by Nicole Casey
I chuckled, almost to a sarcastic point, and told him, “A whole lot. Just think what people would say about me if we suddenly hooked up and got married on a whim. They’d call me a gold digger.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be too far from the truth,” he told me and I smacked him on the head with my spoon.
“Shut up,” I joked but at the same time, I was trying to be a little more serious. “Look, I appreciate the offer and the money but you can’t possibly be serious, right?”
Daxter looked at me with such big sad, puppy eyes it was like I stepped on his favorite toy or something. “I’m dead serious. Let’s do it. If it doesn’t work out we can get divorced and I’ll give you a million dollars for the trouble. Come on, it’s a win-win situation for both of us.”
I swallowed hard and looked at him for a long while. One million dollars even if it doesn’t work out? Unlimited access to everything he has if it does work out? I could pay all my bills, send some money home and start my own business so I wouldn’t have to rely on him forever. I could quit my job at the strip club and even offer Hannah a job once I got things going in the right direction.
“I am going to kick myself in the mouth for this,” I whispered to myself. I then looked at him and said, “This is crazy. This is absolutely bat-shit crazy. We haven’t seen each other in half a decade and the first things you do is stare at my tits and then ask me to marry you in exchange for mountains of cash. You know what the craziest thing about it is?”
“What?”
I exhaled, shut my eyes and then calmed my nerves before I looked at him once more and said, “The craziest thing here is that I accept your offer. Let’s get married.”
Daxter’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. He had this really big smile on his face and I honestly felt a little moist between the legs when I saw him sit up straight and flex his muscles. Damn it, why was he such a gorgeous man? The way his eyes glittered just made me want to fall over and kiss him. I was almost willing to forget how insane and abrupt this plan was.
“Thank you!” he told me as he grabbed my hands and gave them a squeeze. “We have to get started as soon as possible. We don’t want to waste time or else my dad will sign the inheritance away.”
I bit my lip and pondered what the next step was. “What do we do now?”
“We have to make an announcement,” he told me. “We can organize something like an engagement party at Mercury Wild.”
I was taken aback a little, “Mercury Wild? That’s an expensive joint, right?”
Daxter nodded and gave back a wicked grin, “I know the owners, Trevor Wild and his wife, Jasmine. They’re actually really good friends of mine. You know, just a while back Mercury Wild wasn’t as successful as it is now. Everything changed because of his wife. It’s starting to make me really believe there’s a woman behind every man’s success.”
“That’s awfully profound but also a little cliché, don’t you think?” I asked him. “But I guess you’re right. If we need to announce it then that’s the place to do it. What else do we need to do?”
“Get a ring, start finishing all the paperwork and then move you into my place,” Daxter told me.
That’s when the blood drained from my face and my jaw dropped. “Wait, I thought it was just a fake marriage?”
He shrugged and reasoned out, “Well, we have to make it look real. It won’t seem real if we still live in separate homes. If you prefer, we can say we sleep in the same bedroom and all but I’ll give you your own room if you want.”
“L-let’s talk about all that later,” I tried to shift the topic and munched down on what remained of my meal. “Let’s get the engagement party done first and see where that leads us.”
He nodded in agreement, and I gulped down my coffee as one question remained cycling in my head throughout the rest of the day: what in the world did I get into now?
6
Daxter
E verything was going well according to plan. Mercury Wild looked its finest. Trevor and Jasmine really got the place spruced up for the big announcement. Some of our other friends even came in to help out fix up some decorations, clean the place and get it all ready for the party.
Of course, this was no ordinary party. I brought in our friend Damon, who was a professional football player in the NFL, and invited my sister’s friends who were all popular writers. Trevor got to bring our friend Preston, one of the richest billionaire celebrities, along with Preston’s new wife Lyla. My sister invited the mayor and with him added, this party was looking like the biggest event in town.
“Well, people are starting to arrive,” I told Noelle. I picked her up just an hour ago and we were here in the hotel room getting ready. I was hoping to bring her to my condominium but we had to go shopping for clothes first since she didn’t have anything formal and this was the closest place to get ready at.
I put on a nice black business suit and I bought her a sexy white outfit. It was probably a little too revealing, being a tight, off-shoulder mini-dress, but it looked amazing on her. She accentuated her look even further by pairing the dress with high heels, looped earrings and a gorgeous necklace we picked out at the mall a few minutes prior.
“Oh God, I can’t believe I signed up for this,” she said as she helped me button my dress shirt. “This is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. I need to get drunk for this.”
I chuckled, “I have to admit that I’m nervous too. We have to sell this and make it look real. Well, we have to sell it to my parents the most.”
“When they ask what I do for a living, what do we say?” she asked me. She started fidgeting with her hair, unsure of whether to keep it tied in a bun or to let her long hair just flow down. “You can’t say I strip at a club.”
She was right about that. I frowned a bit and pondered what story we could come up with. “How about we say you’re a freelance model?”
Noelle blushed and to be honest I found it really adorable. “T-that could work. I’ve never really done that kind of work before though.”
I shrugged it off, “It’s just like stripping, really, since it’s still all about selling your looks to people except you get to keep your clothes on.”
“Okay, I can roll with that,” she said with a grin. “How do I look?”
I took a step back and gave her a quick look-over, “Wow. You’re smoking hot.”
She punched me lightly in the gut and joked, “You’re just teasing me. Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to make your parents and the rest of the guests wait too long. I can’t believe you got the mayor and Preston Maxwell to come as well.”
“Preston’s a friend of mine,” I explained as I reached for the bedside drawer and took my car keys. “As for the mayor, well, that’s my sister’s doing. She got to know him better when he went to one of her book signing events.”
That seemed to impress her. “Very interesting group of friends you have. I wonder why you’ve just settled to be the proverbial playboy.”
She was admittedly really cute when she was being a fan-girl like that. At least she was smiling when she looked at me. I didn’t know if she just found me amusing or if she at least found me attractive. Either option was fine, I guessed.
“Well, today’s the day that everything’s going to change,” I told her as I took her by the hand and we checked out of the hotel.
***
Mercury Wild looked more glorious than it ever had. What was once a luxurious bar and bistro was now decorated to look like a Sultan’s grand hall. Even I had to admit that Trevor and our friends really outdid themselves this time.
As soon as Noelle and I walked through the doors and everyone had their eyes on us, I pulled her close to my side and kept my hand on her waist.
“Oh!” she exclaimed in surprise.
“We have to sell this, remember?” I whispered into her ear, reminding her we had to at least look like we were madly in love.
She fidgeted awkwardly but in the end relented and even pla
ced a hand on my chest as we walked through the crowd. We greeted everyone we passed and I even got to introduce her to Jasmine, Trevor’s wife and a key leadership in the J&E Consulting Firm.
As we waded through the crowd, picking up a few glasses of cocktail drinks along the way, I spotted my sister. She was at the VIP table, accompanying my parents and the town mayor. She waved at me as soon as she spotted me, and I took Noelle by the hand and led her that way.
“W-wait, that’s the mayor,” Noelle started to get even more nervous. She clutched my arm tightly and said, “M-maybe you should go first. I can follow in a bit.”
I shook my head, “No, we have to do this together. Come on, just follow my lead. We can do this. Trust me.”
To be completely honest, even I was a bit nervous and unsure. However, I didn’t want to stall this any longer. My father could sign those inheritance papers any day now and I needed to get him on my side.
My father, a tall man with a baldhead and a thick mustache, was the very definition of a stereotypical rich guy. He looked strong, had an aura of authority and always wore the finest clothing that money could buy. My mother, on the other hand, was a little more practical and also more warming to approach.
The mayor, Adam Khatib, was about forty years old and a little hip for a politician. He was the type of guy many respected for his good work managing the city but he was also constantly seen watching live rock bands at local pubs and he loved to play music himself.
“Good evening Mayor Khatib, Mom, Dad,” I greeted as I got up on their VIP corner. “I’d like to introduce my girlfriend and fiancée, Noelle Stanley.”
7
Noelle
I couldn’t believe I was shaking hands with the mayor… well, at least with my clothes on. I’ve had customers at the strip club who were pretty prestigious people such as prominent lawyers and even a professional basketball player.
“H-hello, good evening to you all,” I greeted as I took a seat between Sonya and Daxter.
“Hello dear,” Daxter’s mother, Carmen, reached out to me. “Have we met before? You seem awfully familiar.”
I nodded back with a smile, “Y-yes ma’am. I used to hang out with Dax back in high school.”
His father, Joel, handed me a drink and said, “Ah, yes, I remember you. You went out shopping with Sonya, once, right? How have you been? What do you do now?”
Oh shit. I took a sip of wine and hoped he wouldn’t notice the tension in my voice as I said, “Oh, I work as a freelance model nowadays. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t but I love it anyway.”
Mayor Adam told us both, “Oh, is that how you guys started hanging out again? Did you meet at the photo studio?”
Daxter picked it up from there, “Well, we’re friends on Facebook and we hang out with the same circle of people. It was just bound for us to reunite in the long run. I guess it was fate too because ever since we did I can’t keep my eyes off her.”
I blushed and leaned in to rest my head on his shoulder. I’d hope this gesture would make it look like we actually spent some time together and were comfortable as a couple. I then felt him wrap an arm around me and hug me in tight.
Oh wow, this feels awkward but at the same time, it’s so warm and relaxing. I looked up real quick and smiled. At least Daxter was freaking handsome and the feeling of his arms crushing me towards him was just an icing on the cake.
“Well, she is a lovely girl and one that the family is at least familiar with,” Joel said, commending Daxter and I. Joel then turned to me and asked, “Has he cheated on you yet?”
The mayor chuckled but Carmen nudged her husband with a disapproving look on her face. I just simply laughed and shook my head before replying, “No, we’ve moved passed all that. He was a little bit of a handful back then but things have changed.”
“Dear, you haven’t even told me about this relationship,” Carmen touched Daxter’s hand. “Since when did you two get together?”
I was about to answer but I feared we’d answer simultaneously and blow our cover. I just bit down on my lip and asked Daxter, “Dear?”
“Huh? O-oh – about a year ago, actually,” Daxter stuttered as he tried to think of an answer on the spot. It was a good thing he did too because I was going to say we started dating only a few months ago.
“What are your plans now that you’re getting married?” the mayor asked us both. As soon as he did both Carmen and Joel looked at us, waiting to see what we had in mind. I knew this put a lot of pressure on Daxter and even Sonya was fidgeting a bit as she waited for our answer.
My head was on Daxter’s chest and I could feel his heartbeat begin to accelerate. He was nervous and probably thinking about something to say. However, if we waited too long it would look like we had nothing planned out.
“We’re aiming to launch our own fashion line soon,” I blurted out. “We know a lot of professional designers and we’ve met some really talented people in the media too. Putting those together we could come up with a hip but also trendy fashion line for both men and women.”
“Y-yeah,” Daxter then cut in to add more. “We want to explore modern clothing but to also blend in some traditional styles to make clothes that look cool but are also appropriate for social gatherings. We want clothes you can wear to a club or a party but it’s also fine to wear when you’ve got friends and family coming at the house or when you just need to go to the mall.”
Sonya raised a finger as if she recalled something and then said, “Oh yes! Weren’t you two telling me all about that like a few months ago?”
I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Sonya knew this whole relationship wasn’t real but here she was chiming in to help us. Seeing her help her brother like this was honestly a little sweet and it made me believe in this crazy plan a little more.
“That’s right, we mentioned it before,” I replied, hoping their parents wouldn’t ask how often Sonya and I got together.
Fortunately, Carmen had something different to point out, “You two do know that wearing clothes for the cameras is a lot different than designing and selling them, right? You’ll have a lot of work cut out for you.”
We laughed and agreed to that. Daxter finished his drink and told his parents and the mayor, “We understand the difficulties which is why we’ve been scouring the city for talented designers and market analysts. We’re also looking to build a strong research team and a team that could focus solely on social media marketing too.”
It was a little strange to hear Daxter talk business so seriously. I saw even Sonya was a little impressed because she was staring at her brother with a really big smile on her face. The mayor, on the other hand, seemed to be getting in a little over his head and his mouth was just open as he tried to absorb all the information as best as he could.
“My, my, you’re quite different than how you were last year,” Joel commented. He had this really proud look on his face. He then faced me and said, “You know, the last time I got to sit down with Daxter was a good year and a half ago. Back then, he was still a know-it-all rascal. I think you’ve been a good influence on him dear.”
Once again my cheeks flushed red and I bit down on my lip as I suppressed a smile. I just gave him a “cute” look and let Daxter carry on with the conversation.
The mayor then poked at my arm and asked, “When do you plan to get married?”
“Before the end of the month,” we both answered and everyone at the table looked at us like we were mad.
“That soon?” Joel echoed, unsure of what he heard.
Daxter nodded, “Look, I know there’s a lot of paper work and stuff like that but I’m hoping we can fill all that stuff later. I want to marry her now.”
I just giggled and then went along with the plan, “That’s right. Oh, he loves me so much and I really do love him too. I can’t wait another day!”
Mayor Khatib pressed his lips together for a minute and then said, “All right, here’s how we can work this out. Get all your p
apers ready and we can conduct the marriage by the last weekend of the month. I will give you two a six-week deadline to get everything in order.”
His words were like magic to our ears.
Throughout the night we also got to meet some of Daxter’s other friends such as Marcus, a famous banker and before the occasion was over, I got to meet Preston and his wife Lyla. It was a little weird socializing with the likes of Trevor Wild and the others but as time went on I was enjoying myself.
Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that I was getting comfortable with Daxter’s social circle, but soon enough I was enjoying his company as well. I kept on clutching onto his arm, I didn’t mind it that much whenever we’d have to fake a kiss or when he made me sit on his lap.
Maybe I was starting to like this plan more than I should.
8
Daxter
S he was drunk but even in her stupor, she didn’t want me to drive her home. I heard her talking to herself about not wanting to let me see the “shithole” she lives in. I just smiled at the notion and took her with me, driving her to my condominium downtown so she could rest. She did her part, playing the role of the excited fiancée and she even saved me a few times during our conversation with my parents. Even Mayor Khatib seemed to like her.
When we got home, I had to help her walk through the building’s hallway and into the elevator. By then, Noelle was a little more conscious but still unable to keep going, so I carried her in my arms.
My condominium unit was pretty big, being the penthouse suite of the establishment, and I was fortunate enough to have a custom bed that was bigger than a king-sized one. I laid Noelle down on the bed, took off her high-heel sandals and then propped her head on a pillow. I then turned off the lights save for a small dim standing lamp in the corner.
