Page 18 of True Honey
“I’m slated to take over those shares, we’re trying to cut my Father out of the deal. He can’t be trusted, that much is proven. But there was a condition made on the contract by the board of shareholders that prevented my Grandfather from just changing his will.”
“Why are you telling a complete stranger all of this?” She asked me.
“Because I need your help,” I confessed. “The condition that was presented insisted that I show the board I can be responsible, that I can handle the majority shares. And although I’ve been taking care of every aspect of the business for my Grandfather and Father for years they decided that wasn’t enough. I need to prove that I’m serious about my future, about my… lineage.”
“What?” Drew choked, her fingernails dug into the skin of her arms in shock. “I’m still not following…”
“I need to find a wife.” I said in not so many words and as softly as my panic would allow me to.
“A wife,” she sounded confused and anxious, like she had that night she cut her hand. “Oh…” She said when she finally clued in to what my plan intended. “Oh!” She inhaled sharply and stiffenedin her chair.
“Exactly,” I said. I was sweating through the dress shirt I had put on that morning. I’d gone through three exhausting meetings before coming over here and none of them had made me as nervous as her stare did.
“Like Pretty Woman?” She sounded offended but she smiled and a small bout of laughter tumbled from her. “You know I’m not a hooker right?”
“There’s that humor again,” I said, nearly choking on my own spit at her joke. “It’s simple, I need someone to play my wife at dinners and a few banquets over the next couple weeks. It has to be someone that my mother has never met but who can be believable.”
“Those are some standards you set,” she scowled. “Is this why you offered to let us rent your empty rooms?” She asked.
“No,” I said quickly, lying through my teeth. I had hoped it would be easier to convince her than this. But she was stubborn and it resonated with me, “you needed a place to stay and I have room… What I’m offering in exchange for your help is a job at the stadium, with Susanna,” I said and leaned forward on the desk.
“The secretary?” she asked, and I nodded. Drew’s face softened in response and I could see her actively thinking about it.
“I just need you to pretend to be my wife until all of this is over,” I practically was begging her now. The office we were sitting in felt suffocating and small as she sat in silence, considering the options I was laying out. I liked that I could see the process on her face, but I couldn’t tell what way she was leaning. I was ready to get on my knees when she finally spoke again.
“No other…favors?” she said. The implication was very clear.
“I don’t pay for my sex,” I scowled. “Besides, it’s not my place to judge sex workers, we’re all just trying to make a living. Most of them are really nice people,” I said and Drew looked at me like I was insane. “Pretty Woman is actually a terrible depiction while you’re stuck on the topic.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m not asking for sex, Drew… I just need you to put on a big ring and a smile.”
“For a job?” She narrowed her eyes on me and I felt the burn from her gaze.
“Yes,” I said. “You can quit working here and you can go work at the stadium. The hours are good, you can still pick up your son from schoolevery—”
“Oh god, Auggie…” she exhaled sharply and shook her head. “How would I explain all of this to him? He already resents me enough on a day to day basis,” she grumbled.
I could see it all spiraling out of my control the moment she started to dump her trauma in my lap for the second time in a week.
“Slow down,” I said, trying to get ahead of it with solutions. “He doesn't need to know the details. As far as he’s concerned, we’re just roommates. Simple as that.”
“Nothing about the situation you’re proposing is simple,” Drew argued. “It’s the exact opposite of that, it's messy and silly. Frantically it’s a little dramatic. Why not just tell your grandfather no?” she asked me. It was insane how much she sounded like Arlo in that moment and I wanted to groan but I kept my frustration to myself.
“You don’t tell Seymour Shore, no.”
“Well now we’re encroaching Godfather,” Drew said, her tone tight. “You need to pick a lane, Silas.”
“Harbor, that’s my lane. I’m just trying to protect everything my Grandfather has built,” I explained to her. “I just needyourhelp. I know that it’s insane, but I need you to understand that I wouldn’t ask this of anyone unless it was important.”
I leaned closer to her, the silence pulled tight. Her eyes traced over my features and I could see her chewing on the inside of her cheek. I wanted to reach out and touch her face, get her to stop fidgeting in the midst of her anxiety. The urge was there and then just as quickly, gone again.
“Please,” I said, the word quietly rolling off my lips to hover between us.
She blinked slowly, her jaw ticking in thought. My mouth had gone dry and in an effort to distract myself from the quiet decision making I started to count each long eyelash that framed her worried stare. I had laid it all out, giving her every best case scenario and still it felt like I had lost the fight. I was going to have to figure out a new way to pull this off.
But I wanted it to be her, she was perfect. Quiet, calm, friendly.
She was the one I needed.
I couldn’t explain to her why without sounding insane but I knew it with every bone and in the pit of my stomach. Drew was the answer, even if she didn’t know it yet.
