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She holds up her phone, completely ignoring what I said. “This is him. See? Admit it. Extremely hot.”
I glance warily at the photo. He’s tall with thick dark hair, wearing an obviously-expensive suit. He could be a rugged male model, complete with the aloof frown. “As I said, I’m not going on a fake date with Alexander Maddox.”
“Did you forget about the tiny detail of the two hundred thousand dollars I just mentioned?”
“As if he’d pay that much for one weekend.”
“He would. Trust me, it’s nothing to him.”
“Well, you’re going to have to find someone else. I’m busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Working.”
“Your work would benefit from a weekend in a very lively, scenic environment in which to show off your clothes and bikinis and whatnot.”
“Paying someone to go on a date is just…weird.”
“He’s desperate to keep his distance from the insane wedding planner, according to Noah.”
“Can’t he just get a regular date?”
“He doesn’t want complications. Which many women seem to give billionaires, who knows. And, as I mentioned, he’s grumpy so he couldn’t get one.”
“Which is another reason to not do this. Forget it. Count me out. Who’s next on your list of people crazy enough to consider doing something like this?”
Cleo sets her phone down, waiting for the waitress to top up our glasses and walk away.
She takes my hands across the table. “Ivy. I love you like a sister. I admire you, respect the hell out of you and I’m in awe of your beauty, talent and the way you’ve managed to hoist yourself from a difficult situation into a to-die-for Soho apartment and an amazing lifestyle. I’ve also supported you through your near obsession with getting your little brother into an Ivy League school. Which you’ve now done. Achievement unlocked. But I’m going to be honest with you. It’s time for you to stop fixating on Josh and start thinking about yourself. Okay? You’ve put in the time and you’ve gotten the results you wanted. Now it’s time for you to live a little.”
I give her a look. “And you think fake dating Noah’s grumpy brother is going to help me do that?”
She tilts her head, like she’s studying me. “I think it would help you get a little bit of perspective. You’d wow the entire Hamptons. I want you to get out of the little cocoon you reside in for one weekend, to witness first-hand the effect you have on people. Plus, it’ll be crazily luxurious. It might be fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yes, that thing you don’t get enough of? It’s called fun, and even though Alexander is a grouch of epic proportions, he’s seriously gorgeous, fabulously loaded and, if he does prove to be completely awful, at least there will be other hot, eligible bachelors galore at the wedding. You might meet someone else.”
“Cleo—”
“You’ll also make two hundred grand in two days. More than enough to make sure that Josh can live on campus or in his own apartment near campus and get the full university experience.” Sometimes I regret telling her every tiny detail of my life. “In a single weekend, you can take all the worry about that part of his expenses completely out of the equation. It’s totally worth it.”
Damn it.
“I think it would be good for Alexander too,” Cleo continues. “I’ve gotten to know him through Noah over the past two years and somewhere under all that moodiness—deeply buried, but I’ve detected it from time to time—is the inkling of a sense of humor. I almost feel like the two of you might actually hit it off.”
“Are you saying I’m moody?”
“No. I’m saying you’re so beautiful and smart and cool that you could thaw out even the most frozen, uptight billionaire into something that might resemble a decent human being.”
“It’s a ridiculous idea.”
She takes a sip of her champagne. “Let me say it again. Two. Hundred. Thousand. Dollars. For two days, girlfriend. All you have to do is show up at his building on Park Avenue at five o’clock sharp on Friday afternoon. You’ll be taking the helicopter. He’s got one that takes off from his rooftop helipad.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, we’re talking serious money. He’s the wealthiest of all the Maddox brothers because he took over Maddox Enterprises while the other three basically jumped ship to start their own company.”
