Chapter5
“I have an appointment with Ms. Roberts,” Sierra said, unsure if she should talk to security first or just go directly up to the tenth floor.
The security guard looked at her and smiled. Another pretty face for the company’s roster. “Name please?” he asked in all seriousness.
“Sierra Whittaker.”
Nice name, the guard thought as he rang for Ms. Roberts’ office. A few seconds later, Sierra had an automated ID that would only bring her to specific floors. She swiped the ID on the elevator panel, and it sped up to the tenth floor.
Sierra took a deep breath as the doors opened. She stepped into a chrome and glass office with black desks. There were no partitions, except for a single black door at the end of the office with a good view of the Manhattan skyline.
“Can I help you?” a woman who had passed by asked.
“Ms. Roberts?” Sierra began.
“She’s over there,” the woman pointed to a desk with a little fountain figurine on the table. There was also a bonsai on her neat table.
“Hi Ms. Roberts,” Sierra greeted as she walked up to her table.
Jemima looked up. “Ah, you’re on time. Wait here for a moment,” she told Sierra as she walked into the office without knocking. Jemima craned her neck in to check on her boss.
“Sir,” she whispered, seeing Ben standing in front of a glass panel with his hands in his pockets, looking at the city view. Jemima knew he was thinking about something ingenious; it was his thinking stance.
He looked around. “What is it?”
“Miss Whittaker is here.”
“Send her in,” he said casually.
Sierra gingerly stepped into the office, surprised to see a veranda behind his desk with bonsai plants all around the area. There were three abstract paintings that blended well with his modern office. There were two large couches on opposite sides with a coffee table in the middle. His open desk was made from dark wood.
“You like my table?” he began with a grin. “I got this from the Philippines. Apparently it’s called iron wood. It took seven people to lift this all the way up here.”
She didn’t say anything at first, surprised at how friendly he was. And now that she was up close to him, she saw they hadn’t lied about him being extremely handsome. His jawline looked like it could melt butter. He had a five o’clock shadow that made him look less friendly, but there was a confidence in him that was found in most powerful people; they knew things not everyone did.
He walked up to her, towering over her by at least six inches. “I’m Ben Eriksson. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, Ms. Whittaker.”
“Sierra,” she breathed, smelling his aftershave. There was something about his eyes that nearly made her knees buckle. He shook her hand, a light grip that caused Sierra to look down. He was good with his hands, too. She almost reddened from this thought. What the hell was she thinking?
“Just Sierra?” he asked.
She nodded. “Ms. Roberts told me not to bring anything. I wanted to bring a portfolio at least—”
“Jemima did what I told her to do,” he said. “Please, sit down.”
Sierra sat down across from him on a leather chair with a wooden frame. He sat back in his chair and clasped his hands in front of him.
“So, Sierra, tell me about yourself.”
“I just graduated last May from Rushport.”
“Where’s that?”
“In Rochester.”
“Quaint city,” Ben said. “I visited there once.”
He had been about to buy a small company that did the electronic circuits for a few smaller car companies, but decided it would be better if they had their own. That was the purpose of having a factory made in Germany, too.
She cleared her throat, surprised that she was suddenly tongue-tied. This was just another human being for crying out loud, she told herself.
“I have a degree in Human Resource Management.”
“Yet you’re out here modeling?” Ben said in a puzzled manner.
“The agency that initially wanted me closed down the moment I came here.”
“Which agency?”
“Ramp. Vanessa Chesterton owned it.”
He nodded. “My mother knew her. She was a nice lady with a big heart. What did you do after finding out the agency had closed?”
“Set out to find a job. I don’t have much.”
He knew she didn’t have much, despite her credentials. He knew her father was a sheriff in their small town, knew she was twenty-two years old. He also knew she was an honors student and was obviously naïve about the goings on of a bigger, harsher city.
“And you landed with Fresh Faces.”
“I asked my friend for help. He’s a hair stylist. He found out Fresh Faces needed a replacement.”
“What do you plan to do in life?” he asked her.
“Get a job. I’m aiming for a master’s at NYU. Then maybe go back to Rochester and help the local government.”
“Seems pretty honorable of you,” he said, “but how would you like to help me first?”
“Work for you?”
“It’s a special kind of work,” Ben told her.
She looked confused. “You mean unlike regular office work?”
“Unlike regular office work,” he confirmed.
“What do I have to do?” she asked, not liking where this was going.
“Nothing illegal. Just a matter of doing what I tell you to.”
“I’m sure you already have enough secretaries,” Sierra said warily.
“I do, but I’m not in need of a secretary. I’m in need of a girlfriend.”
Sierra blinked and looked up. “What?”
“You heard me correctly. I’m hiring you to be my girlfriend.”
“How—?” she stopped. This was some kind of joke, wasn’t it? She searched for signs of it on his face, searched for a sly smile, a flicker in his eye. There was none. His face was serious. “I don’t quite follow you.”
“This is my proposal,” he began. “I have a contract that stipulates our relationship for the next three months. I’ll cover all of your expenses while we’re together; I’ll set you up in an apartment, provide your shopping expenses, the works.”
“Wait, wait. You don’t even know if I’m agreeing to this. Why would you need a contract to have a girlfriend?”
He sighed and laughed. “Personal reasons.”
“You’re gay,” she quickly said.
“Would it bother you if I was?” he retorted, raising a brow.
“No, it’s just that, you can get anyone you want. I mean a man of your position—”
He held up a palm. “For personal reasons,” he insisted. “Anyway, three months is all I’m asking. You’ll date me exclusively—”
“By dating, this means…?”
“The usual. We have to be seen together in high-profile areas. We’ll have trips together. I’ll introduce you to my family.”
“As your fake girlfriend? What kind of parent would want that?”
“Trust me, some parents would want it.”
“That would be lying to them.”
“They won’t know. You’ll break up with me after three months.”
“What?” she sounded aghast. “You’ll need to hire an actress for this, I can’t do that.”
“This is a once in a lifetime offer, Ms. Whittaker. All expenses will be charged to me. You might even have enough for your master’s.”
“Why are you wasting money on this?”
“It’s an investment I need to do.”
“For personal reasons.”
“See? You are smart, after all,” he said with a smile. Slightly scatterbrained though, he added to himself as an afterthought. “We’re talking no less than twenty-thousand dollars for your living and shopping expenses for three months.”
Sierra almost choked. Twenty-thousand dollars for three months of pretending to be his girlfriend? Shopping and trips and an apartment included?
He was looking at her intently, knowing full well he had successfully swayed her to consider the proposal. She saw how nervous her hands were, distrustful of this unexpected scheme.
“Isn’t this impulsive? You just saw me three days ago.”
“You aren’t like them,” he said in a quiet voice.
She looked at him in the eye, trying to make some sense out of it. “That doesn’t sound like an assured future.”
“You can still model if you want. You’re pretty and pretty smart. That’s a killer combination for me. That’s like the ultimate assurance for women.”
Misogynist. “I don’t want to sign an agreement that doesn’t explain your side. You make it sound like it’s going to be an easy job for me. So easy it’s ridiculous.”
“Of course it sounds ridiculous. A CEO offering you benefits and a lifestyle fit for supermodels,” Ben said. “All you have to do is break up with me during a scheduled family reunion.”
“What?” she gasped, “Why would I ruin a completely happy occasion?”
“Because I’m paying you to do it. After the contract ends, I’m assuring you of another check for $20,000.00.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone…” she said, hating the idea of hurting and fooling people for the purpose of his ‘personal reasons.’ “Won’t you just tell me why you have to do this? There’ll be parents involved, I’m guessing.”
“Of course,” he said calmly. “That’s why I’m doing this. I don’t want to settle down at the moment, and my parents would like me to. I’ve just broken up with someone a few days ago—”
“A few days ago? Damn.”
“Like I said, I broke up with my last girlfriend recently and would prefer to be single but not too single in my parents’ eyes.”
“I don’t want to trick your parents. I haven’t even met them.”
“Oh, you’ll meet them.”
“You make it sound so easy. Like it’s a game.”
“But it is. And it’s going to be a win-win situation. You’ll get your finances in order, so you won’t go home in shame, and I’ll have a good enough reason to stay single and have my heart broken by virtue of contract.”
Sierra found herself shaking her head. “I really don’t know what to—”
“I’ve given it much deliberation and think you’re the perfect candidate.”
“You could have picked someone else,” she groaned.
Well, I picked you because you’re reasonably eye-catching and smart; I’m tired of dating bimbos. Plus, you seem so inexperienced and honest, he thought, easy to manipulate without the extra whining.
“I found your personality quite winning that day. Did you know you went a bit viral with the world of cars and the car geeks that come with it?” he said with a smile. Then he took a deep breath, and his tone changed in an instant. “Look, you either say you’re in this with me with the most benefits you’ve probably ever had, or you can walk out that door and go back to that tiny modeling agency to tell them you turned my offer down. Then, you can enjoy the profit sharing they make out of you.”
He slipped two pieces of paper onto his iron wood table, and she saw the outline of the contract. There was no fine print. The terms were stated clearly.
She gave a quiet gasp. Then she looked at her hands once more, trying to stop the anxiety that was growing in her. This was just a contract; it was a simple contract. These were just pretend dates, except this time she would enjoy being treated like a queen and get paid for it. She thought about her family, her loving parents and the twenty-year-old house they lived in. She thought about going back to Rushport with a master’s degree. She also thought about going back as a successful model, one of Forbes’ highest paid ones at that. It didn’t hurt to dream. Meeting Ben Eriksson was probably one of the most unexpected, yet most rewarding moments in her life.
“You’ll help me find a job after the contract ends?”
“I’ll land you another job,” he assured her. “Didn’t you want a master’s in human resource management, though?”
“I meant after I take that year-long course, you’ll still help me land a job?”
He nodded. “You have my word.”
“And if I don’t do a believable break-up scene with you?”
“You’ll have to pay me for what I spent on you,” he said calmly.
She almost choked. “Wh-what?”
“Word to the wise, be careful what you spend on. Or you could just do as you’re contracted to do, like the good, smart, Rushport-native that you are.”
Sierra looked at the paper again and held it in her hands this time. She read through every line carefully and knew it was indeed a win-win situation if they both played their parts right.
“All right,” she said with closed eyes, deciding on her fate for the next three months.
Ben smiled and handed her a pen.
***
Sierra met up with Tyrone a little while later. It was his day off from work as a hair stylist at one of the more hip salons in the city. He was junior hairstylist already and proud of it.
“And there’s my favorite girl,” he cried out with glee as he held out open arms to envelop her in a tight hug.
“I haven’t seen you in ages. Well, two years to be exact,” Sierra said, loving the familiar embrace she only got from Tyrone. She took a step back to appreciate how colorful Tyrone’s hair was. He was like a unicorn, her personal unicorn, with his purple afro and flashy, purple, velvet coat.
“What brings, what brings?” Tyrone asked. “How did the event go?”
Sierra smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Did you get discovered?” he teased.
Oh boy, did I get discovered, she thought. “I sort of did.”
“Did Fresh Faces sign you? An exclusive contract?” Tyrone asked, excited.
Sierra shook her head, determined to tell at least a bit of the story to Tyrone.
“You mean another agency got to you first? Joan is going to have a hell of a time screaming at—”
“No, no. I meant the owner of the car company, Orion, he wants me onboard his company.” Her voice faltered.
“And that does not sound very glamorous now, does it?” Tyrone said with pursed lips. “So, tell me,” he said, as they began to walk around the neighborhood, “what’s he like? Joan told me some juicy bits about him.”
Her ears burned, and she was glad she had kept her hair down on that rather cold afternoon. “He’s business-like,” she replied, remembering their conversation earlier. He even made a contract so we could date…
Then she smiled, knowing this was going to sound boring to Tyrone, or Ty as he preferred. “He’s pretty good looking for a white boy,” she laughed.
“Oh white, black, Latin, Asian, who cares as long as the guy’s hot?” Tyrone said, pretending to fan himself with his hand. “Ooh, hot, hot, hot.”
Sierra laughed. “You should have seen the way the models threw themselves all over him.”
“And you didn’t?” Tyrone retorted with a raised eyebrow.
She playfully pinched his arm. “I was busy doing my job,” she said. “That job that took you three days before you could call me back.”
“I liked the idea of adrenaline rushing in. Like when you’re close to starvation and suddenly money comes pouring in,” Tyrone said with a chuckle.
“Seriously, I could not have done it without you,” Sierra said, grateful.
“You would have not met the famed Ben Eriksson.”
“I didn’t know he was popular.”
“In certain circles. His mother does her hair at the salon once in a while. So everyone at the salon’s seen him, but I’ve never seen him. Apparently, he makes panties drop with a glance. You’ve got yourself a naughty, naughty CEO.”
“I would never—” she stopped herself and saw Tyrone’s expression. “Oh, damn it, Ty.”
“Looks like you’ve fallen for white boy’s charms too, huh? This I have to see. Who knows? He just might like someone like lil’ ol’ me.”