Page 64 of Escorting the CEO
Our… fake relationship.
But I wanted our first time to be perfect. For someone who had never believed that marriage was part of the plan, and had never evenconsideredwaiting for marriage to have sexual intercourse, my present condition was the plot twist I’d never seen coming. And yet, I was completely invested in it.
In other words, I had it bad.
So maybe I didn’t need to fear the board’s vetting of my marriage anymore, I mused. If it was real between Rory and me—and for me, it was—I had nothing to fear. I’d satisfy the trust requirements. My claim would be legitimate. That would be the end of the story—so long as Rory felt the same way, of course. And our marriage would still have to last a minimum of five years.
But I hoped we could do a hell of a lot better than that.
Acknowledging my own feelings, even though it was just to myself, felt both liberating and terrifying. So I did what any normal man would do: I stopped thinking about it.
I turned up the volume on my playlist and worked out. An hour passed. Lifting weights always calmed me; at the end of my workout, I was feeling calm and present.
And then my phone buzzed.
It was Alan, my attorney. “What?” I barked.
“A couple of things.” Alan sounded weary. “I know you have your board meeting this morning, but this couldn’t wait.”
My feelings of calm and being present dissipated. “I’m listening.”
“The mother was served guardianship paperwork last night. I had her under surveillance, so we could be prepared to move in if necessary. Well, it was a good thing I did—she threw a chair at the private process server, right over the railing of her motel. Almost hit her.”
“That’s not… good.” Understatement of the year.
“My guy called me as soon as it happened. I had him talk to the process server, smooth that over, and then approach the mom,” Alan continued. “She cursed him out. She threatened to get a chair for him, too.”
I grimaced. “Does this story get any better?”
“Not really,” Alan admitted. “As per your guidance, we made her an offer to settle it out of court. It was generous—I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind if it worked,” I said hotly. “What happened?”
“She accepted the money. But when my guy went back to check on her this morning, and to get her to sign a release, she was gone.”
“Gone.” My mouth went dry.
“That’s right,” Alan sighed. “She took off.”
“And you didn’t have the foresight to have her sign the release when we gave her the money?”
“It moved quicker than he expected. And he was bringing her more cash this morning, but she had already left.”
“You don’t know where she went?”
“No,” Alan sighed again. “But that’s why I’m calling you. You need to be aware. Rory’s name was on the filing, and it gave her current address—Barrington Manor. ”
Fuck.“Thanks a lot, Alan.”
“I’ll let you know when we find her,” he said.
“Super,” I said, and hung up.
My mind raced. Where had the mother gone? Why had she run, especially if there was more money coming?
I didn’t know, and I didn’t want this to be my problem. But it was, and I knew it. For one thing, Rory wouldn’t be happy to hear about this. In no way did I want to deliver the bad news. I had a sinking feeling she’d be angry at me for offering her mother money, and also, forhidingthe fact that I’d offered her money.
I needed to deal with the mother and with Rory, but I had the board meeting. That had to come first. That was the whole reason I’d gotten a fake fiancé and brought Rory into this mess in the first place.
