Page 45 of The Fiancé Hoax

Finally, he looked at me. “You need to increase your prices by eighty percent.”

“Eighty? That's a lot.”

“Then you're going to run a targeted ad campaign in some upscale magazines.”

I held my hand up. “I don't have the budget for that. Do you know how much those ads cost?”

“That's what the investment check I gave you is for.”

“Oh. Right,” I said sheepishly.

Cooper had given me a large check after I signed his contract the other day.

“You haven't cashed it yet, have you?”

I cringed. “It's still in my purse.”

He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Do you want to turn this business around or not?”

“I do. I just... I was a little intimidated by all the zeros. It's a lot of money.”

He shrugged. “To make money, you have to spend money.”

I nodded, looking down at my lap. I was afraid I couldn't keep up my end of the bargain. What if I didn't do a good enough job as his fake fiancée and he didn't win custody of the girls?

There was so much riding on this arrangement. I didn't want to let Cooper or his daughters down.

“I'm here to help you, Felicity. You have to trust me.”

I looked up at him, and his deep blue eyes bored into my soul.

“You do trust me, don't you?” he asked in a low voice.

“Y-yes,” I stammered. I couldn't help it. When he talked to me in that deep voice, it did things to me. I got all flustered and sounded like an idiot. I bit my bottom lip, looking up at him.

“Good.” He stood up and went to the cash register. “Now walk me through your procedure with customer service.”

I followed and stood next to him, explaining my protocols for sales, packaging, and returns. Next, I gave him a rundown of my design and production area, pointing out the equipment I used and the fabrics I’d purchased.

Three hours later, he had given me a list of actionable items. I eagerly took notes on everything he said. I was a little embarrassed I didn’t know any of this stuff, but I pushed my self-consciousness aside.

Mainly, I was excited to implement his suggestions. Cooper really did know how to run a business.

“I think that's enough for today,” he said. “Are you ready to go home?”

I frowned. “But it's not closing time yet.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You haven't had any customers all afternoon, Felicity. It might be a better use of your time to close early and focus on new strategies.”

“As painful as it is to admit, I think you're right.” I laughed as I gathered my things. “Let's go home.”

I froze. We were talking like we were a couple. And I was thinking of Cooper's house as my home.

This was dangerous territory.

You can't think of this as real. His house is not your home. It's all temporary.

Keeping my head down, I packed my laptop and notebooks and turned out the lights. I walked with him to the front door so I could lock up behind him. Cooper’s car was parked on the street.

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