Chapter 10
TEN
JANE
He couldn’t actually be serious about this. I shredded the list of rules I’d been revising for the second time, convinced that agreeing with Austin’s plan would be the worst decision of my life.
But then, a few minutes later, I found myself revising the list on my laptop and printing it again because, damn it, the asshole had gotten to me.
If I did this, I’d be able to finish school without the pressure of taking the first job offered. I could afford to wait and be choosy.
I snorted. As if that was the only reason I was tempted.
Part of me wanted to know what it would feel like to date Austin. Even if it wasn’t real, he gave such single-minded focus to everything he cared about that I was sure to get an idea of what the lucky woman who finally won him over would experience.
Being the subject of his attention was sure to be a heady thing.
But just as part of me was tempted by the prospect, another part knew that indulging in my fantasy of a relationship with him could only hurt me.
Sighing, I read the amended rules.
Jane will not be required to give interviews to the press.
Jane will not be asked to accompany Austin to any events that may interfere with her ability to attend class and complete her coursework.
If anyone is rude or disrespectful to Jane, she may respond as she considers appropriate.
Jane will never be expected to share either a bedroom or a bed with Austin.
Hand-holding, hugging, and chaste kisses may be carried out when in public or as necessary to maintain the charade, but never when Jane and Austin are alone.
Against my better judgment, I hoped that such things might, in fact, prove necessary. How would it feel to hold Austin’s big, warm hand, or be tucked against the side of his body?
No, don’t think about that.
I forced myself to return to the list.
Jane is to be paid $50,000 up front. If she cancels the arrangement, she will refund Austin a percentage of the lump sum determined by the length of time she will not be carrying out her additional duties as compared to the length of the season as a whole.
Jane may choose her own outfits, hairstyle, and makeup.
Neither Jane nor Austin will engage in a flirtation or affair with anyone else for the duration of the arrangement.
At the conclusion of the arrangement, Jane’s employment with Austin will be terminated.
No one other than Gus Wu and immediate family is to be told of this arrangement.
There were ten rules. That seemed like a decent number. I didn’t think any of them were unfair either. I refused to be forced into a situation where I had to endure the press or stand to be subjected to poor treatment.
I also wouldn’t be humiliated if Austin decided he needed a little between-the-sheets action. Not that I thought he would. I’d never known him to bring a woman home. Perhaps he snuck one into his room during the occasional away game, but I tended to think not. Better safe than sorry, though.
The arrangement also needed to be fair to Austin. He’d said he was willing to pay me $50,000 for trying, even if it only lasted a few days, but my conscience wouldn’t let me get away with that. He worked hard for his money, and I’d only take what I’d earned.
I didn’t want word of what we were doing getting out, and personally, I’d rather only Gus know the truth, but I also didn’t want Austin to feel that he couldn’t talk to Hazel about it.
I’d keep my mouth shut to my own family because I knew they’d try to insist I stop and just let them give me the money.
They didn’t understand my need to prove myself.
Satisfied, I took the list with me and left my room, wandering the house until I found Austin in his home gym, midway through a stretching routine. He was bent in half, his fingertips brushing the tops of his feet, his strong thighs and glutes straining against the soft track pants he wore.
I gulped. The fans weren’t wrong. He had a really nice ass. Perhaps I should add another rule: Don’t ogle your boss.
I cleared my throat to let him know I was there. “Can you come and see me when you’re done?”
He straightened slowly and extended his arms above his head, then leaned from side to side. “What about?”
“Your proposition.”
Lowering his arms, he turned toward me, his sleek muscles rippling beneath a tank top that was plastered to his skin by a fine sheen of sweat.
“We can talk now.”
“Um. Okay.” I thrust the list of rules toward him. “I’m willing to do it, but these are my conditions.”
He glanced down at the paper, but his gaze didn’t linger for more than a few seconds before he raised his head and nodded. “I agree.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Did you even read them?”
I’d labored over those rules. Agonized over where to draw the line.
“Whatever they are, I’ll make them work. How about I call Gus and get him to add them to an official contract? Would that make you more comfortable?”
“Yes, please.” Perhaps I should trust him to carry through without a written contract. I knew he was a man of his word. But I needed the extra reassurance.
“I’ll do that now then.” He smiled. “Thank you, Jane. I promise, you won’t regret this.”
“I really hope not,” I murmured, soft enough that I wasn’t sure whether he’d hear. “I have an assignment to do, so I’ll be in my room.”
“I’ll knock when Gus has the contract ready.”
I hurried back to my room and shut the door, unprepared for how much that encounter had unnerved me. I had no idea why I was so thrown. The conversation had gone as well as it could.
I buried myself in my assignment until Austin knocked, and then I smoothed my clothes and went to the door.
“It turns out, Gus had a contract drafted and ready to go,” Austin said.
Of course he had. Gus may not be an arrogant hockey player, but he was used to having things go his way. He and I may need to have words about boundaries in the future.
“I’m glad you changed your mind, Jane.” Gus’s voice came from a phone clasped in Austin’s hand. “I’ve incorporated your conditions. All you guys need to do is sign and the final version will automatically be sent to each of you and to me.”
The smugness in his tone irritated me. He’d caused this mess between Austin and me—although, technically, I supposed he couldn’t be held accountable for Austin’s decisions, however ill-advised they might be.
Nevertheless, he’d started this and was acting as if everything had gone exactly as he wanted.
Normally, I liked Gus, but right now I wanted to wipe off the smirk I knew was on his face.
“Are you sure about clause nine?” Gus asked, the smugness dissipating a little. “You are the best assistant Austin has ever had. We don’t want to lose you.”
“Don’t put a guilt trip on her, Gus.” Austin’s tone was firm. “You know as well as I do that by the time the season finishes, she’ll be ready to do the job she spent the last couple of years studying for. I’ll be sad to lose her, but I’m not getting in the way of that.”
My heart lifted. It was nice to know Austin still knew how to respect others’ wishes.
Gus sighed. “In that case, we should terminate your official duties as soon as the charade begins. You can’t exactly work for him while dating him. It wouldn’t be ethical.”
I flinched, though the comment wasn’t totally unexpected. “I’m happy to help out, unofficially. If you hire someone else, they might realize it’s a ruse and sell us out.”
“Are you sure?” Austin asked, studying me with a furrow between his brows. “It doesn’t seem fair for you to be working unofficially without being recognized for it.”
“I could add your usual earnings onto the $50,000, so you’re not officially his assistant, but you’ll still be compensated for your assistance,” Gus suggested.
I shrugged. That sounded like a decent compromise. “Okay.”
Gus was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’ve sent the contract through to each of your email accounts.”
I grabbed my phone, opened my inbox, and saw the email from Gus right away. I clicked into it and scrolled through the text.
“It looks okay, but I will need to take a little time to review the details,” I said, tucking my phone into my pocket.
I didn’t think either Gus or Austin would try to screw me over.
They may both be a little self-centered, but they weren’t crooks.
Dad had always taught me to read documents thoroughly before adding my signature, though, and I wasn’t about to stop doing that now.
“Of course.” Gus sounded completely unsurprised. “So when will you do your first event as a couple?”
“Next week,” Austin replied immediately. “I promised her a week of advance notice.”
“That far away? There are fireworks at the Navy Pier tonight. It’s a good chance to see and be seen.”
“Gus,” Austin warned. “Don’t.”
I shook my head. “Actually, it’s all right. For the most part, I do want at least a week of warning, but I’ve spent most of today mentally girding myself, so we may as well start now. Just not before I’ve fully reviewed this document.”
Austin’s eyebrows drew together. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I offered him a tentative smile. “How about you figure out a game plan while I look this over, and when I’m finished, we can go?”
“All right. But are you sure we’re not pressuring you into moving more quickly than you’d like? I feel like all we’ve done is pressure you this last week, and you deserve to be able to set a pace that you’re comfortable with.”
I appreciated him recognizing the pressure they’d put me under, but the thought of waiting filled me with dread. “I’d rather just get the start of this over with.”
Gus snorted. “You know, that’s not how most women would react to the idea of going on a date with Austin.”
“Uh-huh.” I wouldn’t respond to his teasing. He didn’t deserve it. I may have agreed to the charade, but I wasn’t letting either of them off the hook yet.
“Leave her alone. Goodbye, Gus.” Austen hung up the phone. “I had a quick look through the contract before coming up here, and I know I can trust Gus to take care of my best interests too, so I’m happy to sign now. I’ll be in my suite watching game tape when you want me.”
He left before I could reply.
I opened the contract on my laptop so I could read it on a bigger screen. I worked my way through it sentence by sentence. It wasn’t a long document, and the language was simple. None of the legal jargon that I’d need to run by someone else.
Satisfied, I added a digital signature and submitted it, then immediately downloaded the PDF to both my phone and my laptop and uploaded it to the cloud in case I ever needed a safe copy that was accessible from elsewhere.
I found Austin on his sofa, his long legs stretched along the length of it and a pillow propped beneath his cheek.
“All done,” I said.
“Good.” He sat up and made an awkward hand movement as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. “We have reservations for the restaurant along the far end of the pier. You know the one?”
I closed my eyes, trying to picture the pier’s layout. “I think so. What kind of dress standard are we going for?”
He cocked his head, thinking. “Tidy, but not formal. I thought I’d wear dark jeans and a button-down. You can obviously choose whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Okay.” I fidgeted, tapping my fingers against each other.
I’d kind of hoped for more guidance than that.
While I wasn’t about to say as much, it had occurred to me over the past few days to wonder who exactly was going to believe that Heartless Austin Harris, the heartthrob of many a Chicago Chaos fan girl, would date someone quite as unremarkable as me.
He had every option in the world available to him—or, at least, all the ones who were attracted to men.
The Sylvias of the country would line up at the doorstep if they thought they stood a chance with him.
Yet he and Gus expected everyone to think he’d chosen the girl who’d been dubbed “Plain Jane” in high school?
I knew I wasn’t ugly and that attractiveness wasn’t everything, but my clothes and makeup were generally selected to help me avoid attention. Hardly the kind of woman that men went crazy for.
“Jane?” Austin stood up, his face creased with concern. “You’ve been staring into space for about a minute now. Are you okay? We really can wait before we do this, you know.”
I shook myself. “I’m fine. Just… This week has been a lot.”
To my surprise, he smiled at me softly. It was an expression I’d never seen on him before.
“For me, too,” he said. “Thank you for agreeing to this. I know it wasn’t your first choice, and I hope I haven’t bullied you into it.”
My mouth turned up at the corners. “You may be persistent, but I do know how to say no. I’m quiet but not a pushover. I’m doing this because you’re making it worth my while, and then I will move on, and you can hire someone new as your assistant.”
He nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. “I’ll meet you down here in half an hour?”