“See? I’m not kidding around.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t just show up at people homes with offers like this? Are you crazy?”
“Probably a little. That doesn’t mean you should turn me down, though.”
I gave her a quick rundown of the deal. Be my fake girlfriend for the holidays, both here and in New York, and the day afterChristmas, she would have a hundred grand in her bank account with no strings attached.
“That should be enough to cover the remainder of your student loans, right?” I said. “And you wouldn’t have to give up your apartment here if you don’t want to.”
Clara’s mouth opened but no words came out. Her brain seemed to have trouble processing my offer. I couldn’t really blame her. It was a ridiculous thing to ask a person, especially someone I had only just reconnected with.
“Do you need more?” I asked. “I’m flexible.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not the money.”
“What is it?”
“Uh, the lying!”
I frowned at that. What did it say about me that I never considered the morality of the offer? Dishonesty didn’t come naturally to everybody. “To be fair, it’s barely a lie.”
“But three weeks?” she asked. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t have time to stand here and beg,” I said. “Please consider it. And think of it this way—Nic said you wanted to move to New York. This can serve as a trial run. And that money would go a long way to helping you make the move out there. Please say yes.”
She chewed on her lower lip with indecision, and I stared too long at her mouth. Her skin was so pale, I could see the fine blue veins beneath her skin.
I checked my watch. “I’ll tell you what, Clara. I’ll assume the answer is no if you don’t get on the flight. If you do, I’ll have a driver waiting at JFK the second it lands. It’s up to you.”
I turned to walk away but her small hand caught my arm, her fingers digging into my skin.
“Does Nic know what you’re asking me to do?”
“Of course,” I lied, shrugging her off. I could figure out a way to smooth this over with Nic if I had to. “You have less than a day to decide. I won’t be buying a second ticket.”
I walked away with my heart racing for some reason.
CHAPTER 8
CLARA
Istarted at my reflection in the airport bathroom, unable to believe I was there. Women whizzed by behind me as if in slow motion, like I was trapped and time was moving on without me.
What the hell am I doing?
In reality, what choice did I have? No job, no apartment, no boyfriend. Hell, I didn’t even have my car anymore. Jessie had to drive me all the way to the airport last night, and I had been roaming the terminal for hours. I needed the money Luke was offering and I wasn’t going to make that kind of cash anywhere else, short of selling drugs or a kidney.
Guilt gnawed at my guts. I hadn’t told my parents I was going. I had just left a brief note for them on the fridge, saying I was going to New York to do some soul searching and would be back by Christmas.
At least Nic knew the truth, but how could he be okay with this?
A woman bumped into me and jolted me back to reality. My flight was boarding soon, so I hurried to the gate. I had found it earlier, as soon as I’d gotten through security, and then I’d walked around that general area, looking through the differentstores and trying to keep my courage up enough to get on the plane when the time came.
I could still walk away and put this insanity behind me. The note, I could pretend was a joke, and I never had to see Luke again if I didn’t want to.
What finally sealed my decision was when I went to buy a soda from one of the stores and my card got declined. I wanted to die of embarrassment. Living that way wasn’t an option. I needed the money, so I needed to get on that plane.
I would not letCat Food Christmasbe the title of my memoirs.
