Chapter 14
Mila
He knows who I am.
In the streetlight, without my wig and flashy makeup, he’s figured it out.
“You work here,” he states as he looks down at me.
“I do,” I say, swallowing hard.
There’s no expression in his eyes, nothing I can read. Then his jaw tightens, and I move around him, going back inside.
The next morning, I dread going to work at his house.
For one, I’m exhausted. I didn’t get home until four in the morning.
Even the few hours I was in bed, I spent most of the time unable to sleep.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen.
There were no answers in his eyes. I couldn’t tell if he was angry, surprised, disappointed, or even pleased. Nothing.
Despite my exhaustion, I get to work as soon as I step inside.
I make sure the coffee is hot and ready.
I open the blinds and curtains and begin dusting.
I clean the new mirror on the wall with Windex until it sparkles.
I see my reflection in it. I put on a little makeup today, mostly to hide the fact that I look like a zombie.
For a moment, I wonder what he sees or thinks when he looks at me. Then I gasp.
I see Dominic’s reflection in the mirror, standing behind me.
I spin around, feeling the heat in my cheeks. “Your coffee is ready.”
I watch as he picks up the mug and then his eyes just fall on me. Then, after a beat of nothing, he turns and walks away. Once the office door is half-way closed, I exhale.
Well. He didn’t fire–
“Mila. Come in my office for a moment,” Dominic calls out.
Damn.
I take a deep breath and step inside, keeping my posture as tall as my five-foot one frame will allow. I don’t want him to think I am afraid of him.
“Sit,” he motions, looking up from his desk.
I walk over and sit in the chair across from him and wait. I’m normally not afraid of him, even if I should be. But I know he could fire me at any moment, and without having the Ring Girl job secured, I know better than to be cocky right now.
“I think we need to talk about–” Dominic starts, and immediately I freak out.
“Dominic, I’m sorry,” I blurt with enough franticness that he stops talking.
“I should have told you. The first time I saw you fight, I should have told you I was a waitress at the Cockpit. But I really wanted both jobs. I need both jobs if I am ever going to move out of my crappy apartment. I didn’t mean to lie to you.
And I never told anyone that you and I…that we… ” I motion back and forth between us.
It isn’t until right then that I realize I am crying.
“Stop,” he says. “Just…I’m not going to fire you.”
“You’re…you’re not?” I blink.
“No,” he says, leaning back in his chair and studying me. “Actually. I have a proposition for you.”
I wipe my eyes. “A proposition?” I ask. “Like a promotion?”
Dominic smiles briefly before he leans in and says, “Not exactly.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out before going on. “I’m in a bit of a bind.”
“Okay…” I say. I’m curious. I wasn’t expecting to run into him last night. And I wasn’t expecting this conversation to go, well, whatever way it’s going right now.
“I’m the CEO of one of the most sought-after security companies in the country,” he says. “I’m sure you know that, though. I supply physical and technical security guards and systems for prestigious people, everyone from government officials to celebrities and hospitals to banks.”
“You mean you don’t just underground box for a living?” I joke. I immediately regret it, but luckily, Dominic doesn’t seem to mind.
“No. Believe it or not, that’s what I do for fun,” he says.
“I’m sure if I were a man of your stature, I’d find beating the shit out of Rafe entertaining too,” I say. This time, I get a small twitch of a smile out of him.
“Speaking of Rafe Shaeffer,” he goes on. “He works in security too. He’s a competitor of mine, and right now, we are both bidding on a huge job. One that could affect a lot of bank accounts depending on who secures it. Including my own.”
“And you don’t think you can outbid him?” I ask. “You live next to pop stars.”
“That may be, but having neighbors with Grammy trophies on their fireplace mantels doesn’t exactly help me.
Especially since my competitor is a known cheater,” he says.
“The investment company we are competing for needs the best of the best. It’s going to take an obscene amount of money for them to even consider my bid. ”
“Well, I don’t know if I can help you with that, sir,” I tell him. “I don’t even have money for a mani-pedi after I pay my rent most of the time. Not unless I eat Ramen noodles seven days a week. The microwavable kind, not the fancy kind.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you for money,” he says. “I have an inheritance. And at my father’s age, he should be handing it over any day now.”
“Are you waiting for him to die?” I ask, surprised at his lack of sensitivity.
“No. He’s waiting for me to fall in love.”
“Sir?”
Now I’m really lost.
Dominic leans in closer, close enough that I can smell his cologne.
“Married. I have to be married to access my inheritance,” he says. “And I can’t do that without a woman involved.”
“I mean that certainly makes sense. But I don’t see what that has to do with me,” I say with a chuckle.
Dominic blinks.
Then I blink.
Then neither of us blinks for a hot minute.
“Wait. Are you…proposing?” I ask with my jaw on the floor.
“Not in so many words, no,” he says, and I let my breath out.
Thank God. That would have been wild. But then, my heart sinks at what I realize he is actually asking.
“I get it. You think I can help you find a wife. Well, unless you’re interested in any of the other waitresses at the Cockpit, I don’t think I’m going to be much help,” I tell him.
“I’m not interested in any of the other waitresses at the Cockpit,” he says, and my heart slams into my ribcage.
“Oh,” I say.
“I’m only interested in you,” he adds, and I’m pretty sure my heart stops.
I have no idea how to respond to that. So I just sit there with my mouth open like an idiot.
“Here’s what I’m thinking. I need a girl. A girl who can play multiple roles. Girlfriend, fiancée, and eventually wife. Considering your aptitude for playing different roles…”
“That’s a low blow, Dominic,” I say.
“I’m a boxer, remember?” he says with a smirk. “But in all seriousness, Mila. Winning this bid is detrimental. I need that money, and matrimony is my only way.”
“No offense, sir. Doesn’t your father realize how medieval that sounds?” I ask.
“He doesn’t care,” he states.
“I’m surprised he didn’t just arrange a marriage,” I mutter.
“Honestly, so am I. So here’s what I am proposing.
As far as anyone and everyone is concerned, we are dating.
At some point, I’ll make a flashy show of putting a ring on your finger, something my dad will go along with.
We’ll do a quick ceremony, expedited, but not cheap.
Then, once I have the money, you’re off the hook.
We cut matrimonial ties, and I cut you a check. ”
“A check?” I ask.
“A generous one,” he nods once.
“How generous?” I ask out of curiosity.
“Here,” he says. Then he pulls out a checkbook and fills out a check. He spins it around and slides it toward me. I can’t help but gasp when I see the amount.
“Seriously?” I ask.
“Seriously.”
“Just for pretending to be your wife,” I state.
“Well, you do actually have to marry me for the inheritance to be released, but we’ll get it annulled,” he answers.
“I’ll tell you what. Take the rest of the day off and think about it.
Let me know your answer by tomorrow. In the meantime, hang onto that.
Keep it somewhere safe. And once we sign the marriage license and the money is pending, I’ll sign that check.
” He points and clicks his pen before setting it down and leaning back in his chair again.
With nothing left to say, I nod, stand up, and start for the door. But Dominic clears his throat.
“Yes, sir?” I whisper. My voice doesn’t seem to be working right now.
“Don’t forget the check,” he says, pointing down at it with his eyes.
“Right.”
After I leave, I head home. It’s Thursday, which means girl’s night.
I might have to call it off. My mind is spinning with everything that is going on in my life right now.
I was relieved to be given the day off. I’m not feeling particularly well today anyway.
Maybe it’s because I’m not used to being proposed to, fake or otherwise.
Even if it isn’t real, the idea of it has me feeling upside down.
It’s one thing to randomly fuck him in his very sexy car, but it is quite another to be contemplating a marriage proposal from him.
I may have been privately dreaming of those two things, but the reality of all this is making my head swim.
I mean, I work for him…as his maid. He has just started to acknowledge my existence, and now he wants to expedite a relationship that heads straight to the altar? This is a lot for me to take in.
I need to think. He does drive me crazy in the most delicious way, and I do enjoy talking back to him. I think he might be the only boss I’ve ever talked back to.
He’s also the first boss I’ve ever fucked.
That night, I decide to take a bath with plenty of bubbles and even a lavender candle just to ease my nerves. Contradictorily, I have been staring at the check for a good ten minutes now. Signed or not, it feels heavy.
I can’t even imagine what I’d do with that amount of money. Five hundred Benjamins. That’s about four hundred and ninety Benjamins more than I have in my bank account right now. I doubt the ones I have would mind the company.
Still. Call me old-fashioned, but I never thought I’d get married without being in love. I have my parents to blame for that. The bar is about an Empire State Building high, and I always assumed that I’d match that. Someday, anyway.
I sit up with a sigh and set the check aside.
I reach for the glass of wine I poured earlier and bring it to my mouth.
But just as I press it to my lips, the smell of the dark fermented berries makes my stomach turn, and I nearly leap out of the tub, hanging over the toilet just in time to get sick.
What the hell is wrong with me? I mean, I know my nerves are shot, but I didn’t think they were bad enough to cause me to throw up!
A thought crosses my mind. A thought that may or may not have already crossed my mind a couple days ago when I looked at the calendar.
I press my lips together hard and grab a towel.
Then I reach up into the medicine cabinet and pull out a box.
Reluctantly, I open it, follow the instructions, and wait.
I stare at the check again. I should just tear it in half and throw it away. Benjamins or not, it’s a crazy proposition.
I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and open them. I find myself staring at the white stick in my hands. Staring back at me are two pink lines.
Holy shit, I say to myself while sliding down the wall to the floor.
On second thought, I don’t think I’ll be ripping the check in half.