Beyond The White Charade

fice, sitting on a plush reclining leather chair, gazing

r in my lap, and I was trying to h

rs ago: pretending to be the girlfriend of Ryan Miller for a coupl

which he studied me, while leaving me feeling exposed. He was the kind of ma

ture, polished marble floors, floor-to-

adn't read the fine print. Whatever he had promised the formal contract with me was mor

se skin raise in tension. There was something - it was ma

ly, as if this were all perfectly commonplace a

consented to this.

oncentrate on his words. Nodded. "Right

to certain events, parties, galas, and social events. You must play the girlfriend. Hol

yebrow. "Priv

give them the inclination about us being an item. A peck on the cheek, a

"Okay, but what does it mean outside the public? Are we suppo

it when we have alone time. You have your life, and I'll have mine. We just won't be

a problem about getting any closer to him, bu

? I mean, if we are pretending to be a couple, we need t

raction of an inch, as if he was weighing his measure. "N

the appearance - nothing beyond what is

clear

ickly. "Cry

f public appearances, you need to always be in the eye of the spot with me. We'll coordinate our sc

. But I stifled it. "Fine. What about things outside those events? I mean,

o go deep. No long phone calls. We're just acting." "For your role, you're going to have to s

simple in theory, but there were a lot of pitfalls I hadn't thought through yet. "And wha

is head as he considered my question. "We manage it.

arrative: we're dating for a few months now, everything

ance. But still, the temptation of the money proved too strong. And I had to admit, I did not mind the idea of Ryan being present

e steadier now as I tried to turn it all to the prac

at once at the end of the agreement. As discussed, fifty thousand

o that. I'll need something to sign bef

essionalism pleasing. "Of course we will. We will get that

that had settled in my chest. "Okay then, and that's

g over my face. "One last thing," he said, his voice lowering slightly. "This may need

neasily within me. "You think that I'm going

will. Let me make it abundantly clear: once it ends, it really ends. No exceptions." I held m

voice steady. Ryan smiled at me i

is going to work o

y wrapped around me. I had entered into

sure of one thing, this was going to be far more complicated than I had anti