I pulled out my earbuds and turned on music from my phone to drown out the world and then settled in to focus on business. That's what this whole mess was about. Business.
I don't knowhow long it was before Reyna returned. She entered the suite and headed toward her room, not saying anything to me. I couldn't be sure if she was angry or just respecting me and my work. I sure as shit hoped it was the latter.
She emerged from her room wearing a pair of jeans and a blouse.
"I know you're working, but it's time for lunch. Should I order room service, or I can just go down and get something to eat while you work?"
We were in Hawaii where it had to be eighty degrees in the shade, and she was wearing jeans.
"Do you have any shorts or anything? You're going to be hot."
She shrugged. "I only have what I brought with me to Las Vegas. I’ve picked up a couple of things, but not shorts because it's winter."
I pulled my wallet from my computer bag, taking out several hundred-dollar bills. "Why don't you go shopping and get yourself some clothes suitable for Hawaii?" I held out the money for her.
Her eyes narrowed. "Not long ago, you were angry at me for wearing an outfit suitable for Hawaii, and now you want me to buy more?"
"I want you to be comfortable. I did agree to pay you an allowance."
She flinched at the word allowance. "Do I still have a job?"
It took a moment for my brain to take the right turn down a new conversational path. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know I signed the agreement about the allowance and all that, but I'm really starting to feel like a kept woman, and I don't like it."
Annoyance flared inside me. "I apologize for the sex, but—"
She let out an exasperated breath. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the money and your sending me out to shop like I have nothing better to do. Like I have nothing to contribute."
I did my damnedest to understand her point of view. And to be honest, I admired her for it. It was one of the reasons I had selected her to be my fake wife. Granted, she'd agreed to this arrangement because of the money, but she didn’t want to sit around spending it.
Still. I didn’t think the board would be okay if she continued to work for me. "Considering we’re married and the rules against fraternization, I was thinking I’d need a new assistant."
She looked away, letting me know that she didn't like that answer.
She returned her gaze to me. "So, where does that leave me? Am I just supposed to sit home and eat bonbons?"
"You could re-enroll in school. Finish getting your law degree."
"It's too late for me to apply for this next semester, assuming there is a law school in Las Vegas."
I sat back and studied her. "Do you even want to be a lawyer?"
She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know what I want. When this deal is over in a year, I’ll be able to figure that out."
"Why wait? Work on that now."
She stared at me, and I realized she was lost. She didn't know how to find herself.
Finally, she said, "I could still help you. I discovered that a member of the board was visiting your father. I could continue to do work like that.”
I couldn't deny that the information she'd gathered was extremely important. And if she did it away from the office, she would be a valuable asset.
"All right. I can set you up with a home office, and you can help me on the down-low. Be my secret weapon." I smiled, hoping that the idea would please her. After the way I'd acted, not just by fucking her and stalking off but on so many occasions, I felt I owed it to her to make this all worthwhile.
She nodded and walked over to me, taking the money I'd offered. "Mark this in the spreadsheet as part of my allowance."
A couple of hundred dollars didn't make a difference to me, but I nodded because I could see it was important to her.