Page 46 of Love in Fine Print

Ben, Dolly, and I all walked into the small, cozy office. When I sat down, Dolly plopped at my feet.

“So, how did things go with Levi?” Ben asked as he took a seat behind his desk.

“Fine.” I nodded, not sure exactly how to proceed.

“He mentioned in the feedback that you got called away for an emergency, but that he thought things were going well before that.”

This was it. I was at a fork in the road. I was either going to tell Ben the truth about why I had shown up at his house on a Friday morning, or I was going to tell him that I was here to terminate his services and figure out a plan B for my situation.

The problem was, I didn’t have a plan B.

I looked up at him and realized this would be a lot easier if he were wearing a shirt. How was I supposed to concentrate with that magnitude of male perfection staring me in the face?

Taking a deep breath, I swallowed over the lump of lust clogging my throat and admitted, “I lied. There was no emergency.”

“You lied?”

“Yes. I don’t lie often, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“So, you didn’t have a nice time?”

“No. I did. He was fine.” I nodded and my eyes drifted back to his bare chest. When I caught myself, I shot them straight back up to his eyes. Not that that was much better. He had the kindest, dreamiest eyes of any man I’d ever seen. Clearing my throat, I told myself to focus. “If these were different circumstances, there probably would have been a second, maybe even third date. I was attracted to him and that doesn’t happen often to me.” I could hear myself rambling. I didn’t ramble. Not ever.

I never spoke unless I knew exactly what I planned on saying. But this situation had forced me into unfamiliar territory. I didn’t like it.

“I’m confused. You said if these were different circumstances. I thought you were interested in finding someone.”

“I am. But not for the reasons you think or the reasons Iassumeyou think.”

“What are your reasons?”

“I need a husband.”

Ben nodded. “Right, you’re looking for a partner?—”

“No. I didn’t say Iwanta husband. Ineeda husband,” I clarified. “And yes, it has to do with being a partner but not the marital kind. I need a husband so I can make partner in my firm.”

I could feel my heart pounding wildly against my rib cage. I had worked very hard not to care about what people thought of me. Growing up with my mother had caused me to become pretty immune to whispers and rumors, and I’d erected walls of self-protection to combat the flying arrows of judgment. But right now, right now I felt like those walls had been breached. I was very much feeling vulnerable to his judgment of me. I felt exposed. I felt raw. I felt vulnerable. Three emotions I’d spent a lifetime trying to avoid at all costs.

Knowing I’d come too far to retreat now, I soldiered on. “I need a husband before the holidays to be considered for a partner this spring. So, even though Neil and Levi were great guys, guys I probably should have given a chance, I didn’t feel right about leading them on under false pretenses.”

I watched as Ben took in the information I’d just given him. He stared at me, blankly and I wondered if I’d broken him. If I’d short-circuited his brain.

“Okay, so you want me to find you a husband?” Ben asked, looking thoroughly confused.

“No. I don’t. I have a proposal for you.” I pulled out the contract I’d written and slid his copy across the desk.

“A proposal?” he repeated as he looked down at it. “I hope it’s an indecent one,” he teased, not knowing he wasn’t far off the mark.

Here goes nothing, I thought as I closed my eyes and jumped off the cliff. “I’ve been thinking about what you told me the last time I was here about not having people take you seriously because you’re not in a relationship. And when I left the date with Levi last night, a stroke of genius hit me. We are both in the same predicament, we need a significant other. I need one to make partner. You need one to make your business successful.

“So my proposal is that we marry each other. Not forever,” I quickly clarified, “just twelve months. One year. That way, I canget my partnership and you can have some relationship street cred so people will take you seriously and hopefully, the women will stop hitting on you.”

Ben kept reading the five-page contract. Every time he’d turn a page, he’d look up at me but then go right back to reading, but he didn’tsayanything. He remained quiet. My heart was pounding harder than a swat team at a 6:00 a.m. drug bust. I didn’t know how long I could handle waiting for his reply. Finally, after what felt like an hour but was probably only a few minutes, the anticipation got too much for me.

I stood, causing Dolly to stir awake. “Take some time and look everything over. I’m open to negotiations, obviously. Just read it over and get back to me when you’ve come to a decision. No rush, I’m going to be working on a case all weekend, so, yeah, take your time.”

With that, I turned and left as fast as my feet would carry me. As I walked out of his office, my legs felt like Jell-O, and I wanted to throw up. It was the exact way I’d felt the one and only time I’d had a case go to a jury was when I worked on a civil case for one of my clients. We were waiting on a verdict that was deliberated for three days.

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