Fake Fiancée for Dad’s Best Friend by Gena Snow
Chapter 1
Vivian
“I’m going to miss this place,” I say to Ashley, my roommate for two years, while gazing at the mesmerizing NYC skyline night view from Cody’s million-dollar condo in Lower Manhattan. The reason we could afford this luxurious place is because Cody’s mom owns it, and he charges us a low price in exchange for help with school assignments and projects.
All three of us graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology last week. Ashley and I will move out tomorrow, so this party is both for graduation and farewell.
“Me, too,” Ashley says, taking a sip from her margarita. “But you don’t have to move out. I’m sure Cody wouldn’t mind your staying over the summer.”
“Nah. I shouldn’t. He’s already signed a lease with a new tenant.”
Inside the three-bedroom condo, Cody is talking and laughing over loud music with some girls from our college. The girls flank him and gaze at him as if he were yummier than the refreshment on the platter right in front of them.
I wonder which one will end up staying for the night, and I pray they won’t be loud. Cody’s orgies are the only downside I won’t miss about the high-end apartment.
“When are you leaving for Paris?” One of them asks in a sugar-coated voice while pouting.
“Soon. In about a month,” Cody says.
“Ooh, I’m gonna miss you!”
Cody and I have both been accepted to AFAP, Academy of Fashion Arts in Paris. He has already paid his first year’s tuition and fees while I’m still negotiating financial aid.
I’ve been accepted to all five of the grad programs I applied to, three in NY, one in Paris, and one in Milan. All of them offer me scholarships except the one in Paris, the one I want to go to the most. I’ve written to the school and asked whether there could be some payment plan on the tuition, but haven’t heard back from them. And in the meantime, I’ve accepted an offer to a school in NY.
Being rich helps. I recall the fact with bitterness.
“So, are you going to go with Cody?” Ashley asks, reminding me of the fact Cody has tempted me with a free vacation package, which would be paid by his mom.
“Actually, I’m still waiting for a response from AFAP, but I think I should probably just go to Pierson Fashion Institute,” I say. It’s right in Brooklyn. I can just stay in my dad’s house and commute.
“I thought you wanted to go to Paris.”
I do. But the prestigious school is expensive even with financial aid. I’m reluctant to ask my dad to continue to support me because he has to support his new family.
I say. “But I don’t get what I want, most of the time.”
“Come on,” she says. “How could you sound so pessimistic! You’ve got to look on the bright side! Not many of us could go to grad school, not to mention with scholarships.”
True. I must sound conceited to her. Ashley has been supporting herself throughout college without the help of her family at all. Although she’s had thoughts of going to grad school, too, she gave it up because of financial reasons. “Thanks,” I say to her. “What about you? Which job are you going to take?”
“I’ve decided to work for J. Crew. The people who interviewed me were really friendly, and I always like their innovative designs.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you,” I say and hug her.
Another reason I can’t go to Paris in the summer is I need to get an internship. I’ve spent most of my time applying and deciding for grad school that I neglected it. Cody offers to help me get into his mom’s company, where my dad works, but I’m not into unisex clothing, which they specialize in. Besides, I want a job where I can experience every aspect of designing, from sourcing fabrics to draping garments, and not just spending eight hours a day on tedious tasks such as preparing cut tickets.
I’ve got to get started. I make a mental note. Check Indeed.com tomorrow.
To my relief, the party ends with Cody taking some of the drunken guests home. After Ashley and I clean up the place, she yawns and says goodnight. I stay in the living room to browse the latest fashion online, mostly because I want to say goodbye to Cody before heading for bed because I might not see him tomorrow morning.
He returns an hour later, his designer shirt smeared with colorful lipsticks. I do not want to imagine what happened in his Lamborghini in the past hour, although I have a pretty good idea. You can’t blame the guy. Although medium built, with his dreamy brown eyes and short blond curls, Cody is cute. Having a mother in the business, he has a good sense of fashion. He sports a black and white Ralph Lauren shirt which I helped tighten to show his abs, over ankle-length jeans that make him look taller. Yeah, he’s vain like most guys his age, but he’s sweet.
We met in our second year at FIT in a sportswear class and became friends. We studied and worked on projects together, and we went to trade shows and fashion shows. He gave me rides sometimes, and then he convinced me to move into his condo when the last tenant moved out.
Cody plops down on the sofa next to me, throwing his head back, and sighs. “So that’s it? The end of our crazy college life? No more late-night parties?”
I chuckle. “I’m sure you can continue your lifestyle in Paris.”
He turns to look at me and scoots closer. Winding an arm around my shoulders, he says with a smile that could easily charm off a girl’s pants, “Come with me, Viv, we can share an apartment. You don’t have to pay me rent.”
I’ve never felt anything other than friendship toward Cody, but I’m so moved at the moment. “Thank you, Cody. That’s very generous of you. But I can’t accept that.”
“Why not?” he asks. “You can work for me in return. Cooking, cleaning, laundry.”
“You mean, be your maid?” I laugh.
“Or my girlfriend,” he pulls me to him.
I block him when his lips almost touch mine and stand up, giggling. “Stop it!” We’ve been through this, and I know he isn’t serious about me or any girls. “I’m going to bed.”
He pouts. “Okay, Viv. Give it a thought, all right? I want us to be together. We make great partners. You’re smart, and I’m rich. We’ll adjust to Paris easily and graduate smoothly.”
“I’ve already accepted Pierson’s offer,” I remind him.
“I know that. But you can still cancel it and go to AFAP.”
I have to come up with the tuition. I don’t say it out loud because I’m afraid he’ll offer to help me. Twenty thousand dollars is a small amount to Cody, but I don’t want to owe him anything.
“I’ll think about it,” I say. “Good night!”
“Night,” he says, standing up to hug me. “I’m going to meet with my mom tomorrow morning, so I might not see you before you leave. Keep in touch, Viv. I’ll miss you.”
“Same here.” I kiss him on the cheek before going to my bedroom.
I toss and turn in my bed and think about Cody’s offer. It could work, couldn’t it? I’ll be his maid in exchange for free room and board. I have two years’ French back in high school, so I can speak enough French to get a part-time job at a pub or a restaurant… But what about the tuition? I need to pay the first installment, five grand, before the semester starts, but I only have a hundred bucks in my bank.
I sigh. It won’t work. Even if I had the money for the tuition, I wouldn’t want to take advantage of Cody’s generosity. He’s a friend. A sweet pal. I could fall in love with him if he weren’t also a man whore and a spoiled kid. He’s too immature and pays too much attention to what he wears. True, we’re in the fashion business, but I still find it hard to stand when a man spends an hour in front of the mirror to get ready to go out. Ashley often jokes that Cody should become a model instead of a designer. How true.
Cody’s words ring in my ears again. “We made perfect partners. You’re smart, and I’m rich.”
He suggested once I should marry him and I’d take over the family business after his mom. I knew he was joking, and I asked what he would do then, and he said he would be my model. In short, he would take the easy work.
Honestly, I have imagined a life with Cody, although there isn’t anything more than friendship between us. It’d be ideal like he said, wouldn’t it? But it sounds too good to be true. Besides, it just won’t work between us. I want a man more mature and who builds his career instead of living off his mom.
When I wake, my head feels groggy. It’s already noon. Ashley and Cody are both gone. I get up, have a quick brunch, and start packing. I don’t have much but still end up with two large suitcases. Subway is out of the question. I need to call a cab.
Less than an hour later, the cab stops in front of a blue Victorian house in Midwood. I pay the fare and pull my luggage out of the trunk. Dragging my suitcases across the sidewalk, I drink in the sight of the house I lived in throughout my school years and smile. I can almost see my mom watering her plants in the yard, although she is no longer with us. So much has changed since I left the house for college. My parents got divorced, and my dad remarried.
I feel like an outsider whenever I come home in the past two years, and that’s why I prefer not to come home at all.
The house's front door opens before I knock on it, and my dad steps out to greet me.
He gives me a bear-hug. “How’s my little girl?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Dad! I’m twenty-two years old.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re always my little girl,” my dad says, chuckling. He gets hold of my suitcases and carries them into the living room. “You should’ve called me to pick you up.”
I thought about it but didn’t want to interrupt his precious family time on a Saturday. I imagined he would be playing with the baby and all that, but the house is quiet. The living room looks different from what I last saw it. My dad told me he was having a renovation a month ago. The old furniture, including the leather couch and the coffee table, remains the same, but area rugs covered the entire hardwood floor, obviously for safety. There’s a playing pen right in the middle with toys scattering inside. As much as I miss the spotless living room it used to be, I’m delighted by the lively new look.
“Where are Lisa and the baby?” I ask. I missed my baby brother. Although I envy my dad’s affection for him, I’m grateful for the smile the newborn brought to my dad’s face as well.
“Oh, they went to her parents’ house for a party.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
“I was going to, but Alex called about an hour ago and wanted to come over.”
A man’s handsome face flits across my mind. Alex is Dad’s best friend since college. They used to work at a fashion company together before Alex started his own brand, Trend.
My old room has been made into a nursery for the newborn baby, but my dad has converted the basement, which used to be a store room, into a new bedroom.
“Ta-da!” My dad grins at me as soon as he opens the basement door.
I gasp as soon as I glance at the interior. Not only it’s newly painted, but there’re new built-in wall shelves and walk-in closets and newly waxed floors. It has everything including a small living area, a comfortable bedroom, and a bathroom. There isn’t enough light from the small windows, but the numerous, fancy ceiling lights provide plenty of illumination. My old bed stands in the center of the room, but the bedding is new.
“Wow, Dad. This is so nice. I love it! You must’ve spent a lot of money!” I say, impressed by what I see.
He shrugs. “Lisa’s parents’ friend knows the constructor, so they got us a good price.”
He puts down the suitcases next to the closet and gives me another hug. “Welcome home!”
“Thanks,” I say, sniffling a bit because of the emotions.
“Anytime, sweetheart.” He pats my back. “Now you can live here and commute to grad school.”
“Sounds great,” I say, although I’m not sure about it yet. As Cody said, I can still change my mind about the school. Besides, I’m used to living by myself. Although my new bedroom looks fantastic, it still feels weird to stay with my dad’s new family. “But you can rent it out even if I don’t stay here.”
“Nah,” my dad says. “We’ll use it for a guestroom.”
I’m still touring my new space while trying to convince myself to stay home rather than going abroad when the doorbell rings.
“It must be Alex,” my dad says. “I’ll go get the door. Come up when you’re ready and say hi to him.”
“Sure, I’ll do it now,” I say and follow my dad to the front door.
From the window, I glimpse the sight of a tall, muscular man, and a familiar nervous feeling creeps up. The truth is, I had a tiny crush on Alex when I was a teen. Okay, maybe not so tiny. In fact, he was the first guy I fantasized and I sulked every time when I saw him with a woman. I never revealed my feelings to him, knowing he was off-limits, the gap between us was huge, and he was my dad’s best friend. I don’t understand why I’m nervous. I haven’t seen him since I entered college, and I’m pretty sure I got over him.
“Hey man, what’s up?” My dad is going to hug Alex but steps back since the latter is carrying a large brown bag. “Is that food?”
“Yep. I ordered it from Ricci’s,” Alex says. “Too bad they don’t deliver.”
And then his blue eyes flash when he sees me.
“Buddy, you’re hiding a beautiful young woman in your house while your wife is away?”
My dad slaps his shoulder. “Stop joking. You know who she is.”
Alex chuckles. “I don’t believe it. Is that really you, Vivi?”
My whole body feels warm under his appraisal look, and hearing him call me by my nickname makes it even worse. “Yes, Alex. How are you?” my voice trembles despite my effort to stay calm.
He pushes the brown bag into my dad’s hands and opens his arms. “Come here!”
I giggle and go into his embrace. The moment my body presses against his, a powerful stream rushes between my thighs. Oh, God. I haven’t gotten over my teenage crush at all. This man would be the death of me if I weren’t careful. He isn’t a playboy, but he’s broken plenty of women’s hearts, including the famous supermodel Trisha Taylor. I quickly pull away. No, I don’t want anything to do with Alex Anderson.
