Page 44 of The Fake Family Deal

Hey! You up for doing something this week?

My fingers hover uncertainly over the keyboard. It already feels like so long ago since we were together, and seeing her there on the screen today made me miss her more than I already did. Seeing her was just another knife in my chest. But I’ve been so busy this week that I’ve barely even had time to think about her.

I’ve remembered what the high of business success feels like, and I’m loving every second of it. I haven’t felt this good sinceBeautiful Fitnesswas first a hit — and that was years ago now. That’s why I was starting to feel washed-up, because nothing I’ve done since that has compared.

Nothing until this, anyway. Now I’ve got Beautiful Baby,I’m unstoppable. I’m on top of the world.

Unable to think of anything good to say, I put my phone back in my pocket and decide to answer later.

I sit for a moment longer, then get up and head back to my own office. I flop into my outrageously expensive and comfortable chair, shake my mouse to wake my computer back up, andimmediately click on my emails to find that I have hundreds more unread now than I did when I left.

A whole bunch of them are spam, of course, but among the junk, there are great swathes of offers of partnerships and sponsors, of advertising deals and influencers who want to be part of it all.

Grinning, I skim through all the offers. Some of them are really good. Some of them are really bad.

I reply to a couple of the better ones, telling them that I would be happy to have their sponsorship on Beautiful Baby providing the price was right. I set up some meetings and redirect most of the wannabes to my HR office or to Priscilla, who will know exactly what to say to them.

More than anything, I feel very pleased with myself for all the progress we’ve been making. Just think… a month ago I was almost ready to write off Beautiful Baby altogether. For the first time in my life I was about to be an absolute failure, a fact that would haunt me to the grave.

Beautiful Baby is doing awesome and, even better, Beautiful Fitnesshas seen a spike in subscriptions too. Ellis Inc. is on the up and up.

I go to call my PA but then realize I still haven’t hired anyone. I really have to get on that. What’s the point of having all this money if I can’t pay people to do menial tasks for me?

I make a note to resume interviewing ASAP, then call down to one of the women at reception and tell her to put together a luxurious gift basket for Priscilla.

“That’ll be expensive, sir,” she drawls, and I roll my eyes. There are two receptionists, and this must be the useless one.

“Yes,” I say tersely, trying to hold my temper. “That’s kind of the point.”

Priscilla already knows how much I appreciate her, but I have standards to maintain. I’m known as a great employer, and I would like it to stay that way. Plus, she deserves gifts. This was all her idea. I need to make sure she knows how much I need her.

Once that’s done, I open up some of my social media accounts. They say you’re not supposed to read what people say about you, but I’m curious, and my skin is thick enough to take idiots online calling me nasty things. They’re not real, anyway.

I’m delighted to see my name trending on all of the major sites. That means hundreds of thousands of people have engaged with the content and decided they care enough to write some stupid posts on the internet for nobody to look at.

Most intriguingly, people are speculating about when I got married, how I’ve kept a child secret for all this time. It makes me smile to see that the con has been so successful. There are people devastated that I’m taken, having seen me as a heartthrob — not that any of them would have had a chance with me. And there are people who are calling it all a scam — little do they know, they’re right.

At the end of the day, none of it was real to me, so I don’t really care what they say. As long as they saysomething.

None of it was real. Except the way I started to feel about Marina.

I keep scrolling, and chuckle to myself. Priscilla was right, of course. Looks like people really are falling for the lie. I’d like to think I wouldn’t be so stupid, but I don’t know. Maybe I would fall for it too.

It’s almost weird to see people talking about my life like this, in a positive way. I’m so used to people decrying me as a complete ass, as someone who might be great at business, but you wouldn’t want to be alone in a room with, but now people are fawning over me as a father, saying about how cute I look and how natural I am with Lila.

I think again about Marina and how she was so desperate to uncover a softer side of me. How she was so convinced there was a kinder man inside. And worst of all, she made me see that she was right. Thereissomeone else inside me other than my reputation.

I pick up my phone to look at the message from her again. How do I possibly start replying to it after a week of no contact? I can’t exactly do it like a business email:Hi Marina, hope you’re well.

My desk phone rings, startling me. It’s one of the potential sponsors getting back to me. I put my phone away and resolve to message Marina back later.

It’s only late that night, when my eyes are closed to sleep, that I realize I never did.

CHAPTER 22

MARINA

TEN DAYS LATER

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