to say. But I don’t. Archie may have wanted my help in weeding through all these candidates, but I doubt he needs my commentary on the girls’ personalities or attitudes. He’ll experience it himself soon enough.
He grabs his suit coat off the hanger on the wall and shrugs it on. “How do I look?”
I let my gaze devour him in the perfectly tailored navy suit that makes his eyes even bluer, crisp white shirt with the top two buttons open, and shiny black loafers. “Like you just stepped off the cover of GQ Magazine.”
His lips pull up into the grin that always sends my heart flip-flopping. “Thanks, Blaire. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
The compliment makes my heart spasm again.
Knock it off, Blaire. He’s your boss. He’s talking about your assistance with work.
He starts for the door. “I guess I’ll see you after lunch.”
I nod and jump up to open the door for him. He squares his shoulders and strolls out to the waiting area with a fake smile on his face. He’s going to need to use that a lot during this lunch.
Archimedes
“And how much would my monthly stipend be?”
I look up from my barely touched chicken caesar salad at the woman sitting across from me. “Excuse me?”
There’s no way possible I heard that right.
“Oh. I asked what my monthly stipend would be. You know, spending money. Unless you’re just going to give me access to all your accounts.” She grins at me like the question isn’t the most insulting thing you can ask someone.
Although, it’s definitely not the most insulting thing she’s asked me over this terrible lunch. This might be the worst forty-five minutes of my life thus far. And that’s saying a lot considering all the Warren bullshit I’ve dealt with for so long.
This woman is so vapid that it’s like talking to dead air. Dead air who wants a big payday. But maybe that’s my fault. Maybe I was naïve to think any woman responding to the ad would treat this like anything other than a business deal.
That was the whole point, wasn’t it?
Blaire’s brilliant idea to treat this with a hearts off approach appeared reasonable at the time. Instead of looking for love, look for somebody I can tolerate long enough to get what I want. But this all seemed easier in theory than it appears to be in reality.
I offer Daniella a fake smile, the one I’ve been using all lunch, and shrug as nonchalantly as I can. “My accounts will stay mine. Just as anything you had prior to the marriage will remain yours.”
The plastic-perfect smile she’s been wearing since we got here falters, and she frowns, but her face barely moves. “So, I won’t have access to any of the Warren money?”
The Warren money…
I grit my teeth and glance around the busy restaurant. Originally, I wanted this place because it’s close to the office and easy to get to, but now I regret the fact that so many people I know, including several employees, are sitting around us and may overhear or see something I don’t want them to.
“We would be signing a prenup. One that would lay out what you would be receiving while we are married.”
“And how long do we need to keep this up?”
This time, I grit my teeth so hard I actually feel something crack in the back. “The way the trust is written, indefinitely. If we got divorced, or if we don’t have a child within a year, I would lose my role as CEO and access to any of the family funds.”
Her jaw drops. “We need to have kids?”
I nod slowly. “That’s a stipulation in the trust.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why is it such a crazy idea that you have a child with your husband?”
She scoffs and waves her hand up and down the front of her fake breasts. “Have you seen this body? I’m not getting pregnant and ruining all of this. I paid too much for it.”
I attempt to open my mouth and find some words, but she’s rendered me literally speechless.
Her eyes widen slightly, and she holds up a perfectly manicured finger. “Although, I suppose you could just pay to have me fixed up after. And we can have an au pair handle a child twenty-four seven. Just one correct?”
“Yeah, just one.” I’ve only had one date and I’m already on the verge of slitting my wrists. I push my plate back and wave over the waiter. “Can you just