The Billionaire’s Fake Marriage

Chapter 5

Janet, Rebecca and Kitty were sitting together, but not in an office — this was Janet’s penthouse. Janet did not want to have this discussion anywhere else but her home. She was constantly thinking of ways to put this dreaded idea to rest. But Kitty and Rebecca were not budging.

“Look at it this way,” Rebecca tried to convince Janet. “These two people might actually fall in love with each other, and then it will be a wonderful thing.”

“It’s not a movie Rebecca,” Janet countered. “We might ruin the lives of these two people. Have you thought of it this way?”

“Hey, I am being positive,” Rebecca defended herself.

“We need to do something, or else we are doomed,” Kitty said. “Either talk about this idea or tell me a better one right now.”

Kitty waited for Janet or Rebecca to propose something else but nobody broke the silence.

“So, I am guessing we need to start discussing how we are going to do this.”

Janet did not argue with Kitty — in her heart she had given up on changing Kitty and Rebecca’s minds. Though she was onboard, she did not want to provide any input to this scheme.

“It’s easy!” Rebecca said. “We just need to get two willing participants, and get them signed up. I will take care of the paperwork. Their contract will be iron clad.”

“It’s not about the contract. No money or lawsuit against them will be able to bring back our reputation if anything goes south,” Janet reminded Rebecca.

“Hey, I know that. I am just trying to do my job properly. Remember, it’s a risk that we have to take. And it’s not just your reputation, even I am putting my neck and career on the line. Try to understand.”

Janet knew Rebecca was right. All three of them were taking a huge risk with this step. But was it necessary? Was this the only option they were left with?

“But how do we find our willing participants?” Rebecca asked, to which Kitty answered being a little hesitant.

“I might have a female candidate.”

Both Janet and Rebecca waited for her to reveal the identity of this person. Kitty was trying really hard not to say the name, but it had to be revealed —

“Janet!” Kitty said.

There was pin-drop silence in the room for a few seconds.

“What?” Janet yelled.

Kitty did not say anything, proving that the name was not a mistake. She had suggested Janet to do this.

“What are you thinking?” Janet yelled again.

“Listen to me,” Kitty tried to calm Janet down. “I have a very sound reason behind this and I am sure once you listen to me even you will agree.”

Another awkward pause.

“What?” Janet cried.

“Sorry, I thought you would keep yelling. I did not expect you to listen to me. Sorry!”

“Just tell me why you think I would be the best person to fraud my own company.”

But before Kitty could explain, Rebecca suddenly had an epiphany. “That is brilliant! Fu*king brilliant!”

“You too?” Janet said to Rebecca.

“Yes!” Rebecca smiled. “Think about it. We need somebody we can trust. It should be a person who would not try to blackmail us or reveal our secret. So who could be better than you? You will never even think of fu*king your own company over.” Rebecca then turned to Kitty. “This was fu*king brilliant Kit!”

Kitty just smiled and nodded while Janet was not able to process this. First, she was told that her company needs a fraud couple to propagate a false love story, and now she was being asked to participate in this lie herself.

“I need a moment to take it in.” Janet held her head while Rebecca and Kitty just stood there.

“So you are telling me, that I need to pretend to be in love with somebody to save my company. And what about my pretend lover? What if he tries to blackmail me?”

“As I said, it’s a risk. But with your involvement we reduce that risk by 50%,” Rebecca crunched the numbers very quickly.

“Also, the story of how the founder discovered love using her own dating site will prove phenomenal,” Kitty added her two cents to the discussion.

It was all making sense to Janet now, but she was not able to commit herself to something like this. But when she weighed the pros and cons of this situation, it became clear that going ahead with this idea would benefit everybody.

“Who is going to be my pretend lover?” Janet asked.

This was a breakthrough for Rebecca and Kitty. They wanted to jump and high five each other, but restrained themselves from doing anything.

“Well, we are going to start looking for suitable men. Tell me what kind of men do you like?” Rebecca said.

“How does it matter? The man needs to be trustworthy, not compatible,” Janet said frustratingly.

“Actually…” Kitty said. “I have already shortlisted a guy.”

“Wow!” Rebecca was both shocked and impressed.

“You have thought this whole thing through, haven’t you?” Janet could not believe it.

Kitty did not reply to Janet and showed a picture from her folder.

It was a handsome blonde man with beautiful blue eyes and and an enchanting smile. The London Eye was seen in the background.

“His name is Brian Watson, and my sources tell me he is a trustworthy guy.”

Janet and Rebecca took a good look at the picture.

“British?” Janet asked looking at Kitty.

“We are supposed to be an international dating site. An American citizen would not have worked. Besides, he was born in Prague and has lived in London most of his life.”

“You did your research? Since when have you been planning this thing?” Janet was wondering.

“Don’t listen to her,” Rebecca said to Kitty. “You are awesome! If she fires you, I want you to come and work with me.”

“Oh you want her? Please, be my guest. Take her.. and then you will find out how controlling she is. She is supposed to be my personal assistant, but this woman governs my life like she is my mother,” Janet yelled at Rebecca.

“It’s no time for flattery. Just tell me if you like him or not. I have been told this man is going to keep his mouth shut.” Kitty brought Janet back to the topic.

Janet was staring at the picture — his blue eyes were jumping out of the photograph.

“Brian Watson… British!” she said looking at his face.

*****

Later that night, Kitty was in her bed, but she was not feeling sleepy. In fact, sleep was far away from her eyes. She was talking softly into her phone.

“She did not like the idea.” she told him.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if she likes it or not. It’s really important to save her company,” Bilal replied from the other side of the line.

After a brief pause, Bilal asked Kitty, “How did she like Brian?”

“No idea! She said there was nothing to like. The man should be trustworthy and not likable.”