plik

Liana Turner had been secretary to Billionaire CEO Jackson Fisher for
two years and she could not stand the man. Her contract at the company
was almost up and she planned on leaving as soon as she could. She felt
like Jackson could not wait to see the back of her either. However,
Liana was more than shocked when Jackson called her into his office
one day with the offer of a very different contract for her. To fool his
parents he wants her to be his wife for the week and also to pretend she
is pregnant. Do this for him, and he will release her from her contract
with a handsome pay off. At first Liana was happy to sign up but very
soon she would find she was possibly making the biggest mistake of
her life....
BRIDE BY
CONTRACT
A LOVE & MARRIAGE BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE By..
KENDRA RILEY

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Summary
Liana Turner had been secretary to Billionaire CEO Jackson Fisher
for two years and she could not stand the man.
Her contract at the company was almost up and she planned on leaving
as soon as she could. She felt like Jackson could not wait to see the
back of her either.
However, Liana was more than shocked when Jackson called her into
his office one day with the offer of a very different contract for her.
To fool his parents he wants her to be his wife for the week and also to
pretend she is pregnant.
Do this for him, and he will release her from her contract with a
handsome pay off.
At first Liana was happy to sign up but very soon she would find she
was possibly making the biggest mistake of her life....

Copyright Notice
Bride By Contract © 2016, Kendra Riley ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This book contains material protected under International and Federal
Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this
material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system without express written permission from the author /
publisher.

Chapter1
It's party day! All staff are allowed to go home an hour earlier today to
get  ready  for  the  big  birthday  bash  tonight.  Please  start  arriving  at
7pm. Party will go on until late! Jackson.
Liana  groaned  and  then  tried  to  cover  it  with  a  cough  when  a  head
swung to look her way. She was happy about the going home early part,
but she was most definitely not happy about the actual party itself. It
wasn't that she hated parties - although perhaps she did. It was that she
hated work parties. She was, of course, the only one who felt that way.
Whoops  of  delight  could  be  heard  around  the  office  as  soon  as  the
emails  were  delivered,  and  talks  of  what  people  were  going  to  wear
filtered  through  the  air.  As  if  they  hadn't  been  planning  their  outfits
since first hearing about the party weeks ago. There had been barely
any other talk since the party was announced. Liana knew exactly what
she was going to wear. She only had two dresses to choose from, and
she  had  worn  the  red  dress  to  the  last  party,  which  left  her  with  the
black dress. It was figure-hugging, relatively short, and perhaps even a
little on the sheer side. Perfect for the type of party she was going to
and  possibly  one  of  the  most  awful  outfits  she  owned.  But  that  was
mostly because if she had a choice, she would've arrived in jeans and a
t-shirt. She liked  when she didn't have to give the process of getting
ready much thought.
Liana  had  thought  about  calling  in  sick  all  week.  That  had  been  her
initial plan. But there had been three big parties since she had started
working at the magazine, and she'd already called in sick for one. The
smaller parties were easier to ignore - often she didn't even get invited
to those. But these big ones were hard to turn down - because they were
the  ones  that  everyone  was  the  most  excited  about.  It  was  easier  for
them,  though.  A  lot  of  the  people  at  work  were  friends  with  one
another.  When  Liana  went  to  work  parties,  she  had  to  contend  with
entertaining herself.
When  the  office  day  came  to  an  end,  she  rushed  home  to  spend  her
extra hour in a bubble bath where she kept adding hot water every time
the water became too tepid. The thought of getting out and actually

getting ready for the party filled her with dread. But it was mandatory,
and she had no other choice but to squeeze on the tight black dress and
go. She put on a pair of heels and walked around the house to practice
not falling over and then put on some make-up. She brushed her hair,
allowing the curls to fall naturally around her face. She'd been told that
her curls were her best feature, and even though she had never been a
fan  of  them  herself,  she  liked  that  she  could  sometimes  hide  behind
them. They'd all been provided with cab fare so that they could drink
without having to worry about driving, but Liana chose to take her car
instead. That way she'd get to pocket the money and make sure that she
didn't drink. Thankfully, she knew that they wouldn't even have to hand
in proof of taking a cab - because it wouldn't even cross their minds that
someone would actually choose to drive.
The party was being held on the rooftop of their office building, which
meant  driving  all  the  way  back  to  work  again.  She  parked  the  car
around the block and then made her way by foot. She didn't want them
to see her arriving by car, and she also didn't want to park too close. Her
car was slightly run down, and the weird mustard color would easily
identify it as hers. Not that she was complaining - she was grateful just
to have a car that could take her from point A to point B. It was 7:30 by
the time she arrived on the rooftop, and she was surprised to see that the
place was already full. She'd expected everyone to arrive fashionably
late, but it seemed they were more eager to party than to worry about
that. And despite the fact that the party had only been going for half an
hour,  people  already  seemed  tipsy  and  well  on  their  way  to  being
drunk. Liana sighed - it was going to be one of those parties. She could
just imagine the sorts of stories that she was going to hear in the week
that followed. Tales of who slept with whom. There was always one
person that tried to become the center of attention - either by getting
ridiculously  drunk  and  taking  their  clothes  off  or  by  getting  together
with someone famous. She wondered who was going to be the  lucky
person that night.  At the  moment, it seemed as if there were already
quite a few contenders. She was grateful for the crowd and slipped her
way through the people to the bar where she ordered herself a glass of
the finest champagne being offered. If it was going to be her only drink
of the

night, then she was going to make sure that it was a good one. As she
sipped the drink, she felt the bubbles moving down her throat, and she
resisted the urge to knock the whole drink down at once. She'd always
loved  champagne,  but  she  was  well  aware  that  the  type  she  drank  at
home was just sparkling wine and nowhere near the real thing. But who
could afford that? And really, she thought while taking another sip, was
there  even  much  of  a  difference?  She  wouldn't  admit  that  thought  to
anyone else. Of course there was a difference, they would tell her.
"Liana, I had no idea that body was hiding underneath your work suits.
You really should show it off more." Peter had sidled up to her, his eyes
already glistening and his tongue unashamedly loose.
Peter sat a few desks away from her, and, despite having a wife and two
kids, he was constantly chatting up all the women at work. He hadn't
chatted  her  up  much,  though,  until  that  moment.  She'd  never  much
liked Peter, and she liked him now even less. What's worse is that she'd
actually met his lovely wife. Peter was about fifteen years her senior
and very good looking. He'd gone gray when he was in his twenties, but
it had only served to make him look even better. He was the Richard
Gere  of  the  office.  But  lately,  Liana  had  noticed  that  his  looks  were
starting to fade and that he was trying to use his charm to make up for
it.
"Uh, thanks, Peter. I'm all about comfort most days. I don't think this is
quite  appropriate  for  work,  really,"  she  said,  feeling  slightly
uncomfortable as his eyes moved up and down her body. She was also
well aware that this was quite a normal outfit for some of the other girls
at  work.  It  wasn't  even  like  she'd  be  called  a  slut  or  something  for
wearing it. She'd probably be praised, and her popularity would raise.
"Well, I tell you what - I' m glad that I saw you like this. Now when I
see  you  at  work,  I'll  be  able  to  imagine  what  is  underneath  all  those
layers. And boy, will I be imagining. You know, I've never been with
an African American woman before."
What did her skin color have to do with anything? And what was he
getting at? Did he really think she would be with a guy like him? She
supposed  Peter  thought  that  it  would  be  a  compliment  to  her.  Liana
couldn't believe it. Was this the way he spoke to all the women at work,

or was it just the alcohol talking? She hated to admit it, but she had a
feeling this was normal for him. She bit her tongue to prevent her from
saying anything she might regret.
"Okay, well, I better go mingle. Say hello to your lovely wife for me.
And  your  kids.  How  many  do  you  have?  Two,  isn't  it?  Two  girls?
Didn't  you  say  they  were  teenagers  already?  Goodness,  they  sure  do
grow  up  quickly.  Soon,  they'll  be  bringing  home  boyfriends.  I  hope
those  boys  treat  them  well.  It's  so  important  that  they  grow  up
expecting respect from men - don't you think? Oh, but I'm sure you've
instilled that in them. I' m sure they see just how much you love their
mother. Anyway, have a lovely time tonight, Peter." She flashed him a
smile and walked off. Idiot.
She  didn't  even  bother  to  turn  around  and  look  at  him  to  see  his
reaction. She didn't have the time of day for men like him. Liana knew
that she came across as meek and timid at work, but when it came to
sticking up for herself, she had no problem with it. She knew that the
only reason she was so quiet at work was because she didn't mix well
with the crowd. Flashy and extravagant - everything that she was not.
She didn't mind the job itself. In fact, she actually quite enjoyed it. She
especially loved it when she didn't have to deal with anyone and could
get on with her work. It always gave her a slight thrill. She'd always
been fantastic at organizing things. When she was younger, she used to
go with her mother to work some days when there was nobody to look
after her, and she had been captivated with office life. She loved the
stationery, the diaries, the calendars, the phone calls. She loved the way
that  one  person  could  take  control  behind  the  scenes  and  make  a
company  run  smoothly.  She  loved  how  her  mother  always  kept  her
desk tidy and how everything had a place. It was her mother who had
shown her how to categorize and file correctly  - and ever since then,
she had a deep sense of satisfaction when things were done correctly. It
was one of the biggest reasons why she lived alone. She'd tried living
with  a  roommate  before,  but  she  couldn't  handle  the  mess  that  they
inevitably brought with them. She didn't really care what anyone else
did,  but  when  it  was  in  her  own  space,  she  wanted  everything  to  be
perfect. She was the same at work, and she knew that the company was
in a better place

because of her. Not that anyone would know that, of course. Because
nobody  ever  looked  behind  the  scenes.  Everyone  looked  up  to  the
person in charge and assumed that he was responsible for it all.
In this case, the person in question was her boss. Jackson Fisher -Chief
Editor of MAN MAGAZINE and the most arrogant man that Liana had
ever met. He was the perfect face for the magazine, though -handsome,
slightly disheveled in the most put-together way, with brooding, dark
brown  eyes  and  a  smile  that  had  girls  falling  at  his  feet.  But  he  was
someone that Liana never wanted to see outside of work if she could
help it. She caught sight of him now, the only man in a group of about
six women. He was laughing at something one of the girls was saying,
his  teeth  so  white  that  Liana  could  practically  see  them  glisten  from
where she was standing. When the first girl looked away, he winked at
one of the other girls. Always playing the field. Always making sure
that he was liked by everyone. He was dressed in a tailored, dark gray
suit with a top hat that screamed hipster and cool. He looked good, even
Liana could admit that, but then it was hard not to look good when you
had a team telling you what to wear. Liana wondered if he even knew
how to dress himself. The girls around him were wearing outfits that
made Liana's dress look old-fashioned - their long legs untouched by
cellulite and their fake breasts popping out the front. They all looked
like replicas of one another  - the only difference being skin and hair
color. Liana looked around in the hope that she would find someone a
little bit more on her level. Her eyes swept across the body of people
and came back disappointed. They were all the same. All looking like
cut-outs from the pages of their magazine. Jackson had invited not only
all the staff members but also all of the models and celebrities who had
been  featured  in  the  magazine  at  one  time  or  another.  He  was
celebrating  the  tenth  anniversary  of  him  being  Chief  Editor  of  the
magazine, as well as the twentieth anniversary of its inception. And as
it turned out, he was also celebrating his birthday. It was a big day for
him.
A  photographer  was  walking  past,  and  Liana  made  sure  to  get  his
attention.  She  needed  a  few  photographs  of  herself  taken  before  she
ducked  home  early.  At  least  then  nobody  could  say  that  she  hadn't
bothered coming. This had been her plan all along. She'd made the

mistake  of  ducking  home  early  at  her  first  party,  and  the  next  week
she'd been accused of not being there at all. She'd actually stayed about
two  hours  that  time,  but  because  everyone  had  gotten  drunk,  they
couldn't  remember  her.  Granted,  she'd  barely  mingled  with  anyone  -
but  still.  Not  even  one  person  remembered  her  being  there.  Tonight,
she was going to be smarter.
"Hi, I'll pose for a photograph," she said, aware of how desperate she
was coming across.
The photographer looked at her and smiled awkwardly. Then he lifted
the camera and took two shots - one posed and one in action. The action
shot  wasn't  easy  to  do  considering  she  was  standing  all  alone.  She
could  see  that  the  photographer  might  even  have  felt  sorry  for  her.
Then, out of the blue, Peter came along. He'd obviously had even more
drinks  than  before  and  had  already  forgotten  about  their  previous
conversation.
"Leeeana," he slurred. Then he grinned when he saw the photographer.
"Take one of me and Lee here, please."
Liana  wanted  to  tell  him  not  to  call  her  Lee,  but  she  recognized  the
importance of the  photo just in time  and shut her  mouth. Even  more
proof that not only was she at the party but that she was having a good
time. She put her arm around Jackson and smiled for the camera. She
could feel his arm moving down, and his hand was just about to grab
onto her backside when she slid it back up.
"Sexy Leelee. Oh, you're so nice tonight. I didn't know you were pretty.
Leelee, my Leelee," he said, another nickname that she had never heard
before. He obviously loved saying it, and he kept repeating it over and
over. He was trying to sound husky, and he breathed into her face as he
spoke.
She recoiled back from the stench of alcohol and quickly walked away.
Thankfully, when she turned around to look, he had already moved on
to someone else. If he was already that drunk, she would hate to see
him by the end of the night. Perhaps it would be him that was going to
be the talk of the office. She hoped not, for his wife's sake.
Right,  she  thought,  trying  to  organize  her  thoughts  the  way  she
organized her desk, photography evidence done. Next, time to talk to
Jackson.

Jackson was the only one who would care whether or not she had come
to the party. Not that he wanted her there, but he had a lot of pride when
it came to himself and the magazine, and he would take offense to those
who didn't bother showing up. He loved being the center of attention,
and he wanted everyone to bow down at his feet. She needed him to see
that she was there before running back home. She caught him just as he
was moving away from his troop of girls.
"Hey, Jackson. Great party!" She had called him Mr. Fisher when she'd
first  started,  but  he'd  said  it  made  him  sound  too  old.  She  knew  that
even  when  he  was  old,  he  would  refuse  to  let  people  call  him  that.
While he loved being the boss, he was the type of guy who would never
want to grow up.
He  looked  at  her  for  a  few  seconds  in  confusion  and  then  a  big  grin
filled his face. "Liana? I almost didn't recognize you. You sure do scrub
up well. You look great. I love your dress. You should totally wear that
to work."
You  bastard!  she  said  inwardly.  Apparently  -  according  now  to  both
him and Peter - she was only worth their praise when she was wearing a
short dress. When she was in the office, they didn't give her the time of
day. But outwardly, she smiled and hoped it looked genuine.
"Thanks, Jackson. Like I said, great party. Happy birthday, too - I saw
the cake; it's beautiful. What a turn out!"
He  looked  around  and  smiled.  He  was  so  easy.  "Thank  you!  Perfect
timing for my birthday. I' m very happy with the cake - I got it specially
made by that cake shop down the road from us. And yes, you 're right.
Everyone  showed  up.  But  then  again,  why  wouldn't  they?  Beautiful
people and free drinks. What's not to like? Also, we're just about to pull
the cover off the Jacuzzi - now that should be fun!"
How exciting! Not! "Oh, wow, that' s very cool. Well, anyway, I just
wanted to say hello and tell you what a great job you've done. I'm going
to go do some more mingling now and get myself another drink. You
look fantastic in that suit, by the way." Liana tried to ignore the way the
lies were making her feel. She was never very good at lying, but it was
necessary now.
"Thank you. You're too kind, Liana. Be sure to have the

champagne. It's the real stuff, too  -  not that other crap that everyone
drinks and calls champagne."
She laughed and tilted her head back for effect. "Thank you. I will! See
you around, boss."
Liana spent the next twenty minutes walking around and trying to say
hello  to  as  many  people  as  possible.  They  were  all  so  easy  to
manipulate.  She'd  tell  them  how  wonderful  the  party  was  and  how
gorgeous  or  handsome  they  looked.  She'd  ask  them  where  they  got
their dress or outfit from and swear that they were the best looking of
the  bunch.  She'd  tell  the  staff  members  that  they  should  consider
becoming  a  model  themselves.  They'd  all  act  coy,  but  she  knew  she
was only mimicking their own thoughts. She wasn't exactly proud of
herself  for  what  she  was  doing,  but  she  was  desperate  to  get  home.
When she had made her way around the party and successfully mingled
with enough people, she looked at the time on her phone. It was 8.40. A
perfectly good time to leave. She quickly snuck down the stairs. The
moment she got to the road, she took off her shoes and ran around the
corner to her car. For a few seconds, she just sat inside, closed her eyes,
and breathed. Nobody would even notice that she was gone. But with
the photos as proof and the talk with Jackson, at least they would know
she had been there. She'd make up some drunken stories on Monday,
and they'd all believe her because they would've been just as drunk.
Once she was home, she pulled off her dress and threw it into the wash
basket.  It  probably  reeked  of  smoke.  There  was  a  time  when  hardly
anyone smoked at the office, a time when it was deemed as uncool. But
slowly,  the  old  habits  had  crept  their  way  back  in,  and  now  almost
everyone was chain smoking around her. At work, they loved going on
their  smoke  chats  and  taking  time  off  to  smoke  and  gossip.  She  was
grateful  that  she  didn't  smoke  so  that  she  didn't  have  to  go  out  with
them. It was a habit she had never liked. Even without her dress on, she
could still smell the smoke. It was probably in her skin and in her hair.
She  hopped  into  the  shower  quickly  and  then  put  on  her  most
comfortable pajamas: little, blue-and-white polka-dot, cotton shorts, a
white vest, and a pair of rabbit-shaped slippers. Then she made herself
a cup of tea and a bowl of popcorn and flopped onto the couch with her

two dogs.
The dogs were happy to have her back. They weren't used to being in
the house at night without her, and watching TV on the couch was part
of their daily routine. Something that she looked forward to every day
after work. Sometimes Liana couldn't believe how human-like her dogs
were. They were probably the most laid-back Dachshunds she'd ever
met - far lazier and calmer than what their breed was supposed to be.
She ruffled their fur and laughed. They lay on either side of her, each
with  their  nose  resting  on  her  thighs,  and  as  she  touched  them,  their
tails began to wag while the rest of their body remained still.
"I love you, my little, lazy boys. I would way rather read a magazine
that had you on the cover or go to a party that you hosted."
They thumped their tails again as if they agreed with her. She was sure
they could understand her. Either that or she was just far more in tune
with animals than she was with humans.
She'd  gotten  the  dogs  when  she  had  first  moved  into  the  apartment
alone  -  after  a  disastrous  year  living  with  someone  else.  It  had  felt
strange to be by herself, and she'd always had a particular penchant for
dogs over humans. She'd thought about getting a cat but they were not
loving enough for her. Her mother had warned her that a dog might not
be the best idea for someone that liked a house to always be in order,
and Liana had worried that she  might be right. She'd gone to the pet
store looking for the most docile dog she could find. She'd even asked
the pet shop owner if he had a dog that would not mess up her home too
much. But she'd come back with two dachshunds who were known for
their  bounding  energy.  Even  the  pet  shop  owner  had  laughed  at  her
decision  at  taking  both  of  them.  But  she'd  been  convinced  that  they
would be right for her, and they had been far too cute to turn down - and
most definitely too sweet to split up. They'd looked up at her with those
big, puppy-dog eyes, and her entire body had melted. She'd taken them
both home and waited for their boisterous natures to emerge. She had
figured that she'd put them in training as soon as they were old enough
and get them to calm down. But she'd never had to. Perhaps they sensed
that she enjoyed calm and order because they'd fit perfectly in her life
from the very start. She'd named them Charles and Oliver because they
were not your

typical  dog,  and  they  suited  the  human  names.  Despite  the  fact  that
their  parents  had  been  regular-looking  dachshunds-  big  and  plump  -
these two had stopped growing after a  while.  They did become a bit
plump  (which  could  no  longer  be  referred  to  as  puppy  fat),  but  they
were still small in size.
The phone rang and she reached out to grab it, careful not to disturb the
sleeping  dogs  who  were  not  moving  an  inch  to  help  her.  She  just
managed to get to the phone in time before it stopped ringing.
"Hello?" she said into the receiver.
"Hi, Liana. I hope it's not too late."
"Mom! Not at all. But isn't it late for you?"
"I've changed my ways. I think I've reverted back to my younger years.
I'm in bed around midnight most nights."
"Midnight! What are you doing all that time?" Liana was staying up a
bit later that night because of the party, but most nights she was in bed
by ten.
"Ah, you know, getting up to mischief."
Her  mother  laughed,  and  Liana  felt  her  heart  ache  at  the  sound.  Her
mother's laugh had always been loud and lively, but lately, only a short
rasp would come out. It was the thing she missed the most. Even the
hair loss hadn't been as bad for her as her laughter. She knew that her
mother  was  not  getting  up  to  mischief  but  was  probably  not  able  to
sleep because of the pain. But she wouldn't say anything.
"Well,  there's  nothing  wrong  with  a  bit  of  mischief  and  mayhem,  I
always say."
"Speaking  of  which,  wasn't  it  your  big  work  party  tonight?"  Despite
everything that her mother was going through, she always remembered
what was happening in Liana's life. "It was indeed."
"And yet you're home already?"
"Well, my idea of mayhem and mischief is a night in with the dogs! I
mean, two men at my side - what more could I ask for? I think I got a
pretty good deal here."
"So the party was that bad, huh?"
"Awful. But just as bad as I expected it to be, so no surprises there.

Most everyone had hardly any clothes on, was drinking too much, and
was trying to be the center of attention. Oh, and just before I left, they
were about to reveal the Jacuzzi. Remind me again why I work at that
place?"
"Because you're good at what you do and they'd fall apart without
you."
"Ah, so there is a reason. Tell that to my boss, why don't you."
"I'm sure he knows! And anyway, it's probably a good thing that you
didn't  enjoy  the  party.  It  means  you're  still  the  same  daughter  that  I
brought you up to be. I'd be far more concerned had you come home
and told me that you actually had a good time. The fact that you hated it
is actually a good thing in my books."
Liana laughed. "That's true. Well, I showed my face and made sure I
got into a few photographs. They'll never know that I even left early."
"Good for you. Why stay somewhere when you're not even enjoying it?
So, when are you coming to visit? Maybe we can have a little party at
my place rather?"
"Does your party involve tea and scones?"
"But, of course - as all good parties do these days."
"Then I'll be there for sure. That's my kind of party. How's dad?"
"Oh,  you  know,  he's  the  same.  Busy,  busy,  busy.  He's  doing  up  the
garden lately - it's taking up a lot of his time. He's all into growing his
own herbs and vegetables. Every night, he goes into detail about what
all  the  plants  are  or  what  they're  going  to  become.  It's  all  very
impressive.  And  incredibly  boring."  She  whispered  the  last  part,  and
Liana giggled. Her father was always up to something - the type of man
who could never just sit still.
"Well, I'm sure I'll hear all about it when I come and visit. Are you sure
he's not growing some special herbs there that you don't know
about?"
It  was  her  mother's  turn  to  giggle.  "Nothing  would  surprise  me  with
your father anymore. So, you'll come visit soon?"
"Very soon! I promise. I'll bring the scones. You make the tea."
"Deal." Then, before they could talk any further, her  mother became
engulfed by a terrible coughing fit that lasted a few minutes.

After that, her voice was even more raspy than before. "Sorry, dear. I
get these fits sometimes. Hang on, I'm just having some water." Liana
closed her eyes and tried not to picture her mother in pain. "That's
better. Well, I'll see you soon my darling. I love you. Big kisses to
Charles and Oliver for me."
"Thanks, Mom. See you soon. I love you, too."
Liana put the phone down and sighed. She was desperate to talk to her
father and find out how her mother really was. She had her good days
and her bad days. And while her good days seemed to be on the rise,
tonight's conversation made her think otherwise. She'd have to go and
visit them herself. She was worried that even her father wouldn't tell
her everything on the phone. They were always trying to protect her.
She bent down and kissed both dogs on the head and then turned the
volume up on the TV. Watching movies was sometimes the only way
she was able to cope with it all. The only way she could stop worrying.

Chapter2
The next morning was a Saturday, and Liana felt grateful to wake up
feeling normal. She cringed as she thought of all the other people from
the  party  and  what  sort  of  hangover  they  were  going  to  have.  She
wondered even how  many of them had woken up in their own beds.
She stretched her arms over her head and said a thank you to herself for
coming  home  early.  The  moment  she  spoke,  she  heard  footsteps
running up the stairs. The dogs had heard her. They waited eagerly at
the side of her bed.
"Come on, boys, come say hi to Mommy."
She patted the space on the bed next to her, and they jumped up to say
hello. Poor Oliver couldn't get up, no matter how hard he tried. Some
days he just couldn't get his fat little body up on that bed  -especially
since his little legs didn't give him much in the way of leverage. Charles
looked down at him on the floor and whined. Liana reached down and
scooted him up in her arms. Both dogs sat on her stomach and looked at
her.  She  knew  that  they  weren't  just  happy  to  see  her.  They  wanted
food.  She'd  gotten  up  a  little  later  than  usual  that  day,  and  it  was
obvious  that  they  had  been  waiting  patiently  for  her  to  get  up.  She
kissed them both on the head.
"Okay, let's go get us all some breakfast then."
Liana pulled a gown around herself and put on her bunny slippers. The
dogs loved those slippers. When she wasn't watching, they would try to
pull off the bunny ears. They'd succeeded once, and there was now only
one ear on the left foot. They didn't dare do it when she was watching,
but  she  saw  them  keeping  an  eager  eye  out  as  she  walked.  In  the
kitchen,  she  dished  out  their  dog  food  and  then  went  about  making
herself  some  scrambled  eggs  and  bacon.  She'd  settled  into  an  easy
routine since living by herself. Oats and honey during the week; eggs
and bacon on the weekends. It was her treat for making it through the
week. She ate in the kitchen, and then made herself a cup of coffee and
went  to  sit  in  the  living  room  to  read  a  magazine.  Jackson  would  be
mortified  to  see  her  reading  anything  other  than  MAN  MAGAZINE
but

there  was  no  way  she  would  have  that  in  her  house.  It  was  a  good
magazine and had been well received by the public, even winning the
company  a  few  awards,  but  it  just  wasn't  the  type  of  magazine  that
Liana  would  read  herself.  It  was  all  luxury  goods,  state-of-the-art
homes,  celebrities,  and  models.  She  read  issues  at  work  sometimes
when  she  was  in-between  jobs,  but  that  was  only  because  it  was
important for her to know what was going on. At home, she preferred
magazines that suited her style more, or books. One wall of her living
room had been fashioned into a bookshelf. It was one of the reasons
why she had chosen that apartment over some of the other ones she had
seen.  Those apartments  might even  have been better,  but she was so
blinded by that big bookshelf that she couldn't turn it down. It had been
a long journey to get it filled, and she'd spent the last few years asking
for books from everyone for her birthday and poking her head in every
second-hand bookshop she came across. Just a few weeks ago, she'd
realized that she'd finally almost filled it. She then took every single
book  down  and  spent  one  Saturday  putting  all  of  the  books  in
alphabetical order. She'd considered sorting them out by the color of
their spine - as she had seen once on her Pinterest account. But she was
worried that it wouldn't be organized enough that way and that it would
bother her. After all, some spines had more than one color in them, and
it would drive her mad if it didn't look perfect. So instead, she'd decided
on alphabetical order. It had taken her well into the night to finish it up
-  especially  because  she  kept  getting  distracted  by  the  books  and
reading  what  they  were  about.  She  took  notes  on  which  ones  she
wanted to read next so that she didn't have to search through them all to
find them. The end result was beautiful, and as much as she hated to
admit it, it was one of the best Saturday nights she'd had in a long time.
Now, while she drank her coffee, she looked up and smiled. It always
made  her  feel  good.  She  felt  a  slight  pang  knowing  that  she  was  the
only one that got to see it, though. She and the dogs - and they couldn't
care less about the well-ordered books.
The  phone  rang  beside  her,  and  she  jumped  out  of  her  reverie.  She
always got a fright when the phone rang in case it was her father saying
that her mother had taken a turn for the worse. Thankfully, it wasn't her

father. It was Becky.
Liana had met Becky about five years ago when the two of them had
been forced by their companies to go to a social media course. It was a
time  when  Facebook  and  Twitter  were  hugely  on  the  rise,  and  their
companies  needed  someone  to  keep  them  ahead  of  the  game.  Liana
hadn't  wanted  to  go  -  that  wasn't  the  job  she  had  signed  up  for.  But
Jackson  had  insisted  that  she  was  the  right  person  for  the  job.  The
course was being run for a week, and Liana had been put up in a small
hotel near the conference center. As it turned out, Becky had been put
up in the same hotel. The two had hit it off immediately and had spent
the  entire  week  together.  It  had  made  the  course  completely
worthwhile, and since then, the two of them had been inseparable.
"Hey, Becs."
"Sorry, hope I didn't wake you up."
"Wake me up? But it's already nine-thirty. That's late for me!"
"Yeah,  but  wasn't  it  the  big  party  last  night?  I  thought  you  might  be
nursing a hangover."
"Becky! How well do you know me? You should know I ducked out as
early as possible."
She  laughed.  "Yeah,  I  thought  you  might.  But  if  you  weren't  able  to
leave, then I assumed you would have been drinking to at least make it
bearable."
"That's true. I would've. After all - there was proper champagne, not the
rubbish that we normally drink."
"What? I like our champagne! I thought you did, too! "
"I do. But that's just what my boss said about it. It seems people like
you and me are just terribly uncultured."
"Yeah, either that or we're not rich."
"Probably  that.  Although  if  I  had  that  much  money,  I'm  not  sure  I'd
spend it on proper champagne. I'd probably go away on holiday. Man,
what I' d do for a week of lying on the beach. Whatever happened to our
plan of doing that, by the way?"
Liana and Becky could spend hours planning their next holiday today.
A holiday which never came, but which laid constantly at the back of
their mind.

"Oh, well, I certainly haven't forgotten about it. I'm thinking cocktails
by the beach. Brought to us by handsome men without shirts." "Very
nice. Will we be tanned?"
"Well, I will be tanned. You already have goddess-like skin."
"Just  because  my  skin  is  naturally  dark  doesn't  mean  I  look  like  a
goddess. Ooh, but that reminds me. Do you remember Peter?"
"Peter? Uh, the gray-haired man who loves himself?"
Liana laughed. That was one way of putting it. "Yeah. Well, he was all
over me last night. He actually told me that he had never been with an
African American woman before. Can you believe it?"
"Ah, gross. What did you say? I would've wanted to hit him."
"Oh, I just told him to say a big hello to his wife and kids. Told him
how nervous he  must be that they are teenagers and that they  would
soon be bringing home boyfriends. How I was sure that the boyfriends
would treat them well because they had been brought up seeing how
well  their  father  treated  women.  Then  I  smiled  sweetly  and  walked
away."
Becky giggled with delight. "Oh, that is so much better than slapping
him. We really do need that holiday now."
"How's work going?" Liana asked.
Becky worked at an accountant firm as the assistant to one of the top
accountants  in  the  building.  She  hated  it.  Unlike  Liana,  she  hated
working  in  an  office  and  wanted  nothing  more  than  to  be  working
outdoors.
"It's going. I mean, every day is the same. Hopefully, one day I'll get
out of there. I am actually trying, you know. I don't want to be one of
those  people  who  always  complains  about  her  job  but  does  nothing
about  it.  I'  m  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  something  new.  In  the
meantime, I'm just grateful that I have a steady income. Although, I'll
be honest, it doesn't stop me from complaining. To myself, of course.
I'm all sweetness and light to my boss, who actually thinks that I love
my job."
"Bosses are blind to the truth."
"Speaking of - how is your handsome boss doing?"
Liana pulled a face. Perhaps it was because she worked with him and
saw him on a daily basis, but she simply could not see what everyone
else saw in him. She remembered thinking that he was

good-looking when she first met him, but now all she saw was someone
with a big bank account and an even bigger ego.
"He's  fine.  It  was  his  birthday,  as  well  as  the  anniversary  of  the
magazine.  So,  it  was  quite  a  big  deal.  He  had  all  the  women  around
him, hanging on his every word."
Becky  sighed.  "I  don't  know  how  you  work  with  someone  like  that.
He's actually so good-looking that it's a crime, you know."
"Doesn't make him a nice person."
"I know, I know. But remember that I don't see what you see. I just see
his handsome face. Does he have a girlfriend?"
"No  way.  Jackson  Fisher  would  never  settle  down  with  just  one
woman. He has many girlfriends - but none of them lasts longer than a
few months, at most. He's always going on dates."
"What a life. So different than ours. Anyway, speaking of dates. Would
you like to go for dinner with me and Rob tonight?"
Rob was Becky's boyfriend. She'd had two boyfriends since Liana had
known her, and she was definitely rooting for this latest one. He was
very down to earth and incredibly funny, and he looked at Becky like
she was the most beautiful girl in the world. That made Liana happy.
Becky was beautiful, but in a very understated way. Becky didn't think
so herself, and Liana was glad that someone had finally seen what she
had always seen. They also never made Liana feel like a spare wheel
when  she  was  with  them,  which  is  why  she  didn't  actually  mind
hanging out with them.
"Dinner sounds great. Where are we going?"
"Rob made reservations at that new pizza place that's just opened up. I
forget what it's called. But they do this awesome pizza and wine pairing
that we've been dying to try."
"Sounds delicious. You know I can't turn down pizza and wine. Wait!
Did you say Rob already made reservations? So, you're asking me but
you knew that I would say yes?"
"Well, yeah, but like you say - it's pizza and wine. And a night out with
your best friend whom you love so much."
Liana  chuckled.  "Okay,  you  got  me.  I'll  be  there.  Just  send  me  the
address."

"Great! Uh... there's one other thing." "What's that?"
"Rob invited his friend Trevor along, too." "What? Who is Trevor?"
"Just a friend of Rob's. I  met him once  - he seems very nice. Would
totally fit in with all of us. He's very similar to Rob. They used to go to
school together, and he's just moved back into the city."
"Is this a double date? Tell me it's not a double date."
"No, no. It's not a date. It's just me bringing my friend and Rob bringing
his friend."
Liana groaned. "I like how you tell me this only after I've said yes to the
dinner. Now I can't say that I'm actually busy with something else. Sly.
Very sly. Okay, it's fine. As long as it's not a date."
"It's not." But Liana totally knew that it was.
Becky  had  done  this  once  before  to  Liana,  and  it  had  been  a  total
disaster. It was when Becky was still with Wes, her previous boyfriend.
Liana had never been much of a fan of Wes, and when he'd brought his
friend, that had only amplified her feelings. If she'd thought that Wes
was  annoying  when  he  was  by  himself,  then  she  was  in  for  a  big
surprise when she saw him with his friend. The two of them together
were like some horrible duo out of a cartoon show. When one laughed,
the other one laughed louder. When one told a rude joke, the other had
to tell an even ruder one. Even the entire bottle of wine that Liana had
drunk to get her through the night had not helped how annoyed she was
at  them.  The  night  had  been  a  disaster.  Especially  when  Wes  had
started hitting on Liana in front of Becky. Then the friend had started
hitting on Becky. It was as if they wanted to swap partners for the night.
The night had ended in a fight when Liana had told Becky how much
she hated Wes. Becky had stuck up for him, but the next day, she had
phoned  to  apologize.  She'd  broken  up  with  him  and  had  promised
Liana that she'd never organize another blind date again. But here she
was, doing it all over again. Liana decided not to bring up the last date -
both of them tried not to remember that awful night.
Liana was not in the mood to go on a date that night. She wanted to
relax in the comfort of her friends and not have to worry about how she

was coming across. She  made a promise to herself that she'd do that
anyway. It was not a date! Well, it wouldn't be in her mind anyway. She
wasn't sure what they had told this Trevor guy.
***
Later that evening, as she was getting ready for the dinner (not a date),
she rummaged through her closet. Just to prove a point, she was going
to dress in her normal casual clothes. She put on a pair of black jeans, a
white vest, and some black and white trainers. She put her hair up in a
high ponytail and added only a line of mascara and a dash of lipstick to
her face. Then she grabbed her jacket and headed out. As it turned out,
the restaurant was close enough for her to walk to. If there was ever a
chance  for  Liana  to  walk  instead  of  drive,  she  would  choose  it.  She
loved the feeling of the cool air on her. There was something about it
that always soothed her and cleared her head. By the time she got to the
restaurant,  she  felt  revitalized.  She  spotted  them  immediately.  They
were in the far corner of the restaurant, and they were already laughing
over something that Rob was saying. Liana watched as Rob squeezed
Becky's  leg  and  Becky  smiled  back  at  him.  He  was  the  one  for  her.
Liana could tell all the way from where she was standing. The way they
felt about each other practically oozed out of them. Liana wondered if
she'd  ever  feel  the  same  way  about  someone  and  whether  someone
would ever feel that way about her. But before she could dwell on that
any longer, Rob saw her and beckoned her over.
"Hey Li," Becky said and stood up to hug her.
Liana hugged her back and then said hello to Rob.
"Liana, this is Trevor. My old school friend."
Liana looked over to the man who had stood up to greet her. He was
very cute. Not overtly handsome, but there was something about him
that  made her trust him immediately. Becky had been  right  - he  was
very similar to Rob. She reached out to shake his hand while he leaned
in to kiss her on the cheek. They both burst out laughing as she stabbed
him in the chest with her outstretched hand.
"Well, great start. Hi, Trevor. As you can tell, I'm not an awkward

person at all."
He laughed. "That's okay. I feel better around awkward people, to be
honest. Becky was telling me that you work at MAN MAGAZINE. I'
ve  seen  pictures  of  the  staff  before.  Are  they  really  so  well  put
together? Please tell me that behind the scenes they're actually just as
awkward as the rest of us."
"Sadly  not.  They're  all  incredibly  confident  and  absolutely  beautiful.
The only consolation that I can give you is, despite all of that, they're
also incredibly dull. And... they wouldn't be caught dead eating pizza.
It' s salads every day in the office. With no dressing. They look at me
like  an  alien  when  they  see  me  eating  a  sandwich.  Bread  is  a  swear
word in the office."
"Oh,  I  do  feel  better.  I  couldn't  live  without  bread.  I'd  rather  be
awkward any day."
Liana could feel Becky's and Rob's eyes drilling into them. They were
obviously  delighted  that  she  and  Trevor  were  already  getting  on  so
well.  She  resisted  the  urge  to  look  at  Becky  and  say,  "I  thought  this
wasn't a date."
"Hi  everyone.  My  name  is  Tracey,  and  I'll  be  your  waitress  tonight.
Would you like to see the menu, or are you here for the pizza and wine
pairing?"
"Pizza  and  wine  pairing!  "  everyone  said  in  unison.  Tracey  laughed.
"Well that makes my job easier. Right, so how it works is that you'll get
four different types of pizzas  - two slices of each. And each of those
pieces will be paired with a different wine. You'll get a sheet of paper
which  will  explain  why  the  pairings  go  so  well  together.  And  you
should  start  from  left  to  right  to  get  the  maximum  taste  benefit.  The
chef is big into his wine, and he worked with a team for a few months to
get this perfect. Thankfully, as a friend of the chef, I was able to help
during the taste tests. Well, I'll be back soon with your orders."
Liana  had  never  been  able  to  turn  down  a  good  pizza,  but  she  hated
going out to a restaurant where the choices were  too much for her to
decide  between.  She'd  almost  always  have  order  envy.  But  this  was
perfect. Each of them had the exact same pizzas, and there were four

different types for them to sample.
"Oh man, this is good," Liana said.
She  took  a  bite  of  the  pizza,  and  the  cheese  oozed  off  the  edge.  It
dripped  over  her  hand,  and  she  quickly  licked  it  up.  Then  she  had  a
mortifying thought about how undignified she must have looked. She
took  a  quick  glance  around  and,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  noticed  that
everyone was far too concerned about their own pizza to worry about
her. They were all in carb-heaven.
"Okay," Rob said when he was down to his last pizza. "Which is your
favorite so far? You see, I'm tending to go for the last one - but I'm not
sure if it's because I'm now starting to feel a little bit drunk. I think any
pizza would taste amazing right about now."
Liana laughed. It was true - they were all sounding a little bit on the
tipsy  side.  The  four  glasses  had  had  generous  amounts  of  wine  and
were not 'tasting' glasses at all. She was grateful that she had walked to
the restaurant.
"Well, I agree. This last one is incredible. It could be because of the
overload of bacon, though. But it also could be because we're drunk."
"Well then - there's only one thing that we can do about that!" Trevor
declared, and they all turned to look at him. "Yeah? What's that?"
"Simple. We have to come again. But we'll start from right to left. Then
we'll see if we still prefer that one the best."
"Brilliant plan! I didn't know you were so smart," Rob said to him.
They  had  an  easy  friendship.  They  knew  each  other  well  enough  to
mock and laugh.
"Oh,  yes.  I'm  very  intelligent.  If  you  remember  correctly  from  our
school days, it was me that was always head of the class." "Don't you
mean - head joker?"
"Well, maybe. But still. Also, I think wine makes me more intelligent."
Rob  laughed.  "Either  that  or  wine  makes  you  seem  more  intelligent.
Don't be fooled, Liana. It's all an illusion."
"I thought it was a great idea actually," Becky interrupted. "I think

you have to admit that Trevor is the smart one in the group. But don't
worry - you're the cute one," she said, looking at Rob.
Liana  rolled  her  eyes.  Becky  was  not  one  for  public  displays  of
affection, which meant that she was definitely drunk.
"Get a room, guys. So, if Trevor is the smart one, and Rob is the cute
one, what are we?"
"I think I'm the drunk one," Becky slurred, and they all laughed.
"Well, that's true. And me? The greedy one maybe?" Liana noticed that
her plate was almost empty while Becky still had two pieces left.
"Don't underestimate me, Liana. I'm going to finish these two pieces.
No, you're not greedy. You can be the organized one."
"Man, that sounds boring. But you're completely right. And... I hate to
admit it.      but I actually take that as a compliment."
Trevor looked at her. "So, you're an organizer?"
Becky spoke for her. "Oh, yes. Liana is the best organizer in the world.
She actually likes working in an office. She's actually good at it. I think
we should all just pay her to come in and organize our own lives.
What do you think, Li?"
Liana chortled and clapped her hands together. "I think that's a brilliant
idea.  I  am  far  better  at  sorting  out  other  people's  lives  than  I  am  my
own."
They finished their pizzas and then stood up to leave. "Whoa. You don't
quite realize how much wine you've had until you stand up."
"I hope you guys aren't driving," Liana said.
"Nope. We did the sensible thing and caught a cab. How about you?"
Becky answered.
"I walked. It's so close."
"Well, I'll walk you to your house then. I took a cab, too, but I'll just
phone it now and get it to fetch me from your house," Trevor said.
"Oh, you really don't have to. I walk all the time. It's not far."
"I want to, though. I could actually do with a bit of a walk."
"Okay, well, thank you. That's nice of you."
Liana hugged Becky and Rob goodbye and tried to ignore the winks
that Becky was trying to give her. She was trying to be secretive about
it, but because she was drunk, she was not being successful at all.

She wasn't sure what Becky thought was going to happen. She wasn't
even going to invite Trevor into her home. She didn't mean to be rude,
but she just wasn't that sort of person. And anyway, she remind herself,
it wasn't a date.
It took longer to walk back to her house than it had taken to walk to the
restaurant. Their steps must've been slower. When they arrived, the cab
was already waiting for him. Liana was grateful that she didn't have to
worry about not inviting him in and how that would look. He went up
to the driver and told him that he'd just be a few minutes and then he
walked her to the door. He really was a proper gentlemen. Behind the
door, she heard her dogs barking.
"Ah, sorry. My dogs can obviously hear my voice."
"That's  cute.  Can  I  meet  them  quickly?  I'm  a  bit  of  a  stickler  for
animals."
"Of course."
Liana  realized  that  just  by  him  saying  that,  he  had  gone  up  in  her
esteem. Anyone who loved animals was good in her books. She opened
the door and scooped them both up.
"Trevor, meet the sweetest little boys in the world. This is Charles, and
this is Oliver."
"I love their names."
"Thank you. They're like humans to me - I couldn't possibly name them
Fluffy or something."
Trevor reached over and scratched them both behind their ears. Then
he looked up at her and smiled.
"Well, I better get going. Tonight was fun. And I wasn't joking when I
said we should do it again. Uh.  would it be  rude if we went without
Becky and Rob, though?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, would you like to go on a date with me? We can try the pizza
again. Or we can go somewhere different if you prefer."
Liana  considered  his  question.  She  hadn't  felt  any  sparks  that  night.
Even though he was very cute, and it was obvious that he was a nice
man - she didn't feel a pull towards him. But she also had no reason to
say no. And the fact that he loved dogs so much most definitely aided
his

cause. Perhaps not all relationships started with sparks.
"Yeah, actually, that would be nice, Trevor. I'd like that. I think we'd
better go somewhere else, though. Rob and Becky would kill us if we
went without them."
A huge smile spread across his face. "You're right. Well, I'll get your
number from Rob, and we can make a date soon. It was lovely to meet
you, Liana. And you, Charles. And you, Oliver."
He rubbed the top of their heads and then smiled at her before walking
off. She was glad that he hadn't tried to kiss her or anything. She waved
goodbye and then walked inside.
She saw that she had a message waiting for her from Becky.
Enjoy the rest of your night with Trevor. Not a date, huh?
She dialed Becky's number immediately.
"Hey, why are you phoning me? Aren't you with Trevor?"
"Becky! I told you that it wasn't a date. He walked me home, and that
was it. His cab was waiting for him, so he didn't even come inside. Not
that I would've invited him."
"You're so rude! Didn't you like him?"
"I did. But you are a very naughty friend, Becs! It's obvious you guys
want us to go out again."
"Well. will you?"
"He did actually ask me out on another date." "Tell me you said yes."
Liana laughed. "I said yes! "
"They're going on a date!" Becky yelled to Rob. She could hear Rob
whooping for delight in the background.
"You two are insufferable. Now, you go rest your head. Thank
goodness it's Sunday tomorrow and we can do nothing but nurse this
hangover that' s going to hit us! "
"Well, at least when you go to work on Monday, you can talk about the
hangover that you had and you won't be lying. They don't have to know
that it wasn' t from their party."
"You're right! That's brilliant. Anyway, thanks for a good night, Becs.
It was good to get out. Love you lots."
"I love you, too, Liana."

On Monday, she went to work and prepared herself for a day filled with
stories  about  the  party.  Just  as  she  had  suspected,  she  suffered  the
whole of Sunday with an awful hangover and was glad to get to work
on Monday with a clear head. She had never been good with hangovers
-and they seemed to get worse the older she got. She spotted Peter at his
desk,  and  he  grinned  at  her.  She  wondered  just  how  much  he
remembered from that night. More than likely, not much at all. She put
her bag down and was just about to go and make a cup of coffee for
herself when her phone rang. It was Jackson.
"Good morning, Jackson," she said as brightly as possible.
"Good morning, Liana. Do me a favor, will you? Make the two of us a
cup of coffee and come and join me in my office for a quick meeting."
"Uh... sure. Coming right up."
It was unlike Jackson to be in the office so early. and even more unlike
him to call a meeting before the day had even begun. She groaned at the
thought of starting her day off with him. She had been looking forward
to a day of keeping her head down and doing her work. She wasn't in
the mood for him.
She walked into the office and placed the coffees down on his desk.
She couldn't believe that he looked so good so early in the  morning.
She pushed that thought out of her mind and concentrated on the task at
hand.
"Could you just close the door so we're not interrupted?" he asked.
That was another unusual request. He never asked her to close the door.
She was generally never in his office long enough for her to have to
close it anyway.
"Uh... sure." She closed the door and sat down. "Did you have a good
time  on  Friday?"  she  asked.  She  hoped  he  hadn't  called  her  into  the
office  because  he  had  discovered  that  she  had  gone  home  early  and
pocketed the cab money.
"I did. It was a great party, wasn't it? You looked gorgeous, Liana. I
loved your dress."
Liana could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Why did he have to

Chapter3
Jackson was sitting at his desk. He was not normally at work so early,
but he'd had too much on his mind for him to sleep in. As the boss, he
generally liked to come in once the rest of the staff were already settled
in.  But  today,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  arrive.  He  had  a  throbbing
headache for the second time in a  matter of days, and the thought of
alcohol  made  him  want  to  hurl.  The  only  thing  he  wanted  at  that
moment was a very strong cup of coffee.
The weekend had been a bit of blur - a roller coaster of emotions. He
was used to feeling incredibly high with his emotions, but it had been a
long time since he had reached such a steep low, too. The party itself
had been a good one, and it had coincided beautifully with his birthday.
He was incredibly proud of himself. He was only thirty-one years old,
but  already,  he  was  celebrating  his  tenth  year  at  the  magazine.  He'd
started young. He knew deep down that the only reason he had gotten
the job in the first place was because of his father, but the fact that he
had managed to keep it afloat for ten years was all because of him. In
fact, the magazine had grown exponentially in the last ten years, and he
was sure it was because of the fact that he was the face of it all. The
man that he had taken the job from had been much older and not nearly
as good looking. Jackson knew that his youth and his looks had made
MAN MAGAZINE as popular as it now was.
The party proved what a success he had become. His entire staff had
come  to  celebrate,  as  well  as  a  great  deal  of  models  and  even  a  few
celebrities. The drinks had been flowing, and by the end of the night,
even  the  shyest  of  guests  were  having  a  ball.  When  the  party  was
filtering  to  a  close,  he  found  himself  sitting  in  the  Jacuzzi  with  two
beautiful  women.  He  had  gotten  used  to  being  around  women  like
them, but he still enjoyed the thrill that it gave him. Especially because
of the way the other men looked at him with envy. The two girls were
both models and were doing their best to outdo one in another in front
of him. He sat back and enjoyed the scene - wondering which one he
was going to take home. Jackson actually lived in the office apartment,
so all he had

to do was pick a girl and walk her back to his bedroom. In the end, they
girls  decided  for  him.  The  brunette  took  a  shot  of  whiskey  and
promptly fell asleep; the blonde looked at him triumphantly. Jackson
signaled  for  one  of  the  men  to  help  the  sleeping  woman  out  of  the
Jacuzzi, and then he took the blonde by her hand and walked out with
her. He looked around and smiled. The party had been a huge success.
"I don't even know your name," he said to the girl when they reached
the door to his apartment.
"It's Allie. Wow - you actually live here? That's so cool."
"Oh, yeah. I do. The rest of the building is all offices, but this entire
floor has been designed for me."
Jackson  led  her  inside,  and  she  gasped.  He  loved  the  reaction  that
women had whenever they saw  where he lived. It  wasn't actually  all
that spectacular, but he'd fashioned a Jacuzzi in the middle of his living
room, which was always the first thing that they saw. The lights were
dimmed, and the blue light inside practically glimmered.
"Oh  my  goodness,  you  have  a  Jacuzzi  in  your  living  room.  This  is
amazing,  Jackson.  I  can't  believe  how  cool  this  place  is.  It  actually
looks like a picture from the pages of a magazine - your magazine. It's
so cool." This girl sure did say cool a lot.
He had to admit - the living room was impressive. The one wall was
made  entirely  out  of  uneven  brick,  and  he'd  adorned  it  with  framed
copies of the magazine. It might've been a tad bit boastful, but Jackson
believed that he had every reason to be proud of his accomplishments.
He watched as the girl - whose name he had already forgotten - gazed
upon the frames.
"You sure have done a lot of  magazines. Have you ever been on the
front cover yourself?"
"I have, actually. June of last year. Here it is."
He  pointed  to  a  picture  of  himself.  He'd  suggested  it  to  the  editorial
team, and they had been just as excited about the idea as he was. Not
only did he adorn the front cover that issue, but inside was a four-page
spread dedicated to an interview with him. One of the top staff writers
had  put  it  together,  and  it  had  come  out  even  better  than  he  had
expected.  It  was  all  black  and  white  and  moody.  He  had  never  once
thought that it

might be a little bit over the top to do something like that. After all, it
was his magazine, and he could do whatever he wanted.
"You're  so  good  looking.  You  should  totally  be  a  model,  you  know.
Have you thought about it? I could probably get you in if you wanted
to. Hey, that's actually a great idea - we could do something together.
Maybe in one of the upcoming magazines even. You and me together.
Everyone would be so jealous to see me next to a guy like you. You're
even better looking than the models I normally hang out with on
set."
The girl was flirting beautifully with him  - feeding his ego in all the
best ways. He smiled at her.
"Thank you. You should know best - you're one of the top models at the
moment. But no, I'll leave that job up to the professionals. I've had my
eye on you for a very long time, you know."
It wasn't true. She wasn't the top model of the moment, nor had he had
his eye on her for a long time. He'd only noticed her that night. But she
was beautiful, and she took well to the compliment. She giggled.
"Really? You've had your eye on me?"
"Oh yeah. You are absolutely divine."
He  walked  forward  and  took  her  face  into  his  hands.  He  drew  her
nearer and started to kiss her. Her small, little lips soft against his. He
shivered with delight at the anticipation of what was ahead.
"Want to try the Jacuzzi? I can  think of nothing better than going in
there with you," he asked and started taking off his clothes.
She eyed him eagerly, and in response she pulled off her dress. It was
the second time that he would be in a Jacuzzi with this woman. But this
time,  it  would  just  be  the  two  of  them,  and  they  'd  both  be  naked.
Jackson  had  no  qualms  when  it  came  to  being  naked  in  front  of  a
woman. He took great pride in the way that he looked and spent a lot of
time at the gym making sure that he looked a certain way. He knew that
people talked in the world that he was involved in, and he wanted to
make  sure  that  they  were  only  saying  good  things  about  him.  Allie!
That was her name. It suddenly came back to the forefront of his mind,
and he grinned. There was nothing worse than forgetting a girl's name,
and he had done it on more than one occasion.

"You're gorgeous, Allie," he said as he took her hand and led her to the
water.
She  was  tall  and  slim  -  perhaps  a  little  bit  too  thin,  but  that  was  the
modeling world - and her long legs looked like they went on forever.
Her breasts were small, and yet it was easy to see that they were still not
real. They didn't bounce as she walked but remained firm and solid. It
was  always  interesting  to  meet  a  woman  who  only  went  up  a  size
bigger during the operation. He knew that she wouldn't be as far in her
modeling career had her breasts been any bigger. They stepped inside
and submerged themselves, and within seconds she was on top of him.
She wrapped her legs around him, and her firm breasts were bobbing at
the top of the water. He reached over and touched them, tugging gently
at her nipples. She leaned forward and started to kiss him. She didn't
start off slow, and it was obvious that she wasn't here to play games.
She wanted him, and she was happy to show it. Her tongue darted in his
mouth, and he groaned as she reached down for his penis. He moved
his fingers between her legs and was surprised to find that she was wet.
He often battled to have sex in the hot tub - the water often getting in
the way. But it didn't seem to be much of a problem for this girl. She
pushed him into her, and he slid in with ease. He grabbed onto her ass,
and they thrashed against the side of the tub - the water splashing over
the edges. She thrust against him, her breasts firm against his chest, and
as their breathing became more shallow, he knew that he was about to
come. But just before he did, she pulled off and then pulled him out of
the Jacuzzi. She walked him, fully erect, over to the living room couch
and  then  knelt  down  and  finished  him  off  in  her  mouth.  It  was
explosive, and he finished in no time.
"That was amazing," he whispered as she sat back up to join him on the
couch.
They were both sopping wet, but he didn't care. He had someone who
came  in  during  the  week  to  clean  his  apartment.  And  if  his  couches
became  water  damaged,  he  was  sure  they  would  be  able  to  do
something about it. He laid down and pulled her on top of him.
"I like the way you ended that," he said. He had been about to come in
the Jacuzzi, but he far preferred coming in her mouth. She did it

with  so  much  expertise,  too  -  it  was  obvious  that  she  did  this  often.
"Well, I wanted you to remember me." "Oh, I'll be sure to remember
you."
They sat there for a while until he could feel her starting to get drowsy.
Despite  the  warm  room,  he  was  starting  to  get  cold,  and  he  was
desperate for a hot shower and to climb into his bed.
"Right,  Allie,  I  think  we  better  call  it  a  night.  I'll  call  you  a  cab.  It
should be here in a few minutes. Here's a towel."
"Oh,  aren't  I  sleeping  over?  I'm  happy  to  leave  first  thing  in  the
morning if you need me to."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I have a million and one things to do tomorrow and
even some work to do tonight. It's a busy time for me at the moment.
So,  this  was  a  welcome  distraction  from  it  all.  Thank  you  so  much!
Maybe next time."
"So, there will be a next time?" she asked demurely.
"With your skills - I don't doubt it. Thanks for ending off my party so
well. It was fun."
"And thank you to you, too. Happy birthday, Jackson. I'm glad I could
be of service."
And that was it. She kissed him goodbye and left the moment the cab
arrived. It had all been relatively quick and painless. Just the way that
he liked it. Of course, he actually had nothing planned for the next day.
Just a lunch planned with one of his old friends. But that was it. Other
than  that,  he  planned  on  sleeping  in  for  as  long  as  possible.  But  she
didn' t have to know that.
"Happy birthday to me," he said to himself the moment he stepped into
his warm bed.
The next day, after a long and restful sleep, Jackson went up to survey
the mess from the party. He was surprised to find it looking as pristine
as it had been before the party. He spotted someone cleaning in the far
corner and gave him a big thumbs up. Then he went out to meet Martin.
Martin  was  an  old  childhood  friend  who'd  known  Jackson  before  he
became  the  face  of  MAN  MAGAZINE.  They  were  very  different.
Martin  had  become  a  teacher  who  took  home  a  measly  salary  each
month

and declared that money was not important, whereas Jackson thought
about very little else other than how much money he was making and
how  he  could  make  more.  Despite  these  rather  glaring  differences,
however,  they  remained  friends.  Jackson  always  joked  that  it  was
because Martin knew too much about him and it was in his best interest
to remain friends rather than enemies. The truth was that he actually
just liked Martin. He always had and he probably always would. Martin
was a little bit of an escape from the madness.
"Ah,  so  you  survived  the  party!"  Martin  said  as  he  arrived  at  the
restaurant.
"Barely!  You  should've  come.  You  were  invited,  you  know.  You're
always invited, even if I don't physically invite you."
It was true, but they both knew that Martin wouldn't have come, even if
he'd had a personal invitation delivered to him.
"I know. And thank you. But it's not really my thing. We  both know
that."
"Yeah. But still - it was my birthday after all. You could've made an
appearance."
Martin pulled out a box from underneath the table. "Which is why I am
here today, as well as why I got you this. Happy birthday, Jackson."
"You  got  me  a  present?  Seriously?  You  shouldn't  have.  Now  you're
going to have to get me one every year, you know."
They didn't really do the whole present thing. They usually just met for
drinks and reminisced about how old they were getting.
"Yeah, well. I did. Open it! " Martin looked as if he were going to burst
from excitement.
Jackson  tore  off  the  wrapping  paper.  Inside,  there  was  a  box,  which
gave nothing away. It was a simple wooden box with nothing to say
what it was. Jackson opened it up slowly and then gasped. Inside was a
bottle of whiskey. But it wasn't just any bottle of whiskey.
"Martin! You didn't. It's your father's whiskey!" he whispered.
When they were younger, around fourteen or fifteen, they would sit at
Martin' s house and talk about all their ideas and ambitions. That bottle
of whiskey was always sitting in a locked cupboard with a glass door in
the room that they always ended up in. It was his father's den - a place

that was dark and mysterious. It was where his father went to write and
where they went to dream. That bottle was something very symbolic
between  them.  Invariably,  at  some  stage  of  the  evening,  they  would
look up and wonder what it would be like to drink it. They weren't even
drinking at the time, and that bottle of whiskey served as a reminder
that they were soon to be adults. They used to ask his father why he
never drank it, and he'd smile at them and say that he would drink it
only when the time was right. He'd died before he got the chance to,
and Jackson had all but forgotten about it.
"You can't give this to me, Martin." Jackson was overwhelmed. It took
a lot to make him emotional. He was not a sentimental type of guy. But
this was different. This blew the wind out of his lungs.
"Of course I can. You're a bit of a jackass at times and as arrogant as
ever - but you're my best friend, Jackson. Hey - Jackson the Jackass. I
like that one." Martin laughed.
"You better not call me that! But seriously, Martin - this is too much."
"Nah, it's not too much. Some of my best memories are from our times
in  that  den.  When  we  thought  we  had  the  whole  world  at  our  feet.
Remember that? We thought we were invincible. Man, we had some
crazy dreams, you and I. We dreamt big. I've kept this for a long time. I
don' t know why, but it just feels like the right time to give it to you. But
you have to promise me one thing."
"Of course, anything."
"You'll have it with me."
"Deal. I wouldn't dream of having it with anyone else. That would feel
too wrong."
"Not  even  some  gorgeous  model  who  you're  trying  to  get  into  bed?
Some girl that you're trying to impress?"
"Well, as it turns out, I don't actually need to do anything to get them to
get into bed with me. They just come to me."
Jackson said it in a joking way, but they both knew that it was actually
the truth. Finding women was one thing that Jackson had never had to
battle with. Keeping them was another story, of course.
"The annoying part is that I know you're actually not joking. I'm

not actually sure why I'm friends with you sometimes. So, I assume you
got lucky on your birthday."
"Of course I did. Very lucky. I had my choice between two girls near
the end of the night. But then the one passed out."
Martin laughed and shook his head. "You live a very different life to
me, dear Jackson. Two girls to choose from and one passes out. Process
of elimination then. Guess that made it easy for you."
"Yeah, very easy."
"So, other than sleeping around with models - how are you? Anything
exciting happen lately? I have to ask you because my life is nowhere
near as glamorous. I have to live vicariously through you."
Jackson  knew  that  this  wasn't  remotely  true.  Martin  was  happily
married  to  the  woman  of  his  dreams,  and  while  they  weren't  rich  or
involved in the same lifestyle - he knew they were happy.
"I'  m  good.  Working  hard.  Partying  harder.  Same  as  usual,  really.
Things don't really change much around here."
"Well, that's not a bad thing, I suppose. You love your life. And your
father? I haven't seen him in forever. I miss your old man."
"He's good. I don't see him all that much either. I know he's only a few
hours away, but it's still a long drive. Plus - it's boring there. I've gotten
so used to city life. It's like when you're there, all you have is time on
your  hands.  It's  quite  bizarre.  Too  much  time  to  think  and  ponder.
Personally, I don't think that is good for anyone."
Jackson's  father  had  moved  away  to  the  countryside,  and  their  visits
had gotten less frequent over the years.
"Really? I mean, I love the city. But I'd love to go escape every now
and again. I would love to go and spend some time there."
"You should, though! My dad wouldn't mind at all. He'd love to have
you.  I'm  sure  he  gets  lonely  there.  You'll  be  treated  like  royalty.
Seriously - make a plan. It might actually make things easier for me if
you  do.  Maybe  he'll  stop  asking  me  to  come  by.  You  can  be  my
replacement. You always were one of his favorites, you know. I swear,
he likes you better than he likes me."
"Yeah, but that's only because I'm not flaunting myself on the cover of
magazines."

"Hey,  that's  my  magazine!  And  it  was  just  the  one  time.  Admit  it  -I
looked good."
"I'll  admit  no  such  thing.  And  I  might  just  call  your  dad,  actually.
School holidays are coming up, and I wouldn't mind getting away for a
bit. Any news on the inheritance money? I was there when he told you
about it. How old  were  we then? Seventeen? I thought you were the
luckiest guy alive. Do you guys ever speak about it?"
Jackson's father was a billionaire. Yet despite this, he was completely
different than Jackson, and he had taken himself out of the limelight.
He hated being on show. Jackson had grown up surrounded by money,
but most people wouldn't have known it. His house had been modest -
big to most but certainly small for a billionaire. And his father had been
adamant to prove to him that money wasn't everything. But he' d also
promised Jackson that one day, some of the money would be his. He'd
been putting away money for his son since he was born, and he had a
big nest egg just waiting to hand over. Jackson wasn't sure quite how
much, but he was certain it would be in the millions - if not more. He'd
been so excited the first time he'd heard about it. But his father had one
condition - a condition his mother had come up with when she was still
alive - that Jackson could only get the money when he was thirty years
old.  But  that  wasn't  all.  Not  only  did  he  have  to  meet  a  certain  age
criteria - he also had to be settled with a girl he loved. Perhaps even
with a family.
"We used to speak about it often. I brought it up when I turned thirty
and  begged  him  for  it.  But  he  was  clear  about  the  rules.  Do  you
remember when he first told me? I laughed at the conditions. I mean, I
was  sure  that  by  the  time  I  was  thirty  I'd  have  met  someone.  Thirty
seemed so old to me then. I remember thinking that there was no way
that I wouldn't be married. And now here I am, just turned thirty-one,
and nowhere near ready to settle down. And I don't feel old at all."
"How  important  is  that  money  to  you,  though?  I  mean,  you're  doing
really well for yourself without it. Do you really need it anyway?"
"I am doing well. But nowhere near as well as that. I mean, that money
would change everything."
"What would it change? I' m not trying to be patronizing or

anything;  I'm  really  curious.  Because  as  far  as  I'm  concerned,  you're
actually very well off. Rich, for sure."
"No way. I'm not rich. Nowhere close." Jackson knew that he probably
just  looked  rich  to  someone  like  Martin  who  was  used  to  earning  a
teacher's salary. But he wasn't rich - not in his books. "I know it might
seem crazy to you - but I hang around with some very famous people,
and in their books, I'm nothing. And I don't want to be nothing. I' ll only
make as much as I' m making now. I mean - the magazine can only take
me so far. And I'm  too busy to take on something else. My dad  was
great in investments and all of that, but I know nothing about it. Nor do
I care, really. Perhaps I've always just known that one day I'll have all
this money. I sometimes live like I already have it. But I don't. Can you
imagine, though? Jackson Fisher - The Billionaire."
"You  think  it's  billions  that  you're  going  to  get  from  him?"  Martin
asked.
"I  don't  know.  Even  The  Millionaire  sounds  good.  I  really  want  that
money, but it's not looking promising. Can you even imagine me with a
wife  and  kids  right  now?  Or  ever,  even?  I  don't  think  I  want  that.  I
honestly believe that I'd be better off the way I am. I don't think it's a
case of I'm not ready or I haven't found the right woman. I don't want
that sort of lifestyle. I don't want to settle down. I did try to explain that
to my father, but he said then he wouldn't give me the money. He said I'
d be too reckless with it."
"Well, he's right, don't you think?"
Jackson laughed. Martin was never one to mince words with him. They
had been friends for too long to worry about what the other might think.
"He  is.  But  he  doesn't  have  to  know  that.  I  actually  woke  up  this
morning  thinking  about  the  money.  Probably  because  yet  another
birthday has gone by. In fact, I thought of an idea. Can I run it by you?"
"Oh dear. Something tells me this is not going to be good. You can, of
course, run it by me. But you know I'm going to tell you exactly how I
feel. I've seen your ideas before - and I never tend to agree with them.
But go on."
"Just hear me out. I think this time you'll be quite surprised by my

genius.  So...  what  if  I  just  told  him  that  I've  met  the  woman  of  my
dreams?  What  if  I  told  him  that  she  was  pregnant  and  that  we  were
going to get married and settle down? That the whole thing had caught
me by complete surprise."
"Uh...  I  think  he'll  know  you're  not  being  serious  when  you  don't
actually get married or have a baby. He's not stupid. Come on, surely
you can do better than that?"
"Yeah, but I could say I needed the money for the wedding. By then,
he'll have given it to me. I'll tell him that she broke my heart and met
another man. I'll act distraught, and he won't have the heart to take the
money away from me."
Jackson had been thinking of nothing else all morning. The idea had
come  to  him  the  moment  he  had  opened  his  eyes,  and  he'd  been
formulating it in his mind ever since. Even now, as he spoke about it,
he found himself getting more and more excited at the idea.
"Tell  me  you're  joking,"  Martin,  who  obviously  did  not  share  his
sentiment, said.
"You know I'm not. It's a fantastic idea - the best one I've had in a very
long time. Come on, I think it could work."
"That's  the  scary  thing.  It  probably  would  work.  Your  father  wants
nothing more than to see you happily settled with someone. He'll jump
at the chance of helping you with your fake wedding. And you're right
-he won' t have the heart to take the money back if he thinks your heart
is  broken.  He's  the  type  of  guy  who  would  do  this  just  to  see  you
happy."
Jackson took a bite of his sandwich and sat back satisfied. "So you see -
it will work! "
"Yeah. But isn't it an awful thing to do? I mean, your father has been
nothing short of amazing to you. Don't you feel bad? Not even a
little?"
Jackson considered that. "Well, a little, I guess. But he won't have to
know that I'm lying. I'll get the money. He'll have had a little glimpse of
me as a settled-down man. And we can move on from there. Perhaps
eventually, he'll see that this is the type of lifestyle that I prefer anyway.
It's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned."
"I' m not exactly going to stop you. Not that I could stop you from

doing something that you wanted to. But I do think that it's an awful
idea. What if he wants to meet this girl? Have you thought about that? I
think he'll need a little bit more proof than just what you tell him. I don't
think he's going to say that he believes you and then just send you the
money. It's going to probably have to be a little bit more involved than
that."
"Crap. I hadn't thought about that. That's true - my father will definitely
want proof. Even if he does believe me, he'll still want to meet her. And
he's been on me about visiting for a while now. Okay, well, I'll just get
one of the girls to pretend. I'll pay her to be my pretend fiance."
"One of your girls?" Martin asked him and pulled a face.
"You know - the girls that I've slept with. Maybe even the one that I
was with on my birthday. Yeah, she seemed very willing to make me
happy."
Martin scoffed. "I'm sure she was."
"Well then, that's settled. I'm going to be rich, my friend. Rich beyond
my wildest dreams."
"Jackson the Jackass - it really does have a nice ring to it."
Jackson  ignored  him  and  got  out  his  phone  to  invite  the  girl  out  for
dinner. She replied back immediately and said yes. She was busy that
night but she asked if they could meet on Sunday.
For  the  rest  of  the  weekend,  Jackson  thought  about  nothing  else.  He
was  sure  that  his  plan  was  going  to  work.  He'd  tell  the  girl  that  he
actually quite fancied her anyway and that he had chosen her above all
the others. He fetched her and took her to a fancy restaurant in the city
center  where  he  wined  and  dined  her.  He  hadn't  quite  realized  how
boring  she  was  when  there  was  no  alcohol  involved.  She'd  had  a
modeling shoot the night before which was why she couldn't meet him,
and she went into every little detail about what she had to do.
"Then they sprayed water in my face and I had to stay sexy. They kept
telling me 'pull your sexy face,' 'don't scrunch up your nose,' 'keep your
eyes  open'  -  do  you  have  any  idea  how  hard  it  is  to  stay  sexy  when
water  is  being  sprayed  in  your  face?  I  wanted  to  tell  them  how
ridiculous the whole thing was, but it's a job, and the only thing I could
do was try. I mean, I knew going into a job like this that it wouldn't
always be easy.

People think that it is, but it's  not. Thankfully, after about a hundred
takes,  they  told  me  that  they  had  gotten  a  good  shot.  By  then,  I  was
drenched. I swear, if I get sick because of them, I'm going to very cross.
Being  sick  in  the  modeling  industry  is  not  fun.  They  simply  choose
another girl if you're not available. Can you believe the type of day I
had? I was so glad to know that I had this date at least to look forward
to."
"Hmm mmm," Jackson mumbled, trying his best to look interested.
Finally, when the food was finished and so was her story, he smiled at
her. "So, do want to come back to my place? We can have some dessert
there." He emphasized the word dessert and she giggled.
Of course, she said yes. He still hadn't had the chance to speak to her
about his plan. Instead, he poured her a glass of wine and cringed when
she  launched  into  yet  another  one  of  her  modeling  tales.  He  had
finished almost an entire bottle of wine, and he was still not interested
in  her  stories.  So  finally,  when  he  could  take  it  no  more,  he  reached
over and kissed her. That shut her up immediately. She began to fiddle
with the buttons of his jeans. He helped her out by pulling them down
and then he smiled as she knelt down in front of him. She was all about
pleasing,  this  girl,  and  he  enjoyed  the  silence  as  she  brought  him  to
orgasm once again.
When she was finished, he pulled up his pants and then called it a night.
Again, she was sad to go but didn't put up much of a fuss. Especially
when he promised that he'd be in touch again. He wasn't sure that  he
would, though.
He lay in bed all night, thinking of what he was going to do. He still
thought that his plan was good, but he knew that he would never fool
his dad with someone like Allie. And, unfortunately, all the girls that he
had been with were really just cookie cutters of her. She would most
certainly say yes, but he just wasn't sure that she would be able to pull it
off. Also, he was sure that she'd end up going to the papers with what
he had done once they had 'broken up,' and he couldn't take that risk.
No.  He  needed  someone  reliable.  Someone  who  would  never  once
think of exploiting him. And that's when the idea came to him.

His head was still pounding as he sat at his desk and waited for Liana to
come in. He was surprised that the idea had even come to him,
considering that he had never given the girl much thought. She'd come
to work for him a few years ago, and she was certainly one of the best
workers at the magazine. But he'd hired her for her capabilities and not
for her looks. When she walked in and sat in front of him, he couldn't
help but remember how she had looked at the party. It was a far cry
from the way she looked today. Underneath her regular work clothes
lay a body that was hard to forget. Very different from the model types
he was used to - but curvy in all the right places. He took a grateful sip
of his coffee.
"Thanks, Liana. This is well needed."
"You're here early today," she said, as astute as always.
"Yeah, I had a lot on my mind."
"Did you have a good time on Friday?" she asked.
"I did. It was a great party, wasn't it? You looked gorgeous, Liana. I
loved your dress."
She looked embarrassed the moment he'd said it, and he cursed himself.
He wanted to charm her, but he had to remember that she wasn't the
sort of girls he was used to charming. She was going to take a lot more
work, and it was going to have to be a lot more subtle.
"Thank you."
"Now, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"Uh... okay. Is everything okay? I haven't done anything wrong, have
I?" A look of worry passed over her face.
"Oh goodness. Not at all. In fact, I don't think I've ever told you how
grateful I am to have you here. This magazine would completely fall
apart without you. I' m sorry - I really should have told you this before.
But I just assumed that you knew. Have you always been so good at
organizing?"
He saw her visibly relax. This was obviously a subject she was
comfortable with.
"Yeah, I've always loved it. I know, it seems crazy. But there's such a
sense of tranquility that comes with order. Well, there is to me, at
least."

"It does seem a little crazy to me. But a bit of crazy is good. You've
done a good job. Uh... I've actually called you in for a bit  more of a
personal  reason.  But  I  first  need  to  tell  you  that  whatever  we  speak
about in here is just between you and me. It can go no further."
Confusion ran all over her face. "Of course. I won't say a word. What is
it that you need help with?"
"It's a long story. But I'll try to condense it for you."
He  had  already  decided  that  he  wasn't  going  to  tell  her  about  the
inheritance. That might be the one reason that she would turn down the
offer. She actually didn't need to know that. Instead, he told her about
how his mother had died a few years ago and how his father wanted
nothing more than to see his only son settled down and happy. He told
Liana how he was not ready to settle down and how he was quite happy
being on his own. This part, at least, wasn't a lie. He tried not to make it
sound like a bad thing but was honest when telling her that he enjoyed
the lifestyle he  was leading. He couldn't lie too  much,  otherwise she
would see right through it. Then he told her that he wanted to show his
father  a  bit  of  happiness  by  him  seeing  Jackson  with  a  girl  that  he
loved.
"Okay, so, let me get this straight. You want me to pretend to be your
girlfriend? You want us to pretend that we're in love? But won't your
father see right through it? And how long do we even have to do
this for?"
Jackson  noticed  that  she  was  talking  about  it  as  if  it  were  going  to
happen. He quickly spoke before she changed her mind. "It's just for a
week. I would say that we didn't have to go see him at all, but I know
my father well enough to know that he'll want to meet you. If I say no,
then he'll think that I'm lying. Which, of course, I am, but he doesn't
need to know that. We'll go there and see him for a week. My father and
I don' t see each other much because he lives in the countryside. So all
our  correspondence  is  by  phone.  I'll  eventually  tell  him  that  it  didn't
work out between us. But I want to make him happy. I know it seems
crazy - and it's all very hard to explain. But it means a lot to me. He's
probably the only person in the world who I want to make proud. And
like I said, I will reward you for this. But you can see it like I'm just
paying you to do a job."

"But we don't have to actually do anything together, do we?" He could
hear the disgust in her voice, and he tried to pretend as if he didn' t hear
it.
"Of  course  not.  Look,  I  have  a  contract  that  I've  already  done  up.
Seeing as though you like order so much, you should like that I have it
all down on paper. It outlines everything, and as you can see, it says
that  after  a  week  we  can  go  our  separate  ways.  I  mean,  I  know  you
work here, so we will still see each other. But we just have to pretend
for a week. And nobody has to know. There is no reason for anyone to
find out. And all I' m doing is something nice for my father."
"But you're lying to him."
"I  know.  Families  are  complicated,  and  I'm  not  even  going  to  try  to
explain it all to you. But it's important to me. I know that I'll be making
him happy. Even if it's only for a little while. Look, Liana, I have no
intention of ever settling down. It's something I've come to realize. I'm
just not a family man, and I'm happy with that. But that means that I'll
never make my father's wishes come true. He was so in love with my
mother, and I know that's all he wants for me. He doesn't understand
that I' m happy the way I am. But I love him, and he means the world to
me. So let me just do this small thing for him. He doesn't have to know
it's a lie."
"Why me?" "Sorry?"
"Why did you choose me? I mean, it's not like you're short on
girls."
He laughed. "Yeah, I' m not. But come on, you and I both know they'd
do an awful job at it. And my father would be devastated to think that I
fell in love with a girl like that. That's not the sort of girl he envisioned
for me."
"So you chose me because why? I'm normal? Boring?"
"Dependable."
"Hmm. Well, I don't know Jackson. This is a very big thing to ask of
me. Can I at least take some time to think about it?"
"Of course you can. Just call me up any time you've made a decision."

"Okay. I won't say a word. I better get back to my desk. I have an actual
job to do, you know." This was the first time that she'd shown her
cheeky side. It made him laugh.
"Yeah, and please don't stop doing it. Like I said, this place would fall
apart without you."
She chortled at that and walked out, shaking her head the whole way.
He could see her sitting at her desk and staring at her computer without
doing anything. He knew that she was probably deep in thought about
what he had just asked her. He wasn't quite sure how the conversation
had gone, but it hadn't been a no. And that, in itself, meant that there
was a chance he was actually going to pull this off.

Chapter4
Liana was fuming by the time she got home and even angrier at herself
for  not  saying  no  to  Jackson  straight  away.  She  actually  wasn't  sure
why she hadn't. But there was something about the way he wanted to
make his father happy that had struck a chord with her. It had made him
seem a bit more human. For the first time since working for him, she
had seen a side of him that she actually didn't mind. Perhaps a part that
she actually quite liked. But that didn't mean he had the right to ask her
to partake in such a crazy proposal. And it certainly didn't mean that
what he was doing was right. Surely, lying to his father was so much
worse. She felt annoyed that she'd even considered it. She'd spent the
whole day at work thinking about it, but every time she'd wanted to go
in and see him, she'd chickened out. Then, by the time the afternoon
had arrived, he had left the office and never come back. She'd asked
someone where he was, and they said that he was going to a meeting.
She  wanted  to  laugh  at  that.  She  was  the  one  who  controlled  his
meetings, and as far as she was concerned, his calendar was empty. She
had  no  doubt  that  his  meeting  was  with  his  bed.  He  was  right  -  the
company really would fall apart without her.
Suddenly,  the  only  thing  that  she  could  think  about  was  her  own
family. She'd never lie to them. She had this urge to suddenly see them
again. She picked up the phone.
"Hey,  darling!  This  is  a  nice  surprise.  How's  it  going?"  It  was  her
father.  He  sounded  cheerful  -  but  she  couldn't  decide whether  it  was
faked or not.
"I' m good. Just a long day at work. Have you made plans for dinner? I
was thinking that maybe I could grab some takeout and come spend the
evening with you."
There  was  a  brief  silence.  "Of  course!"  her  father  finally  said.  The
cheeriness was definitely being faked, she decided. That silence hadn't
gone unnoticed by her. "That would  be lovely. I was  just wondering
what to make anyway. There's barely anything in the fridge, and I'm not
in  the  mood  to  cook.  What  are  you  thinking  of  getting?  How  about
something from Oodle Noodle - I love that place."

"Yeah, that sounds great. It's on my way, and I've never ordered from
there before. I'll phone in now and place the order. What do you guys
want?"
"The  314  and  the  315.  Chicken.  And  Mild."  her  father  said
immediately.
She laughed, "Wow, that was quick."
"Yeah, it's my go-to takeout place these days. I've tried some of their
other meals, and I always end up going back to that."
"Okay, great. Well, that makes it easy. I'll just choose one of those for
myself, too."
"Choose the 314. You won't be disappointed!" Liana placed her order
and then drove to collect it. She was starving, and her car filled with a
sweet-and-sour  smell  that  made  her  stomach  grumble.  If  her  mother
was eating, then it was surely a good thing, right? Liana was always
under  the  impression  that  a  person  was  only  truly  ill  when  they  lost
their appetite. Well, especially in her family. They all loved their food.
Even when Liana was a child, her mother would bring her food when
she was sick. And even when she didn't feel like eating, she would eat
whatever she was given because she knew that it would make her feel
better in the end. Giving up on eating was like giving up on life.
Her father opened the door and enveloped her in a massive bear hug.
He looked like he'd lost weight but otherwise he looked the same. It
was always so good to see him.
"Looking as beautiful as ever," he said to her. "Oh don't try to flatter me
just so you can get your food," she mocked.
"It smells so good. I didn't realize how hungry I was until you got here."
"Tell me about it - try driving the whole way with this smell. I almost
stopped the car and just started eating. Where's Mom?"
"She's in bed. She said we must all go up and eat in her room. She's
very excited that you're here tonight."
"Oh. In bed already." So much for madness and mayhem, she
thought. "Is she okay, Dad?"

Her dad looked as if he were trying to figure out whether or not to tell
her the truth. Finally, he sighed and spoke softly. "She's not doing too
well at the moment. So don't be too surprised when you see her."
"Dad! Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered back.
"There's nothing to tell and no reason to worry. She just has her up days
and her down days. Today happens to be a down one. Come on, I know
she's  waiting  for  us.  It's  a  good  thing  that  you're  here  -  it  gives  her
something else to think about."
Liana took a deep breath and walked up the stairs with her dad. She was
glad  that  her  father  had  warned  her  because  her  mother  really  didn't
look  great.  She  looked  far  too  skinny  and  withdrawn.  She  looked
exhausted. Liana plastered on a big smile and went to kiss her.
"Hey, Mom! I thought I'd bring dinner. It was really an excuse not to
cook, though. Dad convinced me to get these noodles. He says they're
great."
She and her father pulled the two chairs closer to the bed and moved the
desk so that it was in front of them. She placed the food out and opened
up all the boxes.
"Ooh,  that  smells  delicious.  Far  better  than  anything  we  would've
cooked tonight. And anyway, it's good to see you. Thanks for coming,
my angel. I see your father convinced you to get the 314."
"He did. Cashew nut chicken stir fry! But I got the medium and not the
mild! I' m brave that way."
"You are brave. Their  medium is  like a hot somewhere else. I  might
have to get you some milk to help with the burn."
"Ooh, okay. Well, let's see how brave I really am then. How you doing,
Mom? I like that we've moved the party to your room."
"Oh, yeah. I' m all about partying - as you can tell. Club Duvet and all
of that."
"And DJ Pillow," her father said, and they both laughed.
Despite being the oldest joke in the book, it was still one that got them
laughing. Her mother was literally wiping away her tears. So she was
eating and she still had her sense of humor  - these were good things
despite the obvious fact that she looked awful.
"Seriously, guys? How can you laugh at the same joke every single

time? It's not even that funny." But Liana was smiling.
"I don't know! I guess we're just easily pleased," her mother said. Then
her face got serious, and she took Liana's hand and squeezed it. "I know
I don' t look all that great today - but I' m fine. I just have my bad days,
and today happens to be one of them. But you know me - I never give
up. And plus, it's a great excuse for me to eat my dinner in bed. And to
have your father wait on me all day. That is always a lot of fun. " Her
parents laughed, but Liana could tell they were just pretending to find it
funny.
"Yeah, she sure knows how to boss me around. It reminds me of when
she was pregnant with you and she used to tell me how she had these
cravings  for  chocolate  milkshakes.  Eventually,  I  started  to  think  that
she  was  pulling  one  over  on  me.  Not  so  much  a  craving  but  just
something she felt like. You know, she's always had a sweet tooth. I put
on so much weight at the time because I'd always go buy her one and
end up buying one for myself, too."
Liana raised her eyebrows. "I bet you're not even sick at all. You just
like  having  Dad  make  you  food  all  day.  And  you  get  to  lie  in  bed
reading  your  favorite  books.  You  can't  lie  to  me.  I  see  right  through
your sneaky plan."
Liana knew that sometimes the best way with them was humor. It was
what got them through all the hard times.
"Don't  give  my  secrets  away,  dear.  I'm  getting  a  sudden  craving  for
those milkshakes again. I think they'll make me feel better." She looked
at  them  and  laughed.  "So.  what  about  you?  Anything  exciting
happening in your life?"
"Well, work is the same. The dogs are good. What else? I went on a
date! If that counts as news?"
Her mother's eyes widened, and Liana was glad she had something to
tell  her  to  keep  her  mind  off  the  pain.  She  wouldn't  tell  her  about
Jackson's proposal but at least she could tell them about Trevor.
"Of course that counts as news! And you're only telling us now? Tell us
more."
"Well, it was just a double date with Becky and Rob. Of course, they
promised that it was not a date at all, but it was obvious they were

trying to set me up."
Her mother clapped her hands with delight. "I love that Becky."
"Yeah, well, it was pretty obvious. I went anyway because I was
looking forward to a night out with her and Rob. I always have a good
time with those two. So, the man in question was an old friend of Rob's
who had just moved back in town. He was very sweet and very cute.
We got along well. He even walked me home like a proper gentlemen."
"But?" her mother prodded.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you don't exactly sound excited about it all. What was wrong
with him?"
"Oh, nothing was wrong with him. He was very nice. I guess there were
no immediate sparks. He did ask me out on a proper date, though -just
the two of us. And I said yes."
"You said yes?" her father asked.
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Because, let's be honest, Liana. You're a bit fussy when it comes to
men. And if you weren't excited from the get go, then I'm surprised you
gave him a chance."
"I am not fussy with men! " Liana declared with a huff.
"Yes, you are! You are very fussy. If you want, I can sit here and name
all the times that you've been fussy." It was her mother's turn to chime
in.
"Okay, fine! I guess am. But there's nothing wrong with that - love
shouldn't be something you are easy about. But like I said - he was very
nice. And who knows - maybe the sparks will come later. Anyway, I
figured a date with just him would be good for me to figure it all out. If
there are still no sparks, then no damage has been done. I'd be friends
with him regardless. Also, he met Charles and Oliver, and he was so
nice to him."
"Ah-ha! So that's the reason. It really would be impossible for you to be
with a man that hates animals."
"Oh, yes. That should actually be my first question! "
"Well, I'm happy for you. And I'm very proud of you, too. It's good that
you're giving him a chance. Sparks are important. But you're

right - sometimes they don't happen right away. I'm glad you're giving
it a try. And there's no reason why you can't be friends with him if it
doesn't work out. Especially if he's friends with Becky and Rob. More
friends is never a bad thing."
"Thanks, Mom. And Dad, you were right about this food. It's amazing.
And not too hot. You see, I am brave."
"Wow. I'm impressed. Maybe I'll try it next time."
"Darling, I'm sorry to do this to you, but I'm starting to feel a bit tired. I
think it's best if I get a bit of sleep now. Food always does that to me.
But I'll feel right as rain in the morning, you'll see."
Liana tried to keep the smile on her face. Normally her mother begged
her to stay longer. It was very unusual for her mother to be the one to
ask her to leave.
"No problem at all. I could do with an early night myself. Sleep well,
Mom. Phone me tomorrow, okay?"
She kissed her mom goodbye and walked downstairs. The moment she
got down the stairs, she felt the tears falling down her face. She quickly
wiped them away, but her dad had already noticed.
"I'm  sorry,  Liana.  Like  I  said,  she's  not  always  like  this.  Today  just
wasn't a good day. I'm still glad that you came, though. I know it's not
easy to see her like that, but I can see that she forgot about it for a while.
And she'll probably go to sleep feeling a lot happier tonight. She's right
- she'll probably wake up feeling better tomorrow."
"Is  there  nothing  we  can  do?  No  treatment  for  the...  illness?"  Liana
struggled to say the real word out loud. Cancer. It had started off in her
breast,  and  despite  managing  to  treat  that  quite  quickly,  it  had  now
spread to a few places in her body.
"There are some more intensive treatments that I'd personally like her
to do. But we can't afford them. I'm being honest with you here, Liana,
because we've always been an honest family. I'm not actually sure how
your  mom  is  doing.  Some  days  I  think  she's  going  to get  better,  and
some  days  I'm  not  sure  she'll  even  last  the  night.  I  don't  know  if  the
treatments  will  help.  The  doctors  seem  to  think  that  they  will.  They
seem to think they are necessary. They told  me about all these cases
where the patients have pulled through after doing the treatment. But I
don't know

what to do. I just can't afford them. I'm doing my best to make a plan,
though.  I  promise  you  that.  I  would  do  anything  to  see  her  healthy
again."
Liana  felt  the  tears  falling  down  her  face.  She  hated  to  hear  that  her
mother was sick. Sometimes it was easier to just pretend, but she was
also glad that her dad was being honest with her. Then all of a sudden a
light bulb went off in her head and her eyes widened. She took her dad's
hand and whispered, "Dad, what if I could help?"
"Oh, sweetie. It's a lot of money. I mean  - a LOT. It's nice of you to
offer, but unfortunately, it's just more than any of us can afford right
now.  I  know  you've  got  a  good  job,  but  it's  not  enough.  We  need  a
miracle."
"Well, maybe I have a miracle for us. I didn't think it was until now.
Dad, a project was offered to me today, and I wasn't sure if I was going
to take it."
"A project?" her dad asked. "What do you mean?"
She  didn't  want  to  get  into  the  details.  She  knew  that  her  dad  would
never approve of the plan. He had met Jackson once before and hadn't
been a fan back then.
"Well, it's a project that my boss asked me to do. I was going to turn it
down just because it would mean going away for a week to get it done,
and I'm already so busy at work. But it's a LOT of money, Dad. I mean
- a LOT. If I do it, then Mom would be able to go for her treatments."
"But you can't give us your money!"
She could see that he was thinking about it, though.
"Are you crazy? Of course I can.  And this is not  my  money. This is
extra money which I really don't need. I wouldn't have turned it down
had I needed the money. But Mom needs it. And you know that if you
were in my position, you would say yes, too. I bet if something came up
for you now, you would do it if it would mean helping her out. Dad, let
me do this. Will you book the treatments? I'll take care of the rest."
"Are you sure? Can you still say yes to it?"
"I'm completely sure, and  yes,  I can still say  yes.  I'll  phone  my boss
immediately."

He took her in his arms, and she felt his body start to shake with sobs.
He never cried in front of her, and it was heart breaking to see. "I' m
sorry," he said as he pulled away.
"Don't be sorry! I love you, Dad. We'll do everything we can to help
Mom. Because that's the type of family we are! I hate sitting back and
doing nothing. At least this feels as if we are doing something."
"I love you, too, Liana. Thank you. This means the world to me. To
us."
Liana got into the car and immediately took out her phone. She dialed
Jackson's number. She'd laughed when he had given her his card as she
left. She was his secretary, and she knew both his work number and his
mobile number by heart. She didn't need a card to help her remember
them.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hey, Jackson. It's Liana."
"Liana!  Oh  wow  -  I  wasn't  expecting  this.  Let  me  guess  -  you're
phoning to turn down my offer."
"Actually,  quite  the  opposite.  I'm  phoning  to  accept  it.  I'm  sorry  to
phone  you  in  the  evening  like  this,  but  I  didn't  want  to  wait  until
tomorrow."
"Seriously?" He seemed very surprised.
"Yeah, seriously. I'll do it." She didn't feel the need to elaborate.
"Well,  great.  Uh...  okay,  let's  do  it  then!  Do  you  want  to  meet  up
tomorrow for dinner to discuss the arrangements? Also, it's probably
better if we get to know each other a bit more. You know - to make it
seem plausible. I'll let my father know and make a plan for this coming
week. If that's okay?"
"That's perfect. The sooner the better, really. Dinner sounds great, too.
Where should we meet?"
"Come to my place. There's a restaurant below that delivers."
She hadn't expected that. But then again, she was about to become his
fake girlfriend, so it was probably good that she got to know him better.
She had to admit - she was also a bit curious to see his place.
"That's fine. Where do you stay?"
"Uh.      at the office. I thought you knew?"

"You stay at the office? What do you mean?"
"Well, not in my office! But in the same apartment block. I'm on the
fifth  floor.  Just  come  straight  up.  The  whole  floor  is  basically  my
house."
"And yet you still come to work late each day! " she chided him, and
she was glad when he laughed at that. "Yeah - guilty as charged." "Oh,
crap! I just realized something! " "What's that?"
Liana was thinking about her dogs. "I have two dogs. And nobody to
look after them. I didn't even think about that."
Liana  would  normally  ask  her  parents,  but  they  were  already  going
through  so  much.  She  supposed  she  could  ask  Becky,  even  though
Becky already had a dog that didn't like it when other dogs came into
the house. But there wasn't much choice. Becky would have to do. She
was just about to tell him so when he interrupted.
"That's no problem. Bring them with you. My dad will love that. He
lives in the countryside  - he's a  massive animal lover.  The dogs will
love it, too. Actually - that's perfect. He's going to love you even more."
"Really? Ah, thank you. They're used to being in the car. So they won't
be any trouble at all. Uh... see you tomorrow then."
"See you then."
She put down the phone and realized that she'd still see him at work the
next day. That was going to be awkward. She smiled at the thought of
taking  her  dogs  along.  Having  them  by  her  side  was  going  to  make
everything a lot easier to deal with.
When she got home she shared her news with Charles and Oliver. "You
little munchkins can help me! I' m going to need all of the help I can
get." She scratched them behind their ears, and they cuddled up to her.
The phone rang, and she jumped. She was glad when she saw that it
was a number she didn't recognize. That meant that it wasn't her father
calling her with bad news.
"Hello?" she said tentatively.
"Hey, Liana. It's me - Trevor."

Liana had completely forgotten that Trevor said he was going to phone
her. It couldn't have come at a worse time. There was no way that she
was going to be able to do her deal with Jackson and still go on a date
with Trevor. She was going to have to turn him down, and she was not
looking forward to it. Perhaps once the week with Jackson was over
and they had 'broken up,' she'd be able to call him up again.
"Oh, hey, Trevor. How are you?" She tried to keep her voice as light as
possible.
"I'm  good.  I  hope  it's  not  too  late.  Rob  gave  me  your  number,  and  I
wanted  to  phone  you  immediately,  but  I  didn't  want  to  seem  too
desperate. Although I'm also not sure why I'm telling you that now! So
much for acting cool."
She laughed, despite herself. "Don't worry - remember, I do well with
awkward! "
"You're  anything  but  awkward,  but  I'm  glad  you're  okay  with  the
awkwardness  of  others.  That  bodes  well  with  me.  So,  how  are  you?
Had any good pizza lately?"
"No pizza. I did, however, have Oodle Noodle tonight for the first time.
Have you tried it?"
"Oh yeah, I always get the 314."
She laughed. "That's what I got. My dad is the one who suggested it. It
was delicious."
"You just can't have anything else there. I always go back to that one.
Otherwise, all fine?"
"Yeah, not bad. How about you?"
"I' m good. Uh. so. I know I told you that I was going to phone you to
make a plan to take you out. So, this is me doing just that and sounding
like a complete dork while doing it. So, Liana Tanner, can I take you
out for dinner this weekend?"
Liana  took  a  deep  breath.  He  was  such  a  nice  man.  What  was  she
doing?
"Actually, I hate to do this to you, Trevor, because I really did have a
good time with you the other night. But something came up, and it's
going to be see me tied up for a while. I'm not sure I'm going to be able
to meet. Actually, I am sure. So I have to say no. I'm so sorry."

"Ah...  okay."  He  sounded  deflated.  "But  it's  not  no  forever  then?  I
mean, there's a chance in the near future that we actually can go out on
a date? Or are you saying I must never try again?"
Liana  thought  about  it.  She  and  Jackson  were  going  to  try  and  keep
their  idea  just  between  them  and  his  father.  There  was  no  reason
anyone had to find out about it. And after a week with him and perhaps
a few days to 'break up,' she'd be home free again.
"It's not no forever. I just need to finish up a few things here that are
keeping me busy. But I would really love to go on a date with you in the
near future."
"Then I shall wait to hear from you! "
"Thanks, Trevor. And sorry about that."
Am I doing the right thing? She thought about poor Trevor gathering up
the courage to phone her, and she felt awful. But then she thought about
her mother - the way she had looked in bed that night -and she knew
that she really was doing the right thing. Her mother was going to come
first.

Chapter5
"Are you ready for some incredible news?" Jackson was telling Martin
over the phone.
It  was  late  afternoon,  and  he  was  sitting  in  his  office  with  the  door
closed. He wasn't sure why, but he just felt nervous around Liana that
day. What they were doing wasn't exactly something that people just
did every day, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. He knew he should
probably just go home, but he had some work to do and he needed to
stay busy.
"Your plan didn't actually work, did it?" Martin asked incredulously,
obviously believing that it had actually worked.
"Well, not yet. But it's all going ahead as planned."
"So  the  girl  from  the  party  said  yes  to  your  idea?  She's  happy  to  go
along with it?"
"Well,  no,  not  quite.  I  took  her  out  for  dinner  with  full  intentions  of
telling her the plan but I just couldn't bring myself to do it." "Because
the idea was too awful?" "No! Because the girl was too awful." "But let
me guess, you slept with her anyway." "No. I didn't actually."
Jackson didn't tell him that the girl had given him a blow job. He'd keep
that part to himself. At least he wasn't lying when he said that he didn' t
sleep with her.
"Really? Wow, okay. So what's the new plan then?"
He was glad to suddenly have Martin's interest. He knew that Martin
hated his idea, but Jackson was going to do it regardless, so he might as
well tell him.
"I actually thought of a new person to ask. My secretary. Her name is
Liana, and she's not at all like the girls I normally go for."
"Oh yeah, I know Liana."
"You do?" That took Jackson by surprise.
"Well, I mean, I don't know her. But I've been to your office enough
times to have met her. She's the one who always takes me to

your office, and she's the one who always makes us coffee."
"Oh, yeah, of course! I didn't even think about that."
"She's lovely. I've always wondered how the hell she puts up with you.
She's very pretty, don't you think?"
"Is she? I suppose."
Martin laughed. "You're blinded by the models, I guess. But she's a lot
more real than the girls you normally hang out with. But are you telling
me that you have decided to ask her, or are you telling me that you did
ask her and she said yes?"
"She said yes."
"Really? That's interesting. I wouldn't put her as the type to say
yes."
"Yeah, it surprised me, too. I mean, I am paying her - quite well. Maybe
she  just  needs  the  money.  Who  knows?  But  she's  doing  it.  We're
meeting for dinner tonight to discuss it all - get to know each other and
all  that.  I'm  glad  I  asked  her.  She's  a  lot  more  level-headed  than  the
other girls. I think she's just viewing it as a project, and once it's over,
she can walk away from it without a problem."
"I still hate your idea, but you have probably chosen the best person to
help you with it. Liana must be one of the few women in the world who
doesn't like you."
"What do you mean?"
"She totally doesn't fancy you. It's obvious. I think she actually finds
you quite annoying. It's written all over her face, even though she puts
on a fake smile whenever she comes into the office. I noticed it the last
time."
Jackson  actually  agreed  with  Martin  but  it  was  hard  to  understand.
Why didn' t she like him? He had done nothing wrong to her. And as far
as he was concerned, he was every girl's type.
"I guess. But why is that a good thing? We're supposed to be pretending
to be in love."
"Because  afterwards  she  can  walk  away,  like  you  said.  If  you  had
chosen  one  of  those  other  girls,  they  might  have  wanted  something
more in return when you got back. They might even think that you had
actually fallen in love with them and wanted a relationship."

"Ooh, that would've been bad. So Liana is a good choice."
"She's  a  great  choice.  She'll  have  her  head  in  the  game  and  not  her
heart. That's a good thing. I guess you've just got to hope that she's a
good actress. But then again, she's always pretending to get along with
everyone at work - so she might be used to it." Martin laughed again.
"Hmm. I feel oddly upset and comforted by this. But anyway. She said
yes, and that's the main thing. I phoned my dad last night. Told him the
news.  He  was  so  excited.  I  could  hear  that  he  was  slightly  unsure
whether or not I was telling him the truth, but the moment I asked if we
could come and spend a week with him, I think he believed me."
"Oh, wow. So this really is all happening. When do you go?"
"It's all happening. We meet for dinner tonight. And then we'll leave on
Friday. We'll go for a week. I'm going to tell the office that we have to
go for a conference or something. Please don't say anything to anyone,
Martin. You're the only person I've told."
"Of course I won't. But what I do want is for you to let me know the
moment you get back. I want to know how it went! "
"That  I  can  do.  Maybe  we  can  even  open  that  whiskey.  Do  a  bit  of
celebrating."
"We'll  have  to  find  some  other  reason  to  celebrate,  though.  I'm  not
having that whiskey to celebrate your lies."
Jackson laughed. "Fine! We'll celebrate what a good friend you are to
me."
"Yes, that will work. Okay, well good luck, Jackson. And remember -
don't hurt your father. He's a good man."
"I'm not going to hurt him. I actually think that what I'm doing is going
to make him very happy. I'm doing a good thing here." And Jackson
truly believed that he was.
When he put the phone down, he gathered his things and walked out.
He saw Liana sitting at her desk. She was staring at a spreadsheet on the
computer as if her life depended on it. He wondered if she was really
that interested in it or if she just really didn't want to turn her head and
look at him. Despite the fact that her desk was so close to him and that
he saw her almost every day of his life, he actually hadn't taken much
notice of her. He wondered how long she'd even been working for him.

Just  then  Maddie,  one  of  the  other  members  of  the  staff  -  he  wasn't
quite sure what she did - came up to him.
"Hey, Jackson. You're looking a bit tired. Need a massage?"
Jackson  could  swear  he  saw  Liana's  head  move  slightly.  They  were
standing  quite  close  to  her  desk,  and  he  was  sure  she  could  hear  the
exchange. Jackson was used to flirting with the female members of the
staff, but suddenly he felt as if he were on show.
"I'm in a bit of a rush to get going. Thanks, Maddie. That's nice of you
to offer."
Maddie  was  wearing  an  outfit  that  would  look  perfect  in  a  club.  He
couldn't help but notice how long her legs looked.
"Are  you  sure?  I'll  be  quick,  and  you'll  feel  much  better."  "Thanks,
Maddie.  I'm  sure.  I'll  see  you  tomorrow."  "Well,  okay  then.  See  you
tomorrow, Mr. Boss Man."
***
Liana arrived at his apartment just after 6.30. Thankfully, the cleaning
lady  had  been  in  that  morning  and  his  place  was  looking  good.  She
came in twice a week, and the other times, his apartment looked like a
shamble.  He'd  never  been  that  good  at  cleaning  up  after  himself.
Probably because he just didn't feel the need to do something that he
hired other people to do for him.
"Hey, Liana. Thanks for coming." "Well, thanks for having me."
Liana had gone home to change and was wearing a pair of skinny blue
jeans and a green vest. She looked good in a very casual sort of way.
But then again, why should she dress up if they weren't even going out.
He invited her in and closed the door.
"Whoa. A Jacuzzi? That's... uh... different." "Uh... yeah. I mean, it's just
a bit of fun."
She didn't seem as impressed by it as most women were. In fact, ALL
the women that he had ever brought home had been enthralled by it.
And  he  had  always  been  pleased.  Why  did  he  suddenly  feel
embarrassed?

"Well, it's cool. I've always loved Jacuzzis. Having it indoors actually
makes sense. Hey, can you sit inside and watch TV?" she asked.
She seemed suddenly interested, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He
wasn't  sure  if  she  was  just  being  polite,  but  she  genuinely  seemed
curious.
"Oh  yeah!  I  sometimes  come  home  and  spend  my  evening  in  it
watching TV with a glass of wine."
"Now that I could do. Cool place. Wow, so the entire floor has been
renovated  to  become  your  apartment.  It's  huge.  I  cannot  believe  that
you live here. I've worked at the magazine for such a long time and I
never knew."
"Yeah, well, like you said, I still get to work late. It's probably better
that you didn't know." "I know now."
"And have you noticed I've been at the office earlier these days?"
"I have actually! "
"Uh.  so,  should  we  place  an  order  for  food  and  then  we  can  sit  and
relax?"
"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm starving." "Okay, well, here's the menu."
Jackson handed her the menu. He was starving himself but didn't want
to  order  until  he  knew  what  she  was  having.  Most  girls  he  took  out
stuck  to  salads  and  a  lot  of  alcohol.  He'd  once  made  the  mistake  of
telling a girl that there was probably more calories in her alcohol than
in the food that she could've been eating. He'd regretted those words,
and he hadn' t been popular at all that night. Liana was staring at the
menu  intensely  which  gave  him  some  time  to  study  her.  Martin  had
called her pretty. Was she? He'd never really noticed before. He knew
that she had a good body - he'd seen that at the night of the party, and he
could tell tonight, too. It wasn't the sort of body that would make it into
a magazine or a photo shoot - but it was a good body nonetheless. She
was quite plain, and she hadn't even bothered to put on much makeup.
But the more he looked at her, the more good things started to reveal
themselves.  The  small,  button-like  nose.  The  myriad  of  freckles  that
spread across it. He was just about to trail his eyes down her body when

she looked up.
"Okay, I'm thinking the chicken pesto pasta sounds good."
"Really?"
"Uh. yeah. Why? Bad choice?"
"No, actually, excellent choice. I thought you might choose the salad."
"Are you trying to tell me that I should lose weight? Great start to the
evening, Jackson."
"No! I didn't mean that at all. I'm just used to girls ordering salads. But
you've made a great choice. In fact, I'll join you. I'll have it, too."
Thankfully, he saw that she was laughing.
"Seriously? Why would anyone order salad from a place like this? I' m
all for being healthy - but when you go out to eat, or get takeout, then
you should enjoy yourself. Otherwise, what's the point? Salads are for
home."
"I completely agree."
Jackson placed the order, and then they both went and sat down in the
living room. He got out a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't even ask if you're okay with red wine?" "Red wine
is perfect. Thank you."
"Okay, so I have the contract here for you to sign. I know it all seems
very formal but.. "
"No, that's good," Liana interrupted. "I'm glad there's a contract. It
actually makes me feel a bit better about this whole thing. Like it's just
a project I'm doing for you. Albeit the weirdest project I've ever had to
do in my life."
He laughed. "Same here."
"So, this isn't something that you do often?" she asked.
"No way. This is a first for me. Uh. Liana. thanks for doing this. It
means a lot to me. I know it might seem a little strange, and I know that
I haven' t gone into too much detail, but I really do appreciate
it."
She waved her hand in the air. "Nah, you don't have to explain. We' ll
do anything for our family - even if it might seem a little bizarre

to someone else. Really, there's no need to explain."
Jackson couldn't believe how easy this was. He thought about asking
her why she had decided to do it but then decided against it. If she didn't
need  to  know  the  details  from  his  side,  then  he  didn't  need  to  know
about hers. Although he was curious; he hoped that she'd just volunteer
the information at some stage. There was a knock on the door, and he
went to answer it.
"Your food, sir," the waiter from the restaurant announced.
"It's Jackson. I'm not a sir."
No  matter  how  many  times  Jackson  had  seen  this  same  waiter,  he
simply could not get him to say his name. Even though the waiter was
probably the same age as him.
"I hope you enjoy it," he said and placed it down on the counter for
them.
Jackson took it over to Liana. "Are you good to eat here? Or would you
prefer to eat at the table?"
"Oh, here is great. These couches are so comfortable. If that's okay with
you?"
"That's perfect."
He was glad. The table seemed so formal, and their conversations were
becoming as comfortable as the couches themselves.
"Oh, this is amazing. I' m glad I ordered this now," Liana was saying
while digging into her bowl of pasta. "Thank you, sir."
He  groaned.  "He  always  calls  me  that.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  many
times I have asked him to call me Jackson. But he refuses."
"Well,  it's  a  compliment.  But  even  at  work,  nobody  calls  you  sir.  I
remember doing it when I first joined, and you told me not to."
"Seriously?  I  don't  remember  that."  Jackson  couldn't  even  remember
much about the time when he had hired her. But he wouldn't tell her
that.
"Oh, yeah. I was so nervous. I mean, you were this big-shot guy that
everyone was talking about, and I was just a girl who liked to organize.
When I got the job, I said 'thank you, sir,' and you immediately told me
to call you Jackson."
"Sir just sounds so old. I mean, it was weird for me, being a boss at

such a young age. I got that job when I was only twenty-one years old.
I had no idea what I was doing. Then people started calling me sir. It
felt so strange. I felt as if I were playing dress up or something."
"You were twenty-one?"
"Yeah, just a baby."
"I was twenty-four when I got this job."
"How long have you been working for us?"
He regretted it the moment he said it. He should know these things. He
was the boss, after all. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind. Also her
answer would at least give him an idea of how old she was.
"Four years now. I turn twenty-eight later this year."
"Ah, so you haven't reached the big bad thirties yet!"
"I' m approaching it, though. But I' m not worried about age. There's
really very little you can do about it. I had a friend who hid in his room
the whole day when he turned thirty. We tried everything to get him
out,  but  he  refused.  Who  knows  what  he's  going  to  be  like  when  he
turns forty. I' m going to stay away that day! "
"Do you feel twenty-eight?"
"Uh. sometimes.  Yeah. I guess so. Sometimes I feel younger when I
realize how little I've done with my life. I mean, so many people are
married with kids already. And here I am, single and living with my
two  dogs.  Not  that  I'm  complaining  -  they're  amazing.  But  then
sometimes I feel older. Like at your party! "
"My party? Why?"
"I'm just not like those people. It's pretty obvious, surely. I mean, I just
don't party like that. I'm  a bit of a homebody."  "But  you had a good
time?  I  saw  you  that  night."  "Uh...  actually...  I  have  a  confession."
"What's that?"
"I ducked home pretty early. I had only one drink and made sure that
everyone saw that I was there. I even got the photographer to take some
photos of me. Then I quickly went home and spent the night watching
movies with my dogs. I'm sorry! No offense. It was an amazing party,
and I could see that everyone loved it. But it's just not my
style at all."

Jackson was surprised by this news. He had assumed that everyone was
there until the end.
"Really? You shouldn't have come then."
"Nah, it was your birthday. And it was a big deal for the company. I
wanted  to  come  and  show  my  face,  but  I  just  couldn't  stay  long.  It's
easy  for  you  -  you  have  everyone  practically  begging  to  be  by  your
side. I don' t really have any friends at work. Just good old Peter who
was flirting with me. Gross. But yeah, that's it really."
He couldn' t help but laugh. "I love that you just called Peter gross. I
like the guy, but he is a bit of an idiot at times. Ah - I didn't know that
you didn't have friends at work. I'm sorry."
"No, no! Don't be sorry. Work is work. It's a good job, and I'm grateful
for it."
"We  haven't  actually  spoken  much  in  the  four  years  you've  worked
there," Jackson thought but then ended up saying it out loud.
"No, we haven't. But it's okay. I'm not the biggest socializer, I guess. I
keep to myself a lot."
"In other words - the complete opposite of me."
She laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. So - tell me a bit more about yourself.
I'm going to have to know more than just the basics to fool your father."
He  poured  them  each  another  glass  of  wine  and  contemplated  the
question.
"Well,  I'  m  thirty-one  years  old  -  as  you  know  -  and  I  guess  the
magazine has been my whole life. I got the job because of my father. I
mean, he's well-known in the business world, and he helped fund the
magazine in the first place. The previous owner knew my father well
and  was  indebted  to  him.  When  he  wanted  to  step  down,  my  dad
suggested that I try out for the job. I was only twenty-one years old and
knew nothing about anything. But I was a bit lost and had no idea what
I wanted to do with my life, so I applied and I got the job immediately.
There was no way I was ready for a job like that."
"Do you always put yourself down so much?" Liana interrupted.
Jackson was surprised by the question. "What do you mean?"
"You don't seem to think you're any good at the job. And yet here

you are - ten years down the line, and you have a far superior product
than  what  you  started  out  with.  It's  very  impressive.  I  had  the
impression that you were very confident about what you did."
"Uh.  thank  you.  I'  m  confident  about  myself.  I  know  that  sounds
arrogant. But I am. But I' m not confident about what I do. I mean. I am.
I am proud of myself, and I think I've actually done a good job. But I
guess I always get that niggling thought in my head that I would never
have gotten the job without my father."
"Yeah,  you're probably right about that. You had no experience, and
you were far too young. So you're right. But who cares? You proved
yourself and anyone else wrong. You did it. And now you're thirty-one
and incredibly well-known. You're in a league of your own, and you
should  be  proud.  So.  what  else.  what  are  your  interests?  Other  than
Jacuzzis, of course."
Jackson suddenly couldn't think of anything. What were his interests?
Surely he was interested in more than just the magazine and women.
"Uh... I don't know."
"Oh, come on. There's got to be more than the Jackson Fisher that the
public sees."
"What exactly do they see?"
He could see that she seemed a little embarrassed by his question.
"Um. they see this very handsome young man who loves to party and
who  runs  a  successful  magazine.  A  guy  who  is  never  without  a
beautiful girl on his arm."
"Ha! I'm not sure if that's a complete insult or a compliment."
She was laughing. "I don't know either. A bit of both, I guess. I'm sorry
- wine makes me honest."
"Nah, it's fine. You're right."
"So, tell me about the girls. You really do have a lot of beautiful women
on  your  arms.  But  if  I'm  not  mistaken,  they  seem  to  change  quite
regularly. I was laughing at the party because you had all these girls
around  you  who  looked  exactly  the  same.  They  only  difference  was
their skin or hair color. So. I have two questions: what was your longest
relationship, and what type of girl do you go for?"
Jackson realized that this was the first time he'd ever had a girl at

his  place  who  wanted  to  talk  and  get  to  know  him.  Usually,  he  just
messed around with the girls and sent them home. This was so unusual.
It felt almost as if he were just sitting and talking to Martin.
"Longest relationship? Let's see... I think maybe two months."
"Whoa! Two months? Don't you mean two years?"
He laughed. "You obviously don't know me very well. No, two months
is the longest. I thought that was pretty long. I guess I'm just not very
good at dating. I' m good at meeting girls and having fun with them, but
I get very bored after a while."
"Yeah,  but  that's  probably  because  the  girls  you  are  hanging  around
with are just boring themselves."
"True. I guess you're right. They are quite dull."
"So, why do you go out with them?"
"Well... I don't. I just hook up with them, I guess."
"Okay, fair enough. So what made the two-month girl so special?"
"She was persistent."
"Oh, dear. Okay then, so what's your type?"
Jackson had no idea. "I don't know. I don't really have a type."
"Hmm."
"You don't sound convinced by my answer."
"Well, you do have a type. I've only ever seen you with models."
"Well, yeah. I suppose. I'm really not coming off great here, am
I?"
She giggled. "Not really. But you're being honest - so that's
good."
"Well, then - how about you? Same questions." "Longest relationship -
four years."
Jackson  almost  choked  on  his  wine.  "Four  years!  That's  crazy.  Who
was this guy, and why did you break up with him? Four years is a long
time to dedicate to someone."
"Well, I was young. I had just turned nineteen when I met him. He was
a friend of a friend of a friend - one of those. We'd all gone out to some
big college party, and I'd taken a breather to get away from the crowd a
bit. You see, I was even a nerd back then. I found this amazing tree to
sit under, and I was just breathing in the cool air. And he found

me. He was taking a breather, too. He asked if he could sit with me, and
the two of us ended up spending the rest of the night there just getting
to know each other."
"Did you sleep with him?"
"What?" She looked at Jackson as if the question was out of place. "Of
course  not.  We  just  talked  all  night.  I  actually  didn't  sleep  with  him
until, like, the fifth or sixth date. But he was so lovely to me. We just
connected. And it didn't take long for us to start going out properly."
"So, why did you break up with him?"
"He moved away. We promised we'd keep in touch, but you know how
it goes. When we did eventually meet up again, we had both changed so
much. We'd moved on. It was sad. But we're still in touch, and he was a
great first boyfriend to have. The next guy has a lot to live up to."
"Which means you have no boyfriend now," Jackson stated.
"Goodness! No way! I would never have accepted your offer if I had a
boyfriend. That would be weird. I mean, I know we're not really going
to be in love or anything - but that would be wrong."
"Yeah, I suppose so. So then... what's your type?"
"Someone who is genuine, caring, and funny. I like guys who have a
sense  of  humor  and  who  don't  take  the  world  or  themselves  too
seriously. And they must like me for who I am. I'm not going to change
for someone because I don't want anyone to change for me. And, a big
one, they  must love animals. If they hate my dogs, there is no way I
could date them."
"But what about looks? I mean, surely you have a certain look that you
go for?"
"I' m not too bothered, really. I mean, as long as the attraction is there.
Thomas, the four-year boyfriend, was a white man with sandy-blonde
hair. But I've dated African American men before, too. I don' t really
believe in a certain look but rather someone who just makes my heart
race when I look at him."
"So, you're not seeing someone at the moment?"
Jackson was certain he saw a slight hesitation cross her face before she
shook her head.

"Nope. Totally single." "Any reason?"
"I think I'm getting fussier the older I get." "Well, nothing wrong with
that."
"I agree! So.      tell me about your father. What should I expect?"
Jackson smiled. "He's a great guy. He worked hard to get to where he is
today. He has a great business mind, and he knows exactly how to use
his  money  to  make  more  money.  He  got  tired  of  the  whole  rat  race,
though, and moved out to the countryside - to be at one with nature and
all that. We're very different and don't always see eye-to-eye, but he's
been a good father to me."
"And your mom?"
"She  died  a  few  years  ago.  We  still  don't  even  know  entirely  what
happened.  One  minute  she  was  healthy;  the  next  she  was  sick.  And
before we even knew what was going on, she passed away.  It was a
horrible time. Cancer, I think it was, but we're still not entirely sure."
Again, Jackson noticed a strange look come over Liana's face. As if she
were deep in thought about something else entirely.
"I'm sorry, Jackson."
"Thanks. Me, too. My parents were so in love. They were the real deal.
I  guess  that's  what  my  dad  wants  for  me,  too.  But  he  was  lucky.
Although  he  says  he  didn't  fall  in  love  with  her  immediately.
Apparently, my mom hated him when she first met him. She thought he
was a show off. But he really wasn't, and she soon fell hook, line, and
sinker for him. They were inseparable. I think that's part of the reason
he moved away. My mom was always into the whole outdoor lifestyle.
Maybe he moved into the countryside to feel closer to her."
"Do you go there often?"
"I hardly ever go there. It's not really my scene. And what about you?
Your parents still together?"
"They are. And completely in love."
Jackson poured them another glass of wine. He was surprised at how
easy it was to talk to Liana - especially since he hadn't really spoken to
her before. How many times had he asked her to do something for him
at work or passed by her desk without really giving her much

thought? It was as if he hadn't even noticed her as a person. The wine
was  making  his  thoughts  fuzzy,  and  he  leaned  back  on  the  couch,
feeling  comfortable.  Liana  was  telling  him  a  funny  story  about  her
parents when there was a knock on the door.
"That's strange. Maybe it's the waiter again."
"Maybe  he's  come  to  call  you  sir  again,"  Liana  said  and  they  both
laughed.
But  it  wasn't  the  waiter.  It  was  the  girl  from  the  other  night.  Annie?
Annex? Anne? He couldn't remember her name again.
"Oh, hello. I didn't know you were coming by?"
He  made a  mental note to speak to the security  man downstairs who
was not supposed to just let anyone in.
"Well, I missed you. I thought I could come spend the night this time."
But the girl stopped speaking the moment she saw Liana sitting in the
living  room.  "What  the  hell?  Who  is  this?  I  didn't  know  you  were
seeing someone else?"
"Uh..." He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't technically seeing Liana,
but he was about to pretend like he was. Thankfully, he didn't have to
say much because the girl stormed back out.
"Bastard."
He could hear her heels pounding the stairs as she walked off in a huff.
He closed the door and looked sheepishly at Liana, who was watching
him with amusement.
"Sorry. Like I said - I don't have long relationships."

Chapter6
"Are you nervous?" Jackson was asking her. They were about twenty
minutes away from arriving at his father's house.
"A little," she admitted.
That wasn't quite the truth. She was very nervous. Liana hadn't quite
taken into account how much she was going to have to pretend in the
upcoming week. How it wasn't going to just be a matter of saying that
they were in love but how they were actually going to have to show it.
She'd been so caught up in the fact that she needed the money that she
hadn' t thought about how hard it was going to be to get away with it all.
She  looked  back  at  Charles  and  Oliver,  who  were  fast  asleep  on  the
back seat, and smiled. They were certainly not scared.
"Don't worry. It will be fine. And if we're a little awkward, then it might
work in our favor. My dad has never known me with a girl before, so he
will probably think I'm just nervous. That's all. Don't worry."
But Liana could tell that Jackson was nervous, too. So far, the drive had
been quite nice. They'd chatted easily. But the closer they got to their
destination,  the  more  stilted  their  conversations  had  become.  Liana
plastered  a smile  on her face. She  had  to  make this work. She didn't
care why Jackson was doing it - she needed that money for her parents.
That was the only thing that mattered.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled into a long, tree-lined driveway. The
flowers  were  pink  and  yellow  and  covered  both  the  trees  and  the
ground beneath them. Liana gasped.
"It's breathtaking," she whispered.
She couldn't understand why Jackson wouldn't want to come and visit
all the time. If her parents lived in a place like this, she would be there
every  weekend.  She  didn't  care  about  the  long  drive.  The  end  was
totally worth it.
"Okay, this is it. We've got this," Jackson said.
She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself.
Liana  was  grateful  for  the  dinner  she'd  had  at  his  house  earlier  that
week. She'd gotten to know him a lot more, and he'd gotten to know
her. And while she still thought he was too cocky and too arrogant, she
also

saw a side to him that was actually very nice. She was going to cling
onto that side that she had glimpsed. It was the only way that she was
going  to  get  through  this.  Because  otherwise,  she'd  just  get  annoyed
with him.
As  they  parked,  she  saw  a  good-looking,  older  man  coming  toward
them,  and  Liana  knew  immediately  where  Jackson  got  his  looks.
Jackson's father was tall with broad shoulders, a deep tan from being
outdoors, and salt-and-pepper hair.  He basically looked like an older
version of Jackson.
"Jackson, boy, I'm so happy to see you."
Liana watched as the two men shook hands. She wondered why they
didn't hug. Didn't  families  always hug or kiss? Then he walked over
toward her.
"And you must be the lovely Liana that I've been dying to meet. I' m
George."
As in Clooney, she wanted to say but kept to herself. "Hi, George. It is a
pleasure to meet you. I'm already completely in love with where you
live. That was quite some entrance under the trees." Then she reached
over and gave him a hug. "Sorry, I come from a family of huggers."
George laughed. "That's good. Hugs are good. And who are these two
cuties?"  George  pointed  to  the  two  dogs  who  had  sleepily  emerged
from the car. They were looking around in confusion as to where they
were. Liana scooped them up.
"This is Charles, and this is Oliver. I hope you don't mind us bringing
them. They' re real homebodies and hate being away from me. Either
that or I hate being away from them. But they're super easy dogs to be
around. They practically slept the whole way here."
George took them from her and started kissing their heads, much to the
delight of the dogs. It was easy to see that they took an instant liking to
George. Which, of course, made Liana instantly like him, too.
"Well, come on in, you two. Do you have many bags?"
"Not too many. We packed light. I'll get them. You two can go inside."
"Thanks, Jackson."

Once  they  were  inside,  George  said  he  would  take  Liana  on  a  quick
tour of the place while Jackson made them all some coffee. Once they
were out of earshot, George grinned at her.
"I am so excited to meet you, Liana. My son - he hasn't been an easy
one to tame."
"Tell me about it. But he's a great guy. It just took a bit of time to find
that side of him."
"Then  I'm  happy  you  had  the  patience  to  find  it.  And  thank  you  for
saying that he's a great guy. That's all a father really wants to hear."
The  house  was  lovely.  It  wasn't  huge,  but  considering  he  lived  there
alone most of the time, Liana could imagine that it could feel very big
for one person. It had three bedrooms; each came with a double bed -
something  that  hadn't  gone  unnoticed  to  Liana.  There  was  one  big
bathroom with the biggest bathtub that Liana had ever seen in her life,
one that she knew she had to use at least once in her stay. The kitchen
and living room were the best parts of the house. The kitchen was big
and fully stocked with a wonderful, little alcove with a wooden table
and chairs. The living room was large with a fireplace and a big glass
door  that  led  outside.  The  view  from  the  living  room  was  the  wide,
open field.
"I cannot believe you live here."
"Yeah, most people think I'm crazy."
"Why? I think it's beautiful."
"Thank you. It is."
"But  don't  you  miss  the  people,  Dad?  The  restaurants,  the  bars,  the
cinema, the theatre?" Jackson asked as they walked into the kitchen. He
must have overheard their conversation. He had just finished with the
coffee and handed them each a cup. They walked to the living room
and sat on the big, comfortable sofas. Liana positioned herself so that
she could see the view outside. Jackson almost didn't sit next to her but
remembered just in time. She had one hand holding the coffee and the
other  hand  resting  on  his  leg.  She  hoped  that  they  didn't  look  too
strange together.
"I miss some people, that's for sure," his dad was saying. "I don't miss
the crazy lifestyle. In fact, the more I stay away from it, the harder it is
for me to come back to it. But I love it here. I go into the city about

two times a month now, and I always try to take in a show or visit a
friend. Twice a month is perfect for me."
Liana wondered why he didn't see Jackson much when he came to the
city. The two of them couldn't be that close.
"And do you ever get people coming here?" Liana asked.
"Oh, yes. Often."
"You do?" Jackson asked. He seemed surprised.
George laughed. "Don't sound so surprised. I have friends, you know. I'
d say a few days a month, I get someone coming here. Which is great. It
means  it'  s  impossible  for  me  to  get  lonely.  I  have  a  great  time  with
them over those days, and then when they're gone, I enjoy the time by
myself.  And  I  never  get  a  chance  to  get  lonely  again  because,  sure
enough, someone is phoning and asking to visit. I think people use this
place as a bit of an escape. A holiday from the rest of the world."
"Oh yeah, I totally get that," Liana said.
"Are you not a city girl?"
"Not really. I love a more simple life."
"And yet you fell in love with my crazy, city-loving son," George
said.
Liana could feel Jackson tense when he said that.
"I guess what they say is true - opposites attract."
"I think I needed someone like her," Jackson said suddenly.
She was glad he was finally taking part in the conversation. She didn' t
want it to be only her that tried to get his father to believe them.
He continued, "I think that was always my problem. I always went for
these girls that I obviously didn't want a future with. I'm not sure why. I
think it was just easier that way. You can't get hurt if you know you
don't really want it to work. And then Liana came along."
"But she'd always been there, hadn't she? I mean, you said she works
with you?"
"I  do,"  Liana  said,  this  time  speaking  for  Jackson.  They'd  gone  over
what they were going to say about this. "I've been at the magazine for
four years already. And I' m sorry to say this - but I hated your son. Of
course, I thought he was gorgeous. That part is hard to deny. But I also
thought he was arrogant. Plus, he barely gave me the time of day. I

just kept my head down and worked hard. It's a great magazine but not
really my style. I think I easily blended into the furniture. Especially
when the rest of the staff were so extravagant and beautiful. I had no
interest in Jackson, and as far as I was concerned, he had no interest in
me."
George laughed as if delighted by her tale.  "So  far, so  bad. and then
what happened?"
"Well, it was at a party that I really did not want to go to. Too many
fake tans in one place for my liking. Anyway, I knew that I had to at
least show my face. So I went along. And that's when Jackson noticed
me. For a split second, he didn't even realize it was me. Do you know
why?"
"Why?" George asked.
"Because  I  was  wearing  a  tight  little  dress  and  makeup."  Jackson
groaned beside her. They' d gone through this, but his groan actually
sounded sincere. "I'm coming across so bad here." "Well, it's only the
truth."
And really, it almost was the truth. That night was the only night he had
really noticed her. And she really did think he was arrogant. And she
really  did  hate  his  parties.  The  only  lie  was  the  falling  in  love  part.
Liana had been the one who had suggested this story. She didn't want to
deviate too much from the truth - it was harder to keep up with big lies.
"Yeah, it is," Jackson finally admitted.
"Anyway, that just annoyed me more. The fact that he only noticed me
when I was dressed like one of his models. But in the office that week,
I  ended  up  working  late  on  a  project  while  everyone  else  had  gone
home.  Jackson  had  been  in  a  meeting,  and  when  he  saw  that  I  was
working alone, he came over to talk to me. And somehow we ended up
staying up the whole night finishing the project and talking. And that's
how it started. I guess there's always more to people than meets the eye.
And when you finally see that side of them that nobody else has seen
before, it's hard to see anything else." Liana took Jackson's hand and
squeezed  it  and  then  smiled  shyly  at  him.  "I  still  think  he's  arrogant
though, but I also think he's kind of wonderful."
That made them both laugh.

"Well, I'm so happy he found you. I can already tell that I'm going to
like you. Now, you two arrived late, and I already ate before you came.
Are you hungry?"
"No, we stopped off on the way and got a bite."
"Okay  then,  why  don't  we  all  have  an  early  night?  You  had  a  long
drive, and you must be exhausted. Tomorrow, I can show you around
the fields and introduce you to some of the animals here."
"Really? That would be amazing."
"Okay,  so  you  both  know  where  your  room  is  tonight.  Are  the  dogs
going to sleep with you? If not, I'll be happy to take them. They look
like such loveable creatures."
"They really are. Are you sure? I honestly don't mind taking them."
"I  don't  mind  at  all.  I'll  take  them  for  a  quick  walk  now  to  do  their
business, and then they can come sleep with me."
Liana was delighted. "Well, they will be good with whatever you want.
You can make a little bed for them on the floor even. They really are
good dogs. Thank you, George."
When Liana got into the bedroom with Jackson, she sat down on the
bed  and  let  a  deep  breath  out.  "Do  you  think  that  went  okay?"  she
asked.
"Liana,  you're  amazing!  That  went  very  well.  He  totally  believes  us.
You were great."
Liana felt herself relaxing. She hadn't realized how tense she had been.
"Oh, thank goodness. Your father is lovely. This place is lovely. And
really - most of that story was true." She grinned at him.
He punched her lightly on the arm. "I know! "
Liana looked around. "Uh. so what are we going to do about sleeping
arrangements?"
They hadn't actually thought that one all the way through, and Liana
wasn't prepared to jump into bed with him.
"Don't worry. I've got that covered. This bed has two mattresses. They
all do. My dad always does this so that if he has extra guests, he has
extra mattresses. It's his little trick. I'll put this one on the floor. My dad
won' t walk in if the door is closed. But we must put everything back

the moment we wake up."
Liana felt a wash of relief come over her. "Thank you. Uh... I'm just
going to take a shower. I'll see you later."
"Okay. Uh... enjoy."
Their conversation had gone from easy to stilted in a very short space
of time, and Liana now felt incredibly awkward. This was all just too
personal. She got her things and went to the bathroom - grateful to at
least have this time alone. She eyed the bath but decided she'd try it out
the next day. She was actually exhausted, and after her shower, she was
looking forward to putting her head down and going to sleep. Once she
was showered, she put on her pajamas. She cursed herself for not going
to buy new ones and walked tentatively back to the room wearing her
little polka dot shorts, a white vest, and her bunny slippers. She put a
hand  over  her  chest  as  she  realized  that  her  nipples  could  be  seen
through the vest. She really had not thought about this hard enough.
When  she  got  back  to  the  room,  she  saw  that  Jackson  had  already
organized his bed and was now lying on the mattress on the floor. A
blanket lay over him so that just his head stuck out.
"Cute slippers," he remarked as she walked in.
She  tapped  them  together  -  the  bunny  noses  touching  -  and  laughed.
"Thank you."
"Good shower?" "The best."
She put her things down and walked over to her bed, hoping that he was
not  looking  at  her.  She  had  nowhere  to  hide  in  those  clothes.  She
quickly got into the bed and climbed inside the warm duvet.
"You sure you're okay down there?"
"I'm fine. It's surprisingly comfortable."
"Goodnight, Jackson."
"Goodnight, Liana."
She reached over and switched off the light. Liana always took forever
to fall asleep. She was the type of person that could never easily switch
off  her  mind.  Her  thoughts  would  turn  over  and  over  again  until
eventually  they'd  morph  into  a  dream  and  she'd  fall  asleep.  But  that
night, perhaps due to exhaustion or the fact that she was out in the

countryside,  she  switched  off  the  lights  and  switched  off  her  mind.
Within seconds, she was fast asleep.
Liana woke up the next morning and had no idea where she was until
she looked down and saw Jackson. He was awake and was just lying
there, staring at the ceiling.
"Good morning," he said when he saw that she was awake.
"Morning. How long have you been awake? I'm so sorry - did I sleep
forever?"
"No, not at all. I woke up about half an hour ago. It's been nice lying
here actually. Sleep well?"
"I did. I guess we should put this mattress back quickly."
She got out of bed and helped him put the mattress back on top, and
then she quickly made the bed.
"I'm going to take a shower. But you're welcome to go on down. My
dad is probably already up," Jackson said and walked out.
It was only once he had walked out that she realized she had forgotten
about  how  see-through  her  vest  was.  Her  dark  nipples  were  clearly
visible. She groaned and felt the heat rising to her face even though he
wasn't even in the room anymore. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a
t-shirt and brushed her hair into a high ponytail. She opened the door
and immediately smelled coffee, so she  made her  way downstairs. It
was  strange  being  there  -  in  a  place  where  she  already  felt  so
comfortable. Yet at the same time, she felt like an intruder because she
knew that after this week, she'd never return again. She tried to put that
thought  out  of  her  mind.  She  turned  the  corner  and  saw  George
grinding coffee beans in the kitchen. He smiled when he saw her.
"Hello! I was just about to make a fresh batch. Would you like some?"
"I would love some! I love that you grind your own beans, too. I do the
same at home. There's no turning back once you start doing it yourself."
"I agree. And these beans are amazing. It's a new company, but a friend
of  mine  owns  it.  He  came  to  visit  a  few  weeks  ago  and  dropped  off
some bags for me. You're going to love it. So, sleep well?"
"I slept better than I have in a very long time. I don't normally fall

asleep so quickly, but as soon as my head hit that pillow, I was out."
"You know, I'd tell you it was because you were tired, but you'll see -
the same thing will happen to you tonight. It's this place. Being away
from all the noise. It's very soothing."
Just then the two dogs came running up to say hello to her. "Hey, boys!
Were they any hassle?" she asked George.
"None at all. They ended up sleeping on the bed with me."
"Oh,  you  two  are  so  spoiled.  Thank  you,  George.  That  means  a  lot.
These two are my whole life. I mean, how can anyone resist those
faces?"
"Are  you  talking  about  me?"  Jackson  asked  as  he  walked  into  the
kitchen. His hair was tussled wet, and he had on a pair of blue jeans and
a blue-and-white-checked shirt.
Liana looked down and saw that he had no shoes on. This was not the
Jackson she was used to seeing. She smiled. This was  a  much better
version.
"No, we're talking about the two handsome men in my life -Charles and
Oliver, of course."
"You cut me deep! " he said, and then he walked up to her and kissed
her  gently  on  the  mouth.  Liana  tried  not  to  gasp.  "Good  morning,
beautiful. And good morning, Dad."
George handed him a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Jackson. Does he
always look so handsome when he wakes up in the morning?"
The question was directed at Liana, who obviously had no idea. This
was the first time she'd ever seen him as he woke up.
"Uh...  yeah.  It's  quite  unfair  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  You  know,  the
normal  people.  But  you  wouldn't  know  that  either,  George.  You  and
Jackson are the same. Too good-looking to be real."
"Are you flirting with my dad?" Jackson asked and laughed.
"No, I'm just stating the facts. George, this coffee is amazing!"
She  was  desperate  to  get  away  from  the  flirtations.  She  was
uncomfortable enough about it as it was. Thankfully, the coffee really
was amazing.
"I know! It is. I'll be sure to let my friend know. Hey, he actually lives
near you guys. Why don't you go and visit him when you're back?

He'll gladly give you some coffee." "Oh, I'll definitely do that."
"Good. Now, let's get some breakfast and then I'll take you on a tour
outside.  I  hope  you  brought  a  jacket,  though  -  it  gets  cold  in  the
mornings here."
After breakfast, a big bacon and egg meal, she followed George around
the property. The two dogs walked beside her, breaking free every so
often for a run. They'd never had so much land to run free in before.
She actually felt guilty that she had them both in her small apartment.
She took them for walks every day, but that was a far cry from a place
like this.
"The house itself is not big but look at the land that I have to play with!
" he said and gestured around him.
It  really  was  spectacular.  A  man  was  walking  up  to  them  from  the
distance, and Liana noticed that he was coming from a small house that
she could just about make out.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"Oh,  that's  Mick.  He  helps  me  with  the  gardening.  He  has  all  the
chickens on his side as well, and he brings me fresh eggs almost daily.
He has helped me grow an herb and vegetable garden, too. I had no idea
what I was doing when I first arrived. He lives with his two dogs and
his wife. They supply eggs and various other produce to some of the
small shops around this place."
"You have shops here?"
George laughed. "Oh, of course we do. I wouldn't trek to the city for
everything  that  I  need.  I'll  take  you  for  a  drive  sometime.  It's  one  of
those  places  where  everybody  knows  everyone.  There  are  some
amazing little cafes and farm stalls and a few other craft shops. There's
even a little hospital nearby. I really don't even need to go anywhere
else. That's why when Jackson always asks me if I miss the city, well, I
don't. I have everything I need here. It's a simple life. But I love it."
Liana loved it, too. And she loved George. She knew how much money
he had. He had been somewhat famous for a while. And yet here he was
- living as if he didn't have much at all. And he was happy. Far happier
than his son. Liana felt sad that Jackson was so adamant in living

a life that was completely different to this one. Jackson was still inside.
He'd obviously done this tour before, and he'd said that he had some
work that he had to attend to. She hoped he wouldn't work too much or
too long. His magazine was important, she knew that, but a week away
wasn't going to do any damage to it. She wished she could bring her
mother to this place. This might be just what she needed. She made a
promise to herself to take her mother away as soon as she was better.
***
The  next  few  days  went  by  quickly,  despite  the  fact  that  they  didn't
really  do  all  that  much.  They  went  for  walks.  They  went  to  visit  the
nearby shops, and Liana fell in love with the kindness of the people.
They made food and drank lots of coffee and wine. George had his own
cellar, and every night he took out a new bottle for them to try. Liana
found  it  easy  to  be  around  Jackson  and  even  easier  to  be  around
George.  She  found  herself  slipping  up  every  now  and  then,  but  she
didn't think that anyone noticed. She preferred the Jackson that she saw
now to the Jackson that she was used to seeing at work. And despite
their differences, even he and George seemed to be getting along better
as  the  week  progressed.  It  was  the  last  night,  and  they  were  sitting
having dinner together.
"So,  when  did  you  learn  to  cook  so  well?"  Jackson  was  asking  his
father.
"What? You mean he didn't always cook this way?" she asked Jackson.
"No way!  My  mom  was the cook of the house. My dad loved to eat
food but not make it."
"Ha!  You  mock  me!  I've  always  been  a  great  chef,"  George  said,
twirling the pasta around his fork.
"He's lying, Liana. Don't listen to a word he's saying!"
Liana  giggled.  George  laughed  too  and  sighed.  "He's  right.  I  was
horrible. But when you don't have someone cooking for you, I guess
you don't have a choice. Also, I think it's something about being out
here. I have a lot of time on my hands and the produce is so fresh, it
seems a waste not to learn how to cook with it. It was a lot of playing
around.

Trust me - if you had tried my food a year ago you would've hated it.
But I' ve gotten a lot better."
"Dad, you're actually really good."
"This is what we common folk like to call home cooking," Liana said,
teasing  Jackson.  Then  she  said  to  George,  "Jackson  frequents
restaurants so much that they all know him by name now. Not that they
call him by name - they all call him sir."
"Sir? Oh no! You're too young to be a sir," George said.
"Exactly! That's what I said," Jackson replied.
"Heck,  I'm  too  young  to  be  a  sir  still,"  George  said  and  Jackson
laughed.
Liana  noticed  that  the  strained  feeling  between  them  had  started  to
dissipate.
At  the  end  of  the  evening,  George  excused  himself.  He  had  a  slight
headache - which he refused to admit was due to too many glasses of
wine - and wanted to go to bed early. Liana wasn't in the least bit tired
and  neither  was  Jackson,  so  they  made  some  coffee  and  went  to  sit
outside.  They  sat  on  the  couch  and  looked  out  at  the  darkening  sky
which shone with stars brighter than Liana had ever seen in her life.
She felt herself shivering. Jackson ran back inside and then came out
with a big blanket for them to share.
"Thank you," he said.
"No problem. It's cold out here tonight."
"But it's beautiful. I can't believe it's our last night. This week went by a
lot faster than I thought it was going to. I'll be honest - I thought it was
going to be a strain."
"Same here. I thought it was going to be so awkward, but it's actually
been so easy."
"So  you  didn't  go  out  of  your  mind  being  away  from  the  city  for  so
long?" she teased him.
"Strangely enough - I didn't."
"Your father is a lovely man, Jackson. I feel bad that we've lied to him,
but I can see how happy he is to have you here. No matter what, I'm so
glad that I met him. And I'm grateful that I got this week away from it
all."

"Liana, can I ask you a personal question?" "Of course you can. I may
not answer, but ask it anyway." "Why did you agree to do this? I mean,
I know you don't really like me."
Liana  gulped.  Perhaps  she  shouldn't  have  been  so  honest  with  how
she'd felt about him at the office.
"I  do  like  you.  I  mean...  I  do  now.  You're  not  as  bad  as  you  make
yourself out to be. That's for sure. But... well... I didn't do it for you. I
didn' t do it for me either. I know you probably thought that I just did it
because I wanted the money. And you'd be right about that. But it's not
for  me.  My  mother  is  very  sick."  Liana  took  a  deep  breath  before
continuing. "She has cancer, and it has spread. And they want her to go
for treatments but my parents just can't afford it. It's a lot of money. I'm
doing this because I need the money. I hate lying to your father. I hate it
so much. But the most important thing for me at the moment is doing
anything to keep my mother with me."
"Liana! You should've told me. I would've just given you the money."
"Would you? Maybe now that you've gotten to know me a bit. But you
didn't  give  me  the  time  of  day  before.  And  that's  okay  -  you  had  no
reason  to.  But  when  this  offer  came  along,  I  just  couldn't  resist  it.  I
mean, how often does something like this happen? A chance to make a
difference and to help someone you love. So I'm just really grateful for
it. And hey - I got an awesome holiday out of it, too. Anyway, I don't
want to talk about it. I'm just happy to be here."
For a while they just sat there, drinking in both their coffee and their
surroundings. The sky was getting darker. The stars brighter. And then
all of a sudden Jackson reached over and took her hand. Liana didn't
pull  away.  She'd  gotten  quite  used  to  being  touched  by  Jackson.
Whenever his father was around, he would take her hand or give her a
quick kiss on the mouth or cheek. It had become normal as the week
went on. But George wasn't anywhere to be seen. And at that moment,
holding hands still felt like the most natural thing in the world.
"This is by far the strangest week I've ever experienced in my life," she
admitted to him.

Chapter7
"Well, this is it! Thanks so much for having us, Dad," Jackson said to
his father.
The two of them were putting the bags in the car while Liana went for a
quick walk with the dogs. They had meant to leave first thing that
morning but the day had gotten away from them and it was now already
well into the afternoon.
"It's going to be dark when you get home. Drive safely and let me know
the minute you're back. Thanks so much for coming. I wish you would
come more, Jackson. You know you're always welcome here. You're
my son - my home will always be your home."
Jackson felt guilt wash over him. He didn't make much of an effort with
his father. But he'd always seen them as such different people. He often
battled to relate to his father.
"I know. I know. I'm terrible. It's a long drive, though, and you know
me - I'm just not a country boy. I'm a city boy through and through."
"You didn't seem like a city boy this week," his father commented. It
was something he had thought himself, even though he didn't want to
admit it.
Jackson smiled. "I guess not. It really was nice being here again."
"You would probably like it if you gave it a chance. Anyway, you're
young, and I can understand the pull of the city, too. But I'm glad you
came. Don't wait so long next time. I'm so glad I got to meet Liana.
She's so lovely, Jackson."
"She is," Jackson replied, realizing that he was telling the truth.
"And I've never seen you look so happy. The way the two of you look
at each other - well, it reminds me a lot of your mother and me. Liana is
a wonderful girl. Your mother would've loved her, too. She's very easy
to like - I'm surprised it took you so long. You found a good one there.
For a while, I thought there was no hope for you."
"Dad! You can't say that."

Jackson tried to ignore everything his father had just said. It wasn't like
him to feel guilty about something like this. He reminded himself why
he was doing it and the type of lifestyle he wanted to lead. This country
life was not him.
"Ah,  I'  m  just  being  honest.  But  you  proved  me  wrong.  In  fact,  you
proved  me  very  wrong.  She's  even  better  than  I  imagined  she'd  be.
She's so full of joy that one. Such a beautiful young girl."
Jackson had been thinking the same thing about her recently. He would
never  have  called  her  beautiful  before.  She  just  didn't  look  like  the
women that he was used to. She was quite plain in a lot of ways, and
she never tried hard with clothes or makeup. She had a 'take me as I am'
attitude  that  he  wasn't  used  to.  But  the  more  he  looked  at  her,  the
prettier  she  became.  His  father  was  right  -  she  really  was  beautiful.
Why had he never noticed it before? And she had been so good to him
this whole week - he wasn't sure if it was because of the contract she
had signed or whether she was just genuinely happy to be around him.
It  was  obvious  to  see  that  his  father  was  smitten  with  her.  And  she
seemed smitten with his father right back. She'd perhaps done the job a
little bit too well. He could see her coming back toward them, and he
smiled at his father.
"She is beautiful."
"Well, son, I haven't forgotten about the inheritance. I'll call you when
you're back and we can chat about how to get it to you. There's no point
waiting. You can put it toward the wedding. I know I said you had to be
married, but I really like her. And you've proven to me that you are far
more mature than I gave you credit for. I' m happy for you."
Jackson  felt  a  strange  mixture  of  happiness  and  guilt.  His  plan  had
worked. He hadn't wanted to be the one who brought it up, so hearing
his father say the words made it a lot easier.
"Thank you, Dad. That means a lot to me."
"Hey, Liana," Jackson said as she got closer. Her face looked flushed
from the cold air. "The dogs enjoy their final walk?"
He bent down to pat them. He'd never considered himself a dog person
before, but Charles and Oliver may have changed his mind. He'd never
met dogs so happy and placid before. They were always doing things to
make him laugh, and even when they were naughty, it was

impossible to be upset with them. It was easy to see why she liked them
so much.
"They loved it! They are not going to be happy to go back to my small,
little  apartment  after  this.  They've  been  spoiled.  And  not  just  them  -
me, too. I had a great time. Thank you so much for having us, George.
And  for  introducing  me  to  such  good  wine  and  coffee.  My  life  feels
forever changed."
"I'm  delighted  to  hear  that.  Don't  forget  to  visit  my  friend  and  get
yourself some coffee. And I may have put a few boxes of wine in the
trunk for you."
"You did? Thank you so much! " Liana said, delighted.
She had absolutely loved the wine his father had given her each night,
and he could see she wasn't just trying to be polite.
"Yeah, so you two can continue celebrating when you get back."
"Thanks, Dad. I guess it's back to the grindstone for us. I wonder how
the magazine is doing. The staff must've loved not having a boss for a
week."
"Maybe get them all to call you sir! That will keep them on their
toes."
Jackson laughed at that and went to give his father a hug. Then Liana
came  forward  to  hug  him,  too,  and  they  both  got  into  the  car.  They
waved until he was out of sight.
"Wow, the week is already over. Goodbye, beautiful trees. Goodbye,
wide  open  spaces.  Goodbye  to  the  biggest  bath  I  have  ever  been  in
before. Goodbye, fresh air."
Jackson laughed. "You're crazy. Has anyone ever told you that?"
"All the time, Jackson. All the time! "
"Well, buckle up your seatbelt, girl and dogs - we're in for another long
drive."
As it turned out, they weren't in for a long drive at all. Just under two
hours in, Jackson felt the car start to rattle. The noise was something he
hadn'  t  heard  before.  He  groaned.  His  car  had  been  relatively
problem-free since he got it. And he generally didn't have to deal with
car things much because he lived in the same apartment block as his
work. And when he went out, he generally got a cab. He wasn't a car
sort

of guy - other than he liked the way they looked.
"Ah, I hope it's not a flat tire." Jackson could change a tire - but not well
- and he wasn't too keen on Liana seeing him struggle with it.
He stopped the car and got out to look. The tires looked fine, and he
could see nothing out of the ordinary. So he got back in.
"Anything serious?" Liana asked him.
"Not that I can see. Maybe we just went over a bad part of the road or
something. It all looks fine."
He  started  the  car  and  continued.  Everything  was  fine  for  about five
minutes  and  then  the  noise  happened  again.  He  continued  to  ride,
hoping that it was just the road, but another few minutes later, the car
suddenly stopped. Nothing would get it going again.
"Ah, crap." He got out again and looked around. There seemed to be
nothing wrong. "Uh... you don't know anything about cars do you? I
hate to admit it but I know very little," he asked Liana.
"Nothing at all. Sorry! But I do have the number of my mechanic on
me. Let me try and call him. He's been my lifesaver a good many times.
Do you have insurance?"
"I do. Oh, let me call them first actually." He got out his phone but the
number just rang. He tried again but the same thing happened. "Okay,
nobody is picking up. Maybe phone your guy then."
He watched as Liana phoned her mechanic. She seemed to have trouble
getting through, but eventually the guy picked up. He listened as she
explained what happened and where they were and then put down the
phone and sighed.
"What's wrong? What did he say?" Jackson asked.
"He said that it's too late and we're too far. He said he can come first
thing in the morning."
"In the morning? But what are we going to do until then?"
"He says nobody will come out at this time. What about those places
we passed on the way? I saw those B&Bs. Well, I think they were
B&Bs."
"Yeah,  good  idea.  I  think  that's  our  only  option  right  now.  I  hate
leaving the car here, but I don't see what choice we have. Maybe we can
sleep tonight and sort it out tomorrow. Ah, this is awful. I'm sorry,

Liana."
"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. You see - even the car didn't want to
leave the country."
The two of them made their way to the B&B, which was thankfully not
too far, by foot. The lady behind the desk had her head deep in a book
and jumped at the sound of the door opening.
"Goodness! You two gave me a fright. I wasn't expecting anyone. How
can I help the two of you?"
"I' m so sorry. My car broke down. We were wondering if you had a
room for us?"
"I most certainly do. Are you a couple?"
"Uh. No. Just friends," Jackson said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Well, we only have one room left. There are no other places around
here in walking distance, though."
Jackson was surprised. It didn't seem like the type of place that would
generally be booked up with people. Jackson looked at Liana, and she
shrugged  as  if  to  say  that  she  didn't  mind.  They  didn't  really  have
another choice anyway.
"Okay, we'll take it. Thank you. It will just be for the one night. Do you
think my car will be safe? It's just up the road, but it's not driveable at
the moment."
"Oh yeah, it will be fine! Nothing happens around here. And if the two
of you walked, then it can't be parked too far. You said the mechanic is
coming tomorrow?"
"Yes.  So  we  just  need  somewhere  to  sleep  the  night.  You're  a
lifesaver."
"Well,  you  broke  down  at  the  best  possible  place.  Like  I  said,  there
aren' t many places around here. Here is your room key. We do serve a
small  but  lovely  breakfast  in  the  morning  starting  at  8  a.m.  -  so  just
come down when you're ready."
"Thank you so much."
Jackson took the key and walked with Liana to their room. He opened it
up and walked inside. The room was small. Basically just a room with a
bathroom attached to it. The bed only had one mattress on it, but even if
it had had two, there was no space on the floor to put down a

second  mattress.  Also, the dogs were going to need a place to sleep,
too. He looked up at Liana.
"Uh. I' m not sure what we should do here. If you want, I can go sleep in
the car?"
"Are you crazy? You really don't have to. The bed is big. We're adults.
It's fine. I've just spent an entire week with you, Jackson! As long as I
have a place to put my head tonight, I'm happy. I'm just glad we found
this place. The dogs can sleep on the floor, and we can sleep on the bed.
It's fine. This could've been a lot worse for us."
"That's  true.  Well,  okay  then.  It's  too  early  to  sleep,  though.  Wait,  I
have an idea. I'll be back."
"Wait. Where are you going?" Liana called after him.
"Just wait and see."
Jackson rushed back to the car to get their bags and came back into the
room smiling.
"What are you grinning about?" she asked him.
"Well, I have with me some delicious snacks, as well as some delicious
wine. All courtesy of my father!"
Jackson had gone to the car to get some wine and hadn't expected to see
a box of snacks waiting there with it. It was almost as if his father had
anticipated the break down.
"Your father is amazing! This is so cool. I'm so glad because when that
lady mentioned breakfast but not dinner, I wanted to cry. I'm so hungry.
These snacks look so good, too. And we have wine - so we're set for the
night."
They placed towels over the bed and sat cross-legged with the snacks
surrounding  them.  They  had  no  cups,  so  they  opened  up  a  bottle  of
wine each and balanced them between their legs. Liana had been the
one to suggest that they each get a bottle. She said the place was a bit
creepy so she needed something to dull the fear. He didn't mind at all.
His father had given them some of his best bottles to take with them.
"I've got to say - I've never had a picnic on the bed of a small motel
before with two dogs lying next to me on the floor."
"Yeah, this is definitely a first for me, too."
She giggled and Jackson realized that she was actually having a

good time. And so was he.
Jackson looked down and saw that only Oliver was lying on the floor.
"Hey, where's Charles?" he said and looked around. Then he burst out
laughing. Charles had silently made his way onto the bed. He'd stolen a
piece  of  meat  and  was  making  his  way  back  down  when  Jackson
caught him.
"Whoa! " he said to Liana. "These guys are stealthy. How did they do
that? I didn't even feel him jump onto the bed. Okay, I'm impressed.
Here guys... you can have a bit more." Jackson reached down and gave
them both a treat. When he looked up, he saw that Liana was smiling at
him. "What are you smiling about?"
"I just didn't peg you as a dog person," she said.
"I didn't either. Maybe I am. Or maybe your two dogs have crept into
my heart. No wonder you took them both when you saw them at the
shop. They are adorable. I'm going to miss them."
"Well, you're welcome to visit them any time," she said.
"And you? Can I visit you, too?"
"Well, it would be a little weird if I wasn't there," she giggled.
That made him laugh, too. "Like some weirdo creep who goes around
visiting  other  people's  dogs.  'Would  you  like  to  go  out  tonight?'
someone would ask me. And I'd say 'no, sorry I'm visiting Charles and
Oliver tonight.' 'Charles and Oliver?' they would say, assuming I was
talking about humans. 'Yeah, I'm bringing them dinner,' I'd reply and
then bring out a huge dog bone." Jackson was almost crying as he told
his tale.
"You're funny. Has anyone ever told you that?" "Actually, no. I've been
called  many  things  -  but  never  funny."  "Let  me  guess  -  you've  been
called handsome, gorgeous, a self-made man."
"You're mocking me," he said to her.
"Well, you are those things. But I think you are funny. Now, if you'll
excuse me, Mr. Comedian Sir, I'm going to have a quick shower and
get into my very comfortable pajamas. I'm starting to get a little tired
after all this wine."
He laughed as she almost tripped over the dogs trying to get up. He

heard the shower going, and he decided to use that time to change. He
put on a plain, white t-shirt and some boxer shorts and then wrapped
the blanket around himself so that Liana wouldn't feel awkward when
she came out.
He heard the door open and was just about to mock her slippers which
he  knew  she  must  be  wearing  when  he  saw  that  she  was  just  in  her
towel. The towel was small and white, and her dark skin almost shone
in comparison.
"Uh... sorry... I left all my clothes behind. Also - I think I'm drunk."
He hadn' t expected her to say that last part, and he burst out laughing.
He  stood  up,  and  as  he  did  so,  his  blanket  fell  off  revealing  just  his
boxers.
"I  think  I'm  drunk,  too.  Did  we  really  almost  finish  a  bottle  of  wine
each ourselves?"
"I think we might've. I actually don't remember," she said.
She was still standing in her towel, and he quickly looked away. The
room was small and there wasn't much place for him to go. So he sat on
the edge of the bed and pretended to look at the dogs. She squeezed past
him to retrieve her clothes.
"Whoa! Did you see the time? It's past midnight. Have we been talking
so  long?  It's  like  I've  entered  into  some  weird  time  warp."  Then  she
laughed and started singing. "Let's do the time warp again! Oh, I should
not sing. I'm going to regret that tomorrow. If you remember me doing
that in the morning, don't mention it to me. We can pretend like it never
happened. It's not often I sing in front of strangers. So count yourself as
lucky!"
"Well, I' m not exactly a stranger."
"I suppose not. I don't know what you are."
"A comedian?" he offered.
"Oh yes! " she said.
Then she turned to squeeze past him, but as she did so, her towel fell to
the floor. She stood naked in front of him, and before he knew what he
was  doing,  he  reached  out  and  pulled  her  onto  him.  Liana  was
beautiful. He moved his arms over her body and felt himself getting

excited. She felt it, too.
"Oh  no!  Jackson,  I  must  look  terrible  compared  to  those  girls  that
you're always with."
"What do you mean?"
She reached down and pulled on her stomach. "Look at me. I eat pasta,
not salads. I drink too much wine. I don't have contours on my
face."
For some reason, the word contour made her giggle. She was lovely.
And  she  didn't  know  what  she  was  talking  about.  Her  body  was
beautiful. It was soft and real and captivating. Her breasts were big, and
her  nipples  were  wide  and  dark.  He  reached  over  and  touched  them,
and he felt them harden in his fingers. She groaned as he did so. Then
he pulled her face down and started to kiss her. At first it seemed as if
she were going to pull away, but then she leaned in closer and the kiss
became deeper. He didn't want it to stop. She tasted like blueberries. He
kissed her and kissed her and kissed her until they had both fallen down
onto the bed. He stood up to pull off his boxers and his t-shirt and then
lay back down on top of her. They moved together with ease, kissing
and touching, kissing and touching. They didn't care that the bed was
making a noise so loud the neighbors could surely hear it. The  more
noise it made, the more he wanted her. He moved inside of her and she
wrapped  her  legs  around  him,  guiding  him  deeper.  Everything  about
her felt right. The way she felt and the way that she made him feel. He
didn't want the moment to end. He pushed into her and looked at her
face.  Her  eyes  were  closed  and  her  lips  slightly  parted.  Then,  she
opened her eyes and smiled at him. He reached down and kissed her
mouth, feeling her tongue darting inside his. Then he kissed and sucked
on  her  neck  until  they  both  couldn't  take  it  any  longer.  They  came
together, and Jackson heard himself cry out in joy. Then he moved off
her and wrapped his arms around her. He could hear the deepness of
her breath.
"Liana?" he whispered.
"Hmm."
"I don't mean to alarm you but there are two very curious boys looking
up at us right now."
She giggled at that and pulled him closer.

"They're not used to seeing that," she said. Then she closed her eyes
and fell asleep.
Jackson lay there for a while, just thinking about what had happened.
He had never expected this to happen. He'd never thought he' d even
want it to happen. He tried to figure out what it meant and what they
were going to do the next morning when they woke up together. But he
couldn't think about it much longer. It didn't take long for the same
exhaustion to hit him, and he fell into a deep and happy sleep.

Chapter8
Liana woke up before Jackson did. She had to stifle a scream when she
noticed that she was lying next to him completely naked. She laid there
for five minutes, trying to calm down as all the memories of the night
before  came  flooding  back.  She  crept  out  of  bed,  took  her  bag,  and
went into the bathroom. As she showered, she let the hot water flow
over  her.  She  always  felt  better  after  a  shower,  and  when  she  was
finished, she decided that she wasn't going to say anything to Jackson
about  the  night  before  unless  he  said  something  to  her.  She  was
absolutely mortified by what she had done, and she wanted to pretend
as if it hadn't happened. The whole week had been a bit of a blur, and
now  that  she  was  standing  in  the  bright  light  of  the  bathroom,  she
wanted  to  put  it  all  behind  her.  She  put  on  her  clothes,  brushed  her
teeth, and took a deep breath before opening the door.
Jackson was awake. Charles and Oliver had jumped onto the bed with
him, and she tried to ignore how sweet they all looked together. Never
in her wildest imaginings would she have pictured the scene before her.
Her boss lying in bed with her dogs. Was he still naked underneath the
sheets? What was actually going on? How had she lost grip on reality
so quickly? When she saw the empty wine bottles lying on the bedside
table, she knew why.
"Good morning," Jackson said to her.
"Morning. I hope I didn't wake you up. I was desperate for a shower. I
see you have company."
"Yeah, I think these two want to go out. Uh. did you sleep well?" he
asked, the nerves in his voice apparent.
"Um.  yes,  thank  you.  Pounding  headache  though.  Remind  me  not  to
drink wine again any time soon. Well, if you want to go shower, I'll call
the mechanic and meet you downstairs for breakfast?" She hoped her
voice didn't betray how nervous she felt around him and how annoyed
she was at herself for what had happened.
"Yeah, good idea. Thank you, I'd appreciate you calling him. And

I'll definitely meet you downstairs for something to eat. I'm starving,
and I think I can already smell bacon being cooked."
Liana quickly averted her eyes as Jackson got out of the bed. He still
had no clothes on, and he quickly reached for something to cover him
as  he  walked  to  the  bathroom.  Liana  turned  just  as  he  got  to  the
bathroom, and she tried not to laugh at the sight of his bare backside.
When he closed the door behind him, she felt her body relax.
"What  the  hell  have  I  done?"  she  said  to  the  dogs  who  were  both
looking up at her.
She went downstairs and told the lady at the front desk that they would
be  having  breakfast,  and  then  she  quickly  took  the  dogs  for  a  walk
around the block. When she got back, Jackson was sitting at a table and
a breakfast was set out in front of him. On the floor were two bowls of
food for the dogs.
"Oh  wow,  that  was  quick.  Sorry,  have  you  been  waiting  long?"  she
asked him.
"No, I literally just got here. I asked them to organize food for the dogs.
I hope they're not fussy. They didn't have dog food, so they put human
food in dog bowls."
"Oh that's their best!" Then she laughed as she watched them devour
their  food  in  seconds.  "Poor  things  must've  been  starving.  I'm  so
hungry, too, but I'm going to try to eat a bit slower than that! You boys
have no manners," she said to the dogs and they wagged their tails in
response as if to say that they didn't care the slightest what she thought
of their manners.
Charles and Oliver were a welcome distraction, and instead of speaking
about  what  happened  the  night  before,  they  concentrated  their
conversations on the dogs. Just as they were finished eating, her phone
rang. The mechanic had arrived. Another welcome distraction. While
Jackson  and  the  mechanic  looked  at  the  car,  Liana  went  for  another
walk  with  the  dogs  -  just  to  have  something  to  busy  herself  with.
Memories kept trickling in to the forefront of her mind, and she kept
pushing them away. When she got back, she saw that the mechanic was
walking  away.  He  saw  her  and  gave  her  a  big  thumbs  up.  She
considered asking him to take her home so that she could avoid another
hour's drive with Jackson

but thought against it. This had nothing to do with the mechanic, and
she was sure he couldn't care less about what was going on between her
and Jackson.
"So, all sorted out? The mechanic seemed happy. I'm assuming that' s
good news," she said as she got nearer.
"Yeah, that guy is like a genius man. He took one look at it and he knew
exactly what was wrong and how to fix it. I'd love to tell you what he
did,  but  I  still  have  no  idea.  And  I  was  watching  the  whole  thing.  I
really  should  learn  more  about  cars  in  case  I  get  myself  into  a
predicament again."
"Well,  that's  what  mechanics  are  for.  Most  of  the  population  doesn't
know about cars, so I wouldn't worry about it. So, are we good to go
then?" she asked.
"We are. I'll go check out. The bags are already in the car, so you can
just wait for us there."
"Okay, great. Uh. I have no idea how much this cost though. Do you
want me to pay you my half now? Or do you want to settle it when we
return?"
"What? You're not paying for this. Are you crazy? This is just a small
motel anyway. Trust me; it's not going to cost much at all." "Are you
sure, Jackson?"
"Yes, of course I'm sure. I certainly didn't expect you to pay for this.
This wasn't your idea anyway. This whole thing was my idea. And it
was my car that wasn't reliable. Honestly, I've got this. I'll see you back
in the car in a few minutes."
"Okay, thanks, Jackson."
The  truth  was  that  Liana  didn't  have  much  money  to  be  throwing
around anyway, so she was grateful that she didn't have to pay for this.
All the extra  money that she was going to be given was going to go
straight to her mom. She needed to keep reminding herself why she was
doing this. What had happened the night before was just a bump in the
road. Too much wine. That's all.
In  the  car,  things  were  strained  and  Liana  had  no  idea  how  best  to
handle the situation. She opened her  mouth, about to say something,
and then closed it about a dozen times. They spoke about trivial things,
and

then  Liana  said  she  was  tired  and  was  going  to  close  her  eyes  for  a
while. She noticed that Jackson didn't try to stop her or ask her what
was wrong. He said okay and then continued to drive - his eyes firmly
fixed on the road ahead. Of course, Liana didn't sleep a wink, and when
Jackson  gently  touched  her  leg  to  wake  her  up,  she  jumped  up  in
pretend surprise. The truth was that she was actually jumping from the
feel  of  his  hand  on  her  leg  again.  Her  mind  jerked  back  to  the  night
before, and she quickly blinked it away.
"Hey, Liana. We're here." Jackson's voice was soft and gentle.
She rubbed her eyes. "Oh, we're here already. Glad the car made it in
one  piece.  Well,  looks  like  I  was  more  tired  than  I  thought  I  was.
Thanks for taking me home. And for a great week away from the city. I'
m very grateful that I got to meet your father."
"Thanks  again  for  everything,  Liana.  I'll  have  that  money  in  your
account by Monday. I really do appreciate it. And. my father loved you.
Uh.      let me help you with your bags."
"No, no. I'm fine. I don't have much." Liana wanted to get away from
him  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  the  thought  of  having  him  in  her
apartment made her heart beat faster. "Let me get these little monkeys
back inside. Time for them to readjust to apartment living. Uh. well.
sleep well, Jackson. I'll see you on Monday."
"Monday?" he asked.
She laughed despite herself. "For work. You know. at the magazine. A
week away and you've already forgotten about it."
He laughed, too. "Oh yeah. Work. Of course. Well, see you then."
Liana closed the door and walked into her house without looking back.
Then she flopped immediately onto her couch and groaned. What have
I done?
She picked up the phone and called Becky. She had told Becky about
the  whole  thing  and  made  her  promise  not  to  tell  anyone  other  than
Rob. The exchange had been brief because it was just before Jackson
was going to pick her up to take her to the countryside so she still didn't
know all that much. But she'd promised she'd phone her the moment
she got home. And Liana felt desperate to speak to a familiar voice.
"Hey, Becs. I'm home!"

"Thank God. I've been dying to talk to you!" Becky said.
"Why? Did something happen while I was gone?"
Becky laughed. "No silly, nothing happened. I just wanted to hear all
about your trip. I was a bit confused about it when you phoned me. You
spoke to me so quickly. I tried to phone you when you were away, but I
couldn' t get through."
"Yeah, sorry about that. There was barely any signal there. I was going
to call you, too. I had these big plans of walking out onto the field and
calling you. But my plan didn't work when I couldn't get through."
"Big  open  field?  Wow,  so,  was  it  amazing?  Or  was  it  completely
awkward? My guess is on awkward."
Liana  smiled.  She  would  have  bet  on  that,  too.  "Actually,  it  was
amazing.  And  surprisingly,  not  awkward  at  all.  Jackson's  father  is
incredible. Such a lovely man with a great outlook on life. You would
love him."
"So, the opposite of Jackson then?" Becky said.
Liana felt an immediate need to stick up for him but resisted the urge.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"So what was this all about, Li? I mean it's a pretty weird project, don't
you think? I couldn't quite make heads or tails of any of it. You said he
wanted you to pretend like you were a couple. To make his dad happy
or something. That's a bit strange. Why did you do it? I would've sworn
your  reaction  to  something  like  that  would've  been  something  more
along the lines of 'Screw you!'"
That  made  Liana  chuckle.  "Yeah,  that's  exactly  what  my  reaction
would've been and definitely one that I thought of. But... ah, Becs, my
mom  isn't  doing  well  at  all.  I'm  sorry  I  haven't  told  you,  but  it  all
happened so quickly. I went to visit them the other week, and it was the
worst that I've seen her in ages. I spoke to my dad and he admitted that
they couldn't afford the treatments. He said it was way more than they
could afford. And the doctors say that the treatments are her best option
right now. So when this came along, I had to take it. He wanted to pay
me a huge amount for it. Enough to cover those costs. I was at the point
when I didn' t care at all about why he wanted to do it. I just wanted to
see my mom happy. And you know - I think his intentions were good.
A

little screwed up, but it's his dad's dream to see him in love and happy.
And  we  all  know  what  type  of  guy  he  is.  He  just  doesn't  want  that
lifestyle. He just wanted his dad to see him in love - even if it wasn't at
all true. I don't really agree with it, but I do sort of understand it. And
who am I to judge? I don't know his family history. And quite frankly, I
don' t care to know. I just want my mom to get better."
Liana  started  crying  the  moment  she  said  the  last  words.  She  hadn't
realized quite how tense she was until she was finally speaking it out
loud. It felt so much more real now.
"Oh,  Liana.  I  had  no  idea.  And  I  totally  understand  why  you  did  it.
Yeah,  who  cares  what  his  reasons  are.  This  was  an  amazing
opportunity for you to get that  money.  And will he be  good for it? I
mean, he is going to give it to you,  right? This isn't just some weird
scheme of his for who knows what reason and then he won't pay you?"
"Yeah, he's good for it. I actually signed a contract, so the whole thing
was very professional. He said I'll have it by Monday, so I've told my
dad to go ahead and book those treatments."
"You're a good daughter. And an even better person. I'm not sure that I
could've done that. I mean, I know how much you can't stand that guy.
Now you had to put up with him for an entire week. But you know what
- I love you, Li. You did the right thing."
That was all Liana needed to hear. "Thank you."
"And? How was it? Was it weird? I mean. how hard was it to pretend?
What did you have to do?"
"Well,  his  father  is  amazing.  So  that  helped.  And  the  place  was
incredible.  I  didn't  want  to  leave,  and  the  dogs  loved  it,  as  you  can
imagine.  His  father  cooks  so  well  and  is  a  massive  coffee  and  wine
lover  -  which  suits  me  perfectly.  He  has  the  most  amazing  wine
collection. And as far as Jackson and I - well, he was a gentlemen about
it all. We held hands sometimes, and he would give me a quick peck on
the  cheek  when  his  father  was  around.  It  was  strange  at  first,  but  it
actually became quite normal after a while."
It  made  Liana  feel  strange  talking  about  it.  Especially  since  it  really
hadn' t been nearly as strange as she had thought it would be.
"And what about sleeping arrangements?" Liana knew this

question would come.
"Yeah, I was worried about that. Especially when the bedroom we were
in only had one double bed. It did, thankfully, also have two mattresses.
So Jackson put one on the floor and slept there. We went to bed quite
late most nights, so we would literally walk in and go to bed."
"Wow. I' m surprised. It sounds like he really did have pure intentions.
And he didn't try anything?"
Liana' s mind raced back to the night at the B&B. She had planned on
telling Becky, but suddenly she didn't want anyone to know.
"He didn't."
"Are you okay, Liana? You sound a little bit strange tonight."
"I' m fine. I' m just exhausted. Like I said - it all went fine, but I guess it
took its toll on me. All this pretending. I'm glad to be back, even though
Charles and Oliver would probably do anything to go back again. I'd
forgotten how good it is to get away from the city sometimes."
"Yeah, I can imagine. Have you heard from Trevor at all? Rob said he
couldn' t stop talking about you."
Liana smiled sadly to herself. "He called just before I left. I'm sure I'll
see him again. He's a lovely guy. Most definitely no big sparks on my
side - but he really was lovely."
"Sometimes it's good to give people a chance, though."
"Sometimes it is. Anyway, I'm practically falling asleep here. And I'm
also starving. So it's food, shower, and bed for me."
"Thanks for calling! Get some rest and let's meet up soon. And keep me
posted on how your mom is doing."
"I will."
After that, Liana did her best not to think about the week or Jackson for
the rest of the weekend.
Of course, Jackson couldn't be avoided forever. On Monday morning,
Liana drove slowly to work, trying to avoid the unavoidable. When she
got to the office, she saw that he hadn't yet arrived. Peter was the first at
her desk.
"Oh, thank goodness you're back. Janie was in charge while you were
away, and she was awful. Just plain awful. So, I hear you had to go to
some crappy conference with the boss. Poor you. I was so glad that he

didn' t ask one of us to go with him. So, what did you have to do the
whole week?"
Liana was glad that Peter had come to speak  to her because she had
almost forgotten that Jackson had told them all that they had gone to a
conference.
"Oh  you  know,  just  boring  admin  stuff.  Taking  notes,  making  sure
appointments  were  made.  The  usual.  Not  very  different  than  here
really."
"And let me guess - Jackson was out having a good time. Man oh man,
what I would do to have his life sometimes."
Liana smiled politely. She thought about reminding him that he had a
wonderful  wife  and  two  lovely  kids  but  then  changed  her  mind.  She
simply didn't have the energy to get into a discussion with Peter at the
moment.
"Well, I see the work has piled up while I've been gone. I better get
to it."
"Good  luck!  Ooh,  here  comes  Jackson  now,"  Peter  said  and  quickly
scampered off to his desk.
Liana glanced up and saw Jackson walking toward his office. He was
stopped by at least five people on his way, which made his one-minute
journey about ten minutes long. She quickly looked away the moment
he stopped talking to the last person, and she stared at her computer.
But when she looked up again, she saw him looking at her. She smiled
briefly  and  then  turned  her  head  back  to  the  computer,  her  heart
pounding in her chest. What was wrong with her? She'd worked with
this man for four years. She'd just spent an entire week with him. And
yet here she was, nervous at his mere presence. She needed to get a
grip.
Liana tried to spend the rest of the day buried in her work. She didn' t
even pause for lunch or to take a coffee break, which meant that by the
end  of  the  day,  she  had  gone  through  almost  all  of  her  outstanding
work. Jackson came in and out of the office throughout the day, and she
had caught him looking at her a few times. For some reason, this just
infuriated her. She hated how good looking he was. She felt a desperate
urge to go up to him and slap his handsome face until it was no longer
handsome. She didn't know why she felt so much contempt for him at

the moment. She just couldn't help it. They'd slept together - it was a
fact, no matter how much she tried to deny it. And while it had been
absolutely incredible for her, she couldn't help but wonder why it had
happened. After all, he was the type of man who slept with models. She
cringed every time she thought about what he must have thought about
her normal naked body. How drunk was he? Or did he not care who he
slept with - as long as he got what he wanted? And if so, then she was
no better than any of those other women. She was just another statistic
for him. Another name to cross off his ever-expanding list of women he
had  slept  with.  Did  he  laugh  about  it  with  his  friends?  Had  he  told
people what she looked like without her clothes? She couldn't handle
seeing him at work, knowing what they had done.
When the end of the day finally came, she shut off her computer and
practically ran out of there. She couldn't think of anything else but the
thought of getting as far away from work as possible. But at the same
time, Liana also didn't want to go home. Home was too quiet. There
was nothing to do but watch TV or read books, and that wasn't enough
of a distraction for her. She'd called her father that morning, and he had
informed  her  that  her  mother  was  going  in  for  treatments  later  that
week. He'd said he'd let her know so that she could visit at the hospital.
They were so thankful for what she had done. But now that it was all
going  ahead,  she  was  nervous  -  nervous  that  after  everything,  it  still
wasn't going to be enough.
Liana decided to drive to the center of the city. She wanted to be around
big crowds where she could lose herself and forget about her problems.
She parked the car and then started walking up and down the streets.
She loved how anonymous she felt in the city. How easy it was to blend
in. She considered going into one of the cafes for something to drink,
but she spotted a bookshop in the corner that she'd never seen before
and  decided  to  go  in.  She'd  always  had  a  particular  penchant  for
bookshops - she loved the way the books felt in her hands. She'd always
wondered what it would be like to be a writer and to have a book that
you  created  being  bought  by  people in  public.  She'd  always  found  it
fascinating how someone could come up with a story from their own
minds and turn it into something tangible. She'd often thought about

working at a bookshop - imagine the hours of fun she'd have organizing
the  books.  It  would  be  a  dream.  Instead,  she  was  working  at  a
magazine. But not just any magazine. A magazine that was dedicated to
all the men in the world. To a lifestyle that she wanted nothing to do
with.  It  had  never  bothered  her  before,  simply  because  she  had  still
enjoyed her job, even if she didn't love the magazine or what it stood
for.  But  even  that  had  changed  now.  Surely,  she  thought  to  herself,
surely that would change once everything got back to normal. But no
matter how many times she tried to forget about what had happened,
she would find herself thinking about it. Liana hated to admit it  - but
being with Jackson had been  incredible. And there was a part of her
that felt as if she were falling for him. The Jackson that she had seen
that week was not the Jackson that she had seen at work. But which was
the real one?
Stop it! she told herself, shaking her head and trying to concentrate on
the books in front of her.
"Deep  in  concentration.  A  lover  of  books,  too!  Your  list  of  great
personality traits continues."
Liana jumped at the voice and dropped a book to the floor. She picked
it up and placed it back onto the shelf with trembling hands.
"George?"
George Fisher was standing in front of her, looking as handsome and as
kind as the last time she had seen him. She rubbed her eyes as if she
were imagining him. Perhaps the stress of everything was starting to
get to her. Surely it was not George. And yet, it was.
"Hey,  Liana.  Sorry  I  startled  you.  What  a  coincidence!  I  was  so
surprised  to  see  you  standing  there.  For  a  while,  I  thought  I  had
completely imagined it."
"You're in the city," she said dumbly. She was so confused.
He  laughed.  "I  am.  I  told  you  I  go  to  the  city  sometimes.  I  hadn't
planned to come so soon, but a friend was ill so I decided to come for a
quick visit. I just had a half hour to kill before visiting hours, and I saw
this bookshop. And I just absolutely adore bookshops."
"I' m so sorry to hear that about your friend. Is it serious?"
"Possibly. But I hope not. Either way, I figured it was best for me to
come and see him just in case. He's a great friend, and I wanted to be

there for him the way he has always been there for me. I was going to
call you and Jackson, but there's just been no time."
"Oh, don't worry about it! Your friend is more important. It's good to
see you again, George."
And as she said it, she felt a terrible feeling of guilt and sadness come
over her. It really was just so good to see him again. She wished in that
instant that she hadn't agreed to the lie. But she reminded herself that
she was doing it for her mother. Everything was for her mother. She
smiled at him.
"How are my boys doing? Are they missing the countryside yet?"
Liana giggled as she realized he was talking about her dogs. "They're
doing well. They loved it in the country. My apartment seems so tiny
now. Thanks for being so good to them."
"Oh, I love dogs. But you actually reminded me just how much I love
them. I' m actually going to look at a dog this coming week."
"You are?"
"Yes, one of the ladies at that farm stall I took you to just told me that
her dog had puppies. So I'm going to go choose one. My only worry is
that I'll end up taking more than one."
"Well, that's what happened with me! Ah, that's so exciting."
"Oliver and Charles will have to come and visit then."
Liana gulped. "Absolutely."
"Listen, I better get going. Visiting hours are going to be starting soon.
It was so good to see you again. You know - when Jackson first told me
about you, I was certain that it wasn't true. I mean, we both know that
he wants his inheritance money. Just last year he was begging me for it.
But I refused to give in. My wife and I made that decision together, and
I wanted to honor it. She's the one who told me that he only deserved
that money when he was settled down with the woman he loved. But. I
have to admit. I was wrong. When I met you, I knew instantly that my
boy  had  finally  found  love.  And  with  such  a  beautiful  girl,  too.  I
couldn't  be  happier.  I  know  that  I  was  going  to  wait  until  he  got
married, but the two of you are so happy and it seems silly to wait. You
can  both  use  that  money  toward  the  marriage  and  maybe  getting  a
house or something. I'm just so pleased that the money is going to be
put

to good use. It took a long time for Jackson to come right - so I have
you to thank. Anyway, I better get going. Chat soon! Give my love to
Jackson."
Liana' s mouth had gone dry. She smiled as he kissed her on the cheek,
and she continued to smile as he walked off. The smile made her face
hurt, and the moment he was out the door she allowed it to collapse.
She couldn't believe what she had just heard. So much for Jackson just
wanting to make his father happy. His plan had absolutely nothing to
do with his father. It had everything to do with himself. For a while, she
had honestly thought that Jackson was different  - that she had seen a
side of him that was the opposite of the one that he always portrayed at
work. But Jackson had just been pretending. As it turned out, he was a
pretty good actor when he wanted to be. She wanted to scream, and she
was glad that she wasn't at home. Out in public, she had to force herself
to calm down. As she walked back to her car, she took deep breaths in
and  out  and  ignored  the  way  the  people  were  looking  at  her.  The
moment she got home, she allowed the tears to fall down her face. She
felt  a  mixture  of  emotions  take  hold  of  her  -  anger,  sadness,  hurt,
embarrassment. He'd fooled his father, but he had also fooled her. She'd
been so duped by him that she'd even slept with him. Why hadn't she
realized that he was the type of man who would do anything to get his
own way - no matter who he hurt. If he could do that to his own father,
then it was no surprise that he could do it to her. I'm such an idiot, she
thought.
Liana couldn' t believe that she had almost fallen for Jackson. What' s
worse is that she was about to repeat history - something she had sworn
to  never  do  again.  When  Liana  had  told  Jackson  about  Thomas,  she
hadn't been entirely honest with him. She'd barely known Jackson at
the  time,  and  she  didn't  want  him  to  feel  sorry  for  her.  Also,  it  was
something that she didn't really like to talk about. Something that she
certainly didn't like to think about. She'd loved Thomas. He might have
been her first love, but she had been certain that they were going to be
together forever. She'd been with him for four years, and she'd thought
that she'd known everything about him. In her  mind,  he was perfect.
But  Thomas,  as  it  turned  out,  wasn't  perfect  at  all.  Everything  that
Liana  had  told  Jackson  had  been  true  -  but  she'd  left  out  one  very
important part.

Thomas had met a girl who was prettier and richer than her. The girl
had promised him an easy life. She was daddy's little girl, and daddy
was  very  rich.  She'd  never  known  what  it  was  like  to  work  for  her
money, and she'd promised Thomas that he would never have to know
that either. And despite all the things he had told Liana over the years -
he simply couldn't resist the easy life. He'd left Liana and followed his
new girlfriend like a puppy. Years later, Liana had seen him again. He
was back in the city after the girl had dumped him for someone else. He
had begged Liana to take him back - but by then the damage was done.
And  she'd  sworn  never  to  be  fooled  by  a  man  again.  She'd  kept  her
guard up and told herself that the next guy she met would be genuine.
Yet here she was, watching history repeat itself. Thankfully, this time
she  hadn't  allowed  herself  to  get  in  too  deep.  She  put  the  thought of
Jackson out of her mind.
The phone rang. She glared at it. "It better not be you, Jackson," she
threatened and then picked it up. If it was, she wasn't sure she'd be able
to keep her cool.
"Hello?" she said into the receiver, holding her breath.
"Oh, hey, Liana. It's me, Trevor."
She breathed out in relief. Trevor. Trevor's kind face floated back into
her mind. "Trevor! Oh hey, it's good to hear from you again. This is a
nice surprise."
"I know you said that you were going to contact me. But it seems I' m
not nearly as patient as I thought I was. I just wanted to see how you
were doing. I'm very glad to hear you say that it is a nice surprise."
Liana smiled and felt the anger begin to fall away. She leaned back into
the  couch.  "Thank  you.  I'm  glad  you  called.  In  fact,  you're  just  the
person I feel like speaking to right now."
"I  am?  Okay,  I  feel  better  about  phoning  you  now.  Is  everything
alright? You sound a bit different tonight."
"It is now. Sorry, I'm just a little tired - that's all. How are you?"
"I'm  good."  Then  Liana  heard  him  pause  and  mumble  something  to
himself. "Ah heck, I'm just going to come right out and ask you. If I
don' t do it now, I might just lose my nerve. Would you like to go out to
dinner with me?"

Chapter9
"Welcome back, you sly bastard," Martin said and reached over to hug
him.
Jackson was generally not the hugging type unless it was with Martin.
Although Martin's wife had laughed when she had seen them and said
that  they  hugged  like  men.  The  slap-on-the-back  kind  of  hug  rather
than a warm embrace. The two had decided to meet for dinner to catch
up on the past week's events. Jackson was grateful to get out his house,
which now suddenly didn't feel like it used to. He put it down to the fact
that  he'd  just  spent  a  week  in  the  country.  Even  at  night,  he  couldn't
believe  how  noisy  everything  was  outside  -  something  he  had  never
noticed before.
Jackson  laughed.  "Sly  bastard?  Do  you  ever  have  nice  things  to  say
about me?"
"Hmm.  Maybe. But not to your face. I couldn't bear for that head  of
yours to get any bigger than it already is," Martin teased.
"You  mock me. So, how's  your week been? School holidays coming
soon?"
"Yes, another week to go and then I'm home free."
"You joke, though - I know you love working at that school." A fact
that still baffled Jackson to this day. Not only did he love working as a
teacher, but the kids loved him right back. He was a very likeable sort
of guy.
"I do love it there. But I also love to have a break - I need it. The kids
are  great,  but  they  start  getting  restless  at  this  time  of  the  year.  But
enough about me. Tell  me about you. How was the week? How was
your father? How was Liana?"
"I don't even know where to begin. I cannot believe the week has come
and gone and that so much has happened. I can't believe that I actually
went ahead with my plan. Well, it went better than expected. I told you
that my plan was a genius one. My father came up to me at the end and
told me that he'd be phoning me soon to talk about the

inheritance. He wants to give it to me."
"So he fell for it then? He honestly thought that you and Liana were in
love? I must say, I expected better from him. I think he is so desperate
to see you happy that he just believes it regardless of the truth. I'm sure
if he really thought about it, he'd know that it was a ruse."
"Maybe you're right. Or maybe I'm just that good at acting. Liana was
certainly better than I thought she'd be. Thank goodness I didn't take
one of those models that I wanted to take. I couldn't imagine it going
nearly as well as this. Well, he fell for it. And the plan worked out. He
loved Liana, and he is happy that I' m happy with her."
"Even though you're not actually with her," Martin pointed out.
"Well,  yeah.  But  anyway,  that  doesn't  actually  matter  because  it  all
worked. That's the main thing. And I know you won't believe this, but I
actually  had  good  time.  I  really  enjoyed  being  out  there.  I  almost
understood why he moved away, you know. Like, I felt as if I could
finally  breathe  out  there.  Being  home  feels  a  little  claustrophobic
even."
"What? Is this the same Jackson that I spoke to a week ago who swore
he never wanted to move out of the city? The same Jackson that never
wanted to go and visit his dad because the country was so boring? What
happened to you?"
"Oh no, I still want to live in the city! I am still the same Jackson who
believes all of those things. But... well... I guess it was good to have a
break. Maybe I needed it more than I thought I did. And it was good to
see  my  dad  -  I  got  on  better  with  him  this  time  around.  Maybe  it's
because not everything was focused on me. I don't know."
"And  how  about  Liana?  Was  it  weird  with  her?  I  mean.  surely  it
must've  been  a  bit  strange?  I  couldn't  imagine  ever  doing  something
like
that."
Jackson  smiled  at  the  thought.  "I  thought  it  would  be  too.  I  was
convinced it was going to be awkward and that the week was going to
drag for us. I mean, let's be honest, she's not the type of girl I'm used to
hanging around."
"You mean she actually has opinions?"
Jackson laughed. "Yeah. It was surprisingly refreshing. And she was
pretty easy to be around. My father fell in love with her, and I think

she felt the same about him. They were very easy around each other
-especially with their shared love of wine, coffee, and animals. Oh yeah
-she  brought  her  two  dogs  with  her.  Oliver  and  Charles  -  two  little
dachshunds."
"She brought dogs on the trip? In the car?"
"Yep. Coolest dogs, though - they were no trouble at all. They actually
made me want dogs of my own, if you can believe it."
"I can't believe it. And what's it been like now that you're back? I mean,
what is it like at the office?"
Jackson  considered  the  question;  it  was  something  he  had  been
thinking about a lot himself. "Actually, it's a bit weird to be honest. It's
been a few days, and we've barely spoken to each other unless it has to
do with work. I mean, we never spoke to each other much before all of
this,  so  I  suppose  it's  all  the  same.  But  there's  an  added  element  of
awkwardness attached to it. And it's strange because it was so easy to
be around her the whole week."
"Hang on a second.      is there something more to this?"
"What do you mean?" Jackson asked, cutting his steak carefully so as
not to look at Martin's face.
"Jackson! You can't fool me. I'm your oldest friend. Nothing escapes
me.  Something  more  happened.  Hang  on.  you  like her.  You  actually
like her."
Jackson put a piece of steak in his mouth and chewed slowly, buying
himself some extra time. "I don't like her. I mean, she was a lot better to
be around then I thought she would be. But I don't like her. You know
as well as I do that she's not my type."
"Jackson,  you  don't  have  a  type.  All  the  women  you  have  been  with
have been just quick affairs - mostly just to sleep with them or to have
someone beautiful on your arm. It's never gone any deeper than that.
This is the first time I've seen you speak about a woman like this."
"I'm not speaking about her in any sort of way."
"But you're nervous. You can hardly look at me. Hah! You actually like
her. Did anything actually happen with her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Something DID happen! And you're only telling me now? Once I

forced  it  out  of  you.  If  she  was  just  like  one  of  the  other  girls,  you
would've been boasting about it. Tell me now! What happened?"
Jackson  sighed.  "Fine.  You  got  me.  You  should  be  a  detective  -you
know that? Well, for the most part, nothing happened. I was a complete
gentleman.  At  my  father's  place  we  did  nothing  but  hold  hands  and
have  quick  pecks  on  the  cheek.  And  all  that  was  only  for  show.  "
Jackson remembered how they had held hands when his father wasn't
around but decided not to mention that. "And then, on the way home,
my car broke down. So we had to stay in a motel for the night. There
was only one room with one bed. And. well. we got very drunk. And
the next thing I knew we were in bed together."
"Ah, I can always count on you for a good story. So.      how was
it?"
Jackson  smiled  despite  himself.  "Amazing.  Incredible.  Perfect.  I've
tried not to think about it. I mean, she works for me. And she doesn't
even  like  me  like  that.  And  this  was  never  supposed  to  be  anything
more than fulfilling a contract. But it happened. And it was amazing. I
can't deny that."
"I  knew  it!  I  knew  there  was  something  different  about  you  today.
Jackson - you HAVE to speak to her."
"What? Why? About what?" Jackson stammered.
"About the fact that you like her! Come on, dude, don't mess this up. I'
ve never seen you speak about anyone like this. You actually seem to
respect her. Now that's a change. I don't mean to be an ass. But I'm your
best friend, and I always give you the truth. But you really have become
a bit of a chauvinistic pig."
"What?"  Jackson  couldn't  believe  what  he  was  hearing.  Martin  was
always  honest  with  him.  But  not  to  this  extent.  "Do  you  seriously
believe
that?"
"That's the thing - I don't. I knew the Jackson before he got rich and
famous. And he was a very different guy. I still get to see him, but the
rest of the world doesn't. And you claim to just want money and girls.
But you're not actually happy. You haven't been happy in a very long
time. I've held onto the hope that one day that would change, and I' ve
been angry at your father for having that inheritance money lined up

for you. I know I never told you this before because I didn't really think
it was my place. But you're doing so well for yourself. The magazine is
thriving and that was all because of you. You don't need that money.
You're already on your way to doing it all on your own."
Jackson sat back and regarded Martin. "Wow. This is a lot to hear right
now. A lot of compliments intermingled with a lot of insults. I'm not
sure what to say."
"Say  you'll  give  things  a  go  with  Liana.  She's  the  only  one  that  has
made me see the old Jackson again."
Was Martin right? Had Jackson lost himself that much over the years?
He thought about how his father had looked at him with Liana. How
happy he had been for him. He hadn't seen his father that proud in a
long time. Perhaps Liana really did bring out the best in him.
"You know, Martin, you were right about one thing."
"Of course I was. Which thing?"
"Liana is absolutely beautiful."
Martin looked delighted. "I told you."
"Yeah."
"So you'll give it a go? Because I don't think Liana is the type of girl
who would've slept with you if she didn't see something in you that she
really liked. Even if she was drunk."
"I hope you're right."
And for the first time in Jackson's life, he was scared that a girl would
reject him.
That night, Jackson thought about what he was going to say to Liana.
He  thought  about  approaching  her  at  work  the  next  day.  He  thought
about calling her up. He thought about showing up at her apartment.
But  he  was  petrified  that  she  would  say  no  to  his  face.  She'd  barely
looked at him all week - which could either mean she actually did like
him or it could mean that she didn't like him at all. But there was only
one way to find out. He got out his phone and started to dial her number
but  then  chickened  out  at  the  last  minute  and  sent  her  a  message
instead.
Hey Liana, he typed, I see you've been very busy at week. It's strange
being back in the city, isn't it? Who would've thought that I

would miss the wide open space - but I actually do. Not to mention all
that wine. Speaking of wine - I ' d  love to take you to this wine farm that
I  absolutely  love.  I  think  you'll  love it,  too.  They  also serve  the  most
amazing pasta. Are you free this weekend? It would be great to catch
up again. Jackson.
He read through the message about ten times before finally sending it.
He wanted to act casual while still bringing across the message that it
was,  in  fact,  a  date.  His  phone  showed  two  blue  ticks.  She'd  both
received  the  message  and  read  it.  He  waited  eagerly  for  a  reply  but
nothing  came.  Ten  minutes  later  and  still  nothing.  Twenty  minutes.
Nothing. Forty minutes. Nothing. An hour. Nothing. That was strange.
But perhaps she was just busy. He put the phone away and tried to busy
himself and not look at it. She would reply.
She did reply. Just before he was about to get into bed.
No, thank you. I '  m busy.
Jackson  stared  at  the  message  for  several  moments.  He  couldn't
understand  what  it  meant.  The  reply  had  been  short  and  curt  -  the
coldness in her tone visible in just those few words. It wasn't like her at
all. What did it mean? He wanted to reply and ask her, but he couldn't
bear the thought of another horrible reply. Perhaps she'd talk to him in
the morning - tell him that she was only joking. That was it - she was
joking.
The next day at work, he waited eagerly for her  to come  and talk to
him. He considered setting up a 'meeting' with her or calling her in for
coffee. But when he did finally catch her eye, the look that crossed her
face  said  it  all.  She  didn't  like  him.  She  didn't  like  him  at  all.  Their
contract was over and so was everything that they had gone through.
But for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.
"Hey, boss."
It  was  Janie.  She  had  been  in  charge  while  he  had  been  away.  He'd
always liked Janie - with her short skirts and her high heels. And her
absolutely  incredible  blow  jobs.  But  she  was  the  last  person  that  he
wanted to see at that moment. Seeing her just made him cringe at the
type of man that he was. The type of man that Liana obviously knew
him to be. Why should Liana like him? When all he had done was talk
about

women  as  if  they  were  nothing  to  him.  She'd  only  slept  with  him
because she was drunk.
"Hello? Earth to Jackson," Janie was saying.
"Oh, sorry. What can I do for you, Janie?"
"Well, I was wondering what I could do for you actually?"
"Oh,  nothing  at  the  moment.  I'm  sorry,  I'm  just  very  busy  at  the
moment. I'm heading off to a meeting. I probably won't be back for the
rest of the day. See you on Monday." And he quickly walked out before
she could say anything further.
He walked up to his apartment on the fifth floor, locked the door behind
him, and climbed into bed. Perhaps he could sleep his hurt away.
It  was  almost  seven  when  he  finally  made  his  way  out  of  bed.  His
apartment suddenly seemed small and the walls were caving in on him
-even though he knew that the room was large and airy. He needed to
get  out.  He  couldn't  remember  the  last  time  that  he'd  been  at  home
alone on a Friday evening. But the thought of going to a club also filled
him with dread. He decided to go for a walk to clear his mind.
Jackson hadn't gone out for a walk in a long time. He just didn't ever
have much of a reason to. He lived in a great area, though - one filled
with restaurants and pubs. It meant that the night time was sometimes
livelier  than  the  daytime.  From  his  apartment,  he  could  always  hear
people walking past  - laughing, drinking, having a good time. It had
always comforted him. There was something quite nice about a town
that didn't sleep. Well, at least that was what he had always thought.
Now it seemed to mock him - to bring a spotlight to his own messed-up
life. He'd always assumed that everybody loved the city -especially his
busy and never-stopping area. But now he wondered, as he looked up at
the tall apartments all around him, if anyone was in there feeling lonely
and wishing that the noise would stop.
Jackson  had  never  been  one  for  self-reflection.  Since  he  started
working at the magazine - ten years ago - he'd focused purely on living
a life that was fast-paced, fun and superficial. He'd assumed that was
what  he  was  supposed  to  do.  That  was  certainly  what  everyone  was
doing around him. He hadn't grown up that way. Despite his father's
riches, he'd actually grown up in a normal household, with a normal life

and normal friends. He'd been a happy child. But he'd never believed he
would be as good as his father - who seemed to seamlessly go through
life without struggle. In his eyes, his father was just good at everything.
He  was  a  great  businessman,  a  great  father,  a  great  husband,  and  an
even greater person. How was Jackson ever supposed to fill his shoes?
And if his father hadn' t gotten him into the magazine, would he ever
have done it himself? Or would he still be wandering from job to job
trying to figure his life out?
But  something  Liana  had  said  to  him  -  the  night  that  they  had  sat
together holding hands - had stuck with him. She'd looked at him in a
way that he had never seen anyone look at him before and she'd smiled.
Then she'd told him that he wasn't living in anyone's shadow - that he
had done more in ten years than most people had done in their life.
"And  you  know  what  Jackson?"  she  had  said.  "You  did  that  all
yourself. And you did it well. You have may have annoyed the living
daylights out of me - but there's no denying that I've admired you from
the moment that I met you. And that admiration has only grown as the
years have gone by. You're incredible at what you do. Stop trying to
prove something to yourself and stop trying to be someone that you 're
not. Because you're Jackson Fisher - and that in itself is amazing."
Those words had stuck with him. Nobody had ever spoken to him like
that  before.  He'd  never  met  a  girl  like  Liana.  He'd  spent  ten  years
looking for women that he could toss away the moment he was done
with him. But why? To make himself feel better? To make himself feel
superior? He'd been with Liana for one week, and he felt a longing for
her  that  he  had  never  felt  with  any  girl  in  his  life.  He  couldn't  stop
thinking about her. The way he had felt inside her. The way they had
kissed as if it was more than just attraction that they were feeling. Why
then had she been so dismissive of him? Perhaps it was being back at
work - a stark reminder of the man she had been around for four years.
Perhaps she didn't believe that he was falling in love with a girl like her.
Jackson  was  so  deep  in  thought  that  he  didn't  almost  didn't  see  the
familiar face in the window. The restaurant was a pizza place that he'd
been to a few times with Martin. He looked inside as he walked past - at
the happy couples, the families, the friends, the first dates; he was just

about to keep walking when he saw her. Liana. He gasped. Liana was
sitting  at  the  very  same  table  that  he  had  sat  at  himself  many  times
before. But she wasn't alone. She was sitting with a man. Jackson had
never seen him before, but it was obvious that the two of them were on
a date. The man couldn't stop staring at Liana. He was hanging on her
every word. She was wearing a small summer dress and her hair hung
down in curls around her face. She was laughing at something he was
saying, and then he watched as the two of them lifted their glasses of
wine  and  said  a  cheers  to  something  that  made  them  laugh  again.
Jackson could feel his heart move toward his throat. For some reason,
he had never even considered that the reason that she hadn't wanted to
see  him  was  because  she  was  seeing  someone  else.  Didn't  she  tell
Jackson  that  she  was  single?  He  could've  sworn  that  she  had.  But
perhaps he was wrong. Or maybe she'd only just met the man. Maybe
this was their very first date.
Jackson  thought  about  charging  in  and  demanding  to  know  who  he
was. He envisioned himself going up to him and saying that it was him
who was meant to be on a date with her. It was him who was supposed
to be drinking wine with her and lifting the glass up in celebration. Not
this  stranger  that  Jackson  had  never  seen  before.  But,  of  course,
Jackson did none of that. One of the couples that was sitting near the
window looked up and gave him a dirty look. He'd been looking inside
for too long, and they were starting to get annoyed or suspicious of him.
He mouthed a sorry and quickly scurried off. But he had no idea where
to go.

The Final Chapter
Liana's head was finally feeling clear. She'd been a mess for the past
week,  and her thoughts  had been in  jumbled confusion. But she was
feeling better about everything now and had woken up feeling excited
for the future. Liana knew that it was the date that had helped her feel
that way. Trevor had been lovely and it had been great to see him again.
But once again, there had been no sparks, and Liana was certain that
they wouldn t come even if she tried. And she didn t want to try - Liana
wanted to fall head over heels in love with someone. With Jackson, the
sparks had been there. She d admitted to herself that she had started to
fall  in  love  with  him.  But  the  love  wasn  t  enough.  Jackson  wasn  t
enough. And neither was Trevor. And either way, she was never just
going  to  settle  for  anyone.  Her  parents  had  always  said  that  she  was
fussy - and she was glad of that. She wanted to be fussy. At the end of
the date, she d been upfront and honest with Trevor.
"Trevor, I m only going to tell you this because I think you re a great
guy and I really respect you."
"You don t even have to say it, Liana. You don t have feelings for me. I
know."
"You do?" she had asked.
"I do. It s obvious. And I don t mean that in bad way. I can see you like
being around me - but I can also see that there is nothing more to it than
just friendship. I appreciate your honesty. And you know what, I had a
great time tonight, even though I could see that there was no future for
us."
"So we can still be friends?"
"We better still be friends."
"I m actually very sorry that it s ended up this way. You re an amazing
guy, Trevor."
And Liana had felt sad in that moment. Because he really was such a
great guy and he would probably be so good to her. But they left that
date with a hug and a promise to meet up again soon. And she knew
that

she would be seeing him again. She d sent Becky a message when she
got home and said that she d speak to her in the morning. She knew that
Becky was going to be disappointed and that she d had visions of the
four  of  them  growing  old  together.  When  the  phone  rang,  she  knew
immediately that it was going to be Becky wanting to know how the
date had gone.
"Good morning, sunshine!" Becky said into the phone. "Wow, you're
happy  today."  "I  am.  I  have  some  news."  "You  re  pregnant!"  Liana
gasped.
Becky chuckled. "No, silly. I  m  not  pregnant. Don t  jinx it like that.
But... I do have some great news. Rob proposed last night."
"He what? Oh my God, Becs! That s amazing! I assume you said
yes."
"I said yes. I can t believe it. I mean, we d spoken about it on and off,
but I wasn't sure if it would ever actually happen."
"Well, the guy is smitten with you. So I m not surprised at all. How did
he propose?"
"It was so lovely, Liana. He knows I m not into big public displays of
affection. So he took me out to this little Italian restaurant - it was the
first place that the two of us ever went to together. He recreated that
first time - same table, same food, same wine, even the same waiter.
And the waiter doesn t even work there anymore. I only found that out
afterward. He actually got the same waiter to come back for the night.
How sweet is that? Then, after our dinner, we went for a walk, which is
also what we had done that first night when we hadn t wanted the date
to end. We sat on a bench - the same one that we sat on the last time,
and then he told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.
He got out a ring and he proposed. Of course, I was crying by then. I
thought the date was incredibly romantic and lovely, but I still had not
expected it to end with a proposal."
Liana found herself crying, too. "Oh, Becs. I m so happy for you. And I
absolutely love Rob. He s perfect for you. You re perfect for him. You
ve made my day."
"Thanks, Liana. I couldn t wait to tell you. I wanted to phone you

last night but it was so late.  We have to go out and celebrate soon!"
"Yes! We do. Very soon."
"So, how are you? I know you were on a date last night, too. How
did it go?"
Becky was acting nonchalant, but it was obvious that she was desperate
to know.
"Well,  there  were  no  proposals,  if  you  were  wondering."  Becky
giggled. "Darn! But it went well?"
"You know, it did. It actually went very well. But I just don t like him.
Not in that way. We had such a great time but there s just nothing there.
I m sorry. I know you re disappointed."
"I'm  not  disappointed.  I  mean,  I  would've  loved  it  if  the  two  of  you
could ve been together. We could ve been the awesome foursome. But
really - it s pretty pointless if you re not in love with him. And I have a
feeling he's the type of guy that's  not going to hold a grudge against
you. Like, if you had to see him again it wouldn't even be awkward."
"Exactly. I was very honest with him  and we ve promised to stay in
touch. We ll see each other anyway, seeing as though he s friends with
Rob. It s a good decision."
"Are you okay, though? You sound different today."
"Actually. I have some news, too. I ve decided to quit. I m going to be
looking for another job."
"Quit?  What?  How  come?  I  thought  you  were  happy  there.  Does  it
have something to do with Jackson?"
"It has to do with a lot of things. But I m not happy there. I like the job
but I don t like the magazine. And I want to work for a place that I love.
I ve never done that. It s time I start looking out for myself."
"Is there something going on with you and Jackson?"
"What do you mean? This has nothing to do with him."
"Liana, are you sure? You know you can tell me."
Liana sighed. It was hard to get anything by her friend. "Well, it has a
little to do with him. But he s only just given me the push that I needed
to leave, and I do actually think I should be working somewhere that I
love. But.      well.      Becs, there is something you should know."
"Something happened when you went away with him." It wasn't a

question.  Becky  was  just  stating  the  obvious  even  though  Liana  had
never told her.
"How did you know?"
"Come  on,  Liana.  We're  best  friends.  I  didn't  push  because  I  figured
you would come to tell me in your own time. So... what happened?"
"We slept together. But not during the week. I wasn t lying when I told
you that he was a  perfect  gentleman. He really was. We did nothing
during the week, and we got along so well. I saw a different Jackson
that week - one that I had never seen in my four years of working for
him. But I still didn't think anything of it - I was just grateful that the
week  had  gone  better  than  expected.  But.  on  the  way  home  his  car
broke down, and we had to stay in a motel for the night and share a bed.
We got way too drunk, and I guess our inhibitions were dropped. Next
thing I knew, he was kissing me and we were in bed together."
Becky  squealed.  "EEK!  And.  how  was  it?  I  mean.  I  know  I  ve  said
horrible things about him, but he is one of the best looking guys I've
ever seen. Tell me it was amazing."
Liana couldn t help but laugh. The sound felt good coming out of her
mouth. "Ah Becky, it was incredible. I haven t felt like that for a long
time.  And  it  wasn  t  just  because  I  was  drunk.  I  ve  had  drunken  sex
before. He was amazing. And I felt as if he really wanted to be with me.
I've never had a guy look at me that way before."
"So, then what happened? What was it like the next morning?"
"Incredibly awkward. I didn t say anything and neither did he. And on
the way home, I pretended to be asleep. Then work was super weird -he
kept looking at me and I kept looking away. I ve barely said a word to
him since I ve been back. I ve been trying so hard not to think about
him. I mean - I know I saw a different side to him that week, but he s
still Jackson you know. He s still my boss and he s still the same man
who has slept with all these models and chased the limelight."
"Yeah, but shouldn t you at least speak to him? At least hear him
out?"
"Well, here s the thing. I actually got a message from him. He asked me
out on a date. I m not kidding you. He actually asked me out."

"So why don't you sound the least bit excited?"
"I bumped into his dad the other day."
"His dad? But I thought he lived in the country?"
"He does. He was here visiting a sick friend and we just happened to
bump into each other. I felt so guilty seeing him knowing that I had lied
to him about being in love with Jackson. Anyway, we got to chatting
and he told me something that I hadn t known. Something that makes
the whole thing finally make sense. Jackson s father promised him that
he would get his inheritance only once he settled down with a woman
that he loved. And Jackson, being Jackson, obviously knew that it was
never going to happen  - he's admitted that he's not the settling-down
type -well, he simply lied to his father. He made me go along with a lie
that I thought was just because he wanted to see his father happy, when
all he wanted was that money."
"But he already has so much money!" Becky exclaimed.
"Exactly! That s what a greedy, self-centred bastard he really is. And to
think - not only was I falling for him, but I actually slept with him. I m
so  disgusted  in  him.  More  than  that,  though,  I  m  so  disgusted  in
myself."
"It  s  not  your  fault,  though,  Liana.  You  didn  t  know.  You  were  just
following your heart. He s the idiot. Not you."
"I know. And that s why I want to leave work. Because I cannot stand
to be around so many fake people every day. I don t want that in my life
anymore. It s not just about Jackson now. It s about myself and my own
integrity."
"I  think  you  re  doing  the  right  thing  then.  Do  you  have  any  job
interviews lined up?"
"Actually, I went on one yesterday."
"You did? Where?"
"Another  magazine  -  I  figured  that  was  the  area  I  had  the  most
experience in. Styled Life - have you heard of it?"
"Are you serious? I LOVE that magazine. It s the only one I actually
get every month. They re amazing."
Styled  Life  was  all  about  lifestyle,  décor,  food,  wine,  coffee,  and
creativity. There was even a section that focused on pets. Their office

was  such  a  stark  contrast  to  MAN  MAGAZINE,  and  Liana  had  felt
instantly at home in the light and airy space. The interview had gone
well, but she was still waiting to hear the verdict. In the meantime, she
was still looking for something else in case she didn t get it.
"They really are amazing.  Well, I ll  keep you posted. I should know
today whether or not I got it. I have a feeling lots of people are applying
for it, though."
"They'd be stupid not to hire you."
"Thanks, Becky. And I m sorry for not telling you everything sooner. It
s been weighing heavy on my mind. I feel so much better now that I ve
spoken to you."
"You  can  always  talk  to  me.  And  I'm  so  proud  of  you.  Don't  worry
about  what  happened  with  Jackson.  I  m  still  glad  the  whole  thing
happened - even if it just meant you got that money for your mom. That
s all that matters."
Becky was right. That really was all that mattered. Liana looked at her
watch and realized that it was time to get going. She was meeting her
father  at  the  hospital  because  her  mother  was  going  in  for  her  first
consultation. She d asked them both to be with her. Liana quickly got
changed and headed out.
When she arrived at the hospital, she found her father in the waiting
room.  He  looked  smaller  than  she  remembered.  He  d  always  been
someone that she had looked up to - this big man that would always be
there  to  protect  her.  But  seeing  him  sitting  in  that  waiting  room  all
alone made her heart break. He d been through so much lately and had
always kept his cool. Every time she had seen him or spoken to him, he
had  been  smiling  and  laughing  and  promising  that  everything  was
going to be alright. She saw now how everything had started to take its
toll on him. He looked small and exhausted. But the moment he saw her
approaching, he smiled and sat up taller.
"Liana, my darling. I'm glad you're here."
"I m glad I m here, too. Is Mom okay?"
"She s fine. She s being brave. She s in with the doctor now, and they ll
call us in to chat when they are done. I m not sure how long it will be.
Would you like some coffee? For hospital coffee that comes out

of a machine, it's surprisingly good." "I'd love a cup of coffee."
He got up and fetched her a cup. "Hey, this is good. Just what I need
right now."
"Liana, I know I ve told you this already - but your mom and I can t
thank you enough for what you did. We would never have been able to
afford this. At least now we know that we did all that we could. Now,
we just hope and pray that she gets better. But we appreciate it more
than you know."
Liana waved him off. "Oh, it was nothing, Dad. You know that I would
do anything to see Mom better. I m just so glad that I could help."
"Me, too. One of these days, you must tell your mom and me all about
this project that you did and why you got so much money for it. That
boss of yours sure does have a lot of money to throw around - not that
I'm complaining, of course."
"He certainly does. And yeah, I will tell you. It s a long story for now."
Liana was grateful when the nurse poked her head around the door.
"Mr. Tanner?"
Her father stood. "Yes, that's me." "You can follow me."
Liana got up and took her father s hand, and the two of them followed
the nurse down the corridor and into the consultation room. Her mother
was sitting up on the bed and looked happy to see them. Liana did
everything in her power not to burst into tears and instead put on the
bravest smile that she could muster.
"Liana! Nurse Caversham, this is my beautiful daughter, Liana. Didn t I
tell you she was a stunner?"
Liana went over and kissed her mother and then sat down in one of the
open chairs with her father. The nurse was beaming at her.
"She certainly is. Hi, Liana, it s lovely to meet you. Your mother was
telling me all about you."
Liana smiled. Trust her mother to be talking about her when she was so
ill.
"It s lovely to meet you, too. Is everything okay? Are you going

ahead with the treatments?"
The nurse smiled and Liana was glad that her mother was in her hands.
Nurse Caversham had a wonderful way about her that seemed to put
everyone at ease.
"Liana, I m happy to say that things are actually looking very positive.
The cancer has not spread as much as we thought, and we re hoping that
the treatments will be able to put a stop to what is already
there."
Liana gleamed at the nurse. "Really? That's wonderful news."
"It is. But. we have to be realistic, too. Anything can happen, and it s
important to know that. Also - the treatment is quite intensive. Which
means your mom could have a strong reaction to it. Not everyone does,
but chances are that she might. This means that her hair might fall out
and she might feel nauseous often. She might feel weak and be in pain.
She might have some symptoms, she might have none, or she might
have them all."
Liana gulped. It was hard hearing the truth but she was grateful for it.
"Thanks for being honest with us. I ve never liked doctors that skirted
around the truth."
Her father agreed. "Yeah, it s better that we know everything. So when
does treatment begin?"
"As soon as possible. And then we look forward to better days." The
nurse s smile was genuine. "But I ll leave the three of you alone for a
while and then we'll just need to sign a few forms."
"Are you okay, Mom?" Liana asked and went to take her mom s hand.
Her mom looked better than she did the last time that Liana had seen
her.
"I m fine, my darling. I always feel better when I know everything and
when I at least have a plan of action. It was the not knowing that was
killing me. You know I like to fix things. Thanks for coming."
"Anytime, Mom."
The three of them sat for another ten minutes talking before the nurse
came and ushered them away. They kissed her goodbye and walked
out.
"Do you want me to stay, Dad?" Liana asked as she saw her father

sit back down in the waiting room.
"No, you don t have to stay. They re just going to sign a few forms and
then I ll take your mom home."
"Will you let me know when you re home?"
"Of course I will. Come over for dinner this week - I hear there s a great
noodle shop nearby."
"Oh, really? Well then, we better check them out." She laughed, feeling
better than she had in a long time. "I ll see you soon, Dad. I love
you."
"I love you, too, Liana."
Liana took her time going home. She felt like going for a drive and
spent some time just circling the area. Driving had always calmed her
down. She loved watching the scenery move past her - a blur of activity
rushing by. When she noticed she was going past the same areas over
and over again, she decided to head home. She wanted to see Charles
and Oliver and position herself in front of the TV for the night ahead.
Just her and the two boys who she had no doubt loved her in leaps and
bounds. But when she got to her apartment, she saw a man sitting on
the front stairs. At first she thought it was Jackson, and then she thought
it was Trevor. But when she got closer, she realized that it was someone
that she had never actually seen before.
"Uh, can I help you?" she asked nervously, reaching into her bag for a
weapon that she didn t have. The man looked vaguely familiar, but she
couldn t place where she had seen him before.
"Liana. I'm sorry to have startled you."
"Do I know you?"
"Sort of. Not really. My name is Martin. I'm Jackson's best friend. I ve
been to the office a few times, but we ve never actually spoken much. I
know you make a mean cup of coffee, though."
Ah, yes, she remembered him now. He d always seemed so different
from the sort of people that Jackson usually hung out with. She d often
wondered how the two of them were even friends. She regarded him
strangely.
"What s going on? Is Jackson okay?"
"Yeah, he s fine. Sorry, I didn t mean to worry you. I just wanted

to talk to you. I didn't have your number, but I remembered Jackson
saying that you stayed next to a café that we used to go to when we
were younger. I know this area well." "Café Locale?"
"Yeah, that's the one. I see it's changed now."
"I  used  to  go  there  all  the  time.  Yeah,  it  changed  about  a  year  ago.
Someone  turned  it  into  an  antique  shop,  as  you  can  see.  I  was  so
disappointed  -  do  you  know  how  convenient  it  was  having  a  coffee
shop so close? I used to go there in my pajamas sometimes. By the end,
they  knew  me  so  well  that  they  used  to  just  bring  me  coffee  in  the
mornings. I was so sad when they closed. Anyway... uh... what can I do
for you? Sorry, I m being rude - do you want to come inside?"
Liana had no idea why she was asking a stranger into her house and
tried not to groan out loud when he said that he would love to come
inside. She made some coffee while he played with the dogs and then
came back to the living room to talk to him.
"Here we go. I see you ve met the dogs. They love company, and they
are real little charmers."
"Jackson told me about them. Oliver and Charles, I think he said their
names were?"
That took Liana by surprise. "Uh. yeah. He actually told you about my
dogs? That seems very un-Jackson like."
Martin laughed at that. He had a nice laugh, and Liana couldn t help but
take an instant liking to him. "Tell me about it. But then again, Jackson
has been very un-Jackson like since he got back from his week away
with you."
"So you know all about the week."
"I  do.  Look,  I  m  Jackson  s  oldest  friend.  We  re  very  different,  but  I
know the Jackson that he used to be rather than the Jackson that he is
now. I might not agree with a lot of the things he does, but he s still a
great friend to me. We go way back and that will never change. He s
not a bad guy - despite his poor decision-making skills. But yeah, he
told me that he had asked you to go along with him that week. I met
him  when  he  got  back  actually  because  I  wanted  to  know  how  it  all
went. And what I saw was a Jackson I had not seen in a very long time.
A Jackson that I

actually liked. And I know that it s all thanks to you."
"What do you mean? It s not all thanks to me. I mean - it was all pretend
anyway."
"I  know.  Well,  I  know  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  all  pretend.  What
Jackson didn t intend on happening was actually having a good time.
And falling in love with you."
"Jackson did not fall in love with me!" Liana exclaimed, perhaps a little
too loudly. Even the dogs were looking at her startled. Then she said it
again, but softer. "Jackson did not fall in love with me! Have you seen
the types of girls that he hangs out with? I m nothing like those
girls."
"Exactly! And Jackson has never been in love with any of them. But he
fell for you in a big way. I know it happened very quickly, but a week
away of pretending must ve shown him what life could actually be like.
He really likes you, Liana."
"He does?" This was certainly news to her.
"He does. Can I ask you a question, though?"
"Sure."
"Do you like him? I was the one who urged him to tell you. But a very
distraught Jackson told me that you not only said no to his date, but that
he also caught you out with another man."
"He caught  me with another  man? What do you mean? I  m not with
anyone."
"He said that he went for a walk to clear his head and saw you through
the restaurant window. You were having dinner with some man, and he
said you were clearly on a date."
Liana couldn t believe what she was hearing. Jackson had actually seen
her that night? "That was Trevor. And yeah, we  were  on a date. But
nothing happened. There were no sparks, despite him being a very nice
man. I told him so afterwards. I tried. I really wanted to like him. I went
on two dates with him, but I knew that there was no future. So after that
date, I just went home."
"But why did you go out on a date with that man and not with Jackson?
Don t you like him?"
"I do. Well... I did."

"You did?"
Liana sighed. "I bumped into George. Jackson s father. He was in the
city visiting a sick friend, and we just happened to see each other. He
told me about the inheritance. I guess he assumed that I knew about it.
But I didn t. I knew nothing about that. But then again, he also assumed
that Jackson and I were in love. I honestly believed that Jackson just
wanted his father to see him happy and in love. I didn t agree with what
he was doing, but I thought that there was at least some merit to it. I
figured  that  I  didn  t  know  their  family  history  and  a  part  of  me
understood why he was doing it. I actually believed he was trying to do
something nice for his father. But I was wrong. All he wanted was that
money. And he was willing to lie to his father in order to get it. That s
disgusting. I m sorry, Martin, but I don t want anything to do with a
man like that. If he can do that to his own father then I shudder to think
what he could do to me. I ve been hurt before. I m not going to be hurt
again.  Even  if  I  did  actually  really  like  the  Jackson  that  I  saw  that
week."
"Ah crap. The money! So that s the reason. Well, that makes sense. I
told him that it was a bad idea from the start. But you know Jackson.
Once he has his mind set on something. Well. can I tell you something?
I promise I m not making this up. Jackson has no idea that you know
about  the  money.  As  far  as  he  is  concerned,  you  just  have  another
boyfriend that you didn t tell him about. He phoned me to tell me what
had happened - how you had turned him down and how he had watched
you  with  that  other  man.  He  said  it  broke  his  heart  but  that  it  also
opened his eyes to something that he had been ignoring. He told  me
that he s not going to accept the money anymore. He told me that he is
going to come clean to his father. He s made a plan to go back there this
coming week. I m going with him. My wife and I - we re desperate to
get away. I ve heard it s great there."
Liana  smiled,  trying  to  make  sense  of  everything  he  was  telling  her.
"You will love it there. There s something very special about that place.
So.      he s actually going to tell George?"
"Very un-Jackson like, isn t it? Yeah, he s actually going to tell him.
Which, I m sure you can agree, is one of the hardest things he s ever had
to do in his life."

"His father is going to hate me."
"No, he won t. He s one of the best men I ve ever had the pleasure of
knowing."
"You grew up going to his house, didn t you?"
"I sure did. And George was a good man then. He s an even better man
now. Jackson has been trying to live up to the Fisher name for far too
long now."
"But he HAS lived up to the name. That s the thing I don t understand.
Jackson  is  amazing.  And  his  father  can  see  that.  I  can  see  that.
Everyone can see that. I don t know why he constantly tries to prove
himself. He doesn't even need to." It was something that infuriated her
about Jackson.
"Yeah, but he s finally realizing that now. His father is a great man, but
he should never have told Jackson that he has all this money for him
waiting until he finds the right woman  and settles down. First of all,
Jackson doesn t even need the money. But second, it s been at the back
of  his  mind  for  such  a  long  time  now  -  the  idea  that  he  has  to  find
someone  in  order  to  please  his  father.  Perhaps  George  should  never
have  put  that  sort  of  pressure  on  a  young  kid.  Listen,  Liana,  I  know
what  Jackson  did  was  wrong.  But  he  s  not  a  bad  person.  In  fact,
underneath it all, he s actually one of the nicest people you ll ever meet.
It  s  actually  slightly  annoying  that  he  got  the  good  looks  along  with
that, too."
Liana  laughed.  "Maybe  it  s  good  that  he  went  through  all  of  this
-otherwise, he would ve been too perfect."
"So,  now  that  I  ve  told  you  everything,  will  you  give  him  another
chance?"
Liana considered his question before answering. "I m scared, though,
Martin. I mean, we re joking around about it all - but I still feel like he d
rather be with someone else. Like I can t actually ever live up to the
girls  he  s  been  with  before.  You  ve  seen  them  -  they  even  grace  the
cover of his own magazines. I saw them all hanging on his every word
at his party."
Martin grimaced. "Argh. I hate those parties."
Liana giggled then. "Me, too."
Martin smiled at her. "You re beautiful, Liana. And you re real.

You re genuine. And Jackson knows that. Will you at least talk to
him?" "Okay. I will. I'll talk to him."
The relief was evident on Martin s face. "Oh, that s good news. Thank
you, Liana. I wouldn t be here if I didn t believe everything that I have
just told you."
When Martin left, Liana sank onto the couch with the dogs on her lap.
She scratched them both behind their ears just like they both loved and
tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. So much had
happened in the past few months. She d gone on a date, she d had a
pretend boyfriend for a week, she d gone away to the countryside, she d
been to the hospital - her emotions had been up and down and up and
down. And now, she sat with even more news. Jackson actually liked
her. Jackson was giving back the money. Was the Jackson that she had
seen that week the real Jackson? And had Martin meant what he had
said? That Jackson had actually started falling in love with her?
"What am I going to do?" she asked the dogs. They looked at her with
their big eyes, and she laughed. She could not believe that Jackson had
actually told Martin about them. "Seems like you two can charm the
pants off of anyone."
The phone rang and she jumped.
"Hello?" she said tentatively, wondering if it might be Jackson himself.
"Hello, is this Liana Tanner?" The woman s voice on the other end was
familiar.
"Yes, this is Liana," she said.
"Liana, it's Marge. From Styled Life. I hope this is not a bad time."
Liana gulped. She d forgotten that they were going to call her back that
day. "Marge, good to hear from you. This is not a bad time at all. A
perfect time actually."
"Well, Liana, I m phoning you with good news. We all loved you at the
magazine, and we would love to have you on board. Welcome to the
team."
"Are you serious? I got the job?" Her day had taken a serious turn for
the better.
"You most definitely got the job. When will you hand in your

notice?"
"I ll hand it in tomorrow. I normally have to work the two weeks as
stated in the contract, but I may be able to get out of it sooner if you
need." Surely, Jackson could grant her that after everything he had put
her through?
"Great.  The  sooner,  the  better.  Call  me  as  soon  as  you  ve  made  the
arrangements. We re very happy to have found you. I think you ll fit
into the team perfectly."
"I think so, too. I ll definitely let you know when I can start. Thank you
so much, Marge. You ve made my day."
Jackson hadn t gotten much sleep in the last few days. When he walked
into work that morning, more than a handful of people had told him that
he looked tired. "Yes, I know that I look tired - you don't have to keep
telling me," he wanted to yell into their faces. But, of course, he just
smiled and said that it was because he was so busy. Then he closed his
office door and buried himself in work. Usually, he'd pass on most of
his work over to Liana - but he wanted to avoid seeing her for as long as
possible. He d phoned Martin and told him all about what he had seen
at the restaurant and how distraught he had been. Ever since that night,
he d been having restless sleeps. He d even phoned his father and asked
if he wanted some company the following week. His father had been
surprised  and  somewhat  suspicious.  He  told  him  that  Martin  was
desperate for a holiday and didn t say much else. He wanted to speak to
his father face-to-face. But it wasn t going to be easy. His father was a
great man, but he didn t take kindly to people who took his kindness for
granted.  Especially  not  his  own  son.  Martin  had  assured  him  that  he
was doing the right thing and said that he would be there to support him
through it
all.
When someone knocked on his office door, he groaned. He d already
told  his  staff  members  that  he  was  busy  and  that  he  was  not  to  be
disturbed.
"Who is it?" he called out, trying to mask the annoyance in his voice.

The  door  opened  and  Liana  walked  in.  She  had  a  tray  of  coffee  and
cookies in her hand which she set down on his desk and then went to
close the door behind her.
"Liana? Do we have a meeting?" He hadn t been aware that they were
supposed to meet. The smell of the coffee wafted through the air.
"Hello, sir. I thought you might want some caffeine. I heard all of the
staff telling you that you looked tired. You didn t seem too happy with
their observations."
Jackson felt his mouth curve up into a smile. "Sir?"
"That s your name, isn t it?"
"Yes, it most certainly is. Are you joining me?" He saw there were two
cups of coffee on the tray.
"Well, yes. I cannot let you eat all of these cookies yourself. It is not
good  for  a  man  who  quite  obviously  likes  working  out  and  looking
good. I, personally, don t care as much. I m all for looking good, but I
will happily never be perfect if it means eating these cookies."
She picked one up and bit into it, and he did the same. He had no idea
what was going on but at least they weren t fighting.
"Well, they re very good cookies, so I don t blame you. However, you
do realize that you are actually perfect, don t you?"
He wasn't sure if he should've said that. This 'meeting' or whatever it
was had been going very well, and he didn t want to ruin it by flirting
with her if she didn t want to. But hadn t she been flirting with him?
"Why, that is very kind of you, sir. I m easily won over by compliments
and cookies. Preferably both."
"That s good to know. I ll make a note of it. Uh. it s good to see you,
Liana. I mean, I know I see you every day. But it s good to actually talk
to you. I know things have been weird. I m sorry."
"I  m  sorry,  too.  Well,  I  actually  do  have  a  reason  for  calling  this
meeting today."
"Not just for cookies and coffee?"
"Actually, I'm here to tell you that I'm quitting."
Jackson almost choked on his cookie. He felt the dry crumbs sticking to
his throat, and he quickly took a sip of coffee to wash it

down. This was a strange way to tell him that she was leaving. "You re
quitting?"
"I am. I m here to give you my notice. I know I m meant to work out the
two weeks, but I was wondering if you d give me permission to leave
earlier."
Jackson nodded. "Sure. Okay, if that s what you want to do. I can t stop
you. Yeah, you can leave whenever you need to if that s what you want.
Did you find another job?"
"I did, actually. At Styled Life"
"Oh. Well... it's a great magazine. Very different to here. But I can see
why you went for it. You ll do great there, Liana. Did you know that
they even have a section for animals in that magazine - maybe Charles
and Oliver can make their debut? They certainly have the looks for it.
And the charm. Ah. we re really going to miss you here. I said it before
and I ll say it again - the magazine wouldn t be what it is without you.
You ve been our rock. It s going to be very hard to find someone even
half as capable as you. I m sad you re going - especially if I ve been the
cause of you leaving. But I'm glad you found such a great job."
"Thank you, Jackson. It s time to leave. When I got the job, I knew it
was all for the best. And it hasn t been all bad here for me. Honestly.
Actually, it s been good - I ve enjoyed it. I ve learnt a lot about myself
and about the magazine world. I know that I m going to go into the new
job  with  much  more  confidence  than  ever  before.  I  appreciate
everything that you ve done. And I really am going to miss being here
every day. But you see... it wouldn't be right if I stayed here."
"Why? Because of what happened?" Jackson asked. They still hadn t
really  spoken  about  that  night.  Although he  d  thought  about  it  every
single day.
"No, not because of what happened. I m sure that will happen again.
Because.      you know.      we re dating."
"What?" Jackson couldn t understand what was happening. What was
she talking about? Her face was so deadpan, and he had no idea if she
was joking or not.
"Here. I have it all down in the contract."
She pushed over the contact that they had created together. It was

the same one that stated that she was going to be his pretend girlfriend
for a week. He looked at it and saw that she had scribbled something in
the one open space.
Once the week is over, Jackson Fisher is under strict obligation to take
Liana Tanner on several more dates. Wine included.
He looked up and saw that she was grinning at him.
"What? What is going on?"
"It seems you owe me a date. A few, in fact. Also, it seems there has to
be wine. I m a stickler for details, so I suggest you stick to the rules."
"So. you ll go out with me?" He knew that he sounded like a teenage
boy.  But  he  didn  t  care.  His  heart  was  pounding,  and  he  could  feel
himself grinning from ear to ear.
"I  mean.  there  s  just  not  much  I  can  do  about  it.  We  have  a  pact,  it
seems.  It  s  all  here  in  the  contract.  I  just  didn  t  read  the  small  print
before. Looks like you owe me a date. And wine."
Jackson stood up and walked to her. Then he pulled her off her feet and
took her into his arms. He kissed her. This time there was no alcohol to
blur their vision. There was no father to pretend for. This time it was all
real. Jackson kissed her and pulled her in closer - never wanting to let
her go. When they finally pulled away, he saw that she was giggling.
"What s so funny?" he asked her.
She looked around the room. "We're kissing in your office."
"Well, you re not my employee anymore, so we can do whatever the
hell we want to do."
"Oh yeah. That s true. From boss to boyfriend. Sounds like the title of a
very cheesy romance movie," she said.
"Starring  Jackson  Fisher  and  Liana  Turner.  With  guest  appearances
from Charles and Oliver," he added. Then he looked at the contract and
quickly wrote something down. "Looks like you owe me another kiss,"
he said and pushed the contract back to her so she could see where he
had written down Liana to kiss Jackson.
She  grinned  at  him  and  leaned  forward.  "Well...  if  the  contract  says
s o . "

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