Page 13 of The Billionaire and the Maid

I glare at him. “You do know that I live in Storyview Falls, right? It’s not like I’m some magic person that’ll disappear at the stroke of midnight.”

“I know…I…I need this. I mean, I want this, and I don’t want to lose it over some technicality,” he explains. There’s a bit of a pleading look in his eye. Wait. Does he need me to be his fake girlfriend more than I need him to shut up?

I don’t like this. I don’t like anything about it. I contemplate his offer. If I say no, will his family make me pay to replace the vase? Greta’s company is insured, maybe the insurance would cover it, but then Greta would probably fire me, maybe. I certainly wouldn’t want to cause her to have a higher premium. Or what if her company goes under because of me? Either way, I won’t be able to finish this last semester. I’m so close. I just have to take some exams and one little winter semester class. It’d be unbearable to get so close to my dreams and lose them all over a stupid vase. If I say yes, then what? He already explained what it entails. I narrow my eyes.

“No sex. This would be no more than six dates, all with other people around. And you never say a word about the vase. It goes to your grave,” I counter as my mind spins, trying to think through this completely crazy situation.

His jaw clenches. “I would never…I accept your counteroffer,” he states from behind his clenched teeth.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. This is insane. Gus would kill me. Every fiber of my being says this is a bad idea, but I’m backed into a corner. It’s checkmate. There’s no way out but forward.

I hold out my hand, and he takes it in his. I jerk back a little as I swear I feel an electric shock. He grips my hand tightly, but his eyes widen slightly, and I wonder if he felt that too.

“Deal, then,” he finally manages.

“Deal,” I say in a low voice as I pull my hand away.

He puts his hands in his lap and looks into my eyes. “Your phone,” he states, motioning with his finger.

I frown as I reach for it, and he takes it. He turns it so I can open the screen. And then he proceeds to text himself.

“There. Now we can communicate,” he says as he hands it back to me.

I stare down at the message.

Me: Your fake girlfriend.

I roll my eyes. He stands and then turns.

“I’m Chase, by the way,” he says as he holds out his hand again.

I slowly stand and take his hand. This time there’s no current, just warm skin. “Ella…Foster,” I reply.

“Nice to meet you, Ella Foster.” He frowns as if remembering something and then shakes his head a little.

“What happens next?” I ask.

He turns as he walks toward the door. “You meet my parents. Tomorrow, but first, we need to get a backstory. I’ll pick you up at seven. Text me your address.”

And just like that, he disappears into the hallway, leaving me standing with my mouth open. What the hell just happened? My phone buzzes again and I pull it out.

World’s Best Boyfriend: I’ll have a dress sent over and shoes. Don’t work too hard.

Did he seriously save himself under that name in the ten seconds he had my phone? I roll my eyes. Another text appears.

Gus: Did they kill you? Are you still alive?

Barely, I think.

Me: We need to talk. STAT! I just became Chase Marino’s girlfriend.

The phone rings a second after I hit send.

“I’m sorry, what?” Gus yells.

I look around the room. How the hell am I going to be a fake girlfriend to a man who could have any woman he pleased? He has everything. There was a time when I wouldn’t have been daunted by wealth, but that was a lifetime ago. Now, I wonder if I can even pull off being someone that would run in Chase’s social circle.

“Do you think Chase is gay?” I ask, wracking my brain for some rational reasoning of what just happened.

---