“Oh yeah?” The voice seemed to relax a little. “What can I do for you?”
“I um… my name is Annie LaFaye and I…” She took a deep breath. “I need to hire a boyfriend.”
Chapter 4
Annie fiddled with her napkin to stop herself from looking toward the door again. She checked her watch. Five more minutes; she could wait five minutes. She knew getting to the coffee shop early would mean waiting but she didn’t think it would be so unnerving. She looked around self-consciously. For some odd reason it felt like everyone in the whole room knew why she was there. She could almost feel their eyes on her judging her for what she was doing. She shook her head and reminded herself to not be ridiculous. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. The entire thing was so far outside her comfort zone she couldn’t even see her comfort zone anymore. She looked again at the door and then at her watch, three minutes. Man, when these people say two o’clock they mean two o’clock, she thought uncomfortably. The bell rang on the door, making her flinch. A young man walked in. He wore a plain jacket and looked to be about her age. Annie’s heart stopped as he started toward her, and then past her to greet a young lady sitting at another table. Annie blew out a breath and laughed quietly at herself.
“Annie LaFaye?” The voice came from behind her. Startled, she whirled around and quickly stood. The man wore a nice, black button up coat with matching gloves and a trendy scarf which looked good on his tall frame. His hair was sandy colored and curly, and it complimented his sky blue eyes. His clean shaven face was even and a couple shades darker than her own.
“You’re Annie LaFaye?” he asked, his voice smooth and professional.
“Uh, yes, I am,” Annie said quickly when she realized her jaw had dropped.
“Todd sent me,” he said holding out his hand. “He tells me you are in need of someone in our profession.”
Annie shook his hand, it was firm and strong.
“Shall we sit?” He gestured to the chairs.
Annie nodded and smiled at him. She wondered if he could tell how unbelievably flustered she was. She felt her cheeks, hoping against hope they weren’t red as a beet.
The man sat casually and crossed his leg. He smiled dazzlingly at her and Annie looked down at her coffee, silently cursing herself for acting so immature. There were a few seconds of silence, mostly because Annie couldn’t for the life of her think of something to say.
The man seemed to sense her discomfort. “You don’t need to be nervous,” he assured her.
“Oh, well… I’m not really nervous. I’ve just never done this before and I’m not sure how it’s supposed to…” She gestured between them, not sure of the words to use.
The man smiled, easy and confident. “Ms. LaFaye, I can assure you, I’m here for you so why don’t you start by telling me what it is you’re looking for.”
“Oh… okay, um.” Annie took a breath. “I need someone to pose as my boyfriend when I go back to my hometown for the Christmas holiday.”
He nodded. “Overnight then?”
“Yes, is that bad? I mean, do you do overnights or… I mean I would understand if that made you uncomfortable.”
“Oh no, I do overnighters, all nighters and even one nighters.” He laughed a little and Annie laughed too even though she wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.
“Well, do you charge by the hour or…”
“My rate is by the hour or by the day, which is a twenty-four hour period. That rate doesn’t include any travel expenses such as plain tickets or hotel rooms. You’ll be expected to pick up the bill on those.”
“Oh, yes, well that makes sense,” Annie agreed, feeling suddenly anxious about how much hiring a man like him would really end up costing her. She had saved a fair amount over the years and was fortunate enough to have Aunt Gabby as her unofficial guardian. She had graciously paid for both Annie’s and Zack’s schooling to keep them from having to pay interest on student loans. She hadn’t really thought about how much it would be to hire a boyfriend but judging from this man’s attire and attitude, he didn’t come cheap.
“How many days are you planning?” he asked casually.
“Three,” Annie said quickly.
“My normal rate is two hundred per day, or twenty-five an hour. My rate starts the minute we leave this city till the minute we get back. Where is your hometown?”
“Ohio.”
“Great! That’s not a long flight.” He grinned at her.
“Ok so, basically six hundred?”
“That should do it.”
Annie smiled feeling better about the whole situation. “Thank you very much…” She paused. “I’m sorry I never got your name.”
“Oh yeah,” he sat up. “What’s your boyfriend’s name?”
“I said his name was Marcus.”
He nodded slightly as if thinking it over. “Marcus, I like it. I’ve never been a Marcus before.”
“It was the first name that popped in my head,” Annie explained.
“Does Marcus have a last name?”
“Oh umm…” Annie thought for a moment. “I really don’t know. I didn’t say anything about a last name.”
“Hmmm, ok well, do you have any preferences?”
Annie laughed. “Not really.”
“We can go with something traditional or outside the box. Either way, we’ll have to decide now so we can both get used to it.”
Annie thought for a few seconds. “Something Italian would be fun.”
He smiled. “I’m not sure I could pull off Italian.” He gestured to his light curly hair.
“Oh yeah, good point. Ok what about… Harrison?” Annie suggested.
“That could work. Marcus Harrison…” He let it hang in the air for a few seconds.
“I’m not sure I like it,” Annie admitted.
“Ok, what about something a little more common; something like, Summers?”
“Marcus Summers,” Annie said quietly, thinking it over. “That has a lot of S’s in it.”
“You pick one then,” he offered.
“I like Everett,” Annie told him after thinking a moment.
“Marcus Everett. I like it – very nice. Okay now tell me, what does Marcus Everett do for a living?”
“Mechanical engineer.”
“Whew.” He made a low whistle. “Mechanical engineer named Marcus Everett. No wonder your family wants to meet him, he sounds classy.”
His easy going nature both unnerved and excited Annie for reasons she couldn’t understand. “Stop it – you’re not being serious,” she said as she giggled at him.
“Well, the way I see it, this is a business partnership, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. And we might as well get along since we are going to be working very closely with each other. Don’t you agree?”
“Well, yes but…” She paused and then shrugged. “I guess I hadn’t expected you to be so, agreeable.”
“Well I’m delighted that I’ve exceeded your expectations.”
“Me too,” Annie laughed. “So what exactly am I supposed to call you? I mean you can obviously call me Annie.”
“Marcus.” He beamed a great smile that made her feel warm inside. “You can call me Marcus.”
“Marcus,” she said quietly. “Alrighty then, well Marcus, is there anything else I should know or that you should know?”
“I’ll give you my number. I buy a temporary cell phone for every job so you’ll always have a way to get a hold of me.” He took Annie’s phone and put in his number. “Christmas is a month away so that will give me plenty of time to brush up on some things,” he continued. “Let me know about flight plans and where to meet you and I’ll be there.”
Annie nodded as he stood and shook her hand. “I look forward to working with you Annie.”
“You too,” she said smiling.
Marcus turned to leave and stopped. “One more thing,” he said, turning back to face her. “It would probably be a good thing in the next few weeks to take pic
tures together. So you have some to show to people.”
“Oh yeah, great idea, I didn’t even think of that. Should we take one now or…?”
“No, we’ll take some in the coming weeks. I’ll contact you.” He smiled and turned to walk away.
“Wait,” Annie called after him, “you don’t have my number.” She held up her phone.
“I do,” he said confidently.
“Oh, one more thing.” Annie got up and walked to him, looking around nervously. “I just um, I wanted us to be clear on one more thing.”
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t expect… that is, our arrangement is totally, um, professional. So, I’m not paying you for like…” Her hands moved around frantically as she tried to express herself clearly.
“Annie,” Marcus said, putting his hands on her shoulders, “our relationship is completely platonic, apart from the hugs, kisses and other basic signs of affection that a couple would show.”
“Oh good.” Annie breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad we cleared that up.”
“I know that what I do seems odd, but I’m not a hooker. I treat this as any other professional would treat their job. And please feel free to ask any questions. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I can tell you, I’ve heard just about everything there is to hear.”
“I can only imagine,” Annie remarked. “How long have you been doing this?”
“Let’s put it this way, I have one client whose parents still sends me a Christmas card every year, even though I’ve been technically ‘broken up’ with their daughter for three years.”
“Wow, they must have liked you.”
“It’s my job to make the family like me. So don’t worry, whatever crazy aunt or horrible cousin you can throw at me, I’ll win them over.”
“That’s good to know.” Annie couldn’t believe this guy. He was like a computer generated ‘create your perfect boyfriend’ – you just put in your favorite characteristics and specifications and POOF, he’s standing before you, real flesh and blood.
“Are there any other questions you have at this point?” he asked.
“No, I can’t think of anything but I’ll call if I do.”
“Sounds good Annie, I’ll see you soon.” He walked out into the cool autumn air just as casually as he had walked in. Annie stood there, dumbfounded by him, by the situation, but most of all, by how easy it was to hire a boyfriend.
Chapter 5
With only two weeks until Christmas, Annie was as nervous as ever. Every day was a moral battle of whether or not she should call off this entire charade of having a boyfriend. The only thing that kept her from cancelling her contract with Marcus was the fact that he intrigued her in such a way that she always found herself wanting to see him again after every visit.
“You can’t have a crush on your acquisition!” Roxy chastised Annie from across the room when she giggled over their last encounter together.
“I don’t,” Annie assured her. “He is just very nice to look at and I like talking to him. He’s so gentlemanly and…”
“No, no, no!” Roxy shook a finger at her. “Stop! The only feeling you are allowed to have towards him is approval or disapproval. Think of him as a product you bought at the grocery store. Like shampoo, does it work for you or not. You don’t have a crush on your shampoo do you?”
“No. I mean, not literally.”
“Okay then, get a hold of yourself or your going to be in for a whole lot of trouble. These guys are doing their job. He isn’t spending time with you because he likes you – you’re paying him. He probably has a handful of real girlfriends that he can call whenever he feels like it. He’s a womanizer, they all are. Charming, beautiful, charismatic womanizing scum bags, Annie; all of them so get used to it.” She waited until Annie nodded in understanding before putting her pointing, disapproving finger down and went back to her computer.
Annie sighed heavily. She knew she had a problem of getting attached to people she could never be with. However, this was different. She could be mature about this. She could be nothing but professional, just like Marcus was. And together they would fool all her loved ones into thinking they were a couple. Once the holidays were over, Marcus would collect his payment and walk out of her life just as quickly as he had walked in. She was okay with that; and she could go on as if she had never seen his beautiful face. Of course she could! Annie nodded as if agreeing with herself, and for the first time since Thanksgiving, she felt alright about everything.
****
Marcus was at the airport when Annie arrived on Christmas Eve. “You’re here!” she said smiling.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be?” he asked, returning her smile. He wore the same long coat he had the day they’d met and a scarf wrapped tastefully around his neck. His hair was combed and his face clean shaven. As always, the picture of perfection.
“I guess a part of me wondered,” she admitted.
“Well here I am, ready to go.”
Annie nodded and then remembered something. “Here is the down payment we talked about.” She handed him an envelope.
He accepted it graciously. “Thank you very much.” He took her rolling suitcase from her. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she said with a deep breath. With that the two of them made their way through customs and to the waiting area. There was little conversation until the two of them were seated on the plane waiting for takeoff. Marcus sat next to Annie, engrossed in some book about solar panels.
“So…” Annie began, “do you ever get nervous for these things?”
“Not anymore,” he said casually, barely glancing up from his book.
“How long was it you’ve been in this business?”
He gave a half smile. “A while.”
“What made you choose hiring yourself out as people’s fake dates as a career?”
“I couldn’t make it as an actor in Hollywood.”
Annie looked at him skeptically. “Really?”
He looked up at her, eyes full of amusement. “No.”
“How old are you?” Annie asked. “I just realized I don’t know how old you are and that is probably something I would know about my boyfriend.”
“Marcus is your boyfriend, why don’t you tell me?”
Annie sighed. “Well you look to be about thirty so let’s go with that.”
“Sounds good.”
“Do you want to know how old I am?”
Marcus closed his book but kept one finger in the pages to hold his place. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-four – almost twenty-five.”
“That’s right your birthday is the first of February, correct?”
“That’s right.”
The ‘fasten your seat belts’ sign went off and the stewardess walked in to begin the final instructions before takeoff. Annie watched out the window as the plane began to move and pick up speed. Take off was her favorite part of flying; that sudden weightless feeling was something she never got tired of. Before long they were in the air and the passengers were allowed to move about the cabin.
“So…” Annie turned to Marcus. “What if someone asks you something and you don’t know the answer? Or our stories don’t match up? Has that ever happened to you before? Has anyone ever found out what you do and called you out on it? My Aunt Gabby is old but she’s quick as a whip and if you slip at all I’m sure she’ll think something’s up. Zack and Jen will be easier to fool since they are still in the new relationship phase. Is there anything else you think I should know or that you should know because I’ve been wracking my brain the last week trying to think of stuff and I keep thinking we got it all covered but I’m kind of a scatter brain so it would be just like me to forget something big...”
“Annie.” Marcus took her hand, cutting her off. She stared at it a second before looking up to meet his eyes. “Will you please, for your own sanity and mine, calm down?”
His eyes pierced through her a
nd she felt a tingling sensation as his hand touched hers. “I’m sorry, it’s just… I’ve never done this before.”
“I understand that but as I’ve told you before, I have done this before, countless times. I’ve never messed up and it’s always worked out so just take a deep breath and trust me.” He grinned at her and she seemed to forget how to speak so she just nodded instead.
“Good.” He let go of her hand.
Annie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Just relax, she told herself. She awoke with a start when the captain announced their descent into Cleveland, Ohio. They landed and made their way through the crowds to grab their luggage. The holidays were always the worst time to travel and Annie couldn’t believe how many people were in the airport. She and Marcus stayed close together as they walked through the large glass doors to the line of waiting taxis. Before long they were settled in the warm car, winding their way through the traffic toward Aunt Gabby’s house.
“Have you lived here your whole life?” Marcus broke the silence as he looked out the window.
“We moved here when I was little, right before my dad died.”
“I’m sorry,” Marcus said quietly. He turned to her. “I mean about your dad.”
“Thanks, it was a long time ago.”
“Time doesn’t make losing someone any easier. You just get better at blocking out the pain.”
Annie looked at him but he had turned his attention back to window, watching the snow covered earth as they passed by. It was the first time since they met that Annie had a glimpse of the real man she sat next to, instead of Marcus, the man she hired. They continued in silence the rest of the way and soon the taxi pulled up in front of Aunt Gabby’s house. The sun had gone down and night was settling in fast. The lights from the house glowed softly as a light snow began to fall. Annie could see the seven foot tree in the living room window, lit up for the entire world to see. She paid the taxi driver as Marcus got their luggage out of the trunk. The taxi drove away, leaving them standing in front of the house, the snow gathering on their shoulders and hair.
“Are you ready?” Marcus asked as he stood next to her.
Love For Hire: The Helena's Grove Series Book 2 Page 3
