jobs, though a dime a dozen, didn’t always pay well. With his connections he could find her one of those gems of a job that didn’t get advertised in any of the job search websites. Plus, if she handled this right, going to Spain could be the end of her association with him. She wouldn’t have to come home and pretend they hadn’t kissed—albeit for the benefit of his family. She would be gone. Off to start a new job. A new life. The life she wanted.
“You have lots of friends and connections. I’d need to get a job that would pay me more than this salary. And the job would have to lead to promotions.”
“You don’t like your job here?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I could raise your salary.”
“Mitch, if you want me to do this, today has to be my last day with Ochoa Online.”
He didn’t even blink. “Okay.”
LILA WALKED OUT of the office building that housed Ochoa Online and toward Mitch’s black limo, which awaited her on the busy New York City street.
Opening the back door, his driver, Pete, said, “Good morning, Lila.”
“Morning, Pete. We’ll be stopping two blocks up on the right to pick up my friend Sally.”
“Very good.”
She slid onto the seat. He closed the door, and she made herself comfortable as he took his position behind the wheel and eased into traffic. Two blocks up, he stopped, jumped out and opened the door for Sally.
When Pete pulled out into traffic again, pretty blonde Sally turned to Lila and said, “All right. Spill. What did you agree to?”
She sucked in a breath. “Two weeks of pretending to be my boss’s fiancée. In return, he’s going to find me a new job and I’m going to use the extra money I earn to find my mom.”
The expression on Sally’s face showed that she was trying to understand, but in the end she shook her head. “You are certifiable. Your motives are good, but pretending to be the fiancée of a man you actually like? That’s nothing but trouble.”
“That’s why I couldn’t just have him hire a PI to find my mom. Because then I’d still be working for him. I had to ask for a new job so that no matter what happens in Spain it wouldn’t follow me home. Once I leave Spain, I’ll never see him again. Plus, he assured me that most of the time I’d be on my own while he and his brother, father, uncle and cousin talked business.”
“On your own?”
“After I agreed to do this, he told me that I’d spend most of the two weeks with his nanna shopping or running errands, or helping his mom organize the house for a ball a few days after we get there that opens two weeks of celebrations, a second ball the following week to greet latecomers, a reception the night before his brother’s wedding and a party the day after.”
“You are going to have to be one hell of an actress.”
“Or I can just look at it as an extension of my job. I plan Mitch’s yearly Christmas party. I plan the business dinners he hosts at his penthouse.” She shrugged. “I’m just going to look at it like another Ochoa party.”
Sally sighed. “And the other?”
“What other?”
“When you have to be his date?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be pee-your-pants nervous.”
Lila laughed. “Maybe at first. But I’ve also decided to look at that as an extension of my job.”
“Kissing your boss?”
“I’ll pigeonhole it somehow.”
“You’re crazy.”
“No. I’m getting a new job out of it. A new life.” She angled her thumb to point behind them. “Me walking out of that office building a few minutes ago was me walking out forever. I told him the two weeks we spend in Spain are my two-week notice and when we get back I will expect him to have gotten me a new job, one that pays more than what I make with him.”
“Wow. You’re really leaving.”
“I have to. He was surprised when I said I wanted a new job, but when I pushed he didn’t seem at all upset to see me go.” And that had hurt more than she cared to think about. But it also proved he absolutely had no feelings for her. “He might as well have come right out and said that he desperately needed this favor, or that he just doesn’t give a damn that I want another job. Either way, it sort of proves doing this was the right thing. If he needs a fiancée this badly, I have to help him. And if he doesn’t care that I want a new job, then it really is time for me to go. It’s win/win.”
“Are you sure you’re not going to be sorry?”
“I’ve had a crush on this man since the day I met him. He’s never noticed me. Only an idiot hangs around forever.”
“True.”
“And this way I don’t merely have a new job that pays enough that I can find my mom.” She waved two credit cards. “I get a new wardrobe out of it.”
Sally grabbed the cards. “Seriously?”
“Yep. That’s why I need your help this morning. I have a hundred-thousand-dollar credit limit on each. Riccardo said use it all. Get everything, including fancy luggage. He said the wedding is formal and I’ll also need a gown for the reception the night before. Not to mention the opening ball and a few cocktail parties. He said I’ll need enough jeans and shorts and dresses and bathing suits never to be seen in the same thing twice.”
Sally gaped at her. “You have hit the jackpot.”
“Nope. Believe it or not, Riccardo and Mitch see this as absolutely necessary. I have to look like somebody Mitch would want to marry. To them it’s like wardrobe for a play. So, all I have to do is endure two weeks of pretending to be in love with the man I actually do love, and I’ll walk away with my freedom, a new job that hopefully pays enough that I can find my mom and enough clothes to be a whole new person.”
She also had to not take any of it seriously, keep her wits about her and not end up with a broken heart.
But she didn’t tell Sally that. She’d had enough trouble convincing herself she could do it. Sally would never let her go if she thought there was even an inkling of a doubt—and she desperately wanted to find her mom. She wanted the life they’d missed out on.
Oddly, pretending to be in love with the man she actually loved was her ticket away from him and to that life.
* * *
Mitch paced the tarmac at ten o’clock the next morning, nervous about this plan. Yesterday, it had seemed like a good idea. Today, thinking about Lila’s
