Chapter 4
Matthew
“Are you sure? You’d have to travel with me but you don’t even know me. I’m a complete stranger.”
“Are you trying to talk me out of it?” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Yes, I mean, no. I don’t know.” I chuckle.
I realize how much I need this, yet the whole situation still feels wildly irrational.
“Look—” Beth rises to her feet and steps closer. Her intense eyes lock onto mine. “I need a job. One in the field I’ve studied for. You’re offering me that. The whole fake girlfriend part was unexpected, but it’s only a little acting, right? I mean, we could pull it off. Look at all of the commotion caused by one photograph.”
Exactly what Travis was saying.
“This isn’t me. I don’t do publicity stunts. I keep my head down and focus on my career.”
“Now, you can leave that stuff to me,” Beth reassures me with a confident smile.
I blink at her, surprised at the fierce determination in her eyes. She’s right, of course. This isn’t just about a fake relationship. It’s about a job for her, and it’s about my reputation and career for me. I need her just as much as she needs this job.
“Okay,” I say finally, my mouth dry. “Let’s do it.”
“Alright! Where should we start?”
“Let’s get a contract first. Make sure you really know what you’re getting yourself into.”
The corners of her mouth twitch upwards into a smirk. “Don’t worry, I’m not so easily scared off.”
After asking her if she’s absolutely sure and her rolling her eyes at me, I video call Travis.
“Hey, kid. How’d it go?”
“Travis, meet Beth. Beth, this is my agent, Travis Holt.”
“Hello, Beth. Great to meet you.”
“You too,” she says cheerily.
“I’m dialing in Matthew’s lawyer so he can review the contract with you.”
I raise an eyebrow in surprise. “You have one already?”
“I had them draw it up just in case. I…had a feeling.”
I shake my head at him. But this is why he’s my agent. His gut is never wrong. That’s why I’m trusting him on this whole pretend-dating situation. I know he has my best interests at heart.
My lawyer, John, introduces himself and then continues, “Let’s get this started, shall we? I’ll run through the basic terms to confirm both of you understand what’s being asked of each other.”
“Beth, you’ll travel with Matthew for the next four months. Every day, you’ll follow him in his routine and do whatever else you need to capture who Matthew is as his brand manager. You’ll attend events, and in public, you’ll play the role of his girlfriend. Do you have any questions?”
“I’d like to be able to tell a friend and my family. This requires a pretty big lie, but I can’t lie to all of them. And I’ll need someone to talk to about all of this. They can sign an NDA.”
“Matthew, the final decision is up to you but we advise against it. The more people who know, the more likely there can be a slip up.”
They’re right. The more people who know, the more chances this gets out. And if people find out we’re frauds? It’ll be awful for both of us.
I turn to Beth, her eyes meeting mine with a hint of uncertainty. “Can you keep it to one person?”
She pauses for a moment before giving a small nod. “Okay.”
“Alright, I’ll need that name.” John’s deep voice interjects.
“Desiree Pearson.”
John’s gaze shifts to me. “Anyone for you, Matthew?”
“Owen Bennett.” The name rolls off my tongue with ease. I doubt I’ll need to discuss anything. Just in case I do, he’d be one to understand.
“Beth, any other questions?” he asks.
Her green eyes meet mine, then flicker to the phone. “What about…physical contact? Is that written in the contract or…?”
Travis stifles a laugh as John speaks, “That’s something you two will determine on your own. There’s nothing legally binding you to do anything besides look like you’re a couple.”
“And Matthew, you’ve agreed to pay Beth a total sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the initial four months, though an extension can be discussed at a later date. Is this correct?”
Beth’s eyes go wide, and her mouth drops open.
“Yes, sir,” I answer.
“Great, I’ll email that contract over for both of you to look over and sign.”
The phone clicks as they hang up.
We sit in silence for a moment.
“Beth—” I begin to say.
At the same time, she says, “Matthew, that’s—”
We both laugh, which helps shake the awkward tension away.
“Ladies first,” I offer with a playful nod.
“That’s a lot of money. Why so much? It’s only for four months. That’s like two years’ worth of salary for a brand manager.”
I turn to face her directly, meeting her gaze. “You’re giving up the next few months of your life to work for me practically around the clock. I think your time is worth it.”
“Thanks.” Her lips curl into a small, appreciative smile. “And you know Owen Bennett? How?”
“Through Travis. He’s both of our agents. Over the years, we’ve become friends. Owen mentioned you’re friends with Emma.”
“Practically since we were born, we were inseparable until we went off to college.”
“Is Desiree your sister? Friend?” I ask, curious about the person she chose.
“She’s my best friend. We met in our freshman year of college. I only have an older brother, Ethan.”
“And I have a little sister, Alison.”
“Look at that, learning things about each other already.” She smirks. “Which we’ll need for our backstory. How we met, how long we’ve been dating, and we need to clarify the, um, physical rules.”
“I’m good with whatever you come up with. And so we’re clear, I’ve never done this before. This whole fake dating thing. It’s a one time thing.”
“Well, I don’t go fake dating either.” A light chuckle escapes her lips. “But good thing I read and watch a lot of romances, so I think I can come up with something.”
“Okay, good.” She seems confident, which makes me feel a bit more at ease.
“You should follow me on my social channels.”
“That’s your job, remember?”
“No, I mean to learn more about me. See pictures of my friends, my interests. You’ll need to know these things.”
I groan as I pull out my phone and hand it to her. “Download whatever apps I need.”
She takes my phone, her fingers tapping across the screen. “You know, social media isn’t all that bad.”
I groan and roll my eyes at her.
“You’ll be doing trends by the time I’m done with you,” she teases, a mischievous glint in her eye.
I shake my head. “Good luck with that.”
“Challenge accepted,” she declares with a determined grin.
As Beth works her magic on my phone, I find myself observing her. The way her brows pinch together in concentration, the soft inflection in her voice when she speaks, the curve of her smile.
She looks up, catching me watching her. A faint pink tint creeps up her neck, reaching her cheeks.
“I, uh, have an idea,” she stammers, an unmistakable shyness in her eyes. She shuffles until she’s sitting right next to me and holds up my phone. “Smile.”
I hesitate for a moment, then decide to go with it. After all, if we’re going to be playing pretend for the next four months, I might as well start behaving like a real boyfriend now, right?
“Alright,” I agree and lean in closer to her. She flashes me a triumphant smile before turning her attention back to the phone. The camera flashes, capturing our smiling faces. She taps on the phone a few more times.
“Done!” She hands me my phone. My old home screen, a picture of the fairway from my last tournament, has been replaced by Beth and I.
It’s surreal, seeing us staring happily at the camera as if we really are the couple we’re going to be pretending to be.
“Good?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I reply, stuffing my phone back into my pocket. “It’s good.”
“So there’s this town event tomorrow. And if you were my real boyfriend, you’d be going with me to it. Annnnd you’ll have to meet my parents.”
I take a deep breath. “Right. I saw the posters around town. Well, I guess we should brush up on our story before then. How about I meet you back here tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss it all.”
“Okay, boyfriend.”
I’ll need to get used to that one. I haven’t been a boyfriend to any woman in years. I’ve gone on dates, sure. Women aren’t throwing themselves at me, per se. But I’ve met women along the way. But my focus is on golf. Nothing else.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. And Beth?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you again for this. All of this. I really appreciate your help.”
“I should be thanking you. I was searching for a job, and now I have two. At least one of them is what I was looking for.” She softly chuckles.
As I reach for the door, it swings open. I’m met with a woman who is clearly Beth’s mother. She has the same curly brunette and doe eyes, except hers are brown.
“Beth, honey, I didn’t realize you had company.”
“Mom, Dad, you’re home!” She nervously chuckles. “This is Matthew. My, uh, my boyfriend.”
I resist making any kind of physical reaction that shows the shock rolling through me. It’s going to take me a minute to get used to that. Especially since it’s coming from a woman I’ve known less than a few hours.
“Boyfriend?” Her mother’s smile widens.
There’s that word again.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s such a pleasure to meet you both.” I reach out to shake Beth’s father’s hand.
“I’m Ray, and this is Anita,” her father says, firmly shaking mine. I’m six foot three, and he even towers over me. He has a full beard, broad shoulders, and bushy eyebrows. It’s like staring at the Hulk with facial hair.
Anita offers me a warm smile, and I return it with a polite one of my own.
“We brought home some treats.” Anita holds up a bag. “Matthew, care to join us for dessert?”
“Oh, Matthew was about to leave, Mama.”
“I’m sure he can stay for a few minutes,” her father replies as he stares at me.
I swallow. “Absolutely, sir.”
Beth gives me an apologetic look. I guess we can check “meeting the parents” off the list. Hopefully, I’ll survive the task.