Page 71 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

She laughed and shook her head no. Suddenly the laugh cut off abruptly, and her wide eyes looked at me. “My job.”

“What about it?”

“I work here cleaning offices, Dean. That doesn’t seem to fit in with your world and all that.”

I did not like her thinking her job wasn’t good enough. Fuck that. There was nothing wrong with either of the jobs she held.

“Do you want to quit?”

“No, I still need the money. Even with you financing my business I have other expenses.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it.” I casually folded my arms and crossed them over my chest.

“But what if people look down on what I do, and it reflects badly on you moving up in the company?” She stared at the floor.

I hated seeing her so self-conscious. It really didn’t matter to me and I needed her to know.

“First of all, fuck anyone who thinks that. Second, if you want to keep it, then you keep it. I’d offer you money to help you out for your day-to-day expenses while we were together—”

She shot me an angry, narrowed gaze. “I’m not your kept woman.”

“I figured you’d say that but know as my girlfriend I don’t mind helping you out.”

“Fake girlfriend.” She reminded me.

“Yes, but to everyone else, it’s real, and I’ll treat you as I would my real girlfriend. Understood?”

“I guess. But I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of you or this situation.”

“You aren’t.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“Ashlyn, you haven’t asked me for anything. Hell, you haven’t even asked for the money I promised you. Right now, I’m the one reaping the benefits of this fake relationship. So if I want to do something for you, it’s my choice.” I liked the idea of being able to help her.

“I guess so—”

There wasn’t a way to show her what I meant right now, so instead I changed topics. “What do you think about us meeting up with my parents tomorrow night for dinner?”

“I can do tomorrow. Where are we going so I know how to dress?”

“They invited us to their house.”

“Oh.” Panic skittered across her face.

“Is that a problem?” I’d thought having dinner at their house would be less pressure for her.

“Being invited to their house just seems so intimate.” She bit her lip. “What if I can’t convince them we’re in a relationship? Would your dad tell the board?”

“He would be fine with it, and keep our secret. My mom, on the other hand, she’s over the moon excited about us.”

“I feel bad deceiving your parents, especially your mom.”

I did too, but as long as they never found out it would be fine.

“Well it’s no different than you deceiving your family, right?” I reminded her. Even though she’d told Stella she wasn’t planning on telling her stepmother or other stepsister.

A pained expression flashed across her face and quickly disappeared. She glanced at me, then looked away with a slight frown before responding. “Oh, yeah, exactly.”