Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
My entire life she’s been waiting for me to meet “the one” and I’m sorry to say I’ve been a big disappointment in that department. But my life’s work is my work, and I’m okay with that. I just wish she would be, too. Maybe one day I’ll settle down, but I’ve got decades before I’m ready for that. Right now, I just want people to get off my back and make my public appearance legit. I’ve got a lot of functions I have to attend and it’s only going to benefit me to have someone steady on my arm. I can’t bring in a new fling every week, and I don’t want to. That’s just now how I’m wired.
Much to my mother’s dismay, I was never into dating. I was a nerdy kid who liked numbers and I never really grew out of that. Even though my body grew and grew, I still stayed the same number-cruncher inside.
As everyone takes their seat and my project manager starts the slideshow, I think about the woman I’m supposed to be meeting later on this afternoon. How, for all intents and purposes, after a few days she’s going to become my wife. A contract was the only way I could see around my problem, and it made financial sense. I’m all about the bottom dollar, and that’s the kind of short-term wife I need. Hopefully the one the agency has sent over can agree to the terms and conditions. I’m ready to have this chapter of my life opened, then closed, so I can move past it.
Chapter 4
Dane
Andrew brings me my phone again at the end of my third meeting. There’s a message from my driver Jason saying he’s picked up the woman from the agency and they are on the way to the penthouse.
Hoping to get this over quickly, I text back that I’ll be home soon and finish up what I need to before I leave. I want to make sure I’m there by the time they’ve finished with the initial paperwork so we can formally meet and maybe have dinner together. I know I’m treating this like a business acquisition, but it’s better for everyone this way.
I have another driver pick me up outside of my offices and I climb in the back of the sedan. There’s traffic, and though it shouldn’t annoy me, it does. I pull out my phone and then click on the program that shows the cameras in my home. If I’m lucky I’ll get a chance to see her before I get there.
James said they sent over a picture, but I didn’t bother looking at it. It doesn’t matter to me what she looks like, as long as she’s young and can play the part. I know that perception is a part of it, but I left it up to the agency to decide.
As I wait for the app to load, I catch glimpses of her walking from the car, and then taking the elevator. Traffic starts to move and I’m getting closer to home as the images become clearer.
The video is black and white, but I can see her hair is light in color, and so are her eyes. She smiles at something Jason says, and for half a second I feel a rush of anger.
“What the hell?” I mumble to myself in surprise.
Why am I getting upset that she’s smiling at him? And why does she keep doing it? What’s so damn funny? Jason’s never said a funny thing in his entire life.
“Can you hurry it up?” I bark, and the car picks up speed.
I watch on my phone as she exits the elevator and Paul greets her. I don’t like the look he’s giving her, and I squeeze my phone tighter.
The car stops and I open the door before the driver has a chance to come around. I stomp through the underground garage and slide my card through the slot, waiting on the elevator to come down and meet me. My eyes are glued to my phone as I trace every inch of her on the screen.
She’s smaller than I thought she would be, and curvier than I expected. She’s isn’t anything I had pictured in my mind. I was thinking I’d be set up with a tall, thin woman who would be severe in looks and attitude. Someone who would make it easy for me to be cold to. Someone I didn’t want to touch, and caress, and press against. The woman on my screen is the opposite of what I had asked for, and suddenly my mind is changing.
When I climb on the elevator and hit the button for home, I watch the woman’s shoulders tense as Paul says something to her. I think—for the second time today—that I need to fire his ass, and I press the penthouse button seven more times to try to speed up this metal box.