Tonight's Girlfriend

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I stumbled across a post online. "Selling an online girlfriend—5'7", 100 pounds, absolute knockout. We already agreed to meet at Aureline Hotel. She's a virgin too. Just transfer me 8000." At first, I thought it was some ridiculous troll post, but when I clicked in, I realized the guy was serious. Quite a few men in the comments had already messaged him privately. My stomach churned, and I exited the post in disgust. Right then, a message came in from my long-distance boyfriend, Hayden Clarke. "Naomi, you don't need to pick me up at the station. Just go straight to Aureline Hotel, Room 1008." I could not stop thinking about the post I had just seen, so I went back and read it carefully again. That was when I realized the "online girlfriend" they were talking about… was me. Before I could even reply to Hayden, I received a threatening text from his female best friend instead. "You slut! You're the reason Hayden ditched us on Thanksgiving! Tell me, where are you two going?!" I quirked a brow in response. This was not the first time his so-called best friend had tried to ruin our dates. But since she was so desperate to know, the big surprise Hayden had prepared would just have to be saved for her instead.

Bain and Gia met in Sizzling Strip, a pub along Times Square where Gia works. Bain is hunting for the perfect woman to propose a deal to—be his girlfriend and convince his mother he is in love with another woman so she will help extricate him from an arranged engagement with a socialite he wanted to back out of. Gia can’t believe the exorbitant fee she is going to get paid with, until he informed her there will be—possibly—a marriage contract should it come to it. And the reason she was qualified for the job? Not only did he like her, he feels she is attracted to him, too. But Gia has important reasons to accept the proposal--her mother has cancer and needed money for treatment, they're going to lose their house and her nanny, and she is a semester away from graduating college. It isn't like it’s going to be hard pretending to be the girlfriend of a wealthy, hot and sexy businessman. So the contract is signed and all and she is set to follow her boyfriend to Texas to start the game and meet with his mother. Whatever else could go wrong?

Payton, a normal girl finally figuring out the ropes of adulting. A nice apartment with her boyfriend, and her boyfriends annoying best friend. A steady well-paying job, all sensible people's dream. That was until her boyfriend went away for work and his best friend, asks for her help. It was nothing too difficult, just acting like his girlfriend around his boss to make a good impression. But he left out the part where his boss, was one of the biggest gangsters around. She is thrown in with the sharks, where this sensible girl's normal life, becomes anything but normal. She has to fight her way through all the criminal twists and turns, leaving her unsure of her place in the world. To make matters worse, her pretend boyfriend confessed his own feelings for her! Police, murder, and relationships turn her life upside down. Follow her story to find out what being The Step In Girlfriend really entails.

"Do you know how lucky you are?" he answered her question with his own. His voice was low and husky as he leaned his face closer, teasing her. Her breathing hitched and she tiptoed as if it could help avoid his hot breath. "What do you mean?" she tried to back her head more into the wall but it was a lost cause. The back of her head was already banging into the hard surface. It was causing an unneeded headache to form. "I mean, don't you know how many women would like to be in your place right now? Yet, you're rejecting me,” "Who said I'm rejecting you? I said I wanted my own room!” "That's the same as rejecting me babe," Chris whispered as he blew her ear, making Jihyun shiver. His words were confusing, but when they registered in her brain, she huffed and slammed her head on his side. Dumbfounded, he looked down at her in confusion as he held her hands tighter, “Dont babe me!” she glared at him and regretted it soon as he had her stare. *** When Chris was stuck between meeting his ex-fiancee and keeping his cool in front of his family, he chose the easy road. He forced his ever-loyal secretary to be his fake girlfriend for ten days. Simple. Easier said than done. Jihyun never wanted to curse at her boss, but bringing her to his family event and making her lie to their faces about being in love with him? It almost drove her off the edge. A disaster! One that she would never ask for.

To scrape together enough money for tickets home on New Year’s Eve, I took on a part-time job and accidentally entered a livestream where money was being thrown around. The boy on screen had fair skin and wore a high-end knit sweater, with a luxuriously decorated villa behind him. “It’s too boring being kept here. My sugar mommy gives me more money than I can spend. Let’s do some giveaways.” Excited, I grabbed several large cash drops in a row. The money for my girlfriend’s and my tickets was almost enough. Then the boy suddenly leaned close to the camera. “She keeps saying the tear mole under my eye looks like her boyfriend’s. What bad luck, sharing the same feature as some poor loser.” My fingers trembled. I had a tear mole in the exact same spot. A comment floated by: [How could a sugar mommy’s boyfriend be poor?] The boy sneered, running a hand through his hair. “She’s just playing around. Told him she’s a million in debt, and he’s dumb enough to work and help her pay it off.” My heart went cold. My girlfriend was also supposedly a million in debt. “The funniest part is, she just spent three days with me. When she left, I asked if she still had the energy to go be with him. “She said as long as she tells him she’s going to wash dishes at a barbecue place, that idiot will feel bad and go deliver food to make some extra money overnight.” Another big cash drop came in. I had enough now. My phone rang. Wren’s voice sounded tired as she said, “Aran, the ticket money isn’t enough… I made a little over two hundred dollars washing dishes. I’ll head home now.”

While waiting for my next ride request, I pick up a father and his son. As they get into my car, rainwater drips onto the seats. The man, Cory Quick, hands me five 20-dollar bills. "This should cover the car wash." Before I can refuse, Cory has already stuffed the money into the crack between the seats. "You drivers have it tough these days. My wife gives me so much allowance every month, and I can't even spend it all. "She's swamped with work today. Otherwise, she would've picked me up earlier. Isn't that right, Joel?" Cory holds his son, Joel Quick, in his arms, like he's showing off a little. I force a polite smile as I watch them through the rearview mirror. "Your wife treats you really well." Cory shrugs. "She's alright, I guess. Actually, she has a boyfriend, but she's worried he's after her money. That's why she's pretending to be broke. I married her overseas. Oh, right. Her boyfriend is a rideshare driver too." I freeze for a moment. After all, I also have a girlfriend who's drowning in debt after going bankrupt. Before I can even respond, the man holds up his phone and shows it to me. "Look at that. She knows I'm still not home, and she's sent me money again." Beneath the string of zeroes is a voice message. Cory taps on it, and Hannah Judd's voice comes through the phone. "Honey, are you in the car yet? I bought us supper, and I'll be home soon." A chill runs through me, and my hands start trembling on the steering wheel. Just a moment ago, I got a message from Hannah too. "I have a business dinner, so I don't think I'll make it home tonight."