ease with Dante. He’d always been friendly to her, while Michael was more of a mystery. He was nice, but had been aloof in most of their dealings. “What else?”
“You will live here or at the mansion on the river road, travel with me when I need you to, and appear at any function that I deem requires your presence over the next thirty days.”
“Basically, I would be at your beck and call,” she stated, mulling it over. If she did this, money would no longer be an issue. Ever. Not if she invested wisely, and she was sure that if she asked them to help her with that, they would.
“You would. But that’s why I would make it worth your while. And you would need to sign a new NDA. If word of this got leaked anywhere, it would ruin lives, and not just mine. Do you understand?”
Could she do this? Sabrina glanced between the two men—two men she knew to be honorable and kind. She still wasn’t sure she’d forgiven Dante for that stunt at Bayou Sin, but he also hadn’t been lying about the fact he would be her fairy godmother before the night was done. “If I agreed to do this, would I be able to get an advance? There’s an assisted living facility that I’ve wanted to get my brother into for years but I couldn’t afford it. With his condition, he needs round the clock care.”
“I’m amenable to that. Would a hundred grand suffice for your brother’s care?” Michael asked.
A hundred thousand dollars? Was the man serious? With that kind of money, she wouldn’t have to wait to get Alex admitted for the care he needed. She could do it by the end of the week. She could pay off what she owed her landlord. And when it was all over, she could look for a new place for herself, somewhere quiet, with a lot of trees, and near the water. “Yes, that would work for me.”
“I will also set up an account for you for incidentals, and provide you with a vehicle to use. The remainder of the payout comes as I mentioned, with five million after thirty days are completed, then the remainder at the ninety day mark, where it will become known that we split up amicably. If you are in agreement, we can get the contract and non-disclosure out of the way tonight. Once those are done, I will transfer the advance into an account of your choosing.”
This was all moving so fast. But what did she have to lose, really? When she thought about it, she had nothing to lose, and ten million to gain. So she had to kiss Michael in public, make it appear like she was in love with him. Big deal. For this type of money, she would turn handstands in public. “What kind of PDA are we talking about?”
Michael flashed her a seductive grin. “Kissing, perhaps some light petting, hand holding—nothing too excessive, mind you. It’s society functions we will be attending, and people at those tend to frown upon anything beyond that. We will need to practice this week, though, in private, make sure that you feel and act natural with me touching you.”
And there was the catch. How was she going to feel normal; act it? While she knew him, he was a stranger to her.
Dammit, she would find a way. This was money she couldn’t walk away from.
“What’s it going to be, love?” Dante asked her, with the carrot of a ten million dollar payout hanging in the balance.
Screwing up her courage, she replied. “I’m in. Where do I sign?”
Chapter 6
The following day, Sabrina stumbled out of bed in time to let the nurse, Nancy, in at nine. Nancy was a middle-aged woman, plump around the middle, with the kindest smile, and she was fabulous with Alex, who was stirring, waking up for the day. With the medications he was on to keep him calm with his episodes, and subsequent outbursts caused by his severe schizophrenia, he tended to be drowsy in the mornings and start the day slowly.
“How you doing today?” Nancy asked, entering with a radiant smile. Her black hair with hints of silver at her temples was pulled back in a ponytail. Today, she wore blue scrub pants with a colorful, patterned scrub top.
“Not too bad. I worked late last night, and Jeanine covered for me here. She said Alex did great overnight.”
“That’s good. And you, child? How late were you up?” Nancy asked sympathetically.
Sabrina was exhausted. She wanted to crawl back into bed. Between the relief she felt over her money situation being solved and the sheer lack of sleep, she’d bet she could sleep for days. “It’s not important. What’s important is that Alex is taken care of properly.”
“You’re a good person, Sabrina. You should be going out dancing with a nice gentleman every night and not working yourself old,” Nancy said with a concerned frown.
Ignoring Nancy’s well-meaning sentiment, Sabrina said, “About that, I think I’m going to be moving him into the assisted living facility we talked about.”
Nancy smiled and clapped her hands over her heart with genuine joy. “Really? That’s wonderful news. Houmas will be so good for him.”
“Even though it will mean you won’t have any hours here.” She hated leaving Nancy in the lurch when she had been so good for her and Alex. And her brother would miss Nancy. He didn’t express his emotions the same way, it was part of his disease, but Sabrina knew he adored Nancy.
Nancy shrugged. “I go where the agency sends me. And as much as I will miss our chats, it’s what is best for Alex and in the end for you too, my dear. Don’t you worry about me. Once everything is arranged for Alex to move into Houmas, I will let the agency know and they will reassign me. I’ll always have work.”
“I’m going to try and get him into Houmas House by the end of the week. And I will pay you a two week severance beyond that to cover you so that you aren’t without.” Sabrina had to have him installed somewhere soon because Michael already needed her on a trip to Los Angeles on Saturday, to attend a swanky Hollywood premiere for his production company on Sunday.
Nancy’s brows rose. “That quick? Well, you do work fast when you put your mind to it now, don’t you?”
“I hope that it won’t hurt you at all.” Sabrina didn’t want someone like Nancy stuck with Alex all weekend while she was gone. It was one thing to have a nurse here during the day, but at night, the neighborhood was rough. She carried pepper spray on her person at all times, even when going into her own bathroom. This area was known for violent crimes. Just last week, one of the neighbors down the street had been robbed at gunpoint.
That was another reason why the bargain she’d struck last night was a godsend. Not only could she afford to get her brother institutionalized at an assisted living facility, but she could move out of this community. Sabrina wasn’t ashamed of their home. She had worked her tail off to afford it. But that didn’t mean she didn’t see the drug deals going on, or hear the pop of gunfire, or the constant sound of police sirens overnight.
“Child, I will be fine. You just tell me what you need.” Nancy cocked her head. “And I hear my patient stirring. You go on now, I’ve got this.”
“I’ve got some calls to make. I’m being picked up at ten, and will be gone for most of the day,” Sabrina explained.
“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. We’re going to watch our daytime television and have a good old time,” Nancy said, patting her hand, and headed down the hall to Alex’s room with his medication.
Sabrina
