5 Will I be a Billionaire's wife?

"Will you be my wife?" Asks Robin.

My jaw drops. I feel like the floor is tipping out from under me. Like I've just fallen headfirst out of reality and into a daydream.

But then Robin catches my expression and adds quickly, "Pretend to be, I mean. Only for the weekend."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I'm pretty sure my face is bright red, and hot enough to light a cigarette off of.

"Um… what?"

He laughs softly.

"It's stupid, I know. It's just, I have this weekend trip planned with my friend Shan and his fiancée, out at the Mandarin Oriental—"

"That new hotel with the five-star chef that everyone's been talking about?" I interrupt.

"Out on the shore, yes, that one." He smiles.

"Anyway, my friend and I had a bet going, a few years ago, about who would get married first. He kept insisting it would be him, because I'm married to my job."

I blink and bite back my instinctive response, which is 'Aren't you?'.

I can't help but think about the fact that, in one whole year of working directly with Robin, day in and day out, I have never seen any evidence of him dating. And I handle just about everything for him, all the way down to scheduling his barber shop visits and sending out his dry cleaning. If there were girls in the picture, I'd have seen evidence of it by now. Unless he's hiding it from you. Unless he knows you have feelings for him, so he makes sure to hook up on the down-low.

Unless… Okay, so there's a possibility he has hookups. But nobody long-term, not in all the time I've been here.

"So…" I narrow my eyes, trying to follow Robin's train of thought.

"You want me to pretend that we're married, so you'll win the bet."

Robin grins.

"Now you're getting it. Since Shan's wedding is in just a couple of weeks, I don't have much time left to beat him to the punch."

I sigh and cross my arms, pretending to deliberate, or at the very least to be hesitant about this proposition. But deep down, I already know what I'll say.

I can't remember a single time I've managed to say no to this man. Especially not when he's looking at me the way he is now, with that huge, charming grin of his, his gaze focused on me like I'm the only person in the whole wide world he sees.

"It's just for two days, Chunhua, I promise. We can have whatever we want at the restaurant every day—I hear the menu is seasonally themed and rotates based on whatever the chef selects from the neighboring farms. Plus, the Mandarin Oriental has its own vineyard…"

"Okay, okay." I burst out laughing. "It's like you know my weaknesses are food and wine, or something."

"Well, we have spent a decent amount of time together." His eyes sparkle with amusement.

I lean forward and have to catch my breath when he mirrors me.

"Is that why you're asking me to do this?" I arch one eyebrow. "Because we can fake a relationship easily?"

Some expression I can't quite read flickers across his face. But it's only for a split second, there and gone. Then he grins.

"But of course. Who better? You know more about me than anyone on the planet, Chunhua." He sits back in his chair, palms flat on the desk. "But it's a big favor. I won't pressure you. If you don't want to—"

"I accept," I blurt out, before he can rescind the offer. Or worse, before he can ask someone else to do it. The last thing I'd want is to spend the weekend here in the city, picturing him off gallivanting around this gorgeous new hotel with a hot young bimbo on his arm, taking her out to fancy meals and then back to their big shared hotel room, where he'd probably have her for dessert.

I pinch the underside of my arm to keep myself from getting too distracted by my imaginary jealousy. Or by the fantasy it turns into, when I picture myself there with him instead.

"Wonderful." Robin hesitates for a second, like he thought this would be a longer conversation. "I'll drive. Can I pick you up Saturday morning, first thing?"

"I'll add it to both of our calendars today." I smile in response.

"Be sure to pack your bathing suit. And I'd say dress well, but of course, your style is always impeccable. Actually…" He glances at me sideways.

I laugh.

"Yes, I can put together a wardrobe for you as well, if you'd like. Your favorite suit should be back from the cleaners by then."

"Perfect." Robin stands up, still smiling, and crosses around the desk to touch my shoulder.

I freeze, wanting nothing more than to linger there, his hand on my bare shoulder, his fingertips strong and smooth against my skin.

"Thank you, Chunhua. I promise you won't regret this." He winks. "Even if you're stuck with me, a weekend at a luxury beachfront hotel should be worthwhile, I hope."

His hand lingers so long that I finally work up the nerve to reach my own hand toward his, about to touch my fingers to his. But at that moment, he releases my shoulder, and my hand touches my own skin instead. I let out a faint sigh, hoping he doesn't notice. But he's already crossing the office behind me to open the door. I swallow hard and manage to recover some of my vocal abilities.

"I'm sure it will be lots of fun." I force myself to stand and smooth down my skirt, before I turn to face him.

I wonder if I imagine the way his eyes jump to mine, as if he were just looking somewhere else a second ago. Probably.

"Even if I have to spend it with my boss," I add with a wink, before I cross out of the office ahead of him and point to the clock nearby. "You'd better hurry if you want to make your 12:30 at this point," I call back to him.

There's a long silence. Long enough to make me turn back around to watch Robin as he walks to the elevator, his gaze never leaving mine. "Thanks, Chunhua," he repeats. A refrain I'll never get tired of hearing. "As always, I'd be lost without you."

The elevator arrives, but he barely seems to notice. His eyes stay fixed on me, and he opens his mouth again, about to say something. I lose my nerve and look back at my computer screen, only risking turning it back on now that he's on the other side of the office, too far away to accidentally glimpse what's currently pulled up on it. When I look back up, Robin's already gone.