Marrying My Fake Boyfriend

Logan glanced at his wife, who was still looking upset at her daughter’s jab. Then he smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile.

“I’ve got to see this. Our daughter gets a boyfriend by herself. Go on, Princess.” He sat back, lacing her fingers over his gut. “I want to see you squirm when I rip him to shreds.”

*****

Cherrelle slumped forward and rested her head on the steering wheel.

“Why did I have to open my big mouth?”

“I don’t know, but with your parents, I don’t blame you for saying something that outrageous to get them off your back.”

“It wasn’t outrageous!”

“It is if you haven’t even had a steady boyfriend for two years,” Sarah Wiley pointed out.

It had been an outrageous lie. But Cherrelle wasn’t prepared to let her parents walk all over her. Unfortunately, that had meant doing a lot of hard work finding a guy who was perfect to be her fake fiancé.

So, she had called the only person who could help her. Sarah was her best friend from university, her roommate for most of it, and her fellow computer genius. She was also the owner of a security firm where she had free rein when it came to background checks.

The two of them were as different as you could get. Cherrelle was African American, tall and slim like her mother, and obsessed with fitness like her father, extroverted and outgoing. Sarah was Caucasian, barely five feet and dumpy; she preferred to stay behind a computer then go out and meet people. The pool games with their friends were one of the few times she voluntarily left the house to see people other than Cherrelle.

She was perfect for sizing up the best choice for Cherrelle. They could find anyone’s background and decide if he was the best one to parade in front of Cherrelle’s parents. Sarah may not have been the best when it came to talking to someone outside of her friendship group, but she was the best when it came to finding the best candidate. Cherrelle wouldn’t trust anyone else with the task of selecting a man for her.

But it wasn’t working. They were using Cherrelle’s dating site and Sarah’s background checking to see who they could borrow for a while. But they were all coming up short and Cherrelle was at her wit’s end. They had less than forty-eight hours before she had to go to her parents for the Sunday dinner and she had no date. No man.

She sat back morosely.

“It’s either this or I am forced to marry Jason and he will try to wrestle my company away from me.”

“Why don’t you just say no? They can’t force you.”

Cherrelle snorted. “You’ve had the pleasure of never meeting them. You don’t know what they’ll do. And they can easily force me into marriage.”

That was scary part. Logan Mason could make you do anything whether you wanted to or not. And Cherrelle could run as far as she could, but she would always be dragged back kicking and screaming. Daddy’s money turned everyone into her enemies. No one helped her when her father could top her.

“You could’ve just lived off your trust fund for life without getting a job,” Sarah pointed out. She picked up a lip gloss and used the mirror on the visor to apply it delicately to her mouth.

“I founded Live and Love because I was going stir crazy doing nothing. What was the point in getting a computer science degree when I wasn’t allowed to get a job?” Cherrelle rested her head against the head rest. “I was lucky it was so successful or my parents would have made me do a job they wanted me to do.”

“At least you wouldn’t have had to do any interviews.” Sarah chuckled. “They’re a bi*ch.”

Cherrelle twitched a smile.

“At least if I get an interview without my parents getting involved it would feel more satisfying than getting a job because of who they are. Sarah, I hated living with my parents who thought money meant more. I wasn’t going to do anything for them.”

She learned a long time ago that she wasn’t going to bow down to her father because of his money. Cherrelle had stopped longing for unconditional love from either Logan or Emily. She had found out about being born to a surrogate when she was seven and that had given her a reality check. She had witnessed Logan use money to get what he wanted and had had to fight tooth and nail to let him keep her in her university degree when he wanted her home. Thankfully, he had given in to that, but that was the only time he had given in.

Even after eight years, he still thought Love and Life was a whim and she would get bored eventually. Cherrelle was determined to make sure that didn’t happen.

Sarah was watching her with bemusement.

“How you managed not to kill each other when you were still living at home I have no idea.”

Growing up with two loving parents, Sarah couldn’t understand how two people could create a child, albeit in a different way, and not love them beyond having a trophy daughter. Cherrelle had spent several weekends with her parents in college and had been overwhelmed with their love for their daughter. It had taken half a dozen visits before she was able to stop crying.

She rubbed her hands over her face and reached for her handbag on the back seat.

“We need to find someone. I’m not going to be made a fool. I’ll pick someone randomly off the street if it means getting my parents off my back.”

“That’s asking for trouble.”

“I asked for it by saying something I shouldn’t.” Cherrelle opened the door and climbed out. “Let’s go in. I need a distraction.”

Sarah climbed out of her side and came around the car as Cherrelle locked up. They fell into step as they walked towards the pool hall. Sarah grinned as she slung her handbag strap over her shoulder. She was looking good in a blue strapless dress that showed off her overly large curves. Her red hair was left loose around her shoulders. She was looking even better than Cherrelle, who wore a simple white blouse from work and a pair of faded jeans.

“How much do you think you’ll win tonight?”

“I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Sarah laughed. Their pool game was a ritual from their college days. A few people in their dorm had met on the off-chance around the pool table in the common room and it had become a regular thing, bonding them together and allowing them to get away from university stresses. Now, nearly ten years after graduating, they were still meeting every six months to play pool. The stakes were higher, which all of them could afford, but the buzz hadn’t gone.

Cherrelle loved it. It spoke of normality, a regular life. The fact that she was very good at pool and always wiped the floor with them may have had something to do with it.

They entered the pool hall and saw their friends by the bar. Seeing them, Cherrelle felt a sense of contentment. They were her true family, always there whenever she picked up the phone. While their personalities and backgrounds were different, they stuck together. Cherrelle saw them more as relatives than her own, who were just as bad as her parents.