Chapter 2

C H A P T E R  2 

When the beautiful young lady had asked him about his name, Nathan had not suspected anything at all. He had even thought about whether the woman had mistaken him for someone else. She looked very much like a rich young mistress, tall and beautiful with expensive jewelry and designer clothes. She did not seem like she would fit with any of his acquaintances. And the name 'Stephan' simply did not ring a bell.

He shook his head. 

The woman nodded. "I suppose people do not generally use their real names when signing up for sex work."

Nathan froze. Was she calling him a gigolo?

He was very offended. Just because he looked cute and handsome didn't mean he was a hooker! He wanted to scold this rude woman so badly! The only thing stopping him was his desperate need for a job. The woman was clearly rich and powerful enough to be able to interrupt his job interview just like that. However, just because this woman was the boss did not mean he deserved to be sexually harassed like this. 

Nathan sat there feeling wronged. He was at a loss for words. He thought of himself as another victim of capitalism, who was not able to resist harassment due to his lowly position as a job applicant with a mediocre resume. 

Sarah seemed to not have realized Nathan's complicated mood as she continued to speak. "You have a bachelor in game design from a very good university, but your grades are barely above our standards. Your portfolio is also a little lacking, which seems to be from a lack of effort. You did not even have any internship or work history at age twenty five. No matter how good your interview is, you will not be able to make it into the company." 

Did she have to be so blunt in rejecting him? Nathan was stunned. Since she had metaphorically slapped him in the face, he had nothing to lose anymore. He was totally going to give this rude lady a piece of his mind!

"However," she stopped him. "I have a different proposal for you."

Nathan blinked. The rude words on the tip of his tongue were immediately swallowed back. This woman was going to hire him after insulting him so much? 

Without waiting for him to respond, she continued. "This is a personal favor which is not related to the company at all, so it is not very convenient to speak about it here. However, I assure you that you will get paid very well. The only thing you have to do is do your job well and keep your mouth shut. You will also have to sign an NDA. If you agree, I will give you my number and we can set an appointment to talk about it somewhere else."

She spoke all that without a single pause. Nathan felt like he was suddenly taken on a roller coaster ride. The only thing on his mind was that he was given another job opportunity, so he cautiously asked her what kind of job it was.

Sarah considered him briefly. "You could say... It was something like a personal assistant."

It was not what he had in mind when he first signed up for a game design major in university, but beggars can't be choosers after all. As a lowly beggar, he agreed and exchanged numbers with her. She said she would contact him later, and he left the room feeling bewildered.

On his way out of the building, he met Anthony again, who smiled awkwardly at him as he passed by.

"Um," Nathan was too fed up with curiosity and decided to inquire. "The woman just now…"

"Oh, did you mean Miss Price?" Anthony smiled encouragingly at him. "Do not worry, if she said you passed the interview, then you definitely passed." 

'But she said I did not even deserve getting interviewed,' Nathan felt gloomy all of a sudden. Anthony seemed to have misunderstood the cause of his concern, but Nathan had lost the desire to ask further questions. He nodded, thanked Anthony, and left without another word.

On his way home, he was still cursing the company for calling him in for an interview if they knew he would not cut it. Perhaps Sarah was bluffing so he would not feel at a loss after she interrupted his interview, which made him even more pissed off. He had tried his best, but he was powerless against the rich. His mother asked him how the interview went, and he lied and told her it went splendidly. She was so happy she cooked his favorite dish that night, which made him feel even more guilty.

It took Sarah a few days to contact him and set an appointment. Nathan had only seen this restaurant's name a few times before, and he had never been there before because it seemed like a place he could never afford. On the day of the appointment, Sarah had booked a private room in advance. This was how Nathan knew she meant business. Whatever job she had in mind for him, he made up his mind to take it.

Unless of course, it was some shady sexual work. Considering how she sexually harassed him before…. As the waitress led him to the private room, Nathan planned his escape route.

He was prepared to bolt if there were a bunch of thugs inside the room. Surprisingly, there was only Sarah there, sitting delicately in front of a table for four. She looked up at him as he walked in, and stared as he went to sit across her. She scrutinized him quite heavily before nodding as if satisfied with something. Nathan felt a little like displayed goods in stores.

"Miss Price," he greeted.

"Good morning." 

"Good morning." He tried his best to smile. Why did this woman set the meeting time so early anyway? It was only 10 a.m.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Sarah spoke again. "How good are you at keeping secrets?"

It was a strange question, but he supposed the job required a high degree of confidentiality. "Oh, I am very good at it. I would never say anything to anyone." He stumbled over his words. For some reason, this woman's sharp gaze made him feel nervous. "I am very professional. I always know what not to say."

Did he convince her?

She seemed satisfied with his answer. "How about acting?"

Acting? He majored in game design! Bewildered, he continued to bluff. "Yes I.. I have taken lessons in acting before. I would say I am quite good at it." He was in theater class in high school. He mostly played Villager A and other supporting roles. 

She nodded again. "Alright. Here is what I need you to do." She seemed nervous at this part. She fiddled with her hands for a moment. "Basically, just go to a few social gatherings. Some will be formal events, some are just amongst family. You do not have to worry about what to bring or what to wear, we will provide everything." She paused. "You need to sign an NDA." 

She pushed some papers to him. He had never seen this many pages of paperwork before. 

Nathan squinted. "You… will pay me to go to social gatherings?" That seemed like an awfully easy and suspicious way to make money. What kind of "gatherings" are these? 

"Yes," she replied quickly. "As a boyfriend."

His eyes widened. Oh… could it be… this was one of those things in TV dramas? A pretend relationship?

"I am not sure how much your rates are. So I am making you an offer of $500 a day." She spoke again. Nathan's eyes widened at the obscene amount of money. "Of course, you are not allowed to say a single word about this to anyone. Or you will have to deal with me. I will tell you the other details after you sign the NDA."

Despite being threatened, Nathan's heart thumped in excitement. It turned out those scenarios in movies also happen in real life! He quickly understood why she needed him to sign an NDA. She was a rich young mistress, having a paid boyfriend would be very scandalous! 

He flipped through the papers and skipped most of the legal terms he didn't quite understand. It looked very legit. Looking at the way this woman was dressed, it seemed unlikely that she would scam him too. He would be getting paid so much money just to attend dinner events and parties, and snoop around someone else's family business. It seemed like a dream come true! He had finally made it in life! There was only one little problem.

He was gay.

No, wait. Even if he was straight, he could not just fake a relationship with someone he just met! This woman was really treating him as a hooker!

Nathan's mind quickly left the clouds of his imagination and came back to reality. That's right, he couldn't be that cheap! The $500… actually, he regretted being born gay.

"I am not sure how to tell you this," he sadly began to reject her. She did not seem like the type to take rejections easily. "I think I will have to decline."

Her eyes narrowed. She looked particularly sinister that a tiny part of his heart was a little scared. No, he was downright terrified. 

"I suggest you think twice." 

She spoke in a domineering tone. Nathan tried to remember his escape route. "I am gay." he squeaked.

She raised an eyebrow. "I already know that. You think you will be going as my boyfriend?" 

He blinked. So he would be going with a man? Would he have to play the little boyfriend of some grubby old man? 

"I have more dignity than that," he lied with clenched teeth. "I will have to decline. I'm sorry. I won't be telling anyone about our meeting today so you don't have to worry." He started to get up and leave the room.

She slapped her phone on the table. He winced as he knew how expensive that phone was. On the phone screen was a very attractive man. Easily the most handsome one Nathan had ever seen. "This will be your fake boyfriend." 

Nathan's mouth moved faster than his brain. "I will do it."