Page 76 of Reputation (Tempt)

“I know. And I’ve been thinking about that.” He told me his idea, and it wasn’t half bad. “Now let’s do a quick social media post. Come ’ere.”

I scrunched up my face. “But I don’t have any makeup on. And I didn’t do my hair.”

Not to mention the fact that my face was still slightly swollen from my allergic reaction, my eyes puffy from crying myself to sleep last night.

“You look beautiful.” I nearly swooned at the sincerity in his voice, but then he had to go and add, “Besides, it feels more authentic this way. Remember, everyone loves that you’re the girl next door. We need to continue to lean into that.”

This is a job, I reminded myself. He was paying me to play a role, albeit an unorthodox one.

“Fine.” I scooched closer to him.

I was irritated from sitting for so long. From spending so much time working on our “image.” God, it was exhausting. I was definitely earning my ten million, not that I had big plans for it.

Five million dollars had already been deposited into my account. My bank had called to ask if there’d been a mistake. I still didn’t know what I was going to do with the money or if I was even going to keep it. It felt…wrong.

I was doing this to help Brooklyn, not…take advantage of a shitty situation. I didn’tneedthe money to live. Yes, it would’ve been nice to use toward my athleisure line or travel or whatever. But I was already getting a boost to my career. Wasn’t that enough? Even if I could no longer work as a nanny.

Which reminded me… “What’d you tell Hartwell?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t heard a peep from them. I assume you had something to do with that.”

“My team smoothed it over. Hartwell has already issued a statement that they are happy for us and wish us the best.”

“Ha!” I barked out a laugh.

“What?”

“How much did you have to pay for that?”

“Nothing. They know I’m a valuable client. And that my family and I will continue to refer a lot of business if they handle things well. Perhaps it’s not the type of press they desire, but they’re getting a lot of attention from our engagement.”

“True. And we’ll use them to find my replacement.”

“Replacement?” He jerked his head back. “What are you talking about?”

“Well…” I twisted my hands together, hating the idea of leaving Brooklyn or Nate. “I figure once the year is up, Brooklyn will need a new nanny for after our ‘breakup.’ We can use this time to vet potential replacements under the guise of hiring them temporarily for when we have an event or something.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “I—I hadn’t considered that.”

I had, even though I didn’t want to.

“Thank you,” he said. “That’s very considerate.”

I nodded. “You know I’d do anything for Brooklyn.”

“I do.” His expression was solemn, gratitude written across his features. “And I appreciate it more than you could ever know. Now—” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. He held out the phone and took a few selfies. He knew how to work the camera, and looking at the two of us on the screen, even I was tempted to believe the lie.

“Hold up your ring,” he said, directing me like an actor in one of his films. “Place your hand on my cheek.”

I did as he asked, hating how choreographed and orchestrated this felt. It was going to look stiff. Everyone would know it was fake.

But then he turned his head toward me and buried his face in my neck, making me giggle.

He checked the screen again. “Perfect.”

He was right; we did look perfect. And I wasn’t sure what was more unnerving. The fact that we looked like a real couple. Or that part of me wished we were and not just because it would make my life easier.

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