Steven _BWWM Romance

by Katie Dowe

  “So, I am guessing we need to start discussing how we are going to do this.”

  Janet did not argue with Kitty — in her heart she had given up on changing Kitty and Rebecca’s minds. Though she was onboard, she did not want to provide any input to this scheme.

  “It's easy!” Rebecca said. “We just need to get two willing participants, and get them signed up. I will take care of the paperwork. Their contract will be iron clad.”

  “It's not about the contract. No money or lawsuit against them will be able to bring back our reputation if anything goes south,” Janet reminded Rebecca.

  “Hey, I know that. I am just trying to do my job properly. Remember, it's a risk that we have to take. And it's not just your reputation, even I am putting my neck and career on the line. Try to understand.”

  Janet knew Rebecca was right. All three of them were taking a huge risk with this step. But was it necessary? Was this the only option they were left with?

  “But how do we find our willing participants?” Rebecca asked, to which Kitty answered being a little hesitant.

  “I might have a female candidate.”

  Both Janet and Rebecca waited for her to reveal the identity of this person. Kitty was trying really hard not to say the name, but it had to be revealed —

  “Janet!” Kitty said.

  There was pin-drop silence in the room for a few seconds.

  “What?” Janet yelled.

  Kitty did not say anything, proving that the name was not a mistake. She had suggested Janet to do this.

  “What are you thinking?” Janet yelled again.

  “Listen to me,” Kitty tried to calm Janet down. “I have a very sound reason behind this and I am sure once you listen to me even you will agree.”

  Another awkward pause.

  “What?” Janet cried.

  “Sorry, I thought you would keep yelling. I did not expect you to listen to me. Sorry!”

  “Just tell me why you think I would be the best person to fraud my own company.”

  But before Kitty could explain, Rebecca suddenly had an epiphany. “That is brilliant! Fucking brilliant!”

  “You too?” Janet said to Rebecca.

  “Yes!” Rebecca smiled. “Think about it. We need somebody we can trust. It should be a person who would not try to blackmail us or reveal our secret. So who could be better than you? You will never even think of fucking your own company over.” Rebecca then turned to Kitty. “This was fucking brilliant Kit!”

  Kitty just smiled and nodded while Janet was not able to process this. First, she was told that her company needs a fraud couple to propagate a false love story, and now she was being asked to participate in this lie herself.

  “I need a moment to take it in.” Janet held her head while Rebecca and Kitty just stood there.

  “So you are telling me, that I need to pretend to be in love with somebody to save my company. And what about my pretend lover? What if he tries to blackmail me?”

  “As I said, it's a risk. But with your involvement we reduce that risk by 50%,” Rebecca crunched the numbers very quickly.

  “Also, the story of how the founder discovered love using her own dating site will prove phenomenal,” Kitty added her two cents to the discussion.

  It was all making sense to Janet now, but she was not able to commit herself to something like this. But when she weighed the pros and cons of this situation, it became clear that going ahead with this idea would benefit everybody.

  “Who is going to be my pretend lover?” Janet asked.

  This was a breakthrough for Rebecca and Kitty. They wanted to jump and high five each other, but restrained themselves from doing anything.

  “Well, we are going to start looking for suitable men. Tell me what kind of men do you like?” Rebecca said.

  “How does it matter? The man needs to be trustworthy, not compatible,” Janet said frustratingly.

  “Actually...” Kitty said. “I have already shortlisted a guy.”

  “Wow!” Rebecca was both shocked and impressed.

  “You have thought this whole thing through, haven’t you?” Janet could not believe it.

  Kitty did not reply to Janet and showed a picture from her folder.

  It was a handsome blonde man with beautiful blue eyes and and an enchanting smile. The London Eye was seen in the background.

  “His name is Brian Watson, and my sources tell me he is a trustworthy guy.”

  Janet and Rebecca took a good look at the picture.

  “British?” Janet asked looking at Kitty.

  “We are supposed to be an international dating site. An American citizen would not have worked. Besides, he was born in Prague and has lived in London most of his life.”

  “You did your research? Since when have you been planning this thing?” Janet was wondering.

  “Don’t listen to her,” Rebecca said to Kitty. “You are awesome! If she fires you, I want you to come and work with me.”

  “Oh you want her? Please, be my guest. Take her.. and then you will find out how controlling she is. She is supposed to be my personal assistant, but this woman governs my life like she is my mother,” Janet yelled at Rebecca.

  “It's no time for flattery. Just tell me if you like him or not. I have been told this man is going to keep his mouth shut.” Kitty brought Janet back to the topic.

  Janet was staring at the picture — his blue eyes were jumping out of the photograph.

  “Brian Watson… British!” she said looking at his face.

  *****

  Later that night, Kitty was in her bed, but she was not feeling sleepy. In fact, sleep was far away from her eyes. She was talking softly into her phone.

  “She did not like the idea.” she told him.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter if she likes it or not. It's really important to save her company,” Bilal replied from the other side of the line.

  After a brief pause, Bilal asked Kitty, “How did she like Brian?”

  “No idea! She said there was nothing to like. The man should be trustworthy and not likable.”

  “Oh Brian is trustworthy! You can take my word for it. I have known him since my childhood, and can vouch for him both personally and professionally.”

  “How did you guys know each other?”

  “My father sent me and my brothers to this fancy school in England. Brian was my classmate there. I was a scrawny kid and Brian saved my ass so many times from bullies. We became really good friends since then.”

  “Wow! Sounds like a story about two good friends who choose opposite paths in life. One of them becomes a cop, while the other becomes a gangster.” Kitty chuckled at her imagination.

  “Which one would I be? The cop or the gangster?” Bilal inquired.

  “Well, you just said you were scrawny and Brian saved your ass. So the formula says you must become the cop. Brian, the brawler will be more suited to become the gangster.”

  “Brian, a gangster?” Bilal laughed. “That guy has the kindest heart and upright morals. He cannot do wrong to anyone.”

  “Then why did he agree to do this?” Kitty wondered, “Technically, it's fraud.”

  “Because he is not hurting anybody by doing this, and also because I asked him to. There is absolutely nothing that we won't do for each other.”

  “Wow, even brothers are not committed to each other that much.”

  “We are more than brothers. Brian is a part of my family. He is the only westerner who has the unrestricted access to the whole of our royal palace. My father treats him as one of his boys. And I get the same treatment when I am at his home.”

  “I so want to tell all this to Janet, but I can't. She is going to freak out.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because she thinks Brian is doing it for the money.”

  “Brian does not need money. He has plenty of his own. His family is filthy rich.”

  “Like yours?” Kitty asked naughtily.

  “Well, not
like mine, but he is substantially rich. Let me give you a hint..” Bilal said in a playful voice. “Brian can buy both CookUp and High Seas together, right away if he wants to. And it's not going to make a dent in this wealth.”

  Kitty was dumbstruck for a moment, “Then why is he doing this? I mean I understand your friendship clause. But how come he has so much time to do this kind of thing?”

  “You said it was not going to cost him professionally.” Bilal reminded Kitty. “He will be able to manage his business from the United States.”

  “Oh yes, we need somebody rich to prove that our site works. So if Brian is filthy rich, like you tell me, it's going to be wonderful!” Kitty paused for a moment. “I am just a little worried about Janet. I don’t know how she will react after knowing all this.”

  “Who is going to tell her? I know Brian will keep his mouth shut.” Bilal was confident in his friend.

  “You don’t know Janet like I do. That woman is a hound — she can smell secrets. I am sure she will find out about it. It's better that I inform her before she realizes who Brian really is. But it will still take like a month of two.”

  “So you have ample time to break the news to her.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Kitty said.

  “Then how about after you get Brian and Janet together you and I go for a holiday?” Bilal finally popped the question that was on the back of his mind for a long time.

  “I get it, you went through all this conversation just to ask me out.” Kitty smiled.

  “Hey, you cant blame a man for trying. You left Neil Island in a hurry, we did not get much time to spend with each other.”

  “You know what?” Kitty said. “Once we get Brian and Janet sorted out, and our numbers are up where we want them to be. You and I are taking some time off together.”

  “Now that is what I wanted to hear!” Bilal laughed.

  “So, tell me, when is Brian going to be here?” Kitty came back to the real conversation.

  “Well, give it around a week. He is in Japan right now. So it might take him around 4-5 days to be back in London.”

  “Alright, just let me know when he is available for this.” Kitty said.

  “I have already talked to him about it and we are meeting in London on Friday. The man is bored to death with work and needs some excitement. This will be perfect for him.”

  “I hope this works out for all of us.” Kitty prayed over the phone.

  “Insha-allah!” Bilal said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “By God’s will!” Bilal explained.

  “By God’s will!” Kitty said to herself.

  *****

  “Alright, show me!” Janet sat down in a chair before a projector screen. Kitty and Rebecca sat down with her turning the projector on. Brian’s smiling face appeared on the screen.

  “Brian Watson, age 29 years. Born in Prague to a British father and a Czech mother. For most of his life, he has lived in London and keeps traveling around the world.”

  The picture changed and now Brian was seen in a Rugby outfit. Soaked in his own sweat and rain, he was smiling with some scratches and bruises all over his face and body.

  “He really likes Rugby and cricket. No matter how busy he is, he always takes time for his sports. Also coaches little children.”

  The picture again changed and Brian was seen Scuba diving and skiing in two different photographs placed side by side.

  “He is into adventure sports and is an expert swimmer. Scuba diving is like cycling to him. Is also in love with traveling, but does not like to travel like a tourist. Most of the places he goes to, he visits as a back-packer. Has visited many countries all over the world.”

  “I think that is enough.” Janet took the projector remote and turned it off.

  “Hey! I was watching that!” Rebecca did not like it a bit.

  “I know what is going on here,” Janet yelled. “You are actually trying to sell him to me as a suitor. Well guess what —- not going to happen!”

  Janet was able to see through Kitty’s plan. “Besides, we will just pretend to be in love. There is no need for us to like each other.”

  “It's not going to hurt to know the guy.” Rebecca said. “Look how handsome he is.”

  “You wanna try this? Cause I will gladly switch places with you.” Janet turned towards her lawyer friend, but Rebecca remained quiet. She knew Janet was being a bitch about it for no valid reason. There was no harm in knowing who Brian Watson really was. In fact, it was going to help them.

  “Now tell me,” Janet came to the next point. “How much are we paying him to do this?”

  Kitty took a deep breath before saying anything. “We are paying him 1.5 million dollars.”

  “That's a lot of money!” Janet did not like this man to earn so much without doing any serious work. “He will be living a luxurious life. We don’t need to pay him that much.”

  Kitty wanted to say a lot, but remained quiet.

  “Secrets don’t come cheap, Jan! You pay a man as much as necessary to keep his mouth shut,” Rebecca told Janet.

  Janet saw the point, but she did not like it. She was still upset that she was going ahead with this ridiculous plan. “So 1.5 million dollars is our insurance?”

  “You can say so.” Kitty replied.

  “Good God! Please tell me you at least tried to haggle with him on the price.”

  “Since when you became so cheap?” Rebecca asked Janet.

  “I am not cheap. 1.5 million dollars is not a cheap price. You can buy a new life with that kind of money.”

  Rebecca and Kitty knew Janet was not going to listen to any argument and so they kept their mouths shut. While Janet kept going on —

  “We are already spending so much on everything, and now this! And this 1.5 million dollars that he is getting — for how much time is it?”

  “It's a one time fee, till the end of our agreement.” Rebecca replied.

  “And when will this agreement end?”

  “After one year.”

  “And what if things are not sorted out in one year?” Janet fired another question.

  “Then he gets another 1.5 million for the next year.” Kitty said very slowly.

  “What?” Flustered, Janet could not understand whom to look at — Kitty or Rebecca.

  “Why did you tell her?” Rebecca asked Kitty.

  “It's her money, she deserves to know.”

  “Wow! You guys are really something.” Janet was shocked at her friends. She then took some time to regulate her breath and thumping heart.

  “Tell me,” she then asked calmly. “Is there anything else that you are hiding from me?”

  Kitty and Rebecca looked at each other and then at Janet.

  “No.” Rebecca said with a friendly smile.

  “And you?” Janet then turned to Kitty.

  This was very hard for Kitty. She wanted to tell Janet everything about Brian, but her analytic brain was telling her not to. However looking at Janet’s face her heart wanted to scream out all the secrets that she was keeping inside of her.

  “No. That was all,” Kitty replied with a smile.

  “Alright,” Janet said. “Remember, we are playing a big gamble here. Not only we are paying this guy a huge amount of money but we are putting ourselves on the line here. If this fails we will be done — forever!”

  The ladies took a moment in silence to take that in.

  “But why did he agree to do this?” Janet asked another question.

  Kitty wished for Janet to stop asking questions like this, but she was on fire today. Keeping her cool, Kitty came up with the answer — “He has been trying to establish his own business in the United States. This money will help him with that. We are paying him a 50% advance as soon as you both sign the contract. The rest he will get at the end of the year or the termination of our arrangement, whichever is earlier.”

  It took a few seconds for Janet to process that information in her head, “Alr
ight. But we have to finish this within a year. Besides money, I cannot afford to be in such a relationship.”

  Kitty and Rebecca agreed. And then Janet turned to Rebecca.

  “What about the paperwork?”

  “I am glad you asked,” Rebecca said while opening her folder. She came prepared with all the documents.

  “Exhibit A — A prenup! Though we are not planning to get you guys married right now, but I prepared it just in case.”

  Rebecca then took out another document, “Next up is this non disclosure agreement. It says that none of you are allowed to talk about this arrangement to anyone, except your lawyers. So remember, after you sign these papers, legally you can talk about it only with me and Brian. Nobody else, not even Kitty.”

  Janet looked at Kitty who shrugged knowingly. Rebecca then moved on to the next part of the documentation. “This next one is a liability agreement. This makes Brian equally responsible for any action or reaction caused by this arrangement. You know those agreements in the hospitals that you sign before going for surgery…”

  “Where you release hospital from any responsibility if something bad happens to you on the operation table,” Janet guessed.

  “Yes! This is just the opposite of that.” Rebecca explained. “If something bad happens, you are not the only one responsible. He will face the consequences with you. This, pretty much saves us from any possibility of blackmail. With this agreement and the non disclosure, Brian cannot dare go public with this information.”

  Rebecca was pretty proud of her documentation presentation, and Janet could see how she had thought everything through. According to her, there was no way for Brian to fuck them over. It was an air tight deal.

  “Do we need anything else?” Janet asked Rebecca while reading the documents.

  “Well if you want we can make him sign a contract where he will pay us a huge compensation if he doesn’t follow our instructions. Fear of paying a hefty fine works better than the fear of God.”

  “So how much should we scare him with? 5 million?” Janet asked Rebecca.

  Kitty suddenly chuckled.

  “You think it's too much?” Janet asked Kitty. “Fine, lets bring it down to 3 million dollars,” she then turned to Rebecca. “But I want this contract to be the most fierce looking out of all our documents.”