Love For Hire

2

Max.

—I need a wife.

I finish with that sentence after explaining the whole thing to my onlookers while the nurse Ariatna sent to my flat finishes dressing my wounds. Two hours later, I'm back in my flat and I'm wrapped up with a bandage around my ribs, in the nurse's expert opinion there's no bleeding, no broken ribs, my nose has stopped bleeding, and the only thing that worries her is my lack of patience to sit still while she stitches my open cheek.

—Maxwell Nox; "the gallant young millionaire" —Victor recites the way Men's magazine had catalogued him for me a couple of years ago when I came home from college - is getting married in a month. —He finishes with a fake laugh as he plops down on my prized reclining sofa.

Since I had returned home from several years abroad, I had it all mapped out, but now to get it I must comply with my grandmother Margaret's requirements.

Up to this day in my 27 years, I was sure of many things, mainly in always working hard to achieve my goals, in trying not to break the face of anyone who stood in front of me, except my brother, and to build the legacy that for years it took my grandfather to build, and now I have that responsibility, for which I am fully prepared, but I am not ready to marry anyone and I don't think I ever will be. I can only lead and grow the company, as it should be and as my grandfather, Logan Nox, would surely want it to be.

I believe in publicity, in earnestness, in good and thoughtful dealings, in the love I have for my sisters. All of that gives my life meaning. Eternal love, on the other hand, does not. Marriage from my perspective is just a deception to hurt the other.

My father had well demonstrated this to me by cheating for years on mother to the point of bringing his mistresses into the house while we were all there or my mother convalescing in bed after having one of his many children and even to her own funeral just after he had brought it on himself. And my brother only confirmed to me that that was what this "marriage" arrangement was all about by seeing the way he behaved when he was with Molly and without her. To be their equal, I don't want to get married, I'll pass. But if I have to marry someone to keep Nicholas from running the company into the ground or treating his employees like his wife, I have to find a woman who sees this as a business in which she too can profit without looking for anything more than what I can offer her in return.

—And how do you plan to do that? —laughingly interjects my beautiful visitor, pulling me out of my thoughts, as if reading my mind.

Before I answer, I glance at the plump, rather elderly nurse, who is already gathering her things, and escort her out so that at last the four of us can be left alone to devise a real plan of action, but not before listening to her recommendations:

—Take the pain medication, don't be macho and suck it up as it will only make everything worse, gently clean the wound every chance you get and I'll come and remove the stitches in a couple of days.

I smile and close the door without saying anything else so I can go back to the room and recover my initial thoughts.

—That's why I asked you to come, sis. I need someone who's not looking for more than I can offer, a woman who's willing to see this as a simple, loveless deal and last long enough to get the presidency of Nox publishing. —I walk over to where Ronda is sitting and lightly ruffle her hair.

Danilo Torres, the brilliant chef Montivano I've known since I was a kid, pokes his head out of the kitchen and shouts:

—Luck with that girl... —I roll my eyes, knowing what's coming next: "If you find her, introduce me to her sister.

-For two —seconds Victor, a potential gigolo and millionaire tycoon who recently inherited the largest telecommunications company in Montive when his father passed away last autumn.

—Why did I call them if they're not helping me? -Danilo, stop ransacking my kitchen, and Victor, don't go to sleep. -I throw a cushion in his face, with great force, causing the recliner to lurch backwards and almost hit the floor.

—Easy, in Tlander —exclaims Ronda, rearranging herself on the couch after getting up in a rush, startled by my friend's fall.

I frown and question her, not understanding what she means:

—What?

—Oh, bro. Tlander, the app that guys like you use for casual dating and stuff.

—Like me? I didn't even know about it. More like... —I put my arms up and c****d my head to look authoritative. How do you know about it?

Ronda smiles nervously, looks at Victor and then back at me.

—I've met her before, one of my friends will have mentioned it a while ago.

—What kind of friends do you hang out with?

—With a wave of his hand he downplays the issue and continues:

»My idea is that you make an announcement on the app. We create a profile, something mysterious, without your name or anything, so we avoid those who already know you. Danilo and I will choose the ten candidates who will go through to the first round. Everything will be Top Secret once we select the ten girls. Then we'll do a filter like musical tables in disguise where we'll hire ten men similar to your complexion who will pretend to be the aforementioned leading man from the advert.

—I'll be among them —he exclaimed, slightly convinced that this was a good idea.

—Finally —Ronda continues—, the four selected finalists will have a full-day date with you.

—With confidentiality agreements —adds Victor smartly for a change.

—And then you'll have that woman you want to marry in less than two weeks, little brother.

—And how did you come up with all that in such a short time? —shouts Danilo from the kitchen.

—Looking for courtship —he says, referring to the world's most watched Montivano programme where more than forty strangers enter the fine mansion of Atilé Montive, the city's founding father, to supposedly find love.

—And what would the advert say? —I ask, still hesitant and slightly apprehensive about the idea of disguises.

—Leave that to me. Of course, if that doesn't work, you can still resort to Grandma's horror list. —Everyone laughs in unison and I assume they've imagined the worst possible scene.

I, for my part, can only see in the distance the endless line of girls that the old lady would definitely approve of.

«Some boring, puritanical girl that I'll have to stay married to for life».

I shake my head, dismissing the idea from my mind.

After a few moments Victor gets ready to speak:

—I can help with the advertisement too. —He stands up with a triumphant smile and hopes to find some naïve girl to have his private interview with.

—Thank you... —I put my hand on my philandering friend's shoulder, but I'll entrust this to my sister only.

They both look at each other and smile knowingly. The gesture between them sends a pang through my chest.

«Jealousy? Na, Ronda wouldn't be foolish enough to fall for Victor».

My thoughts calm me and I turn my attention to Danilo, who has brought us a delicious stew and breaded milanesas with pasta for dinner that reminds me of my childhood meals. My mouth immediately waters and ignoring everyone, I grab a plate and begin to gobble it all down.

After dinner, Victor and Danilo decide to leave. The way Victor says goodbye so affectionately, hugging my sister and giving her a long kiss on the cheek, a red light goes on in me again and I become alert.

—Let me know if you need my expert eye with the girls —Victor exclaims and they both leave my flat.

In the meantime Ronda and I are left to put together the advert for Tlander.

—-I've got it! -He exclaims after a few minutes—, What do you think...? "

Young, handsome, wealthy bachelor seeks fake wife.

You won't know my name or anything about me until we meet. I am 27 years old and want to offer you a life full of luxury and riches. The marriage will last only 5 years and no children. The requirements for you to be my wife are: that you are a woman between 20 and 26 years old, no taller than 6 feet tall, beautiful, slim, kind-hearted, with high business qualities, who is always available for my events, who wants to get married in a month, who will help me take care of my family and grow as a person.

Do you think you have the profile?"

—I don't know —I shake my head not at all convinced that this is exactly what I'm looking for—, as it seems, sis, you have a bad concept of what a man wants and needs from a woman. At least from a respectable man like me.

—You're not looking for a woman —Ronda replies, fed up with my corrections and indecision. You're looking for someone who can indulge grandmother's whim to marry you off. I think I know exactly what she wants for you and our family, brother.

—I know, but I'm not looking for someone who only sees the money available to earn or a mother who wants to take care of me or just a model for event photos. I want a real woman I can get along with for as long as the charade lasts.

As soon as my sister gets up I go back to my usual musings and sprawl out on the sofa. On the one hand, I think it's the only efficient and quick way to get what I'm looking for, on the other hand it seems a bit commercial and ungentlemanly of me. But I prefer it to going on ten dates a day to find a single woman worth the risk or going on many dates with one of the girls my grandmother put on her horror list.

«What if one of them is crazy, or worse, they all are?»

Determined, I take a deep breath, grab the computer where we are putting our ideas together and start writing the announcement that will decide the rest of my life:

Young single man seeks wife.

I won't tell you my name until we meet. I am 27 years old and I am looking for a woman capable of seeing marriage as a deal in which you will have the benefit of a comfortable and carefree life for the five years that the nuptial contract will last. The requirements for this deal to go through are: you must be between 20 and 26 years old, no taller than 5'6", beautiful (in my opinion), slim, kind hearted, with high business qualities, always available for my events, no children and not married before, willing to marry within a month and abide by my following rules.

1. Do not fall in love with me.

2. Do not lie to me.

3. Not to talk to anyone about what I see or what happens around me.

If you think you fit the profile, get ready to meet me in a week.

All those interested in applying, please attend this Wednesday 25th March at the Nox design offices, located at Lucky Avenue B30 from 08:00 to 12:00.

We will only accept the first 30 candidates who have attended or made an appointment by clicking on the link below.

I stop typing and wait impatiently for my sister to read it.

—Concise —she begins to speak after a while—, firm, a bit ostentatious, but I think it will work without problems, Max. Although I'm not sure that only 30 will attend the place.

—I'll choose them according to the requirements of the type of woman I want.

—You'll pick them based on looks alone? —He twists his mouth in distaste.

—No —I say—. I put a catch in the advertisement. Anyone who just shows up is out. Those who are foreseeable and make an appointment, pass. I've already checked and as soon as I place the ad in the app I can set how many applications I want to receive. I don't intend to make this bigger than it needs to be.

—And do you think it's wise to set up the Nox offices as the location for your love affairs? —She caught his irony and stuck her tongue out at him like when she was little.

—Everything will be well organised, nothing will get out of my control.

As soon as Ronda finishes setting everything up and clicks the create profile button, I know right away that I can do it, find a woman willing to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals and she'll have a good few years of stability. I can even visualise her, tall, slender, brown hair and dark eyes, an incredibly seductive voice, with whom I will have passionate conversations about culture and maybe, if we are lucky, we can end up being friends.

«As long as you don't have any dramas or anything goes wrong».

Questions my mind. My best and worst enemy since my mother died.