Cyndee
Celine’s jaw was on the floor. I’d just told her about Fabio’s fake girlfriend idea and the hundred grand he’d give me for my trouble. The money sounded amazing, but it felt dirty to me.
Celine on the other hand seemed intrigued.
“Do you know what we could do with one hundred thousand dollars?”
“We? I’m the one having to do all the work.” I plopped onto the couch and leaned my head back. I put my hands on top of my head and replayed everything Fabio said.
“Aww, poor Cyndee. I can imagine how hard and challenging it would be to be wined and dined by a handsome billionaire.” She waved me off. “You can handle it.”
“Since when do you think he’s handsome?”
“I’m not blind, sister.” She popped her shoulders. “He’s just too arrogant and way out of our league.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s why he believes our arrangement would go off without a hitch. Because there was no way we’d end up together.” I groaned and covered my face. “I don’t know what to do.”
“How can you not know what to do? You take him up on his offer.” My sister went into our tiny kitchen and took out a frozenpizza to bake for dinner. We could only afford the cheap three-dollar kind.
“I don’t know, CeeCee. I don’t hate him like you do.” In fact, today was the first time we’d really talked to each other. He wasn’t all business asking his million and one questions about the details of his condo or the weather. He liked to discuss the fog in San Francisco for some strange reason.
But earlier, he seemed to let his guard down when he was talking about his ex-girlfriend, Lucia, and his family’s expectations. He’d spoken to me as if I was a friend, someone he trusted, instead of grumbling as if he was forced to acknowledge me.
I liked it more than I probably should.
“Hate is a strong word.” She gave me a diet cola and sat beside me on the couch. “Stupidly rich people bug me. Everything is always about them and their needs. As if they know anything about true suffering and doing without basic needs like getting a crown put on your tooth. You’ve been putting it off for years.”
I touched my back tooth with my tongue. It’d been four years since I had the root canal. My parents’ health insurance had covered it, but Celine’s sudden decision to move to California had prevented me from getting the crown. Our parents hadn’t been supportive about us moving away, so it hadn’t felt right to use their insurance to get my crown.
“That chunk of money he’s offering could pay for your tooth, y’know.”
“I know.” Of course I was tempted to be his fake girlfriend. The money would be amazing and could improve our lives a ton. But what if… What if my emotions got confused?
“And pay off our van so then we could afford the real stuff instead of generic diet cola.” She raised her can in my face to get my attention.
“Do you really care that much about store brand soda and food? I mean, is it really that different from name brands?” We lived on a very tight budget and had to sacrifice. I didn’t think we were doing so bad. Things were gradually getting better. Especially after we started cleaning Fabio’s place and he hooked us up with other clients on Billionaire’s Row.
“You tell me, DeeDee. Whenever you get a real Coke, you moan like it’s the best thing you ever tasted.”
“I do not.” Now she was exaggerating.
“Look. All I’m saying is the money would come in real handy. Would it be so awful to dress up and pretend to be the billionaire’s girlfriend? How many times do you have to go out with him? Did he say sex would be involved?”
“Of course not, CeeCee. He’s better than that.”
“I like how you’re getting all defensive for him. You’ll do great being his fake girlfriend.”
“Ugh.” I tossed my head back. “I haven’t agreed to anything, yet. Stop pressuring me.” Now I had an idea of how Fabio might’ve felt with his family after him to settle down.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to pressure you.” She patted my leg. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
“Do you have any idea how this arrangement could ruin our lives?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if it ends badly and we can’t clean his place anymore? That’s a huge portion of our income gone. Or if some of our other clients saw me with him? What would they think? That I had a side hustle dating clients?”
“Hmm, I see what you’re saying.”
