Chapter Six
Lindsey
Saturday
I sighed loudly as I glanced down at the address Adam had sent me to go and meet him. It certainly wasn’t the corner of New York that I was from! The Upper East Side in Manhattan was filled with rich, pretentious people that didn’t have to work to get by, which couldn’t have been more opposite from me if it tried. That, combined with the fact that I already didn’t like this arrogant asshole meant I wasn’t much looking forward to the day.
Three hundred dollars… I still couldn’t get over it. Maybe that should have been enough cash since I was only acting like his girlfriend for a few hours, but I was promised much higher. I needed that higher amount to give me some breathing room, I wasn’t about to back down just because the guy didn’t much like what he saw of me.
Not that I thought much of what I saw of him, either. At first glance I thought him to be very handsome, dark hair, light green eyes, striking cheek bones, and an obviously muscular body under that expensive suit of his. Admittedly, my heart did skip a beat…
But that had to be more to do with the fact that I hadn’t been with anyone for a very long time because as soon as he opened that horrible mouth of his, any desire that I felt for him simply fell away. I could just tell that he looked down on me and I didn’t like that at all.
No wonder he’s still single, I thought bitterly to myself as I pulled a plain black tee shirt over my head. He just doesn’t know how to speak to women, at all.
Still, I was going to have to put up with it because the car would be here soon enough and now that I’d negotiated the right rate of pay, I had to somehow make this work. It was going to take all of my acting skills to act like I didn’t hate this man, but still it was better than getting nude.
Mildly.
I shivered at the memory of that audition and turned to face myself in the mirror. With no make up on and my hair hanging lose around my shoulders I looked plain and boring, but since I had no desire to impress this guy, it really didn’t matter. I would just go as myself, get to know what the deal was with all of this, and that would be the end of it.
Right, time to wait outside. I tried to boost myself up but it didn’t work much. I needed to go though because I didn’t want to be late. It was the first well-paid acting job that I’d ever had, and I really didn’t want to screw it up. Even if it wouldn’t be recognized as an acting job, the cash was key.
“Bye, Denise,” I called out, despite the fact that I wasn’t sure where she was. The fact that she didn’t answer me suggested that she was either sleeping or had gone out a while ago. Without her as a security blanket I didn’t have anyone to calm down my racing brain.
I pressed the elevator button without holding out much hope. The damn thing was always broken and as it made a rough buzzing sound I realized this was going to be another of those days. It drove me nuts, what was the point of it being in the building if it wasn’t ever going to work? Now I would have to take the stairs two at a time to ensure I wasn’t late.
As I raced down, my heart raced in my chest, my brain got itself all twisted up in knots, and my stomach churned. By the time I actually stepped outside into the cold, fresh air, I felt like I might throw up. This was a mistake, I felt absolutely certain of it. This was going to be the one acting role that I was never going to pull off.
Oh my God.
There wasn’t just any car waiting outside for me, it was one that made my heart pound even heavier. It was practically a limousine, which was unheard of in my neighborhood. When Adam said that he was sending over a car to pick me up, I wasn’t expecting this…but it had to be for me. There wasn’t any other reason that a car like this would turn up out of the blue.
I wished that I had a hood I could pull over my face as I tiptoed as conspicuously as I could to the car, hoping that no one was watching me. They would be though, I just knew it. If it wasn’t me getting into the car, I would be looking, too, wondering whose fortune had magically changed.
The cringe deep inside my chest didn’t even subside as I got into the car. I could barely hear him as the driver introduced himself, and I wasn’t even sure if I replied or not. All I could focus on was trying to calm myself down, so as the car kicked into gear and slid down the street, I allowed my eyes to close while I tried to refocus what I needed to do.
I have to become this character, I reminded myself. I need to lose who I am so I can make this work I have to become the girlfriend of Adam Britt, who loves him, doesn’t hate his guts… No, that isn’t helpful. Instead, I’ll breathe.
I focused on breathing in and out carefully until the driver pulled the car to a stop. I thought that I’d done it, I presumed that I’d cracked it, but as soon as my eyes snapped open and I saw the gorgeous, luxurious town house that stood in front of me, the bitterness came flying back. Of course, he lived in a place like this, why wouldn’t he? It was only saps like me who lived in shitholes.
“Thank you,” I muttered to the driver as I got out. “I appreciate it.”
My eyes scanned up the building, making me feel small and insecure. My outfit felt all wrong, as did the natural look I had decided to wear in defiance. I didn’t fit it, that would be obvious to absolutely everyone around, which meant it would be to Adam, too. Much as I didn’t want to do the job, I didn’t want him to cancel it, either; I damn well needed it.
Just be confident, I tried to convince myself as I took shaky steps up towards his front door. Don’t be intimidated, all will be okay.
My whole body trembled as I raised my hand to knock, but the thought of ten grand kept me going. I banged my hand against the door, hating the way that the sound seemed to ricochet violently through my body.
I half-expected a butler to answer, so when it was Adam who stood on the other side of that swinging door, my heart leaped in my chest again and it was hard to suck enough air back into my lungs for a moment.
“Ah, hello.” Was it me or did Adam look a little awkward, too? “Come in.”
He stepped aside and I kept my eyes focused on my feet as I walked through his home. I didn’t want envy to get the better of me right now. I needed to keep my head in the game. It was important that I always remembered why I was here.
Eventually we reached his living room and Adam sat down in one of the plush, real leather couches that lay there. It was so different from the shabby second hand thing that Denise and I kept saying that we were going to change, but I found it uncomfortable to sit on. I perched my butt right on the edge and waited for Adam to speak.
“So,” he sighed loudly as if he didn’t want to be having the conversation just as much as I didn’t. “I guess I should fill you in a bit more about why I need you to do this.”
“Oh.” My eyes widened in surprise. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t expect him to start with that. I mean, he hadn’t even offered me a drink yet. Clearly being wealthy hadn’t helped to improve his manners at all. “Yeah, okay that would be good.”
“So.” He fell back and stared up at the ceiling as if he couldn’t bear to stare at me as he explained. “My dad is kind of…harsh in his ways.” I had to bite on my tongue to stop me from telling him that helped me to understand him better. “He’s always had these ridiculous expectations of me. None of which I’ve met.” He let out a bitter sounding laugh. “But my older brother, Brandon, always has.” Ah, sibling rivalry. Okay, that helped me a little.
“So, to prove to them that I’m not just this playboy who can’t hold down a job or relationship I told them that I have a girlfriend.”
“Why?” I asked before catching myself. That wasn’t fair; it wasn’t up to me to delve into the complicated nature of someone else’s family life. “I mean, never mind ignore that. So what do you expect from me?”
Finally, he looked at me and for a split second, I thought I caught a glimpse of vulnerability there. “It’s only for one night, one meal, just pretend that we’re together, pretty much go along with everything I say. That’s it.”
It was simple. Too simple. “But what do they think about us? How do they think we met?”
“I haven’t told them anything yet, I can just tell them we met in the library.” He shook his head as if realizing his mistake. “No, actually that will make my dad start on ridiculously intellectual questions…”
“I can answer intellectual questions,” I insisted. “I am intelligent you know.”
He smirked then, as if I’d said something that amused him. I folded my arms across my chest and pouted out my lips in anger. I wasn’t about to be insulted, no way!
“Well, there’s also my mom. She’s great, but she’s very interested in me settling down, so she’ll probably have all sorts of questions for you. She’ll want to know how long we’ve been together, say seven months...”
“Why seven months?” I interjected. “That’s specific.”
“It’s more believable than six months, I think, because it’s specific, but I don’t think they’ll buy much longer than that.”
“Surely, they would know if you’ve been with someone for that long?” I asked curiously. “Won’t they question why you haven’t mentioned me before?”
His whole expression tightened, making me feel bad, although I wasn’t sure where the guilt was coming from. “We really aren’t that close,” he said firmly. “I don’t see them that often or tell them about me. Trust me, they’ll believe this just fine.”
“Okay.” I gulped loudly. “So is there anything I need to know?”
He handed me a thin sheet of paper with a redness to his cheeks. “I’ve written down all the main details I think you might need to know.”
I scanned my eyes over it feeling very awkward. It was just like a script really, but it didn’t feel that way. “So what about me? What do you need to know about me? Is there anything I should write down for you, too?” All of a sudden a bolt of panic washed over me. “And what about kissing? Do we need to practice that to make it look more real?”
Adam laughed at that one. “That won’t be a problem,” he assured me. “And, maybe you should write down some details for me, just so it’s obvious we aren’t strangers. Do it for tomorrow.”
“Why, what’s tomorrow?” I demanded as his eyes travelled over my body in a way I wasn’t sure about at all.
“I am going to have to buy you something to wear. There’s no way you can come to the meal in your own clothes.”