Page 45 of Hating the Boss

I could see the headlines now…

Manhattan Bachelor Pays for Love

Billionaire Gives Out Bonus for Romance

CEO Can’t Find Love, Buys It Instead

It would be humiliating, and the board would not be happy. They usually had something to say if my picture was plastered on the front page of the tabloids. The last one with a fashion week runway model had left them unimpressed. But this…This would be the last straw.

Or Sarah could go to HR and tell them everything, which would make it up to the board and I would surely lose my stake in the company, along with my job here. When my father found out about this, I would be done. There would be nothing he could do to sway the board to keep me as the CEO. He would never trust me again, knowing I was trying to pull one over him.

Either way, I would lose my job.

I groaned as I ran my hands down my cheeks, the slight stubble scratching my skin.

This was bad. Really bad.

Anton and his stupid ideas…

I was just as stupid for going through with his insane plan. The whole mail-order bride idea was looking a hell of a lot better right now.

I slid my phone out of my jacket pocket and called Anton. Maybe he could talk me off the ledge I felt like I was teetering on.

“Hey, man,” he answered, sounding like he was out of breath.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Out for a jog. What’s up?” he asked. I could hear the sound of traffic in the background, his feet thumping against the pavement.

“I think I just fucked up.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, worry coating his voice as I heard his footsteps come to a halt

“I did what you said. I asked Sarah to…” I glanced at the door, but there was no sign of her, or anyone. “You know.”

“No way! You actually did it?” he asked loudly in disbelief.

“Yes! You told me to!” I pressed against my temple with my fingertips, feeling a thumping against them.

“I tell you a lot of things.” He laughed. “It doesn’t mean you should do them. If I jumped off a bridge…”

“Oh, shut up and help me,” I snapped, interrupting him.

“Okay, okay. What happened?”

“I told her the importance of me looking a certain way for the board and my father. How being ‘settled down’ was good for my image. How one of our biggest clients is threatening to pull out of their business dealings with us.”

“Wait, really?”

“Music Now,” I muttered. “The owner is apparently from the eighteen hundreds.”

“Shit. We stream them all the time at the restaurant,” he said.

“Yeah, well, if we lose them, I can kiss my job goodbye. So desperately, I asked Sarah to pretend she was in a relationship with me.”

Listening to myself say it out loud made it even more ridiculous. No wonder she had left in such a hurry. She couldn’t wait to get away from me and my preposterous proposal.

“And?” Anton asked curiously.