She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Dunsmore."
Moments later, the door shut behind her, leaving me alone in my office. I wished I didn’t have to return to the party.
I got myself another drink and then sat back on the couch, having my very own Christmas pity party. I’d just taken a sip from my drink when a knock came on my door. "It's open."
Ms. Pearson poked her head in again. "Did you say two million?"
I stood up, and for the first time since I had asked her into my office to talk to me, I felt hope. "Make it five million."
CHAPTERSIX
Reyna
I'd lost my mind.
I'd walked out of James's office with my dignity intact. I had pride and self-esteem. I was going to make it on my own.
But self-doubt, and probably greed, had me stopping at the end of the hall and rethinking his proposal. He offered a place to live. He offered five thousand dollars a month, which in and of itself would allow me to save money for my future, especially since I wasn't going to have to pay rent. And then he offered two million dollars. What sort of idiot walked away from two million?
Yes, I had to pretend to be a devoted wife for a year, but two million dollars? That was a million for every six months. Five hundred thousand every three months. It was one hundred and sixty thousand a month. Granted, I wasn't going to be paid that every month during the marriage, but that's how much I was earning each month.
I thought through his crazy plan. How hard could it be? A year could seem like a long time, but he was talking about traveling and working, and I knew time flew faster when I was busy.
He’d promised to be hands off, which was weirdly disappointing, but also appreciated. Essentially, I was going to get paid five thousand dollars per month during the year I lived with him, then two million dollars when it was done, plus have free lodging for simply being a roommate.
I turned around and headed back toward his office, hoping it wasn't too late to take him up on the offer. When I reached his door, I knocked and opened it even as I felt like I was letting myself down. By taking his offer, I was admitting that I didn't believe I was capable of forging a life on my own. At least not one that went beyond living paycheck to paycheck.
And then he offered five million dollars. It was crazy to agree to a fake marriage, but surely, it was crazier still to turn down five million dollars, right?
“Five million?"
He nodded. "When you finish the year. I'll even consider prorating it if we don't make it to the end of the year. But I insist that we make it at least six months."
He certainly was accommodating. It spoke to how important this scheme was to him.
He walked toward me, but he took his time, as if he was afraid I might run away like a skittish cat. My heart was galloping faster than Secretariat, but I couldn't turn back now. Five million dollars would allow me to live a truly fulfilling life, whatever that meant for me. If I managed the money well, there was so much I could do. I could move to Rome and live in a tiny little flat. Or Paris. I'd always heard the cost of living was crazily affordable in the Pacific Islands. Maybe I could buy a bungalow on the beach and live on this money forever. I wasn't sure what I would do with my days, but they’d be free to do whatever my heart desired.
Interestingly enough, finishing law school wasn't at the top of the bucket list. I was thinking of what five million dollars could bring me, but a legal career wasn’t one of them. It told me that the legal profession wasn't where my soul resided. I didn't know my purpose in life, but five million would give me the time and money to figure it out.
"So, how would this work?" I asked.
He stopped about a foot and a half away from me and slipped his hands into his pockets. "First, we come up with a story. We can go with the one where we'd been together in the past, but I fucked up and lost you. Not able to live without you, I found you, wooed you, and now we’re getting married."
"I'm sure you haven't told anybody that you've loved and lost. How are people going to believe it?" I was thinking of his sister.
"It's not like my love life is an open book. If the board truly knew my life, they wouldn't be worried about my scandalizing the company." He shrugged. "To be honest, I don't think they really are worried about that. It’s just another excuse to get rid of me. But even so, if they truly knew my life, they'd know I wasn't a playboy womanizer."
It was strange how happy that made me.
"What about your sister?"
"I don't want to deceive her. I might like to see if she would buy it, but she would be the one person I would tell the truth to. She's the only person in the world I'm close to and trust. I know that means you need to trust her too, and you don't know her, but I assure you, Amelia won't do anything to hurt me or you."
I hadn't really been worried about that, and maybe I should've been. But if this all blew up, I wouldn't be the only one who suffered ramifications. James would too, which meant he had even more reason than I did to make sure this worked. If he said Amelia could be trusted, I had to trust him.
"You live in Las Vegas and I'm from California. How did this relationship even start?"
"I go to California fairly often. In the winter, I like to ski. In the summer, I sometimes go to the beach. We could have met then. Maybe we reconnected on the business trip I just took. Or maybe we had a secret rendezvous. The board accuses me of sowing my oats on my business trips."