Chapter 4
Cyndee
Sunday afternoon, my sister and I were spending the afternoon outside.
It wasn’t often that we went out to eat because we could never afford to treat ourselves.
But after buying our plane tickets, we had some quite a bit of cash left over and we decided to act like many of the locals we saw strolling about in North Beach, while we were there to clean client’s homes.
We let the breeze guide us, and we ended up in Little Italy, a charming neighborhood near Chinatown. We’d be here many times window shopping and absorbing the vibrant energy, which was free.
But today, we stopped at Tony’s Pizza, which had a by-the-slice bar to grab and go. Even with extra money in my pocket, I was afraid to dine in a restaurant. I knew myself well. I’d get caught up in the moment and lose my good sense.
I needed to be smart with my money and plan for the unexpected. Set some aside to get my crown put on. Buy a few Christmas presents.
Of course, my sister would probably blow her portion in a week. The way we handled money was another difference between us. When some people splurged, I saved.
With our massive slices of pizza purchased, we found a spot on the outdoor patio to sit and eat. It was a gorgeous day. Sunny and sixty-one. I loved feeling the warmth on my face. Most days, we were inside cleaning and rarely had time to enjoy the outside.
“Oh. My. God. This must be the best pizza I’ve ever had.” Celine hummed with delight as she chewed.
“Better than Dad’s? I don’t think so. This is good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Dad’s.” Our father had built a brick oven in the backyard to make authentic Italian pizza. I missed his cooking more than anything.
“I guess it’s just been so long since I had some of Dad’s pizzas.”
“Mom said he was ready to cook for us during our visit.” I took a bite of my slice. It was definitely tasty and a million times better than the three-dollar frozen one we’d eaten Friday night. “And she’s going to make our favorite Mexican food.”
“Tamales?”
“Of course. It’s Christmas.” In my family, we celebrated both sides of our heritage.
On Christmas Eve, we had a Mexican feast, and tamales were the main dish.
Then on Christmas Day, we went all out Italian style with fried calamari, a ton of Italian meats and cheeses, wine and my absolute favorite, lasagna.
“You know we’re going to gain ten pounds during the week we’re there.”
“I’m okay with that.” I opened my mouth and took a huge bite.
“Hi.”
A dark figure appeared in front of me, but I had a difficult time making out who it was with the sun in my face.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this area before.”
The voice. I recognized the baritone voice. “Mr. Ferrari. Um…” I stumbled over my words with a full mouth. Why did he have to appear now? I raised my hand over my eyes to create a shade.
“Are you having a good weekend?” He sat in the chair next to me as if we’d asked him to join us. “Wish I could say I was, but my cleaning lady declined being my fake girlfriend.”
Oh, man! Had he no shame?
I wiped my hands and mouth, then I turned to look at him. “Replay your words and pay attention to how weird they sound. Cleaning lady. Fake girlfriend. It’s all just wrong.”
“I’m going to bathroom.” Celine darted away before I could stop her. How dare she leave me alone with Fabio?
“They don’t sound weird to me. I need help to get through the holidays and you rejected me.”
“I didn’t reject you. I rejected your idea and the money. Which, by the way, feels dirty to me.” Geez, he smelled incredible. The scent of his cologne had been everywhere in his condo, but it was more intense and intoxicating with him next to me. It was literally blown in my face.
“Dirty? My money isn’t dirty.”
“Paying me feels dirty.”
“It’s a job. Like cleaning my home. If you’re willing to do it for free, out of the goodness of your heart, I’m game.”
I laughed and tossed my head back. “I’m sure you’d be game. Think of all the money you’d save.”
“Truly, I wouldn’t even notice losing a hundred grand or even a million.”
My mouth dropped open. “You’re so rude and cocky. If those amounts mean nothing to you, I’m insulted by how little you offered me.” Like seriously. Was I worth so little to him?
He furrowed his dark brows and stared at me but said nothing.
“It was interesting running into you, but I’m going to go find my sister.” I stood.
“Cyndee, please reconsider. I will do my best to make it as painless as possible. I would be indebted to you, if you’d help me.” That darn baritone voice melted me. And this was what I’d been afraid of.
“Why didn’t you reply to my text?” I asked him, then instantly hated how I sounded butt hurt over it. But honestly, I checked my phone dozens of times in the last two days, hoping to hear from him.
“What was there to say?”
“Most people reply to text messages, but you just read mine and did nothing. That’s so rude.”
“Rude? What’s rude is rejecting me when I’m desperate for your help. You have no idea how brutal my family can be. My parents will try to force me into an arranged marriage. I just need more time to find my own wife. Someone I would love and cherish.”
He really did sound desperate. I wished I didn’t feel sorry for him, but I did. I couldn’t imagine being forced to marry someone I didn’t love.
“Listen, I’ll make it worth your while.” He stared up at me with intense dark eyes. “You’re right. I lowballed you. But the fake girlfriend idea had just popped into my head, and I hadn’t given it much thought.”
I believed him. When he asked me, it had sounded very random and out of nowhere.
“I don’t know, Mr. Ferrari. I can’t afford to lose the contract with you. Cleaning your place is a huge part of our income.”
“I understand. I’ll give you one million dollars for each event you attend with me, then if things blow up in our faces, your livelihood won’t suffer.”
“She’ll do it,” Celine said from behind me.
I spun around and faced my sister. “Are you crazy?”
“Please, Cyndee.” The desperate tone in Fabio’s melted me on the spot.
I always struggled to tell people no, hence moving across the country with my older sister at only nineteen and nowhere near ready to be away from my parents.
“If one million isn’t enough, tell me how much you want, and I’ll pay it. ”
Celine nodded rapidly with wide, excited eyes and mouthing, “Do it. Do it.”
“Geez, no pressure at all, you two.” Did either of them care about how I felt or if I even wanted to do this. I was attracted to Fabio and Celine knew it. What if the lines were crossed in my heart?
“Sorry, DeeDee. He’s making an amazing offer, and I don’t think you can refuse,” my sister said. She wasn’t wrong about the money being amazing.
It was like winning the lottery. My life would change, but I didn’t know if in a positive or negative way.
I turned to face him. “I have some conditions.”
“Name them.”
“There will be no sex. You won’t bad mouth me after. I expect to be treated with respect and kindness. I’m your equal at the events, not your cleaning lady.” Was there anything else I should demand? This was all happening so fast that mind was spinning.
“I agree to all your conditions.” He took out his wallet and handed me his credit card. “You need to buy clothes.”
“Of course it’s a black Amex card,” I mumbled. My stomach dropped to my ankles as reality set in. I’d just agreed to be Fabio Ferrari’s fake girlfriend, and I had to play the part perfectly.
This was all too much for me. I was a simple cleaning lady. Not a freaking Kardashian.
“I trust you won’t go nuts. See what you can get with…” He thought for a moment. “I don’t know what women’s clothes cost but see what you can get with a hundred K.”
“A fancy new car is what she can get with that amount!” Celine gasped.
“That’s too much,” I told him, shaking my head. “I don’t even know what your expectations are for how you want me to look. What’s your type? What would your family expect?”
“Good questions.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and seemed to be thinking about what I’d said.
“I have an idea,” Celine said. “She’ll text you all her sizes for everything and you can just buy what you want her to wear. Have it sent to our apartment, then it’s all on you and it takes the pressure off Cyndee.”
“That’s a great idea, sister.” I gave him his black card back.
The tips of his long fingers brushed across the top of my hand and shiver worked through my body.
Surely, he hadn’t felt what I felt. A powerful, ridiculously rich man like him would never consider me for anything more than cleaning his toilets.
“Yes, good plan, Celine.” He nodded at me. “Would you like a spa day? You could get the works done.”
“We would love one,” my sister replied, looping her arm in mine as if we were a two for one package. Only I would be the one doing all the work.
Not a single word found its way to my lips. I seemed to have lost my voice and my backbone, while Fabio and Celine discussed me as if I wasn’t standing right there.
“I’ll set it up and text you with the place and time later today.” He tilted his head and considered me for a long second. “Are you sure about doing this? I don’t want to pressure you.”
Little too late for that. I felt more than pressured by them both. But of course, I wouldn’t speak my mind because I would be stupid not to agree, right?
“It’ll be fine.” I forced a smile, then diverted my attention away from him. It wouldn’t be easy being alone with him and pretending to be his girlfriend. I feared it wouldn’t be as difficult as it should be. In fact, being a billionaire’s girlfriend was most girls’ biggest fantasy.
How could I say no to Fabio when large amounts of money, millions of dollars were involved?
Attending a few Christmas events as the Italian billionaire’s fake girlfriend would be the easiest side hustle of my life.
Only, I had a feeling that if anyone got hurt, it would be me.