“You said deal. What do you get in return?” Rosa asks with narrowed eyes.
“I get ownership of half of The Macau with the option to buy him out after five years.”
Both my friends’ jaws drop open with shock. They stare at me for a few seconds, then they turn to look at each other.
“Well, it’s a no brainer, isn’t it?” Rosa says. “Do it. Get a flight booked quickly before he changes his mind. It sounds like the easiest job you’ll ever do and it’s a lot of money to turn down.”
“Hang on. That’s not right. Nobody gives half a casino for something like that,” Star says worriedly. “There has to be more. To be honest I don’t like the sound of it. My husband does business with Russian billionaires and most of them are out and out crooks. Think Kayser Soze from The Usual Suspects and you’ve got the template for almost all of them.”
“Er … excuse me. Didn’t you marry a Russian gangster, yourself?” Rosa asks, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
“That’s different,” Star says defensively.
Rosa doesn’t let up. “How?”
“Nikolai is a good man,” Star says primly.
“He wasn’t when you met him. It was the love of a good woman who turned him into a good man. Maybe we should give Cindy’s guy a chance too. He could turn out to be a good man too.” She turns to me. “As much as I hate to rain on your parade, I have to agree with Star that half a casino does sound excessive for a pretend fiancée gig.”
I shrug. “I know, but he says he did that because he wanted to make absolutely sure I didn’t turn down his offer because the bait was not juicy enough, and also he likes to overpay to get the best out of his staff.”
“Bait? I really don’t like that word. It all sounds shady, Cindy. Who pays someone to pretend to be their girlfriend? Is it just a nice way of saying he wants a week of dirty sex with you?”
The thought of spending a week having dirty sex with Alex makes my body throb.
Rosa turns to Star. “You should know. Didn’t Nikolai do exactly the same to get you?”
Star shakes her head decisively. “Mine was a unique situation. I got lucky. Since then I’ve learned a lot about Russian billionaires and most of it is not pleasant at all. Personally, I don’t think it is a good idea. Anyway, if you’re thinking about doing this, Cindy, just because you want to be the owner of a casino, why didn’t you let me get you one when I wanted to? Why get it from a strange man?”
I sighed elaborately. “First of all, I’m not a charity case. I don’t want you to buy me a casino. You already bought me a flat and honestly, I felt bad even taking that.”
“And you feel better about having sex with your new boss to get it instead?”
“Hang on a minute. Who said anything about sex? It’s not about sex. He doesn’t want sex. He actually scoffed at the idea of him paying to get sex. And to be fair to him, he is what one would call a big catch. Girls must be queuing up to fuck this guy.”
“Why can’t he ask one of those women in the queue then?” Star retorts.
“He gave me the impression he doesn’t want any emotional complications to follow him around once the deed is done. He wants to treat this whole scenario purely as a business transaction. Also, his family can be hard to deal with which is why he asked me as he’s seen me keep my cool at work with difficult people. And the final cherry on the cake is I’m apparently exactly the kind of woman his great aunt would take a shine to.”
“Well, that all makes perfect sense to me. You should go for it,” Rosa encourages cheerfully.
Star gives Rosa an incredulous look. “Do you realize that you could be sending Cindy off to Russia with a psychopath?”
“Nonsense. This man has far more to lose than Cindy. Besides, any man who is willing to throw that much money away to keep a great aunt happy is no psychopath.”
Star turns back to me. “If everything is that clear and wonderful then what’s holding you back? I know you’re not worried about a few difficult relatives.”
How do I even begin to explain this? “I don’t know really. I just … I kind of like him and I’m worried I’ll get too attached to him I suppose.”
“Well that’s easy to fix. Just tell yourself it’s business. You’ve never been one to mix business with pleasure. Don’t let yourself get attached. Just keep it in your mind that it’s all fake,” Star says.
I look at her with surprise. “Now you sound like you’re trying to talk me into it. A second ago, you sounded like you were trying to talk me out of it.”