Josilyn Martinez blew out a breath and glanced at the stack of bills staring at her from the coffee table. She knew two things. One: she had to pay all of them. Two: she didn’t have the money in her negative-forty-three-cent bank account.
“Josie?” Nick called from his bedroom. “Could I have cereal for dinner?”
She thought back to the cereal he’d had for lunch and winced. She’d never met a boy who could eat so much Froot Loops. “You sure you don’t want some of the chicken I baked?”
“Nah,” he said, rushing by her, wearing a Superman cape and Batman boxers. Clinking noises came from the kitchen, dishes and cutlery being moved.
“Be careful,” she said automatically and thought about getting up at the same moment Nick walked in front of her, his socks sliding on the wood floors, picking at the cereal loops at the top of his bowl without stopping.
He lifted his head and crunched on a red Froot Loop. “I’ll be careful.”
“Don’t worry about washing that bowl when you’re done.” She glanced at the clock on the wall in the shape of a tree trunk Nick had picked out from the local thrift shop. “I’ll come and get it. Just brush your teeth and get your butt to bed, mister. You’re off to Grandma’s in the morning.”
“Okay.” There was a pause, then Nick came out of his room, threw his arms around her neck, and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Aunt Josie.”
“Good night, baby bear.” She cuddled him for a moment and sent him off. She went back to staring at the unopened bills. Frustration and anger ate at her chest. How she wished she could do more than she was for Nick, but her ex had gotten his best friend and asshole of a lawyer to get her for every dollar she’d ever worked for in their divorce.
She groaned and stood. Sharp needles of pain shot through her back muscles from being on her knees scrubbing toilets all day. She’d lost everything thanks to Michael. No reputable company wanted to hire her. Not with what Michael did.
She’d gone from having a great job and extra money in the bank to having nothing in less time than it took for him to pack his shit and leave her for Miss Double-D from the car wash down the street. While Josie had big boobs—all right, she had big everything—she couldn’t compete with those puppies.
She grabbed a cup to fill with water and stopped. She hadn’t had wine since the night she found out she was beyond broke. She went from getting her hair and nails done weekly to getting rid of everything of value to scrape up money for food.
The divorce hadn’t been the worst of it. Her sister Lucy and brother-in-law Frank had died in a car accident, leaving Josie with the added responsibility of a new child to take care of. While Frank’s mother could easily take care of Nick, it was clearly stated in the couple’s will they wanted Nick raised by Josie.
Mildred, Frank’s mother, used money to get her way and had tried many times to bribe Josie to let Nick live with her. None of her efforts had worked.
Josie eyed the bottle of wine her neighbor Shawna had given her. Shawna was the closest thing to family Josie had. She’d given her a shoulder to cry on and listened even when Josie herself had no idea what she was saying. Having someone she could vent to kept Josie from losing her mind.
She grabbed the bottle of wine and a glass and carried them back to the coffee table. Then she went around the apartment, shutting off lights and finally checking on Nick. He’d inhaled the cereal and she hoped he’d followed through and brushed his teeth. She turned off his lamp, and his night-light automatically turned on. His cape hung on a chair while he lay sprawled on his back, soft snoring sounds coming from him.
She leaned down, kissed him on the head, and brought the covers up to his neck. She picked up the dirty dishes, turned on his fan, and closed the door. At the sofa, she poured a glass of wine.
When she smelled the alcohol, that one night from her childhood, the one that changed her life, played through her mind.
Her father had smelled the same as the wine, except much stronger. They had been at the family Christmas Eve party for hours. It was late and her mom wanted to go home, but Dad told her to relax and he shoved a short glass with amber liquid into her hand—the same thing he’d been drinking and refilling his own glass with all night.
Josie knew her father was drunk. Being the head of a big corporation made him high-profile, which meant he never did anything in public to embarrass himself or the company. So his drinking tonight in the comfort of friends and family took away his ability to reason.
Mom finally talked him into going home. Like usual, Josie and Lucy sat in the backseat of the car. They had unwrapped boxes around them that Santa had dropped off at their aunt Lucy’s home earlier. The Barbie she had wanted for so long lay beside her. Being late at night, she let the smooth ride of the Mercedes lull her to sleep as they drove past houses and lawns covered in snow.
Suddenly, she woke when her body was thrown forward and a loud noise hurt her ears. The seat belt around her waist kept her from hitting the front seat with her face. She looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Why she was awakened.
Through the spider-webbed windshield, she saw the front of the car was crumpled back. That was all she could see in the darkness, except for another car sitting upside down in the road not too far away with its headlights shining. The driver’s side of the other car looked smashed in, but she wasn’t sure.
Her mom hollered out her and her sister’s names and pivoted in the front seat to look back at them. Josie took in her mom’s wide, fear-filled eyes and knew something bad had just happened.
Thinking back to those times made her miss Lucy. Lucy with her bubbling personality and never-ending positive comments could make anyone feel like they were on top of the world. At this moment, she felt she was drowning. It didn’t help that Mildred would get Nick for a full week on this visit. Her high-priced lawyer got a judge to allow grandparent visits that were longer than an overnight stay.
If she were honest with herself, Josie would admit she worried Mildred would go for full custody again, and this time Josie couldn’t fight her. Not without money. Hell, as it was, she could barely feed the boy. But Frank and Lucy had been adamant about keeping Nick away from Frank’s mother and, dammit, Josie would do whatever she could to follow their wishes.
She lifted the wineglass to her lips, took a sip, and rubbed her temple. She needed to figure out how to make more money. Unfortunately, she didn’t qualify for any loans and her credit was so bad she’d stopped getting junk mail asking her to open an account. She’d have to take on a second job. It wasn’t ideal, but maybe she could beg Shawna to watch Nick when she was off at work and trade it for the Spanish lessons her friend had been wanting to take.
A soft knock sounded at her door. She put the half-empty glass down and didn’t bother worrying over how quickly she’d guzzled that wine. She opened the door to Shawna. At five foot four, she considered herself short, but Shawna beat her by about two inches. With short dark hair and a curvy physique that had a lot more toning than Josie’s, Shawna slid her yoga-attired body into the apartment like a breath of fresh air.
“I have good news!” Shawna exclaimed, her melodious voice a lot more excited than Josie had been in too long.
“Great,” she said, grinning. “I already opened the wine. We can celebrate your good news in style.”
Shawna snorted a giggle and sat, her pink-and-blue trainers tapping at the edge of the chair she’d swung her legs over when she sat. “Not for me, silly.”
Josie brought a second wineglass from the kitchen and filled it. With raised brows, she handed it to Shawna. “Then who are we celebrating for?” She sat again and shrugged. “What the hell, maybe it doesn’t matter. At this point I’d celebrate the fact I still have frozen vegetables in the freezer.”
Shawna sipped her wine, her smile widening. “You look so beat.” Her smile dimmed and she shook her head, making her short locks whip around her chin. “I’m sorry you’re so stressed, girl.”
She shrugged again. “I’m getting used to being stressed. I’m just worried about Nick. I don’t want to have to fight Mildred in court for him. I keep thinking no judge would let me keep him with how bad my finances are.”
“I told you I had good news!” Shawna dug into her pocket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and thrust it at Josie. “Here.”
Josie took the paper and unfolded it. “‘Mate for hire’?”
She frowned and read the ad.
Wanted: Single female.
Description: Opportunity for short-term assignment. Female to pose as mate. Must be available for functions and gatherings. Perks included. Half paycheck upon first week of work and half upon completion. Serious inquiries only.
“I don’t understand what this means. Some guy is looking for a friend?”
Shawna grinned and sipped her wine. “No. This is a new website my boss has me working on.” She rolled her eyes. “Apparently, his boss thinks he’s the one running it, but the reality is the dick has me doing all the work. Anyway, so our clients want to hire a mate for whatever reason. The women sign up to be hired as a mate because they need the money, and a lot of them are hoping the man will want to keep them. Mate for hire.” Shawna blew out a breath. “My program browses through the candidates and chooses the right person for each client.”
Josie frowned. “Okay?”
“The program chose you for this client. I put your information in and the system spit you out,” she squealed.
“You what?”
Shawna bit her lip and pouted. “I’m sorry, but I wanted to try and help you. I know you need money. These women went through a rigorous screening to get in there. I want to take stress from you.”
She glanced down at the paper. “Shawna, it doesn’t even say how much—” She gasped. “Holy shit! Is that the pay?” She glanced farther down the page.
“Yeah. That’s just half.”
Holy fucking shit, she was going to start stripping if this was the kind of money available out there. “You mean to tell me I get hired by some guy and I get this?” she choked out. “Two times?”
Shawna nodded vigorously. “And the best part? No sex.”
She tore her gaze from the sheet to look at her friend. “Say what?”
“No sex. I mean,” she said, grinning sheepishly, “not unless you want to. The rules are very specific. Someone needs a mate for whatever reason and he’s willing to pay to fake it.”
“Isn’t a mate a friend? I don’t get it, though. Why would a man pay for a friend?”
Shawna shook her head, leaning forward excitedly. “Not a friend. These are shifters. They’re hiring you to fake being in a relationship. Like a girlfriend.”
Shifters. Deadly. Badasses. Super sexy. “A shifter wants to hire me to be his fake girlfriend?”
“Technically, he wants to hire any female to be his fake girlfriend. The point is the program picked you for him, and this is your chance to make enough money to pay your bills, chica!”
Josie glanced at the paper again. The amount of money listed was a lot more than her bills totaled and that was only half the amount offered. “No sex, you say?”
Shawna grinned. “None. The guy is pretty specific about having to hire someone urgently. Most women need a few days’ notice. He wants someone tomorrow. That narrowed down the list a lot. And since Nick will be with Mildred, that gives you a few days to get this done.” She stood and sat next to Josie on the couch. “Come on, Josie. This is what you’ve been waiting for. A legal way to make money and not have to sell your ass.”
Josie snorted. “That’s yet to be seen.”
“Trust me. My company is huge. The owner would never do anything as stupid as get caught up in some escort service when his mother is very much involved in all aspects of our day-to-day operations.” Shawna grasped Josie’s hands in hers and squeezed. “Do it. What’s the worst that can happen? You decide his offer isn’t for you and say no.”
She gulped. It wasn’t like her to be so indecisive. But after Michael and the downward spiral her life had taken in the past year, she had no idea what else could be looming in the distance. “Okay. I’ll do it. What do I have to do?”
“Don’t worry, girl. I will tell you everything you need to know to make sure this is a hit.” Shawna jumped to her feet. “Let me go to my apartment and grab the papers I brought home. Pizza should be here shortly. We can eat and discuss this.”
Man, if Shawna got pizza, that meant she was serious. She never broke her Pizza Friday rule. It was only Thursday. Josie glanced at the amount again. If she got that much money, she could be clear of debt and put Nick in that martial arts class he’d been asking about.
Heck, she might even be able to rent the space and equipment to open that bakery she’d been considering with her other neighbor, Tiana. Though Tiana was traveling, it was something they could discuss if the money thing happened. It was a lot of money at stake. Nick’s future was at stake. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—let him down.