“Are you asleep?’ he asked when he came to bed.
She wasn’t, but she pretended she was, hoping to escape any attempts he might make to be intimate. He’d been downstairs all evening, drinking beer, while he watched football. He was in the mood for lust. She would say love, but that wasn’t something she believed existed between them anymore. Hopefully, she could ward off his efforts to be amorous. The last thing she could stomach tonight was to be forced to have sex with a man she had come to abhor.
Of course, pretending she was asleep wasn’t enough to stop him. She did the only thing she could think of, feigned sleep until he would eventually give up and pass out. Even that felt like it had taken an eternity, with him pawing at her and trying to coax her into degrading herself by pleasuring him so he could lay there and let her do all the work. No matter what, it wasn’t happening tonight. The only way he was having sex with her is if he wanted to have her while she lay there like a dead fish.
Fortunately for her, he had drunk quite a bit and couldn’t stay awake. His slurred demands went unanswered and he eventually gave up and collapsed into this pillow. His snoring quickly reached a deep roar, causing her to pull her pillow over her head to drown him out. Finally, he turned over to one side and shut up, giving her some relief from the noise.
“What a life,” she murmured aloud before rolling over and going to sleep, for real this time.CHAPTER THREEThe following morning, with the girls down for a nap and him off to work, she stood turning the card back and forth in her hands. She looked at her phone, the message still there and contemplated what she was thinking of doing for another few moments before finally returning the call.
“Kate? This is Constance Michaels,” she said uncertainly, her heart racing at the thought of even talking to someone about this.
“Ah, yes. Okay, Constance. I think I have what you need. Are you okay to talk for a few minutes?”
“Yes.”
Constance listened while Kate laid out the agreement they could offer her. They had a client that needed a woman with very young children and he was willing to pay both her fee and his, plus offer her a payment of half a million dollars for a fake marriage lasting between six months and a year, with bonuses paid if it went over that for any reason. He would provide two hundred fifty thousand up front and the rest at the close of the agreement, with all expenses paid and accommodations at his substantial home during the contract.
She thought about this and wondered what the catch might be. It sounded too simple and straight forward; plus, a half million dollars? Who paid that to someone just for posing as their wife? It all sounded a little fishy.
“Why does he want a woman with young kids?’ she questioned.
“I assure you that it is nothing nefarious. He’s been well vetted and has specific reasons for the requirement, which we’ll be happy to discuss if you want to come in to pursue it further.”
Constance hesitated. She wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. It sounded far-fetched and she had children to consider. What if she screwed up? What might happen to them? Still, she was desperate to leave this place before it got worse for her, and possibly, for them. Could it really hurt to just go in and talk about it?
“When can we arrange all of this?” she asked.
“As soon as you are ready.”
“Three days. My husband is leaving for an out of town business trip in three days and he’ll be gone for a week. It gives me plenty of time to get away for however long I need to talk about it.”
“We can do that.”
“If this works out, how quickly can I leave?”
“Pretty much right away. When you come in, we’ll have the client here for you to talk with. You’ll meet him and discuss the details. If it sounds like something you want to do, you’ll need to sign some paperwork. We can have new identities ready for you at that time and you’ll leave straight from our office to your new location. I must warn you, it’s a nice place from our review visit there, but it’s very remote. It’s out in the mountains and it’s on the other side of the country.”
“I will need to come alone, at first. If it works out, I’ll return for my children and be ready to leave. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that is fine. Just make sure you are not followed by anyone.”
“I won’t be. He’ll still be out of town and no one else will bother. As far as the location, the further away, the better. One thing though - this man, are you sure he’s okay? I mean, he’s not crazy or demented or anything? Um, he’s not a pervert. I have three little girls to consider.”