Cheated On and Cashed Out

I looked up at the man. He was tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a black suit with a white flower pinned to his lapel.

He looked young. His gaze swept over me, traveling from my heels all the way up to the ring on my finger.

"You're married?"

"Just died."

"Your husband?"

"My love life."

I pulled off my wedding ring and stuffed it into my purse.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"I'm Kyle Hunt. 24. Second-year grad student."

I couldn't help taking another look at him.

24? That made him six years younger than me.

He had firm, youthful skin, broad shoulders, and a lean waist.

For a second, I almost understood Adrian Zeller. There really was something exciting about someone new.

The difference was, Adrian had gone for Claire Bailey, the kind of cheap fake who threw herself at married men.

Kyle, though, was the real deal, and just looking at him made my mouth water.

I looked away. "So what do I have to do?"

Kyle waved the check between his fingers. "My family's having dinner tonight. My mom's bringing her boyfriend, and I want you to tell everyone you were the love of my dad's life."

"She's actually going to believe that?"

"She's already paid hush money to three people."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Your dad really kept busy, huh?"

"She was wrong about two of them."

"What about the third?"

"The third was my dad's piano teacher, a 68-year-old man."

I fell silent for two seconds.

Marriage really was complicated for rich people. Apparently, it wasn't enough to worry about other women. You had to watch out for old men too.

"Why are you so determined to piss her off?"

"When my dad was seriously ill, she brought her boyfriend with her and tried to pressure him into signing over his shares. My dad refused. Now he's barely gone, and she's already trying to use her status as his widow to get a seat on the board.

"I'm not trying to take her money. But watching her use my dad's money to bankroll her boyfriend makes me sick."

I looked at Kyle. "You're spending a million dollars just to piss off your mom?"

"And to make sure my dad's relatives know she has no right to represent him."

"How do I get paid?"

"I'll transfer the money once it's done."

I pointed at the check in his hand. "No. Your mom already gave me a million dollars."

"It's worthless."

"What do you mean?"

"She already put a stop payment on it."

I almost blacked out.

No wonder rich people could afford to be so generous. Apparently, handing out a million-dollar check was like Mom holding out cash, letting me get excited, then stuffing it right back into her wallet.

"Then I want a 500,000-dollar deposit."

"Afraid I'll stiff you?"

"No. I'm afraid your mom will piss you off so badly you'll drop dead, and then I'll have no one to collect the other half from," I said sincerely.

Kyle stared at me for a few seconds before pulling out his phone. "What's your account number?"

Three minutes later, 500,000 dollars hit my account. I counted the zeros twice.

Suddenly, all my aches and pains were gone, and even my husband's affair felt like something worth celebrating.

After all, Adrian's cheating had just made me half a million dollars. If he cheated every day, I'd be ready for an IPO by the end of the year.

I slipped my arm through Kyle's. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"Shopping first. A mistress at a funeral is still a mistress. I can have no morals, but I refuse to look broke."

We had barely stepped outside when a familiar voice called out behind us.

"Taylor?"

Claire had her arm hooked through Adrian's, looking so heavily powdered she practically matched the funeral home's white walls. They looked at me, then at Kyle, whose arm I was still holding.

Adrian's face darkened instantly. "What are you doing here?"

Before I could answer, Kyle wrapped an arm around my waist. "She came with me."

His palm felt surprisingly warm against my waist through the thin fabric of my dress. I looked up at him.

"We're acting," Kyle murmured.

Of course we were. For a 500,000-dollar deposit, I could throw in a little physical contact.

I leaned into him. "Honey, weren't you away on a business trip?"

Claire dropped Adrian's arm as if she'd been burned. "Taylor, don't get the wrong idea. Mr. Zeller just came with me to meet a client."

"Since when do you have to hold each other and kiss to meet a client?"

Adrian stepped forward and reached for me. "Come home with me."

Kyle immediately moved between us.

Kyle was ten years younger than Adrian, but he was several inches taller and much broader through the shoulders. Next to Kyle, all of Adrian's polished maturity suddenly made him look soft and past his prime.

"Don't touch her," Kyle said.

Adrian scoffed. "Do you even know who she is?"

Kyle looked down at me. "Yeah. She's mine."

My heart gave a sudden thump.

Wait, were college guys these days really just making it up as they went?