by Lexi Cross
She answered on the third ring.
“This is Hollie.” I could tell from her tone that she hadn’t looked at the caller ID before answering.
“Hollie, it’s Brooke,” I told her.
“Oh, hey!” Her voice changed quickly. She didn’t sound so professional and cold once she realized it was me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t look at the caller ID.”
“I figured as much,” I told her.
“Well, what’s going on? I haven’t heard from you lately.”
“Oh, I have a lot to tell you. And a favor to ask, too, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure, anything for you,” she said.
“I’d much rather do this in person.”
“Meet me at the sandwich shop downstairs from my office. Is everything okay, Brooke?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just a lot,” I told her.
I took an extra house key with me to give her. I knew she wouldn’t mind helping me watch the house while I was at Jake’s, but she hadn’t been invited to the announcement dinner. That spectacle had all been arranged by my father. I had only shown up with Jake. The engagement had been my contribution.
I texted Jake before I packed my car to meet with Hollie.
I’m going to meet with a friend so I can give her a key to my house. Then, I’ll be on my way.
Just give me a call or text me when you start my way, he texted back a moment later.
Hollie sat in the corner drinking a smoothie when I showed up. Immediately, she could see that something wasn’t right.
“Alright, what’s going on?” she asked in a concerned tone as she stood up to greet me.
“You know right away, don’t you? How do you do that?” I laughed nervously.
“I know you, Brooke, so go ahead and spit it out.”
We sat down across from each other in the small booth, and I proceeded to tell her about my father’s stipulations for me to marry in order for him to turn the company over to me. I told her about running into Jake and convincing him to stage a marriage with me so I could satisfy my father. I told her it would also help him with the team’s new owner.
“Wait, you mean Jake from high school?” she asked as it finally dawned on her that I was talking about that Jake.
“Yes, Jake from high school.”
“And you’re just putting on? It’s just for show?” She cocked an eyebrow as she went back to her smoothie. She looked at me with her dark, accusing eyes.
“Yeah, it’s been made pretty clear this is just for show. It’s an arrangement. I don’t think either one of us really wants to get married, so it works out perfectly. We’ve even agreed to a divorce once his bosses are satisfied and once the company is in my name.”
“Then you need a prenup,” she said bluntly. “Just like you have an official agreement with your father, you need something official with Jake. I can draw it up for you and even be present for both of you to sign it so everything’s fair and spelled out clearly.”
“We’re talking about that right now. I don’t think he’s too keen on leaving a paper trail though. This has to look real. Something like that can be dug up to show that we planned it all along,” I explained.
“True, but you need to do something. I’ll see what else I can come up with that won’t necessarily leave a nasty paper trail. So what’s the favor?”
I handed her the spare house key. “I need you to look after the house for me for a while,” I told her.
“What? Oh, you’re moving in with him.” Her expressive face made it really entertaining whenever something dawned on her suddenly.
“Right. I’ve got everything in the car. I’m heading over there when I leave here.”
“You’ve got everything in your car?”
“Hollie, I’m not really moving.” I laughed, an honest, deep laugh. “I’m just taking a few things with me because I’m not sure when I’ll be able to go back to the house. You know, he’s a pro athlete, so there’s an occasional issue with the press, and my father is hell-bent on making our marriage a spectacle.”
“I see,” she said. “Yeah, I’ll go by a couple of times a week for you to make sure your plants are watered and everything. You really need to come up with some sort of official document though, Brooke, to make sure you don’t get screwed in all of this.”
“Well, I guess you’ll be doing two things for me then.”
“Right.” She was dead serious, which bothered me. If she was sure I needed some sort of legal protection, then there was probably a pretty good chance of really getting screwed over in this whole deal. I hadn’t even thought about that.
Surely, Jake wasn’t interested in anything that could have screwed me up. He only seemed interested in making sure it looked like he had a permanent fixture on his arm. Anything else was just extra, as far as I could tell.
I thanked Hollie for always being there for me, and she assured me it wasn’t a problem. She reiterated the bit about needing a prenup, and I told her to draw something up for me. I agreed to consider it and talk to Jake about it more, especially since I was going to be at his place soon. We hugged each other tightly as we got up to leave.
“I’m so happy for you,” she said.
“It’s not a real marriage,” I told her.
“Sure, whatever, but it’s Jake, and I know you.” She shot me a knowing look before hugging me again and sending me on my way.
On my way, I texted Jake as I pulled away from the curb at the sandwich shop.
I pulled up to his house, and my jaw dropped. My father’s property qualified as an estate in my opinion. It was a large, stately mansion that showed off my father’s fortune. Jake’s house, however, was a sprawling Italian mansion with stucco walls, curved red roof tiles, and archways leading everywhere.
I pulled through the automatic gates at the end of the driveway and drove slowly up to the house. The grounds had been meticulously maintained. The garage had several doors, all of which were open to show off his collection of cars. It seemed out of character for him to want to show off his wealth to me. While he certainly looked like a million bucks, and he didn’t mind having his drivers take him everywhere, he really seemed to hold his wealth card close.
I was flagged down by a gentleman in a tuxedo as I approached the front door to the mansion. I stopped the car and he walked around to the driver side door.
“Mr. Hall is expecting you,” he said as he opened my door for me.
“Yes, he is,” I stated simply to let the man at my door know that I wasn’t amused by Jake’s extravagance.
“I will park your car and bring your things in, Ms. Scott,” he said, stepping back and holding out his arm to indicate I was expected to get out of the car.
“Thank you, but I am perfectly capable,” I insisted.
“I know, but please, it would be rude to deny Mr. Hall’s offer,” he countered politely.
“Sure. Knock yourself out.” I got out of the car and noticed that there was someone else waiting for me at the door already. It was Jake.
Even at home, he dressed in slacks and dress shirts. I had expected to find him in a t-shirt and shorts, or jeans, at least. But there he was in front of me, at the top of the steps, dressed like he had an event or meeting to go to immediately after seeing me into the house.
He descended the steps to greet me at the driveway. He took my hands in his. They were massive and swallowed mine whole as he pulled me into an embrace.
My irritation at his show of wealth melted away almost immediately. My heart fluttered as he pulled me against his firm body. The things I wanted him to do to me! I had to clear my mind immediately of the awful thoughts flooding it. I wasn’t moving in to sleep with him. I wasn’t moving in because it was a real marriage, or because ours was a real relationship. I was moving in just to make it look like we were together. We weren’t supposed to actually be together.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said in my ear before letting me go from his embrace.
“Yes, I hope so,” he said. “Come on in. Let me give you the tour and show you where your room will be.”
My room. I liked the sound of that. I wasn’t going to be sleeping in the same room as Jake. We were going to keep our arrangement as professional as we could.
Inside, his mansion was even more expansive than the outside had seemed. My mind reeled as he walked me through rooms with marble floors, marble columns, high ceilings and golden chandeliers, spiral staircases, and tall arched windows looking out onto the grounds. There was an Olympic-size pool in the back with a patio as large as my house around it. From inside, I could see there was a kitchen and dining room outside on the patio.
My room was more like a complete apartment. Behind my door, I had a bedroom, a sitting room complete with a couch and a full entertainment center, a bathroom, and a walk-in closet. The only thing missing was a kitchen, but I figured it was probably best for him not to have kitchens in his guestrooms.
The house was an almost obscene display of wealth. Every room had unique art hanging from the walls. I recognized some of it—Monet, Picasso, and Dali, among others—but some of it, he told me, had been commissioned. There were sculptures, oriental rugs, and other pieces of priceless art scattered all throughout his house. For someone who had signed a multi-million-dollar deal, he certainly lived like a billionaire.
There was no way he could have afforded what was around me just on his current football salary. I had spent enough time around wealthy people to know he was spending more than he was making. I began to suspect my father had been on to something back at the house. Jake definitely had something going on under the radar, which was why he kept all of this extravagance quiet in the public eye.
If he was covering something up, it was even more important for him to make sure our wedding and marriage worked out for as long as we could make it.
Chapter Eight
Jake
With Brooke moved in, it felt safe to go back to life as normal. I didn’t have to worry about her anymore. Once again, I had everything under control. I had felt like I needed to watch my step while she was still staying at her place. I didn’t know what to expect from her. It felt like every time I saw her or spoke to her, things had changed dramatically in our situation. By having her at the house, I felt like I could control how our arrangement was going to work a little better. I expected fewer surprises.
After practice the day after she moved in, I called a meeting of the network with Lucky and Harley. I needed to relax and blow off some steam, but I also needed to check in with the guys to see how things were going since we were just a few days away from the first game of the season. I wanted to make sure everything was in place and everyone knew their parts.
Yes, there were games where the outcomes were planned. It wasn’t as often as irate fans claimed when their teams lost key games, but it was a lot more often than the owners and coaches wanted anyone to believe. There was a lot of money in rigging things like games and stats. That money was what created the lifestyle Brooke would soon be enjoying as my pretend-fiancée.
“Where’ve you been, man?” Lucky asked me, shoving my shoulder as we sat down at the bar to order our first round of drinks. He was laughing and playing around, but I could hear a hint of seriousness in his voice.
“Yeah, we’ve got a lot riding on this upcoming season, Jake,” Harley chimed in. “We need all hands on deck to pull it off.”
“I’ve been busy,” I told them dismissively as I nodded at the bartender to get her attention. She was a tiny little thing in low-rider jeans that hugged her hips and ass perfectly. She wore a small leather vest that barely covered her perky little breasts and showed off her midriff. Her flat stomach was tight, and I could see the muscles in her thin little arms as well. She had chestnut brown hair in tight, wet-looking curls and dark, dark eyes.
When she walked over to get our orders, I almost asked for a taste of her, but I figured I’d leave her to the other guys if they decided they were feeling her. My mind was elsewhere, and it was driving me crazy. I didn’t know who was watching, though, so I decided to play it cool, for now.
We ordered our beers, and I ordered a round of shots for the guys.
“Three whiskeys,” I told her. “No, make that four. You’re taking one, too, beautiful.”
“I’m on the clock, sweet talker,” she said.
“Like you don’t drink on the clock. Pour one for yourself,” I insisted with a wink.
She smiled and shook her head as she poured all four shots.
“What’s the occasion?” she asked after she handed us our shot glasses and lifted her own.
“First game of the season is coming up,” I told her. “This shot is for good luck.”
“Oh, you think this shot is going to make you lucky?” she asked with a tempting smile on her face.
“No, he’s Lucky,” I told her, pointing at Lucky, sitting next to me.
“That’s my name. Cheers,” he said, raising his glass to her.
We tilted our glasses up and drank the whiskey before our bartender disappeared to serve another customer.
“So, what have you been so busy with?” Lucky asked. “You’ve been dipping out right after practice every day.”
“Not to mention all the times you’ve just disappeared in the middle of the day,” Harley added.
“Well, you know how Coach told us Mr. Clark wants us to have steady girlfriends and all that?” I asked.
“Yeah. Bastard.”
“Well, I’ve got some news. I’m doing one better. I’m getting married.”
“What the fuck?” Lucky shouted. “Are you crazy, Jake?”
“Let’s hear him out, Cade.” Harley used Lucky’s real name like a calming hand on his shoulder to hold him back.
“Yeah, come clean, man. What are you up to?”
“I ran into one of my exes after the meeting where Coach first told us about the whole thing, and it turns out she needs a husband just like I need a girlfriend.” I knew that telling anyone the truth about the arrangement was risky business, but the guys deserved to know.
“So it’s just a business arrangement,” Harley clarified.
“Well, shit, man, you can get with our bartender, then. I saw the way you were looking at each other,” Lucky added.
I laughed. “It’s not that simple, though I wish it were.”
“What do you mean? If it’s just for show, surely you can have a little fun on the side. Man, don’t tell me you guys have already tied the knot. You have to let us be there for that,” Harley insisted.
“Who is it?” Lucky asked.
“You guys might not know her since you’re not from around here originally, but it’s Brooke Scott.”
“Wait, as in Scott Enterprises?” Harley said. I thought he was going to spit out his beer when I first said her name.
“Yeah, that’s her. Her dad owns the business, and he’s talking about turning it over to her in full once we get married. So I figured I’d help her out. We’re old friends.”
“Sounds like you might have been more than old friends, bud,” Lucky joked. “So, are you going to try to hit it again, for old time’s sake?”
“Cade, shut up,” I said with a laugh. The fact was I had been thinking about it a lot. Since we’d run into each other at the store, I had been wondering if her body still felt the same as it had back in school. Just because it was business didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun while we were at it.
“I’m just saying, man. You might as well enjoy it.”
“Yeah, but that’s not the only reason I decided to come out tonight,” I told them both.
“Oh, you want to talk business now,” Harley said, nodding. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Everyone’s ready for the first game. The money is ready to be moved once this weekend is over.”
“Good.” Gambling on games was risky business. Rigging those games to control t
he outcomes was even worse. Our careers would be over if we were ever caught, and that wasn’t even the worst fate we could have faced, but we made enough money to keep people quiet. The network was also big enough to ensure that no one talked.
Injuries did happen from time to time. Injuries, especially career-ending injuries, had a way of keeping people quiet. We weren’t too worried.
We ended up closing down the bar even though we had to be up for practice at the crack of dawn. We had to be on the field by the time the sun came up. That meant a long, rough day ahead, but it was worth it to get to hang out with the guys again and make sure the season was truly ready to start.
