“Frankly, Dane, I’m always judging you. You’ll get used to it.”
He just shook his head a little. Maybe he was already getting used to it.
“You didn’t love her?” I inquired.
“I think I grew to love her. I wasn’t in love with her.”
“Ever?”
“No. I mean I think I convinced myself that I was, because it seemed inevitable. She was all wrapped up in my destiny. Part of the plan. But then the plan just kind of fell out from under me when that sex tape was leaked, and suddenly she was gone. I guess she didn’t care enough about me to ride it out. And when she took off, I really didn’t care as much as I should have.” He glanced at me again. “I know that makes me sound like a coldhearted bastard.”
“It does. And it doesn’t. I mean, if you weren’t in love with her, why the hell were you marrying her? Why on Earth would you marry someone, just to please your family?”
He gave me another look.
“This is different, though,” I said. “This is a specific arrangement for a specific result. We both get something out of it.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that was the situation with me and Tina, too. We just weren’t upfront about it from the start.”
I considered that. “She didn’t love you?”
“I guess I’ll never know. She’s not exactly speaking to me anymore.”
“Well. Maybe I’ll reach out to her. We could be friends. Compare notes.”
He looked at me, his mouth opening but nothing coming out.
“Holy shit,” I said, “you should see yourself right now. I was kidding. Do you have that much to hide?”
“I don’t have anything to hide,” he said carefully. “But just the thought of the two of you comparing notes and your hatred of me growing exponentially was slightly chilling.”
“Oh, I’m already at max hatred, Dane. I assure you. I couldn’t possibly hate you any more than I already do. So you’re safe there. Unless you actually murder a member of my family, I’m pretty sure this is as bad as it gets.”
“I’m so happy to hear it.”
I said nothing, just looked out the window and tried to enjoy the drive as we rolled on down the 99, cutting through Stanley Park. We were leaving downtown, and the growl of the Bugatti grew louder in the tunnel created by the trees on either side of us.
I was feeling pretty uneasy about this whole conversation. About the fact that we were having an actual conversation, one that wasn’t an argument or a negotiation. It felt like a date. Like a first date, and I didn’t expect that.
I didn’t want to enjoy it, either. That felt too dangerous, and not in a fun way.
“What about you?” he asked me. “What have you told your family, and how did they take it?”
“Well, I called my parents before we left on our trip to tell them I was marrying a man they never met, and who they’ve never even heard me mention before. It went over super well.”
“Would you like me to meet them?” he offered. “Soon? Put their minds at ease that I’m not a psycho or something?”
I eyed him. “I’m not sure meeting you would make that clear.”
“Funny.”
“I’m hardly kidding. Let me just ease them into it. They freaked out pretty good, but they’re calming down. I spoke with them again today.”
“I guess it would be strange hearing that you’re suddenly getting married, to a billionaire, who’s also your employer, without telling them you were even seeing me.”
“Uh… About that…”
“What?” Dane looked at me, trying to read my sudden silence. “You didn’t tell them I’m your employer or something?”
