Chapter 9 Emilia
EMILIA
Iwas holding hands with the devil.
Or at least that’s how it felt as Drew and I walked back to the main building at Longwood.
I could feel Dorian’s cameras pointed at our backs so I did my best to throw in a couple of loving glances Drew’s way, to really sell his delusion, knowing that neither of us could afford to make a scene. More of a scene, that is.
We kept it up through the lobby, until we arrived at the ballroom where we’d left all of our belongings. Thankfully, it was empty. The second we crossed the threshold I shook my hand free from his, slammed the door shut and started sputtering at him.
“Why would you think … how dare you assume …”
I stopped myself abruptly when I realized that both of our mics were still on.
I held my finger to my lips, pointed at the thing on the collar of my dress, then pulled the battery pack from my pocket and very pointedly demonstrated how to flick the thing off.
Drew nodded then did the same. Once I was sure we were both in the clear I went back into rage-mode.
“What the actual fuck, Drew?”
He put his hands in the air like he was trying to fend me off. “I’m sorry. Okay? I was backed into a corner and I didn’t have a choice. Did you see how pissed off Carter was? We couldn’t afford to have him blow up on camera.”
“So you decided to sacrifice me to save your ass?”
My voice echoed around the space.
“Oh, so being fake-engaged to me is a sacrifice?” Drew mused.
“Yes!” I shouted out. “Obviously. Have you met you?”
I could’ve sworn he was about to laugh, which made me even angrier. How could someone look so hot and so infuriatingly smug simultaneously?
“How are you going to explain that you lied?” I demanded. “Because your genius cover story is going to make you look like a fool when you have to come clean.”
“Who says I need to?”
“Uh, me?” I reminded him. “I did not agree to this!”
“I can make it worth your while,” he said. He pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit, like we were about to negotiate a deal.
I crossed my arms and held my ground. No way was I going to sit down to bargain with him.
“You can’t just throw money at every problem and expect that to fix things. That’s not how the world works. And it’s definitely not how I work.”
It didn’t matter how fat his wallet was, there was nothing even remotely appealing about him.
Okay, except for those arms. And the giant bodyguard build. I mean, when did the guy have time to work out? Because he clearly did his time in the gym, based on the ropey veins running up his thick forearms. And the shoulders that were as wide as a linebacker’s.
Fine, I could admit that aesthetically there was plenty going on with him.
I wasn’t about to deny how fucking hot he was, because it was a given.
Anyone with eyes could see it. But none of that mattered.
His personality cancelled it all out. I was completely immune to the hot guy with the big bank account.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
Drew was watching me closely, an evaluating look in his eyes. “And what about that four thousand dollar bill you just got surprised with?”
Surprise hit first—but indignation followed after it pretty damn fast. “You were eavesdropping on my call! I knew it.”
He sighed, looking marginally apologetic. “I accidentally overheard you. But given the way you were shrieking the total, everyone else probably heard you, too.”
“I wasn’t that loud,” I grumbled at him.
“What if I agreed to take care of the bill, if you go along with the engagement scenario?”
I’d been so busy that I hadn’t given much thought to how I was going to afford Winston’s surgery. Now my bosshole was offering me a solution… but it came with so many strings that I felt like a mummy.
“As if I want to be forced into more time with you.” I rolled my eyes, a totally juvenile response, admittedly, yet in this scenario, it felt totally appropriate.
“Oh, come on. It’s not like you’d have to move in with me.
You’d barely have to do anything at all.
Just pretend to like me when we’re dealing with this mess.
” He gestured to the production equipment littering the room.
“Maybe carpool with me now and then, so it looks like we’re spending most of our nights together.
Flirt a little, in front of everyone, so they buy that we’re in love enough to get married. ”
I couldn’t help but feel baffled at the thought. How could I manufacture affection for him?
“And maybe go on a fake date or two, to really sell it.”
“Torture for four grand.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Yeah, but then you won’t have to worry about little Fido.”
“Fido?” I laughed.
“Given how much you love dogs, I assumed that was what we were dealing with. Is the patient a cat?”
“Something like that,” I snarked.
“I want to meet him, whatever he is,” Drew insisted. “If I’m paying I at least want to see my investment.”
“I haven’t agreed to your scheme yet.” I walked away from him.
“But you will. I know it,” he insisted as he followed behind me.
I made a frustrated noise and kept walking.
His smugness certainly had me aching to tell him no, just to get him off his high horse.
But I didn’t have the luxury of being petulant—no matter how tempting it might be.
Like it or not, getting the money from him was a better option than anything else I could come up with.
I was still paying off the new back door, the very one that had led to the mess I was now facing.
Winston’s vet bill on top of the rest of my construction invoices made me feel seasick.
I whirled back to face him. “Quadruple it and I’ll do it.”
“Sixteen thousand? Are you serious? How many dogs do you have?”
“I don’t have any dogs.” I did the math wrong. I’d thought I was asking for twenty thousand, dammit.
He narrowed his eyes. “This is blackmail.”
“You’re the one who announced on camera that we were engaged, sunshine. Deal with it.” I was already calculating how fast I could get some of the renos done on the house with that amount of money.
“Five thousand.”
“Twenty,” I countered.
“You’re not supposed to increase the dollar amount past the initial demand. That’s not how negotiations work,” he said.
“So, you admit that we’re negotiating? Good to know.” He frowned at that and I couldn’t resist smirking at him. At the very least, I’m getting under his skin and I was very okay with that.
“Eight.”
“Twelve.”
“Ten.”
“Deal.” I held my hand out to shake his. “But I need payment today. Or should I say, the vet does. I refuse to put it on my card and then have you backtrack and say that I wasn’t lovey-dovey enough and now you’re pulling out of the arrangement. Zelle it to me.”
“Wow, you really don’t trust me,” he mused.
“Have you given me a reason to?”
“Fine, let’s go right now and I’ll pay the vet directly and give you a check for the rest. The show is wrapping up and I have a couple of flexible hours ahead of me tonight since I didn’t know how long this was going to go. I need to meet this fluffy little whatever.”
“Oh, you’re in for a treat.” I fake grinned at him. “You’re going to love Winston.”
He’d better. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to the old man bestie, but it would be a huge tell. Anyone who called him weird or ugly was immediately disqualified from my life.
The door opened and a PA peeked her head in. “Hiii. Is it okay if I grab your mics?”
We officially untangled ourselves from the production and walked out to the parking lot.
Drew pointed at a black sports car in the front row – of course – that was so shiny that it looked fake. “Want to carpool?”
“No thank you, I prefer to live,” I insisted even though I was sort of curious about how fast the thing could go.
I texted him the address and headed for the rear corner of the parking lot, which was far enough away that no one would see my dusty old Honda. No surprise, Drew was waiting on the bench outside the clinic when I arrived.
“I was concerned that maybe you’d broken down. Your car has clearly seen better days.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I sniped as I walked past him.
“But babe,” he called from behind me. “You’re my fiancée. All I do is worry about you.”
I whirled to face him, trying to hide the shocking tickle of warmth beneath my frustration. “Think about this bill, okay? That’s all that matters right now. Besides, we don’t need to ham it up here.”
He fell in step beside me. “I was just practicing. We need to make this look believable.”
“Don’t worry, when the time comes I’m going to be so flirty that you’ll start to believe it yourself. I’m in the wedding industry, and I’m an excellent actress. But for now? Back off, bossman.”
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath.
I was expecting a quick transaction at the desk and maybe a second of observation of Winston through a window, but the receptionist led us back to an exam room.
“They’re not quite ready for him yet so why don’t you folks have a little visit and pep talk with your baby? A tech will be right in with Mr. Winston.”
“Baby?” Drew repeated, sounding skeptical and a little judgy as he sat down in the plastic chair.
“Yeah, some people actually value animal companionship,” I shot back at him.
He started to answer but the door opened and a vet tech in blue scrubs walked in carrying Winston.
“Here’s the man of the hour!” She placed him on the ground and he immediately made a beeline for me. “Take a few minutes to love him up then we’ll get him back to prep.”
“Thank you!” I dropped down the floor. “Hey, buddy! How are you feeling?”
“Hold up,” Drew said. “Winston is a turtle?”
I looked over my shoulder at him. “No. He’s a desert tortoise. Totally different.”
“Yeah, but from the way you talked about him, I thought he was a real pet. Like a dog.”
“Good thing he’s not a dog, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You hate dogs.”
He made a frustrated noise. “No, I absolutely do not. I hate those terrorizing sausage dogs, because they’re a menace.”
“This again?” I sighed.
“I happen to love dogs,” he huffed. “If I had the time I’d adopt one just like my brother’s. Look.”
I watched him swipe at his phone screen. He held it out to me to show a photo of him with his arm draped around an adorably freakish looking dog.
“Cute,” I said. “Cute dog, I mean.”
“He’s absolutely not cute. He’s a mess—on the outside, at least. Inside, he’s one hundred percent sweet goofball. The whole family adores him.”
“Well, if you’re good with not traditionally cute creatures, get down here and meet Win. He’s incredible.”
Drew moved round so that Winston was in front of him. “He’s… something, that’s for sure.”
I went through the usual facts about my bestie.
“He’s fifteen, which is young for a tortie, and other than the obstruction in his gut at the moment, he’s a healthy dude.
He lives in a special habitat in my back yard, and he’s way more social than you might think.
He loves meeting people, eating flowers, and napping. ”
“If we skip the ‘meeting people’ part, it sounds like a good life,” Drew chuckled. “Does he bite?”
“No, but maybe I should train him to?” Honestly, having a guard tortoise sounded kind of badass. For sure, no one would see it coming.
I hid my shock when Drew sat down on the floor beside me. Winston strolled over to check him out.
“Can I touch him?” Drew asked.
“Sure. His shell has nerve endings, so you can give him a little scratch there, or under the neck. He likes that.”
I tried not to be charmed as Drew leaned lower to look Win in the face. “Hey there, bud. You’re going to be fine, okay? Don’t you worry.” He ran his hand along the top of Winston’s shell.
The door opened and the vet walked in. “Hey, Mom and Dad, I’m Doctor Patel. How are we feeling?”
“Oh, we’re not—”
“We’re just a little worried,” Drew cut me off with a look.
I guess our charade was officially underway.
“Of course,” Dr. Patel replied with a nod. “Let’s go through the procedure, and what to expect afterwards.”
She described the surgery, which made me wince, and then outlined what I’d need to do to ensure proper healing afterward. The more she talked, the more freaked out I felt.
“Any questions?”
“I have one,” Drew said. “Are there any warning signs we should be aware of? Like if something isn’t healing right?”
“Excellent point, thank you for reminding me,” she said.
“Watch out for swelling or redness at the incision site, inappetence, lethargy, and avoiding his usual level of contact. If you notice any of that get in touch with us. Otherwise he should be fine until our scheduled follow-up appointment.” She paused to smile at us.
“You three are adorable together. What a sweet family.”
“Thank you.” Drew smiled warmly at her.
“If it’s okay with you I’m going to snag our patient and start getting him ready.”
“Love you, Winnie,” I said to him as she picked Winston up.
“You’ve got this,” Drew added. “See you on the other side, bud.”
He sounded so convincingly concerned that my heart unfroze a touch. We settled up at the front desk, then walked outside and squinted at each other in the fading sunshine.
“You okay?” Drew asked.
He sounded sincere… but maybe that was part of the act? Were we being watched? I tried to look around discreetly but he caught me at it.
He shook his head and sighed. “I wasn’t asking just for show. I actually want to know.”
“Fine. I’m okay.” It wasn’t a lie—“okay” could mean lots of different things.
Drew studied me, dubious. “You look like you’re about to cry.”
“I’m worried, all right? It’s not every day your tortoise goes in for surgery.”
“You can say that again,” he mused. “You need to keep your mind off of it for now. Let’s go to dinner.”
I was starving for real food after snacking from the production’s craft services table all day, but I was already feeling anxious and antsy, and unpalatable company would only make that worse.
“Come on,” he coaxed. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Plus it’ll probably help sell our story if we’re seen out in public together.”
I was reminded of Drew slapping his platinum credit card on the counter just a few minutes prior. I had my end of the bargain to uphold and more money headed my way.
“Fine. Take me to dinner… sweetheart.”
His handsome face broke into a grin that almost made me believe that I had the power to make the grumpiest man in America happy.
I mean, dimples don’t lie, right?