Page 9 of Holiday Hoax

“Is she from your mother’s list?”

“No.” I look at him over the top of my computer screen. “Is this curiosity professional or personal?”

“Personal.” He grins. “Mia Mattia is a gorgeous name.”

“She’s a beautiful woman.”

“How’d you meet?”

“She’s a family acquaintance.”

Derrick’s become more than an assistant at this point, proving to be a good friend and sounding board for me. But at moments like this when he starts digging for information I second guess opening that door. He walks into my office and sits down across from me.

“Is she related to your brother-in-law?”

“Yes.”

He looks at me.

I look back at him.

“That’s all you’re going to give me?”

“Yes.”

“Your mother is going to lose her shit.”

My lips tilt in a smirk. “That’s half the fun.”

I love my mother, I really do, but she’s insufferable. Always looking down on others unless it suits her to lend a helping hand. I’ve never seen her be altruistic a moment in her life.

She lost her mind when Stella decided to work for a living, instead of marrying rich like she had. Then she had a meltdown when Stella and Nico eloped. Nico, being a partner in TechJet and their corporate attorney, wasn't good enough for Stella in her eyes because of his background. They met in prep school where he attended as the lone scholarship student.

Now that Stella is happily married, she’s turned all her attention on me and my chronic bachelorhood. It’s not that I’m uninterested in finding a partner, I just don’t want one who is only interested in how many zeros are in my bank account. I thought I had found that years ago, but it turns out I was wrong. So wrong.

Once bitten, never again.

“We’re not really dating though. It’s more of a quid pro quo situation. She needs to bring in more clientele to her art gallery. I need an interesting and engaging date through the transition of Dad retiring. It’s perfect.”

“What could go wrong?” Derrick says glibly. “On that note, I’m heading out. Do you need anything before I go?”

“No, I’m good. Thank you.”

“Enjoy your evening.”

“You, too.”

He closes the door behind him, and the ensuing silence sets my mind free to wander. He started asking questions I had no answer to. If we’re going to make this look real, we should have a conversation about basics. Maybe even a discussion about expectations and boundaries for each other.

I won’t be seeing anyone else during this time, and I’ll need her to do the same. Only so that no one sees her out with anotherman and gets the wrong idea. I can’t risk a scandal of any proportion while I’m moving into the role of CEO.

I grab my phone and pull up her contact information to send her a text.

Can you have dinner tomorrow night at 7 pm?

Luckily it doesn’t take long until she replies.

Yes, where?

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