Marrying My Fake Boyfriend

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Blurb:

A BWWM, billionaire, marriage of convenience romance story. Cherrelle is 30 and thriving! However, despite her being a billionaire, her parents are still trying to control her life. Forced into the prospect of an arranged marriage, Cherrelle resorts to a white lie, claiming she’s already romantically involved with a man indebted to her—Brad Jarrett!

Now, she’s willing to go to any lengths to transform that lie into reality to keep her from marrying a man she despises! But being her boyfriend alone won’t deter the relentless skeptics determined to ruin her life…

Could marriage to Brad be the key to putting her parents’ matchmaking schemes to rest? And will Cherrelle and Brad come clean with their true romantic feelings for each other? Read on to find out in this marriage of convenience romance book by Erica A Davis.

Chapter 1

“You’ve done WHAT?”

Cherrelle Mason couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stared at her father, who was sitting in his chair like he was God, watching her with an expressionless face. But Cherrelle knew that look; behind it he was gloating.

He had her on the back foot and liked seeing her squirm.

“That’s no need to shout, Cherrelle.” Her mother scolded from the armchair where she sat, back straight and hands folded in her lap. “You know that’s un-ladylike.”

“Ma, I’m thirty years old!”

“And you should know better.” Emily Mason shook her head like she was talking to a child. “I don’t see why you’re so upset. Any woman would kill to be getting married to the most eligible bachelor in the country.”

“You mean the most eligible creep,” Cherrelle snapped. “Ma, you know I dislike Jason Colney. He’s arrogant, egotistical, and thinks a woman’s place is in the kitchen or on her back.”

Logan Mason scoffed.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Cherrelle. Jason has expressed an interest in you for a long time and you keep knocking him back.”

“I knock him back because I don’t like him, Pa. And he’s only interested in my money, not me. That bit is obvious.”

Cherrelle had known it was bad news when Logan had called her in the middle of the day during a business meeting, telling her that she needed to come back to their home immediately. Cherrelle had told him she couldn’t get there until after working hours, but he was insistent, even telling her to throw everyone out of the meeting. Her father was used to getting what he wanted; a man born into money and sat on billions he owned through inheritance rather than hard work. He believed the rules didn’t apply to him or his family.

Cherrelle had hated being a trust-fund baby and lounging around at home doing nothing. She wanted to actually earn her money. Which was why, including the billions she had inherited, she was a billionaire in her own right. Through hard work.

It had meant sacrificing a lot, including the majority of a social life. But Cherrelle didn’t care; she was happy.

Apparently her parents didn’t think so. They had arranged for her to marry a man she despised without informing her until nearly everything was sorted except for a wedding date. And she was furious.

“He’s a nice boy.” Emily countered calmly. “Very handsome.”

“Boy? He’s over forty!” Cherrelle ran her hands through her pixie cut. “I can’t believe this. I’m in charge of a world-popular internet site, I have billions in my account, and I’m getting forced into marriage like it’s two hundred years ago.”

“No one is being forced into anything,” Logan said sharply. “We agreed when you were twenty-one that if you weren’t married by the time you were thirty, you would let us arrange a suitable husband for you.”

“You agreed. I didn’t,” Cherrelle pointed out. “And Jason is hardly suitable. He wants my company and I’m not letting him take it.”

“That never came up.”

“It will. Trust me.” Cherrelle leaned her hands on her father’s desk, ignoring the disapproving eyebrow raise. “He’s power hungry and he’s been after my company for years. Becoming my husband, in his eyes, means he has access. I’m not letting him have any sort of access. And I’m certainly not marrying him.”

Logan looked like he was a step away from losing his temper. Cherrelle recognized the signs, but, for once, she didn’t care. She was just as angry. Logan may have used his spare time to pump iron so he was as big as a house, his cue-ball adding to the effect, but he wasn’t a businessman. While he thought he was smart and could spot a liar a mile off, Cherrelle knew he was easy pickings because of the money.

Emily was the same. She had come from a wealthy family and had had menial jobs where she had simply sat and done her nails. Marrying Logan and becoming a housewife had been the best moment of her life. But she had refused to carry a baby and ruin her body, so a surrogate had been hired to carry their baby, resulting in Cherrelle. Tall and statuesque with long flowing black hair held up in a fancy French twist away from her smooth chocolate-brown skin, she was a beauty who cared more for her image than her daughter, which had ended with Cherrelle bonding more with her nannies and tutors than with her parents.

It would certainly explain why they were willing to marry her off and treat her opinions like nothing.

Logan sat forward.

“Give me one good reason why you’re going back on our agreement.”

“There was no agreement!”

“There isn’t anyone else, Cherrelle,” Emily said calmly. “We would’ve known about it by now.”

Cherrelle swung round on her. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

“Of course there’s someone.” Then she realized what she had said. Her parents were staring at her, both clearly surprised. Cherrelle gulped and started to think on her feet. “I…I’ve just been keeping him secret. You know I don’t like the press poking into my life.”

“A boyfriend? How nice.” Emily sounded like she was talking about the latest fashion. “What’s his name?”

“What? Tell you and you’ll immediately tell the papers?” Cherrelle snorted as Emily’s face went red. “I know you’re best friends with that magazine editor and she’s not above publishing anything she hears on those girly nights. She’s done it before.”

“Don’t be so rude about Wendy!” Emily gasped, the redness turning into an annoyed flush. “She’s not like that.”

“Really? Then why is it everything I tell you in confidence ends up in her magazine? I doubt she can read minds, so you must be telling her something.”

“You shouldn’t be so disrespectful to your mother, Cherrelle,” Logan growled.

Cherrelle sighed.

“It’s not disrespect, Pa. It’s fact. I’m not saying anything more about my private life, even to you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

The bluff wasn’t working. But Cherrelle was desperate. She wasn’t getting married to Jason Colney. If that happened, Jason would force her away from her work and make her stay at home, having baby after baby; he had always said he wanted lots of kids. While Cherrelle would love a child or two, she wanted them on her terms and not be tied permanently to the house. If she didn’t have her work, she would go crazy.

“I’ll bring him over for Sunday dinner. How about that? You can grill him then.”

“How do I know you’re not going to bring in a bum off the street?”

Cherrelle scoffed.

“Please, I have more class than that. Besides, he’s certainly no bum.”

She was going to make sure he wasn’t. How, she had no idea – she hadn’t dated anyone in a long time – but she was going to make certain that whoever she picked to be her make-believe boyfriend was the cream of the crop.