“I know what you’re saying, but you’re… I dunno… wholesome.”
“Wholesome?”
“Yeah.”
“Next you’ll tell me I’m comely.”
“You are comely!”
“It’s an insult, Kingi. Like saying I’m a handsome woman.”
“No, it’s not. It means attractive, and in many ways it makes sense that after all the Sabrina stuff, I’d fall for a girl-next-door type. You’re beautiful, and it’s a perfect, natural beauty, not the fake kind. Do you really think women like Sabrina look the same without their foundation and hairspray and Instagram filters? They don’t, I can assure you.”
Her lips part, but no words come out for a moment. She closes her mouth. Then she says, “You think I’m beautiful?”
I smile. “Of course you’re beautiful.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“I’d do you right now, but I don’t want to put Thea in therapy.”
That makes her laugh, and we both chuckle. “You’re incorrigible,” she scolds.
“I know. Look. I could really do with some help. It’s a relatively easy fix.”
“So you want me to pretend to be your fiancée?”
“Yeah.”
“We couldn’t just pretend to be dating?”
“I date all the time. The board wants proof of commitment and responsibility.”
“You don’t find it ironic that you have to pretend to be respectable?”
I frown. “Honestly? I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I desperately want this position. I know I can help these kids. Yeah, I’m not perfect, and I know I’ve not struggled the way some of them have, but I’ve worked hard to get where I have.”
“I know.”
“I’d be there to teach them how to swim and climb mountains, and how to work together. To show them what it’s possible to achieve with hard work and determination. Not how to have fantastic relationships.”
“Yes, but kids see the whole package. They can read headlines.” She dips her head to catch my eye as I look down. “I’m not criticizing the way you live, Kingi. You’re young and gorgeous; of course you’re going to play the field, and I understand why you’re anti-commitment, judging by what you’ve just told me about your parents. And I do think you have a lot to offer young people. It’s just… if you’re going to do this, you need to think bigger. It’s like being prime minister or president—if you’re going to set yourself up as any kind of leader, you’re going to have a torch shone on every square inch of your life. Every decision you make will impact your image, and people are always ready to tear you down if you don’t meet their exceptionally high standards.”
“I get it. That’s why I’m asking if you’ll help.”
She meets my gaze for a moment, a frown flickering on her brow.
“A hundred thousand dollars,” I tell her. “Don’t you think it’d be worth it?”
She straightens. “What would I have to do?”
Ooh, she’s thinking about it. I sit up, arms around my knees. “So obviously we’d have to pretend to be dating. Be seen socially a few times—at dinner, a nightclub, the theater… So when we make the announcement, it wouldn’t come completely out of the blue. Then we’d probably have an engagement party, maybe at Midnight.”
She swallows. “And after that?”
I shrug. “Just be seen together, I guess. I dunno. Never been engaged before.”
She thinks about it. “How long would this have to last?”