Chapter Seven
Kingi
“Ooh. I didn’t know you’d ordered lunch.” I go over to the plates of rolls, sushi, tiny savories, and cakes on the table in Orson’s office and help myself to a sausage roll.
“Scarlett’s coming in,” he says, in the middle of typing on his laptop. “So I thought we’d lunch together.”
I look at the half-eaten sausage roll in my hand. “Oh. Sorry.”
“I ordered enough for you. I knew there was no way you wouldn’t demolish half of it before she arrived.”
I snort, finish off the sausage roll, and drop into one of the armchairs.
Our city office is in Auckland’s CBD, high up in one of the new office blocks, overlooking Waitematā Harbour.
Auckland Harbour Bridge is just visible to the west, linking the CBD to the North Shore.
The harbor is busy this Monday lunchtime, with ferries transporting passengers to and from the city, tourist boats off on sightseeing tours to Rangitoto Island to spot orcas and dolphins, million-dollar yachts carrying the rich and famous, and fishing boats returning with the catch of the day.
“What time’s she coming in?” I ask.
He looks up at the door. “Here she is now.” He closes his laptop and gets up. “Hey gorgeous.”
“He’s talking to me,” I tell Scarlett as she comes into the office, and she laughs and comes over.
“I know better than to come between a man and his bestie,” she says, bending to kiss my cheek.
I grin, then watch as Orson comes over, pulls her into his arms, and kisses her.
He’s had a few girlfriends over the years, even lived with one for a while, but I’ve never seen him like this before.
He’s completely besotted with her. I’m not saying I don’t understand why.
She’s beautiful—small and shapely with light-brown skin and glossy brown hair, she has a good sense of humor, and although she’s the daughter of his family’s old enemy, it wasn’t enough to keep them apart.
But I’m pretty sure he’s going to propose to her, and that’s shocked me.
We used to joke about marriage and monogamy, and why it was pointless to commit to someone long term, because obviously relationships never last forever, and all you’re doing is setting yourself up for trouble by making it legal.
And now here he is, on the verge of saying ‘till death parts us.’ I just hope he’s got a good prenup sorted, because when it all goes wrong she could easily take him for half of his fortune.
She sits on the sofa in front of the window, and Orson fetches three bottles of water from the fridge in the corner, brings them over to the table, then sits beside her.
“I won’t stay,” I promise her.
“This isn’t a romantic rendezvous,” she says wryly.
“It isn’t?” Orson fakes disappointment.
“I can always lock the door on my way out.” I wink at her, and she laughs.
“We’re just going through some figures for the Village,” she says, naming the commune her father set up.
They’ve changed the name recently and don’t refer to it as a commune anymore because of the negative connotations that it brings, and the problems they had when her father stole money from the shared accounts.
It’s all been sorted now, and I helped the Elders set up a new, more transparent financial system, but they told us they want auditing regularly, and to have us keep a close eye on their finances.
“Yeah, well, like I said I’ll leave you to it… but I just wanted to tell you about something first.” I choose a cheese and salad roll and eat half of it in one bite. “I’m getting married,” I tell them through a mouthful of roll.
Orson stops with a piece of sushi halfway to his mouth and stares at me, while Scarlett coughs into her water.
“What?” Orson says.
I try not to laugh. “You inspired me with your idea of a fake engagement.”
Orson starts laughing. “Oh yeah, a trophy wife.”
“This was your idea?” Scarlett says to him.
“He’s kidding.” Orson eats the sushi. I lift my eyebrows, and his eyes widen. “You’re not kidding?”
“Nope.” I eat the other half of the roll. “I thought it was a brilliant idea. It’s what the board wants—some kind of commitment to show respectability and responsibility.”
“Oh, the irony,” Scarlett says. “Sweetheart, what they want is for you to understand the benefits of being committed to someone. Not to fake it.”
“No,” I say impatiently, “it’s all about appearances. Nobody cares what I actually think or feel. It’s all about what it looks like.”
They exchange glances, then look back at me. “I think you’ve missed the point,” Scarlett says.
“I want to be CEO of the Foundation,” I point out, “not Director of Feelings and Emotions. I want to help the kids achieve more in their lives, to inspire them to do better. They don’t care about my love life.
But I understand that it’s about presenting a respectable package, so I’m going to do what Orson suggested and fake it. ”
“With whom?” he asks.
“Chessie Ross.” I help myself to another roll.
“Who?” Scarlett asks, puzzled.
“She’s an old friend of his.” Orson’s lips curve up. “She’s Joe Ross’s daughter.”
“Oh… from Ross Gardening?”
“Yeah. She and her brother, Mark used to play with Kingi and Marama when they were kids.”
“She’s in financial trouble,” I tell them. “Mark has run up significant gambling debts, and Joe remortgaged his house to try to pay them off. But now he’s recovering from a quadruple bypass so he can’t work, and the bank’s threatening repossession.”
“Oh no.” Scarlett presses her hand to her mouth. “That’s awful. What a worry for them.”
“Yeah, they just don’t have the cashflow to solve it.”
“Don’t tell me,” Orson says, “you asked her to pretend to be your fiancée in return for paying off the debt.” He glares at me.
I glare back. “What do you take me for? I offered to pay off the debt first, but she refused. The only way she’d accept it is if we made a bargain.”
“And she agreed?”
“Yeah, she texted me last night. She’s having trouble with an ex who keeps harassing her, and she told him she’d met someone else to get him off her back.”
“And then she agreed to marry you?”
“To fake marry me. Yes.”
Scarlett rolls her eyes. “Oh, this is going to end well.”
I huff at them. “I thought you’d both be supportive. She’s a good friend. It’s a brilliant idea.”
“It’s a shit idea,” Orson says. “You know what they say—having a female as a best friend is like having a chicken as a pet. You’ll definitely eat her one day.”
I glower while Scarlett subsides into peals of laughter.
“That won’t happen,” I state firmly. “There will be no eating of any kind. It’s a business proposition.”
Orson gives me a sarcastic look. “Are you also planning a dowry or herd of cows to sweeten the deal?”
“For fuck’s sake…”
“What’s she like?” Scarlett asks curiously.
“She’s cute,” Orson says. “Red hair, big boobs.”
Scarlett laughs again and takes a mini quiche. “Yeah, this is going to be real fun.”
I lean back and give them the finger. “Mock me all you like. Like I said, it’s a business deal. I’m meeting her today at Whenua Law. Tane has drawn up a document making it all legal and above board.” I pronounce his name ‘tah-neh.’
“Why aren’t you using our usual lawyer?” Orson asks.
“I wanted to keep this separate from work stuff.”
Scarlett snorts. “Nothing says romance like a binding agreement with penalty provisions.”
“Just make sure you add a force majeure for broken hearts,” Orson says.
I grit my teeth. “I’m not going to break her heart.”
“I didn’t mean her.”
I just laugh. “The contract will make sure everyone’s on the same page, and keep us both safe.”
“How long do you plan on this show lasting?”
“Dunno. Six months?”
“And… what will it involve?”
“I honestly haven’t thought about it that much.”
“I can see that.”
I huff another sigh. “I dunno, going on dates, being seen together in public, and then we’ll put on an engagement party at Midnight.”
He eats another piece of sushi, his eyes dancing. “Is she going to move in with you?”
“What? No!”
“Don’t you think it’ll look weird if she doesn’t?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Well, maybe she can stay over occasionally or something. The house is big enough.”
“So she’ll sleep in the spare room?”
“Of course.”
He just chuckles.
Scarlett frowns. “Seriously, Kingi, this has disaster written all over it. I know what it’s like to be an ordinary girl thrown into this world of glitz and glamor. It’s scary and overwhelming. And I don’t think you realize how attractive you are.”
“I’m right here,” Orson says.
She gives him an amused glance. “I just mean he’s very charismatic. She’s going to fall for him, and she’s going to get hurt.”
“She won’t fall for me,” I say, baffled. “She’s not interested in me in that way. Her ex is a fly half.”
It’s Scarlett’s turn to look confused. “I’m sorry, your point is?”
“She likes small weedy guys.”
“So you only like blondes?”
I think about it. “Point taken.”
“Just… be careful,” Scarlett says.
“No need.” Impatiently, I get to my feet. “It’s a business arrangement. I half wish I hadn’t told you it was fake.”
“Like anyone’s going to believe it’s real,” Orson scoffs.
I bend and steal the last cheese roll. “What do you mean?”
“We all know you too well,” Orson says. “Nobody’s going to believe you’ve actually proposed to a girl you’ve only taken on a few dates.”
“Oh, I’ll make it look believable.”
“How?” Scarlett wants to know.
“How do you think? I can fake adoration. Throw around a few kisses here and there for the tabloids.”
She giggles. “This is going to be great.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Orson says. “Scarlett’s right in that it’s overwhelming for someone who hasn’t been part of our world to suddenly be thrust into it. Why don’t we double date? It might make it easier for her.”
“You’re just hoping I fall flat on my face,” I tell him.
“I’ll get the popcorn,” he replies.
I give up. Everyone’s a critic, but I know what I’m doing.