Page 239 of Billionaire Temptations

Chapter Twenty

Emily

I walked into the shop with a smile on my face. I’d just had hot sex in the office of one Mr. Jackson Caine, negotiated a companionship deal, and left feeling like I was on top of the world. Katie was helping a customer pick out some clothes, Noelle was busy ringing, and Evelyn walked in behind me with a couple of dresses in her hand.

“Hey. Are you just coming in?” she asked.

“I just got back from lunch.”

“Oh. Where did you go?”

“Jackson’s office.”

“You had a lunch date with him at his office?” Her face twisted.

“We had a meeting to discuss a few things.”

“I see the meeting went well, judging by how your blouse is buttoned wrong.” She smiled.

Looking down, I discovered that my buttons were off by one.

“Shit.” I headed to the back room, and Evelyn followed.

“What type of meeting could you possibly have with Jackson? Is he investing in your business or something?”

I sighed as I re-buttoned my blouse and looked at her with a twisted face. I had to tell her about our arrangement because she would find out sooner or later.

“We had a meeting to negotiate some companionship rules.”

She set down the dresses on the large table as a look of confusion swept over her.

“What?”

“Jackson and I like spending time together, and we set down some rules for what will not happen while we date.”

“What kind of rules? Are the two of you in a relationship?”

“No. We’re companions who enjoy each other’s company. We agreed not to see other people. There will be no falling in love with each other. No romance. We will be seeing each other four times a week, have open communication, and what he does on his time when he’s not with me is his business, not mine, and so forth. We’ve agreed to do this for six months, and in those six months, if either one of us breaks one of the rules, we cut ties immediately and never see or speak to each other again.”

She stood there with her mouth open. “Who does that?”

“That’s what I said if I know what you two are talking about,” Katie spoke as she strolled into the back.

“We do. End of discussion.” I put up my hand and headed toward the front of the store.

“Wait a minute,” Evelyn shouted as she caught up with me. “So, then the two of you are in an official relationship. That’s what it is, Emily. YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE!”

“No. We are not in a relationship. I am not his girlfriend, and he is not my boyfriend. That was rule number ten. We are friends who enjoy each other’s company and want to have fun.”

“Okay, then the correct term is ‘friends with benefits.’”

“If you want to call it that, then fine. We have a friends-with-benefits companionship.”

“So, what four days of the week are you seeing him?” Katie asked.

“One night a week, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”

“So does that mean we can never hang out on the weekends? I mean, it’s pretty much the only time we have since we work all week.”

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