Page 13 of That Fake Feeling

“Yes.Prettystandard stuff.Wecan run through it quickly.”

Heholds up his copy. “Firstpage, privacy agreement, nondisclosure, blah, blah, blah.”

Nondisclosure?FirstI’veheard of that. “YoumeanIcan’t tell anyone?”

Sterling’seyes shoot up over the paperwork. “Lord, no.Ofcourse not.Ifit leaked out that you andConnoraren’t really madly in love, it would defeat the whole object of the exercise.”

Fairpoint,Iguess.Butit means that even ifIwanted to tellAuntJen,Ican’t.Andonce it’s all over andI’velived to tell the tale, she’d probably get a real kick out of it.

Sterlingflips to the next page. “Threemonths, blah, blah, live at the residence, blah blah, relinquish all other employment, blah, blah…”

“I’msorry, what?”

“Relinquishall other employment.”

“Ican’t afford to give up my jobs.Ineed them to go back to after this whole thing is over.Theywon’t just give me three months off.They’llgive the jobs to other people.”

Heraises his perfectly manicured eyebrows. “Isuggest you turn to page five and the section headed ‘Compensation.’”

Iflip a few pages.Myeyes freeze when they land on the figure in bold.

Icount the zeros again. “Isthis a typo?”

“Ha, no,MissBellamore.It’sjust how much we value your contribution.And, of course, yourconfidentiality.”

That’smore money thanI’veever seen in my life.It’llpay for the rest of my master’s program and cover my frugal living expenses for several years, soIwouldn’t even need an extra job during myPhD.Eitherlarge sums of cash are meaningless to these people or they need me very badly.Orthey’re desperate.Ormaybe all three.

“Justto draw your attention to the clause above the figure,”Sterlingcontinues. “Themoney will be released only upon successful completion of the project.Successto be defined asMr.Dashwoodrehabilitating his image to such a degree that the board ofBigBrainToysdoes not vote him off at their meeting inOctober.”

Sneakybastard.

Therehasn’t been a single hint thatIwouldn’t earn a definite amount.

Myarmpits go clammy while the diagonal sweat line on myT-shirt is chilly against my chest.

“Thisis the firstI’veheard of it. ‘Justgo out and about withConnor,’ you said. ‘Pretendyou’re madly in love,’ you said. ‘Andbank a big check,’ you said.ButnowI’mhere, you spring this on me?”

“I’msorry you feel misled, butIdefinitely never said the payment was guaranteed.Butif you look at the clause at the top of the page, you’ll see you will also receive a very generous weekly allowance that’s yours to keep whatever happens.”

Myeyes land on another figure in bold at the top of the page.Oh, yes.Thatis definitely a number that could be described as generous.Orgargantuan.Twelveweeks of that and at least my tuition won’t be a worry.

Ifill my lungs and blow out a big breath.Noneed to panic.

Sterlingslides a pen halfway across the table. “Justinitial the bottom of each page, sign at the end, and you’ll be part of the gang.”

Irun my fingers over the contract and neatly align the edges of the pages. “Thereis just one thing.”

“I’msure we’re open to negotiation about anything,Rose.”

“I’mnot comfortable signing it untilI’vemetConnorproperly.”

“We’lldo that in a moment.”Hegives the pen another nudge.

“I’mnot going to sign three months of my life over to someoneIhaven’t met.”

“Ha.”Heraises one eyebrow. “Somewould say you’ve already met him more intimately than most.”

“Myresearch would suggestI’mdefinitely not the first woman he’s pinned to the floor.ThoughImight be the only one who was fully clothed and in front of a crowd at the time.”