Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
She just smiles and shrugs. "Then we'll still have cake."
We sit, drinking coffee in comfortable silence. Everything I've worked for, everything I've achieved, but she's the part that matters most.
I'm about to tell her that when her phone buzzes. Her face changes as she reads the screen, her forehead furrows, and she starts chewing on her bottom lip.
Shit. Did something happen?
"Adrian..." The tone makes my stomach drop. She hands me her phone.
HEADLINE: "Romance Novelist Emmy Blake's Real-Life Love Story: Fake Dating her Estate Lawyer?"
SUBHEADING: "Sources claim relationship with attorney Adrian Hale began as arrangement to satisfy inheritance clause."
Cold rage floods through me. "Graham Whitmore. That son of a—"
I start reading, my jaw clenches with each line. Every word makes me angrier.
"This could destroy your career," I say. "Your reputation as a writer—the scandal will follow you—"
I'm planning our legal strategy—defamation suit, retraction demands—when I realize Emmy is making a weird sound. I turn to her, so confused and unsure I'm actually seeing this.
She's laughing. Actually laughing, tears streaming down her face.
"Emmy?"
She points at the article, still laughing. I stare, completely lost, briefly wondering if the stress finally got to her and she's losing it.
"We really have all the popular tropes pat down," she gasps through laughter. "Enemies to lovers. Fake dating. Forced proximity. All we're missing is a one-bed scenario. Though technically we've been sharing a bed—"
"Your career—"
Emmy leans back and wipes her eyes. "You destroyed our agreement. Who will believe Whitmore?"
Our relationship is real now, documented in genuine texts, photos, and witnesses. Whitmore has nothing but speculation and anonymous sources that won't hold up in any proceeding.
"You're not worried?" I ask, watching her carefully.
"Should I be?" She tilts her head, that challenging look I've come to love.
"No. No, you shouldn't be."
The intercom buzzes, my receptionist's voice breaking the moment. "Mr. Whitmore is here."
My lips draw together tightly as I meet Emmy's eyes. "Send him in."
She moves to stand beside my desk without needing to be asked, presenting a united front as Graham enters with that triumphant expression already plastered across his smug face.
"I assume you've seen the article."
"Withdraw your motion, Graham. The relationship requirement has been met."
"Your relationship is fake!" He waves his phone like it's damning evidence. "The article proves—"
"Nothing. You're a lawyer." My voice drops to the lethal calm I reserve for hostile witnesses. "You should know better than to make accusations without evidence."
"I have sources!" His voice rises, and desperation creeps in.
"Anonymous sources aren't admissible." I lean forward, maintaining eye contact. "What tangible evidence do you actually have?"
He flounders, grasping at straws. "The timing—"
"We're in a committed relationship. Not disputed."
"You facilitated fraud—there is no evidence that you two were in a relationship before the reading of the Will."
"Precisely," I stand. "You have no evidence we were in a relationship. So kindly show me the evidence that we were not in a relationship." I walk around my desk. "
The silence that follows is answer enough. He can't prove it because he has none, and any that may have been no longer exist. All current evidence points to two people genuinely in love.
Judith appears in my doorway, her timing impeccable as always. "What's this about an article?"
Whitmore whirls toward her like a drowning man reaching for a lifeline. "Ms. Morrison! Their relationship is fraudulent!"
Judith's gaze travels from me to Emmy, then settles on Whitmore with the assessment of someone who's spent decades reading people. "I've watched them together for weeks. If they're acting, they deserve Oscars."
She steps into the room, commanding attention without raising her voice. "I'm prepared to testify to the authenticity of their relationship. In fact, I'll be handling the Blake estate matters from here on out. Adrian will recuse himself to avoid any appearance of impropriety, but make no mistake—the relationship requirement has been met. I've witnessed it personally. And I'll state that under oath."
Whitmore's face falls as the reality of his defeat sinks in. He leaves without another word, the door closes behind him with a quiet click that sounds like victory.
I exhale tension I didn't realize I was holding, and Emmy leans against my desk as we both process what just happened.
"Adrian, that was..."
"Something."
We laugh together, the relief palpable between us.
Judith remains in the doorway, a knowing smile on her face. "Congratulations. Both of you." She smiles and leaves us alone, closing the door with the same quiet finality.
Emmy sits fully on my desk now, legs dangling, vulnerability replacing the confidence she wore during Whitmore's confrontation. "I'm terrified too, you know."
I look up from where I'd been straightening papers I don't need to straighten. "Of what?"
"What if we don't work? We've seen each other at our worst, our most guarded selves. What if it's not enough?"
I move to stand between her knees, framing her face with my hands the way I've done a dozen times before, but somehow it feels new each time. "That's exactly why it will work. We've already passed the hardest part—being honest about our fears. Plus, we have weeks of practice dating under our belts. We're actually pretty good at it."