6. Marina

CHAPTER 6

MARINA

I 've just got Lila down for her afternoon nap when the phone rings.

The shrill ringtone startles us both, waking Lila up with a yelp. I scramble to pick it up, willing her not to start crying properly. I don't recognize the number but I guess if it's spam I'll just hang up. We've already been disturbed now. And just as I was starting to contemplate my own nap, too.

"Hello?" I answer, stifling a yawn.

"Hello," comes a voice that I swear is familiar. "Is this Marina Finch speaking?"

"It is," I say, more than a little alarmed that he knows my name. "Who is this?"

"Don't you remember our meeting? This is Ellis Whitlock."

"Yes," I say, the air collapsing out of my chest like a piano just got dropped on it. "I remember. Hello. Um… how can I help you?" I figure that's a much more polite way to say what the hell do you want?

He chuckles lightly down the line. "I have a proposition for you."

My blood freezes at that. That interview went terribly. What possible reason could Ellis Whitlock have for even thinking about me, let alone calling? "I thought I didn't get the job?"

"I know. You didn't. This is something totally different."

"Okay…?" I say, not sure how I'm supposed to react to being told all in the same breath that I'm a terrible interviewee but that he still wants me for something.

Realizing I'm not going to say anything else, he says, "Listen. Have you heard of Family Business ?"

"No," I say, perhaps a little too curtly. "Should I have done?"

"People like you love reality TV, don't you?" he says, too casually. People like me? God, could this guy be any more out of touch?

He seems to realize he's off topic, or his babysitter listening in has told him to get on with it, so he says, "Look, anyway, the point is this. My team really want me to go on this new show, Family Business , but the issue is I don't have a family. I need a family — preferably a woman and a child — as soon as I can possibly get them."

For a second I frown in confusion. Why the hell is he telling me all this? Surely this is something you discuss with your PR people and financial advisors, not some random woman off the street who you called stupid.

And then, with sickening clarity, it all clicks into place. Hoping I don't sound too much like I've just been kicked in the stomach, I say, "You want me to pretend to care about you?"

"You don't have to put it quite like that," he says, barely hiding the hurt in his voice. "But yes, I suppose that is what I'm asking."

I let out a choked breath. "Why would I do that ? I barely know you. And you made it clear how you felt about me. You said I was a terrible candidate for a job. You thought I was disorganized."

"Sure, I hear you," he says with the voice of a man who did not listen to a word I just said. "How do you like the sound of a million a week? Three weeks of filming total."

"What?" I stammer. "You're offering me three million dollars?"

"Yes," he says like he thinks I'm stupid.

That amount might be trivial to him, but for me it would change everything. Hell, even a thousand dollars would change my world right now.

I have a feeling I'm about to do something stupid.

"Okay, I'm listening," I say.

It's at that moment that Lila decides that actually, yes, she does want to start crying. I reach out to take her hand, desperately trying to shush her. She stares up at me, bawling. I need to wrap this up now.

"What would we have to do?" I ask, narrowing my eyes and making my voice as stern as I can. I don't want him to be getting any wrong ideas about how much of a pushover I'm about to be just because he waved a big check in front of my face.

It's obvious that I'm on speakerphone in his office because there's a pause for an assistant or advisor or whatever to write him some facts to say next. At least he's consistent. Ellis Whitlock has never been known for the personal touch, after all.

"Three weeks of filming. You and your baby come over every day, to my place. We film whatever they need so they can edit it and make it look like you and me are some happy pair — and then you can be out of my life, safe in the knowledge you never have to see me ever again."

"Three weeks is a big commitment. I need some time to think."

"We need an answer now. We have to agree to do the show soon, or else they're going to pass on us. This is a great deal, for both of us."

"Right now?" My breath catches in my throat. This is far too big of a decision to be making on a whim. But for three million dollars…

With three million dollars, my daughter could have everything she could ever need or want. We could be happy. We would never have to worry about a thing again.

Clearly, Ellis is desperate for me to say yes, because he adds, "Two million. Two million a week. You pretend to be my wife, your kid pretends to be ours, we play happy families for a while, then we all go home, happy as a lamb."

I can hear some murmuring in the background, which tells me this was a spontaneous offer. I bet his marketing team are scrambling to see if there's a way he can take it back, but instead he just says it again. "Two million a week. What do you say?"

"I want that in writing," I say quickly. "I won't agree to anything if it's not on paper. If it's in writing, I'll do it."

After all, the last thing I want is for this to turn out to be a con. I need something I can use to sue the ass off him if this turns out to be a lie. If I'm agreeing to this, I'm getting the money out of him somehow.

"Deal," he says like it's nothing. "Swing by the office tomorrow. We'll draw up all the paperwork today and have it all ready to sign then."

Before I can say another word, he hangs up.

I choke out a dry sob, my heart pounding, my palms sweating, my legs shaking like they're about to crumple out from beneath me. I don't know if I should feel sick or not. I feel half like I'm about to throw up and half like I'm the happiest woman in the world.

Six million dollars. That's more than any normal person could ever imagine having in their bank account. We'll buy a house. We'll move out and buy a nice house somewhere in the suburbs. I'll get Lila into a good school. I'll make sure she has everything she could possibly need. I'll finally get to stop worrying.

It feels like there must be a catch in here somewhere.

I suppose the catch is having to spend three weeks with Ellis, but for six million, I can suck up spending an awkward three weeks with a grumpy man, play-acting at being some perfect little housewife or whatever it is he's got planned for us.

Shaking, I pick Lila up and cradle her to my chest, finally allowing myself to sink down to the floor before I fall. I kiss her head, and her crying calms. "Oh, baby girl," I whisper, "you and me are about to have the weirdest month of our lives. But it's going to be worth it, I swear. You watch, baby. You and me, we're going to have everything."