Page 21 of Fake It For Glory

“Expectations?” she asked.

“For when we are together,” I said. “I have a lot of eyes on me. These events are very important. I can’t afford to make a single misstep, which means my date can’t either.”

She nodded, her big brown eyes holding an intelligence I truly appreciated. I was glad she wasn’t flighty or an airhead. I needed someone who could hold a conversation and not ask a lot of dumb questions. “I understand.”

“First, there can be no socializing one on one with another man during our contract,” I said.

She raised an eyebrow. “While we’re together?”

“No, period. I’m photographed often, which means there is a good chance you’ll be photographed with me. I can’t have you with another man and getting photographed with him. Rumors about you cheating on me would fly. That’s a distraction.”

“Okay,” she said in a tone that made it clear she wasn’t buying it.

“Absolutely no answering questions to the media about me or my AI program,” I went on. “No tardiness. Ever. I cannot stand people that are late. You have the schedule and I expect you to do what you need to do to make sure you are ready on time.”

“I can do that,” she said, nodding.

“Also, no excuses. I expect you to attend all events.”

“What if I get sick?”

She was testing me. “You would have to be very sick not to show up. This is going to be an intense six weeks. I need to know right now if you’re going to be able to commit to the job. I cannot afford to have anything go wrong. There is way too much to lose here.”

“I understand,” she said with a flash of irritation.

“Finally, no personal questions,” I said. “This is a professional arrangement. It’s not an actual date. We don’t need to get to know each other.”

She stared blankly at me. I could see a myriad of emotions crossing her face. I realized I might have come off a little abrupt, but I couldn’t afford to have there be any misunderstandings. I didn’t know how this whole fake dating thing worked.

“Those sound more like rules than expectations,” she snapped.

“You can call them whatever you want, but that’s how it’s going to work. Agreed?”