Chapter 003

~LANA~

After I met with Dax, he took all my contacts, and my house address and said that he would contact me as soon as his lawyer and financial advisor went through the contract and sent me all the terms and conditions before I commenced as his 'Fake Wife'.

I was giggling inside when I left his office.

"So, did you get the job?" My very nosy work friend asked during our shift at work.

I remembered that I informed her a few days ago that I applied at Dax's Club to be a stripper.

I sounded very enthusiastic and made her believe that I would be leaving the underpaying job very soon.

"You would not believe what I'm about to tell you," I led her to the passage so that our boss would not scold us for talking during working hours.

I looked both ways before I whispered to her, "I got a good deal. 10 million dollars for just being his fake wife."

She looked at me and gasped. "What the hell?!"

"Shh... Ben will hear us," I whispered to warn her to get her voice down.

Ben was the manager of the Coffee Shop and hated to see us talking instead of cleaning or doing anything productive for the Café when it was not busy.

"10 million dollars for being his wife?" Tracy was in so much disbelief.

I could not blame her. The deal was too good to be true.

"Fake wife," I corrected her.

"Does it even matter? You will be his wife, Lana! And who knows? The guy might just want to make the marriage real," she dreamed.

"Oh, please, I don't think I'll be interested," I replied as I remembered that night, I met him very well.

He was charming and all as he sat down in the booth with his friends.

He was shirtless after that incident with the shots.

Every girl was, of course, staring at him. Longing to run their hoeing hands on his chest, not that I cared.

And I did not expect him to be such a jerk.

I was gulping my 11th shot when I saw a girl approach him and give him a lap dance in front of everyone!

He was blushing and enjoying the show! Enjoying getting boned! Who does that?!

I frowned after I had such a traumatic flashback.

Quite honestly, it wasn't my business that he got a lap dance or anything, but he didn't have to show off in public that he had what it takes to get just any girl he wanted to do whatever he wanted her to do.

"Tell me, is he cute?" Tracy patted those eyelashes. She was a shameless hoe.

"His looks are terrific," I rolled my eyes and went back to the contour, and started getting myself a little occupied with something.

"Is he tall?" She asked.

I looked at her and could not believe that she was still talking about that guy.

It seemed like she had forgotten the emphasis on me being his fake wife.

How was she ever going to have a shot with a guy who was my husband?

Fake or not, the 'husband' title was still there.

"He's maybe an inch shorter than you are," I lied.

The guy was a good 6"2, and Tracy was just 5"2. I lied so that she would stop asking questions about him!

"I can work with that," she whispered. "Does he have a beard? Does he smell good?" She continued asking.

"Neither," I answered.

I mean, he did have a beard that could simply make him the most handsome guy ever, and he also smelled amazing.

But I did not want to praise him to Tracy.

"Can we pass by the club later? I'd like to see him," she squealed.

I rolled my eyes again. "No, Tracy. We are not going to the club to see him."

"Why not? You're not interested in him, and I am," she answered.

I honestly regretted telling her about him.

"You can go, I'll pass," I answered.

She smirked. "I can't wait to tell you all about it tomorrow."

"I'm sure he won't hesitate to ask you to be wife number two. The more the merrier," I faked a smile.

And I scolded myself for being mad that she was interested in him.

But anyway, I decided to let the whole conversation slip because she could have been bluffing.

***

Back in my apartment, I took off my clothes and went to the bathroom to have a very hot shower.

Fortunately for me, I was able to buy electricity from the huge tip I got during the day.

I was tired, and my feet were killing me.

Ben always had something for us to do even when the Café was not busy.

I hated my job.

After having a shower, I went to the living room and watched TV while eating leftovers.

I did not expect a knock at the door after 9 PM.

I groaned and dragged my feet to the door and opened it.

There was a delivery on my doorstep.

I went out and looked around and saw a car driving off.

I shrugged and took the package with a note and went inside.

The note read... "To my beautiful official wife, I invite you to dinner with my family tomorrow at 8. My driver, Nicholas, will pick you up. I can't wait to see you. D.S."

Dax Salvatore.

I looked at the note and sheepishly smiled at it. And then I remembered that I did not like him.

I opened the package in a box and inside was a beautiful dress.

It was unlike any other dress that I had seen in my life.

I pulled it out and was amazed to see that it was my exact size.

There were shoes and jewels inside too. A complete dinner outfit.

"Aren't you beautiful?" I murmured to the dress.

I could not wait for tomorrow.

And then my phone rang. It was him.

"Mr. Salvatore?" I formerly answered the call.

"Do you know a girl named Tracy?" He immediately answered and did not bother to greet me. How rude.

"Yes, I know Tracy," I rolled my eyes and just assumed that they met. She obviously could not wait to meet him.

"Come outside," he responded.

"What?" I asked. I was confused and very surprised. "Outside my house?" I asked.

"Yes."

I hung up the call, tightened my rope, and opened the door. And there he was, with her. Outside his car.

I sighed and closed the door behind me and went to them.

"I'm so sorry, Lana," Tracy mouthed.

"What's going on?" I asked Dax.

"Why don't you ask her?" He looked at her.

She looked nervous. "I swear I didn't know that it was your husband," she explained, "I just thought that he was just someone from the club," she continued.

"I'm not following. What's going on, Dax?" I asked him again.

I was not in a mood to entertain whatever the point that Tracy was trying to get to.

"Your friend here said that, no, she asked that I drop you on the deal and offer it to her instead," he answered with a cocky grin.

I looked at Tracy. "Is it true? I thought you and I were friends."

"You won't understand, Lana. I don't get to have a roof over my head like you. I just thought that I deserved this deal more than you do. You don't even like him," she answered.

I could not believe my ears.

"Tracy, you're my friend..." I responded, utterly disappointed and speechless.

"I'm sorry, but at least now you get to keep him," she answered as she attempted to leave before Dax grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Not so soon, darling," he said firmly.

She turned around and looked at us. "What? Do you want me to apologize?" She asked, her tone filled with a hint of irritation.

"No, of course. But I wanted to make one thing clear to you," he took a step closer to her, intimidating her with his height.

"If you dare tell anyone about my deal with Lana, I will hunt you and everyone that you know, and leave no trace of your existence," he threatened her.

She swallowed and nodded.

"Good. You may be excused now," he answered with a smile.

She looked at me once again and ran off.

Dax leaned closer to me and looked down at me.

He was so tall and towering over me. It felt so intimidating, and I realized that I was holding my breath.

"Didn't you read the contract that you were not supposed to tell anyone that our marriage is fake?" He asked, angry.

I felt a cold shiver down my spine. I swallowed hard.

"Yes. I'm sorry."

He placed his thumb on my chin and lifted it slightly. "I hope I won't have to deal with one of your friends coming to my club to give me a blowjob because they want me to take them on the deal instead of you."

I guess I wasn't supposed to kiss and tell.

This deal was important to me because I was going to get my heart and live.

I did not want to tell anyone this because they would feel pity for me and treat me like a charity case.

My heart broke that Tracy felt like she deserved or needed this deal more than I did.

I guessed my fault was to tell her the money that was on the table.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone again, I swear," I gave him my word.

He smirked and looked at my lips.

"Good," he answered.

And for a second, I thought that he was going to kiss me before he let go of my chin and went to his car.

When he got inside, he looked at me again and then drove off.

I just stood there for a moment and could not believe that he was here a moment ago.

But then again, I did not know how I was going to go to work tomorrow without having to see Tracy.

Things were now awkward between us, and I did not want to see her and go through everything that happened.

I sighed and went back to my apartment.

***

The following morning, I called in sick at work.

I just didn't have the stamina for Tracy. She was a real bitch last night and I did not want to tell her that to her face.

Later that evening, at 7:50 PM, I waited in my living room for a knock or car hooting to take me to Dax's house for dinner.

I was ready to see his family and lie about how we met and fell hopelessly in love with each other.

It was going to be that easy.

A few moments later, Nicholas fetched me and drove me to Dax's house.

When we arrived outside the huge Salvatore mansion, a housekeeper came and took me inside the house.

He then went and called Dax for me, who then took me to his room to rehearse about how we met.

"My father will not see you fit as my wife if we say that we met at the club," he pointed out.

"Fine. We met at the Coffee Shop while I was working, and it was just a magical chemistry from the first sight," I suggested.

"Could work, but my father will say you're a gold digger," he paced up and down the room.

"Wow. Okay. Then, we just met at the Coffee Shop while we were both on lunch," I smiled.

He stopped pacing and beamed. "Perfect! Let's go," he took my hand and led me to the dining room.

But there was no one there. Only a beautifully decorated dinner table in a very large and luxurious space.

"About time, brother, who is the lucky woman?" A man said behind us, and we all turned around to look at him.

"This is my wife, Lana," Dax announced.

And I could not believe my eyes...

'Xavier?'