Chapter 3

The next morning, Nic was trying to make sense of what had happened the previous night. He wasn’t even sure whether it was real or not because she was being her usual distant self, and she didn’t say anything about it either. He began wondering if he was the one going insane. She had kept the robe on the entire time, and he had never seen her naked, so he assumed that maybe it was a dream.

He was distracted from the thought when he received an incoming call from Alexis. He didn’t know if he should answer it. On the other hand, he couldn’t avoid her forever, and there was no harm in answering.

“Hi.” He answered.

“I was worried that you wouldn’t pick up. Nic, listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you. I wasn’t in a good space, and you said all those nice things, and I just went for it. Can we just put this behind us? That’s if you want to, but I’ll understand if you don’t.”

“Lex, it’s ok. I get it. I was just shocked, and that doesn’t mean I want to stop being your friend.”

“That’s a huge relief.”

“Can we talk later? I’m heading off to work soon.”

“Ok. One more thing, are you free for lunch tomorrow?”

“Yeah, you can come over during my break.”

“Cool, see you then.”

After getting off from work later that day, Nic was approached by two bulky guys.

“Come with us,” One of them said. “Our boss wants to have a word with you.”

He knew he could take one on, but taking them both on would just be arrogant, and it wouldn’t end well. Seeing no way to get out of this unharmed, he followed them to see what their boss wanted while hoping he hadn’t accidentally gotten dragged into the mafia world. They rounded the corner to a car already waiting there.

“Get in.”

The last thing he expected was to find himself seated across a woman. He was starting to suspect that wealthy women had a vendetta against him.

“I’m sorry if we scared you. It’s just standard procedure. I’m Myrine, by the way.”

“Nicholas.”

“Ok, Nicholas, I’ll cut to the chase and say I want to strike a deal with you. I want to hire you to be my boyfriend for six months. That just includes accompanying me to social events and family dinners.”

“I…”

“I’ll obviously pay you and compensate you for any inconvenience I might cause you.”

“It’s not that. I’m married.”

“You probably need the money, so I’m sure your wife will understand. I won’t make any advances to you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“She makes more than enough, so she doesn’t need the money.”

“Interesting.”

“What is?”

“When you talked about your finances, you said “she” instead of “we”. I’m guessing that she’s quite stingy with it. In that case, I’m willing to offer double my original price, and it was already high, to begin with.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t accept it.”

“Alright, then let me explain. You could say that I’m desperate. I don’t like using that word to describe myself, but it is what it is. Believe me, I wouldn’t be doing something this crazy if there was another way.”

“Can I at least think about it?”

“Yes, but it should be obvious that I don’t take no for an answer. Here’s my card for when you’re done thinking about it.”

“Why exactly are you doing this?”

“All I need is to get my parents off my back for a while.”

“Why me?”

“I saw you crossing the street a few hours ago and thought you'd be perfect for the job so I tracked you down. You’re cute but not enough to attract too much attention. Don’t take it the wrong way; it’s just my opinion.”

“I honestly don’t know how I should take it.”

“Are there any more questions?”

“No.”

“I can take you home if you’d like.”

“No thanks, I’ll take the bus.”

“Suit yourself.”

Later that night, there was a knock at his bedroom door. He didn’t know who it could be at this time, because he doubted that Alexis would come over and Lyra would never knock. To his surprise, it was his wife in the same robe. She just went in and closed the door behind her.

“Is…”

“Just shut up and kiss me.” She pulled him down for a kiss.

“Whoa, wait. What’s going on?”

“Simple, I came to have sex with you. I don’t think I need to remind you that we’re married.”

“I know that, but…”

“I brought condoms with me if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“So does this mean…”

“You talk too much,” She pulled him back for another kiss.

The next day…

“I have a weird question to ask,” Nicholas said.

“Weird is better than stupid.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but has your sister ever been diagnosed as being bipolar?”

“As far as I know, no. Why would you ask?”

“This is going to sound made up, but during the day, she’s her usual self, and at night, she wants to sleep with me. It’s like she’s two different people.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Just two days.”

“And it started out of the blue?”

“Yes.”

“Two days isn’t a lot, but it’s still odd. On the other hand, it’s not surprising for her to do as she pleases. Do you think she’s trying to get pregnant?”

“I doubt she’d sleep with me for that reason, and she always brings condoms.”

“Whatever her reasons are, all I know is that I don’t know what they are. You could try asking her.”

“I doubt I’ll get an answer.”

“Then I’m out of ideas.”

“Same here. Yesterday, a lady named Myrine approached me and wants to hire me as her boyfriend.”

“Her boyfriend in what way?”

“Nothing too bad. She just needs me to go with her to socials and family dinners, and it’s just for six months.”

“Oh.”

“I tried declining, but she kept pushing and even offered double what she was going to pay. I don’t how know much it is, but it sounded like a lot. Money aside, it seemed like she really needed my help, but I don’t know if I should go for it.”

“What I find odd is that I’m picturing her as someone who can get any man she wants, and yet she wants to hire you to pretend to be her boyfriend. I’m not saying that you’re not cute. This whole situation is just odd.”

“I thought the same thing, but she won’t take no for an answer.”

“To be honest, I think you should do it. Not for the money, but just to go out and see people. It’s not exactly what normal people would do, but it sounds like it could be fun, and you need to go out more. And from the sound of it, it doesn’t seem like she’ll purposely put you at risk.”

“I still need to think about it.”