CHAPTER 6

RUSSEL'S POV

To me, getting married, and getting the CEO position were two totally unrelated topics, but apparently the older folks on the board of directors were nauseatingly old fashioned, because  why would they chose to believe that my relationship status would somehow affect my performance in the company as soon as I become confirmed as CEO, when I’ve been doing just fine before now. When it came down to it, acting CEO and CEO were pretty much the same thing, and I had been doing just fine in that capacity even without a woman in my life so why did all these people want to make my life a living hell? I loved my grandpa a lot, and I was really fond of him even while he was alive. He was like my mentor and role model whom I looked up to but I really wasn’t sure If I wanted to forgive him for the whole marriage bomb he dropped on me right before his death.

“Have you thought about hiring someone?” Sam suggested, pulling me out of my thoughts which were spiraling out of control by the way.

“Is that even possible?” I asked in utter shock.

“Of course.”He replied. “I even hear there is an app for it these days. “You go on there, find a woman you are compact-able with, draw up a contract, sign it, and voila you could be married by next week if your heart so desires.”

Damn, this world was really becoming something else. It was quite amusing to think that so many people needed fake spouses to the point that there was now an app for it. And here I was thinking that my circumstances were peculiar.

“Wait, don’t tell me you are actually considering it.” Sam asked laughing. “You must really be desperate huh?”

“No I wasn’t.” I lied, ordering myself another drink in an attempt to hide my embarrassment.

“You so were.” He replied, laughing even harder.

“Was not.” I argued even though I knew he didn’t believe me one bit. “Look it’s too risky okay? There are too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. And God forbid if the woman decides to talk. My life as I know it could literally be over and I cannot afford to have that okay? So no, I wasn’t considering it.” I finished, noticing that my voice had gone a little higher than I had intended.

“Okay, okay.” He said, raising his hands in surrender. “I’ll drop it. No need to get all defensive on me.”

I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t being defensive but I knew that doing that was only going to prolong the conversation more than was actually necessary so I simply sighed and waited patiently for my drink to arrive. Thankfully, it arrived soon and I took it gratefully. Sam also ordered one for himself and once it arrived, we simply sat in companionable silence for a while, sipping our drinks and being lost in thoughts.

“But certainly there has to be at least one woman you know whom you can reach out to that might willing to go down this road with you right?”

“Trust me I would know if I had one.

“What about Chloe?” He asked suddenly. “You two were good together. What happened?”

“Oh, she found out that she was gay after a vacation in Vegas and wanted to explore her sexuality.”

“Ooh!” He exclaimed with a grimace.

“Yeah.” I  agreed, refusing to think about that season because her betrayal stung much more than I was willing to admit.

“Okay, what about Carla? Come on, there has to be some hope there.”

“Nope. She got married last year after I broke things off with her, and I really don’t think her husband would appreciate me proposing to his wife.”

“Yeah. I have a very clear Idea of how that conversation would go down.” He replied thoughtfully, and I really appreciated the effort he was putting into trying to help me but he had to trust me when I said that none of my exes were an option.

“Hell man, you gotta help me out here.” He lamented, starting to sound defeated. “Isn’t there at least one woman you know who seems minimally reasonable, and whom you can convince to walk down an aisle with you? Even if she isn’t enthusiastic at first, I’m sure a pretty sum of money could help change her mind. All you need is someone who is smart enough to sell a story and make it seem believable. You don’t need a wife man. What you need is an actor, and a damn good one at that.”

“Nah man, that’s way too risky.” I replied with a sigh. “If she decides to talk…”

“Isn’t life all about risks? Besides, I don't think you have much of a choice right now.” He said, cutting me off. “Look, if she needs the money desperately enough, I’m sure she might be willing to keep her mouth shut. Everyone has a price Russ. Also, make her sign an NDA or something so that her running her mouth would only be to her own detriment. Trust me on this one man, this could actually work.”

As he ranted on about someone who seemed pretty reasonable, someone who was smart enough to sell a story, and someone who needed money desperately enough that they might be willing to keep their mouth shut, an image was forming in my head and I really didn’t want to consider that thought, but the more I tried to avoid the thought, the more her face came into view. I felt like such a horrible person for even considering it. She was carrying my brother’s child for carrying out loud, but no matter how hard I tried, the thought just wasn’t going away.

“Look man, I gotta go.” I said to Sam, grabbing my glass and chugging the rest of its contents down in one swift motion.

“Where to?” He asked in confusion, trying to follow behind me but I was out of the door before he had even gotten out of his seat.

The next second, I was in my car, driving off, while leaving behind a completely stunned and confused Sam.