“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.
