Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Owen
Iwake up in the morning with a shiver. Apparently, at some point during the night, Faye shamelessly stole all the blankets. She’s wrapped up in them like a warm cocoon, leaving me completely exposed.
She also appears to have migrated significantly closer. Her cheek is tucked against my shoulder, one arm draped across my stomach, and her knee is resting against my thigh.
Normally, waking up entangled with another human being would, at worst, have me breaking out in hives, and at best, have me carefully extracting myself as quickly as possible. Instead, I lie perfectly still.
Her body is warm against mine. Her breathing is slow and soft, and every few seconds her fingers curl slightly into my shirt.
Despite the blanket treachery, I smile as I look down at her. It’s nice to be able to admire her with no one watching. She is quite beautiful. Having no blankets seems like a small price to pay for this.
As soon as I move, she stretches out and makes a deep groaning sound like an irritable bear waking from hibernation.
“Good morning,” she says in a raspy voice. “Did I steal all the blankets?”
“Well, I don’t recall giving them to you,” I say as I sit up. “So, yeah.”
She laughs. “I tend to do that. You gotta be on your blanket game around me. Tuck them in tight, wrap them around your foot, bring a sleeping bag. You’ll figure it out.”
I smile as she buries herself in her nest of blankets with a moan, still not bothering to share them. For a brief moment, getting back under them with her seems considerably more appealing than exercising, but I get up anyway.
“What time do we have to be at the gym?” she asks as I grab my workout gear from the closet.
“About fifteen minutes. Are you still coming?”
She groans as she sits up and rubs her eyes. Her hair is a wild jumble of chestnut strands falling around her face and shoulders, sticking up and tangled every which way. I’m used to seeing Faye with a neat and tidy ponytail. This is… much more alluring.
“I’ll come,” she says, pulling the blankets around her even tighter. “I think I’d like the gym if it involved more pillows and blankets. Wouldn’t that be nice? Taking a nap between sets? There’s a business idea for you. You can call it Planet Restness.”
“That’s quite the concept,” I say as I slip into the bathroom to get changed. “Although the pillows and blankets will get unsanitary with all of the sweat.”
“Just think about it,” she shouts as I close the door. “And since it’s my idea I get ten percent of the profits. Don’t screw me over, Lavoie!”
I grin as I check my phone. Blast. Jason texted me for an update. I’ll head out early and give him a call to let him know everything is on track.
Faye is still rummaging through her disorderly suitcase, trying to find her workout clothes when I head into the house. She says she’ll get changed, grab a quick coffee, and meet me at the gym.
My heart is racing nervously as I stick my head into the gym, hoping that Cassandra isn’t here. I breathe a little easier when I see that it’s empty.
I hurry into the sauna, close the door, and call my brother at work.
“Please tell me it’s going okay,” Jason says when he answers. Ryan is there too.
“You didn’t make a big deal about the sleeping arrangements, did you?” Ryan asks.
“No,” I say, a little defensively. “We have a giant bed so we each had a side.”
“Wow,” Ryan says, “I thought for sure you’d make her sleep on the floor.”
I wouldn’t dream of it. If anything, I would take the floor and give Faye the bed.
“And how’s it going with Edward?” Jason presses. “Is he getting a good vibe from you?”
“You didn’t insult him, did you?” Ryan asks.
“Not that I know of,” I say, quickly thinking back over our conversations. “How do you two smoke cigars? There is no possible way you can enjoy that.”
“You smoked a cigar?” Jason says in shock.
“Man, I would have paid to see that,” Ryan adds with a laugh. “How is it going with the pretend wife? Is she doing well?”
“She’s doing exceptionally well,” I say, feeling a little stir in my chest. “If I wanted to… romance this girl. What could I do?”
“Like for pretend?” Jason asks.
“Yes, obviously,” I snap. I take a deep breath. “But theoretically, if it weren’t pretend. What could I do?”
There’s a long silence on the other end of the line.
“It kind of sounds like you like this girl,” Jason says.
“Yeah,” Ryan says. “That’s a bad idea, bro. I was in Montreal a few years ago and we ended up in this strip club. Miss Cherry Delight strutted onto the stage. My god. And you know I love those French girls. I was in love with her immediately. I still stroke one out to her every now and then.”
“What on Earth are you talking about?” I snap.
“I thought she liked me, man,” he continues. “I thought we had something going, but three days later and I had slept less than two hours and she drained me for fifty grand.”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant. In any way.”
“It was all pretend, bro,” he says. “This girl is pretending to be your wife.”
“What he’s trying to say,” Jason cuts in. “In his fucked up way, is that maybe you’re reading the signals wrong. She’s pretending to be your wife, right?”
“Hmmm,” I grumble, thinking about it. I didn’t think of it like that. The hand holding, sitting on my lap, the kind words, the kiss—it was all for the benefit of the Baines family.
Well, that’s disappointing.
“Just keep your head in the game,” Jason says. “Remember, this is a work function and we have a lot riding on it.”
“You don’t even know if this girl is single,” Ryan says. “She could have a boyfriend.”
The thought of that makes my stomach sink.
“She could even be married,” he continues. “Did you ask her?”
I swallow hard. “No.”
“There you go,” Ryan says. “But if it is real, I’d send her a dick pic.”
“Ryan,” Jason says with a sigh of exasperation. “What are you telling him? Are you trying to get him arrested or something?”
“I’ve seen his hog,” Ryan says. “Trust me, bro. With what you’re packing. A dick pic is the way to go.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Jason says. “She’s probably just putting on a show and doing what we hired her for. Just be cool and get through the weekend unscathed.”
Through the tiny glass window in the sauna door, I spot Cassandra walking into the gym.
Technically, she’s wearing clothes, although most people would probably classify that as underwear.
It’s skintight and tiny. Her bottoms only cover half of her behind, which is very unsanitary and inconsiderate when sharing equipment.
Oh no. She spots me. And starts coming over.
“I have to go,” I say with my blood pressure rising. I hang up the phone as she opens the door.
“What are you doing in here?” she asks with an amused grin on her face. “Spying on me, naughty boy?”
I shake my head and recoil. “I was on the phone.”
“Oh, videotaping me too,” she says, biting her bottom lip. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had a crush on me.”
She puts her hand on her jutting hip and just grins at me. I start to sweat even though I haven’t started my workout and the sauna is not turned on.
“Maybe we should close this door and do all those dirty things you’ve been messaging me,” she says, licking her lips seductively.
Her attempt at seduction has the opposite effect on me, making me nauseous with worry.
She steps into the sauna and closes the door.
“I was up all night thinking of that message you sent me,” she says, running her hand down her thigh as she lets out a husky breath. “I could barely sleep, I was so wet.”
A sour taste fills my mouth. My stomach drops like I’m on a roller coaster as she steps closer.
“I’ve never had sex in a sauna before.”
My eyes dart to the door and before she can react, I lunge forward, bursting through it into the gym.
I can barely breathe as she follows me out, swaying those hips like she’s trying to hypnotize me with her gait.
“This is a bad idea,” I say. “Edward would be mad.”
There’s a darkness in her grin. “Edward loves to hear all about my extracurricular activities. He likes a girl who knows how to hunt. That’s why he dumped his first wife. The girl didn’t know how to have fun.”
I slip away, stepping behind the treadmill and keeping it between us.
There’s something in her eyes—irritation, tenaciousness, a steadfast determination to get her way—that I find terrifying. She’s not going to give up until she gets what she wants. I can tell.
“Playing hard to get, eh?” she says, narrowing her eyes on me. “Fine with me. I like games. Let’s see who cracks first.”
I keep my wary eyes on her as she struts over to a bench and gets on the floor.
“I always love getting warmed up with some hip thrusts,” she says, arching her shoulders on the bench and planting her feet. “Although I’m already warmed up with all those dirty messages you sent me this morning.”
I have to get rid of that sinister Love Bot. This is getting out of hand.
She stares me dead in the eyes as she starts thrusting her hips up and down like some kind of deranged mating dance.
“Come feel these glutes,” she says, thrusting up. “You’ve never felt any so hard.”
“I’m… going… to go… work on my biceps,” I say, quickly rushing to the other side of the gym. I keep my eyes on the ground as I grab a barbell and start curling it.
I can feel her perverted eyes all over me.
Where is Faye? She’s supposed to be here for this.
Cassandra abandons her exercise and struts over, pulling a magazine out of the pocket of the stationary bike on the way.
“Maybe I’ll do a little reading,” she says as she opens it.
I glance over and gasp when I see a copy of Madame Gossip with my face on the cover.
“I’ve been flicking my bean to it non-stop,” she says in a hoarse voice. “Almost got carpal tunnel I’ve been so active. So imagine how excited I got when you found me on my secret FirstSpark account.”
My body fills with dread as I look at her.
“Shhhh,” she says, putting her finger to her pursed lips. “Don’t tell on me. I can’t help that I’m a bad girl.”