Another Idea

Terran

I hadn’t been able to think of anything else except my father’s demands. I would lose everything. He hadn’t given me a choice. He was making me marry someone I couldn’t possibly love. In his attempt to give me that happiness he was convinced I was missing out on, he was damning me to a miserable life of being trapped in a marriage I didn’t want. How could he have possibly thought that was better than a lifetime of being single?

I felt physically ill. The stress over what had to be done was disrupting my ability to think straight. No matter how much I tried to think of anything else, everything seemed to come back to my father’s will. Going to work, I realized I could soon be out of a job. Sitting behind my desk reminded me it could all be gone in six short months. I felt like my entire life was about to crumble beneath me. 

The morning passed in a blur. I barely remembered the meetings, only the mention of things being shuffled around, and my earlier appointment would be later in the day. By lunchtime, I was feeling like a frazzled mess and needed to get out of the office for a bit.

I called Zach, and when he answered, I said, “Let’s get out of here for lunch today.”

“Your treat?”

I scoffed. “Sure, it might be the last time I can treat.”

“I’ll meet you in thirty. I’m starving.”

“Of course you are. Laying around all day must be exhausting.” 

He chuckled. “I’m not alone.”

I hung up the phone, shaking my head. The man would never know what it was like to need to get out of bed early and go to work. He had never had a job or needed one. He had been born wealthy, and his father had no qualms about letting Zach do as he pleased with the money. He wasn’t a squanderer, and he did a lot of charity work, but he would never know real work.

I arrived at the upscale Italian restaurant I favored and was quickly escorted to a table. I debated ordering a cocktail but kept it clean with a soda instead.

When Zach arrived, he looked as if he had stepped directly out of the shower and into the restaurant.

“You could have taken a minute to dry off,” I said.

He grinned. “My shower took a little longer than I planned.”

The look on his face told me his shower had not been a solo one. “Anyone I know?”

He shrugged. “It’s not even someone I know.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice.”

“So, where were you? I called you a couple times yesterday. I blame you for what happened last night.”

“What happened?”

“I had to go out by myself, and that’s how I ended up with whoever she was,” he said with a smile.

“How is that my fault again?”

“Because I didn’t have you there to tell me it wasn’t a good idea.”

The waitress came by, got our orders, and drifted away.

“I had an emergency meeting with Bob, my dad’s attorney, yesterday,” I explained.

“Did he remind you the clock was ticking or offer you a solution to the problem?”

“Neither,” I said. “He made my life far more complicated than it should be. Not only do I lose the inheritance if I don’t marry, but I also lose my company.” 

Zach lowered his glass of soda to the table and looked at me. “No shit?”

I nodded. “No shit. He was the one who put up the money in the beginning. I had assumed his shares transferred to me upon his death. They didn’t. He never once got involved in the company. Now, he has decided the company will be dismantled and sold back to the shareholders if I’m not married.”

Zach shook his head and let out a long whistle. “Damn. That is crazy! He was really serious about you getting married. It’s bizarre.”

I scoffed. “No kidding. Now, I’m stuck.”

“What do you mean you’re stuck?”

“I have to figure out what I’m going to do and fairly quickly,” I said.

Zach was shaking his head. “There is no figuring anything out. It’s already decided.”

I groaned. “I know. I just keep thinking I have a choice and have this big decision to make.”

“Or…” Zach said, that familiar gleam in his eye that said he had one of his wild ideas.

“Or?” I asked, worried about what he would say.

“Or you hire a woman to be your fiancée until you get your inheritance. Once you get your money, you break off the engagement, playing up the broken heart to make it look legit and all your problems are solved.” He smiled as if he had just figured out the solution to all my problems.

I paused to think about it. It wasn’t a terrible idea. “That might work,” I mused.

He was nodding his head. “Hell yeah, it will work. Have the woman sign a confidentiality agreement. She can’t breathe a word of the plan to anyone. Old Bob will never know. Get the money, and wait a month or two before you break off the engagement. Make it really good and have her cheat on you or something. That will win you some sympathy points, and you won’t have to worry about another clause sneaking up on you. As soon as you get the money, I’d put it in some secret offshore account so it can’t be taken back.”

“Where am I going to find this fake fiancée?” I asked.

He shrugged a shoulder. “They’re everywhere.”

“And then what? Ask her if she’s willing to pretend she likes me enough to sell the idea of a fake marriage?”

He laughed. “I think it’s going to cost you. You’re going to have to offer some money to make sure the woman doesn’t run her mouth or change her mind and leave you hanging.”

I nodded my head. “How much does one pay a woman to pretend to be a fiancée?”