Later that evening, I was halfway through my second cup of coffee at a café when my blind date,


    Pete Bundy, finally showed up.


    Pete wasn’t overweight or balding. His light blue shirt was clean, and he looked pretty much like his


    profile had described.


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    I wasn’t catfished, but Pete’s tardiness definitely knocked down my first impression of him. Luckily, I


    wasn’t actually interested in dating him. I’d only hired him to deal with Jace.


    “Sorry I’mte,” Pete apologized.


    “No problem. I’m not really here for a date anyway. I’m looking to hire a guy to pretend to be my


    boyfriend, “I said bluntly.


    Pete froze. “Hire a boyfriend?”


    “Yes. I’m not interested in a real rtionship, but I urgently need a boyfriend for my current


    situation,” I exined,ying it all out for him.


    Pete remained silent, and I thought he might be upset. So I added, “I’ll pay you.”


    “Seems like you have money,” Pete said, squinting slightly as he looked into my eyes.


    That reaction, the kind that showed excitement about money, made me a bit ufortable. But his


    interest was actually perfect for making this deal work.


    Ignoring hisment, Iid out my proposal. “You can be paid by the day or by the month. How


    much do you think is reasonable?”


    “So how much are you willing to pay? And does this rental include just appearances, or the whole


    package?” As soon as he said this, I understood–Pete was an old hand at this. He’d done it before.


    And it seems I was not the first person to y this game.


    “Just appearances.” If he wanted the whole package, I wasn’t agreeing to it.


    “What about intimate or physical contact?” Pete asked with a professional tone.


    I smirked. “I can tell you’ve done this before. What kind of terms did you usually work with? Give me


    a reference.”


    “Actually, I was genuinely interested in this date. I’m seriously looking for the right girl to start a


    rtionship with,” Pete suddenly changed his tune.


    Is he just trying to jack up the price?!


    “You can find the right girl after we wrap up this deal. Shouldn’t be a problem,” I said, keeping my


    cool.


    “I’m pretty happy with you. But are you sure you don’t wanna get to know me better? Maybe start off


    as real friends? You could solve your problem and end up with a top–tier boyfriend,” Pete shot back,


    totally confident.


    And that was exactly what Hayden had wanted.


    The got my own ns. If you’re not interested, that’s cool–I’ll just find someone else,” I replied, not


    budging an inch.


    Pete quickly backed down andid out his terms. “If you wanna hire me, it’s $100 a day for up to


    seven days, no physical contact. If it’s more than a week, $2,800 for the month, even if it’s just eight


    days.”


    I almostughed at the weirdly specific pricing.


    Physical contact is extra. Holding hands? $30 a day, unlimited. Hugs? $60 a day, also unlimited. A


    kiss is $200, and a French kiss? That’s double.”


    As he finished, I realized for the first time just how much money you could make with this kind of


    setup.


    At that moment, my marketing brain kicked in, and I couldn’t help but ask, “And what if we sleep


    together?” Pete’s lips tightened. “Sleeping together is $2,000 a pop.”


    “If you do a few of these gigs a year, you could rake in some serious cash,” I said, half–mocking,


    half-


    serious.


    I even started wondering if Pete had beente to our date because he was busy haggling with


    someone else first.