that want back with him again. He didn’t take it too well and spent the next month sending me nasty texts. When they ended, I figured he was over it, glad to get back to life and leave the past behind us. I guess I had been wrong.