2 Million Lies

Chapter 1

Cyrah nervously pushed open the door to the restaurant, and headed towards the back, where Mr. Anderson had indicated he would be sitting. She smoothed down the skirt of her light blue dress. It had been a bridesmaid dress for Lacy's wedding three months before, but it was the nicest dress she owned, making it her only option to wear for this date. The whole sugar baby thing was way out of her wheelhouse, but she had to pay off her student loans somehow, and this was a good a way as any.

She took a deep breath, and approached a table where a man with graying brown hair, wearing a well-tailored, obviously expensive, black suit, was sitting. "Are you Mr. Anderson?"

He looked up and smiled at her. "Miss Evans. Wonderful." He gestured toward the chair across from him.

She sat as gracefully as she could manage, and kicked her white flats off underneath the table. She had borrowed them from Lacy, and they were a size too small, making cramming her feet inside painful. "Call me Cyrah."

"Cyrah." He nodded. "Call me Matthias."

She nodded politely as he appeared to look her over, taking in the details of her face and her brown hair, before nodding approvingly. Apparently she had passed some test. "Let's get to know each other, Cyrah."

"Well, I'm a photographer, I graduated from UCLA earlier this year. I've been working for a local newspaper lately, I'm hoping to get bigger jobs soon."

He nodded, obviously mentally calculating something. "I run a company, you might have heard of them. But photography? That's interesting. What do you like to do in your free time?"

She flipped slowly through the menu as she talked. "I surf, I love the ocean. I take a lot of pictures in my free time, just because I enjoy it. I like to hike, and I love nature. I like to bake as well."

"Do you like music? Have you ever been to a concert?

"I've been to a few, and I love music, although I'm not particularly musical myself." She rattled off a list of her favorite bands, most of which were 90s rock bands.

He nodded approvingly. "I'm going to be upfront with you, Cyrah. I'm not looking for a sugar baby. I'm quite happily engaged. I apologize for the deception, but I am looking for a woman to date my son."

Well, that was unexpected. And completely changed the game. She should probably just get up and leave, she was pretty sure most of the blogs would call him some sort of scammer. But maybe it would be worth hearing him out. "Your son?"

"Yes, my son. Of course, there's still money in this for you. All of your expenses will be paid as long as you are still together, and if you stay with him for six months, there's two million on the line for you."

Cyrah tried to keep herself from gasping. Two million! That was more than enough to pay off her student loans, buy herself a new car, a new surfboard, a new wardrobe, and move to a nicer apartment.

"Of course, there's a catch. Multiple catches. My son... he's a bit wild, and I'd like him back on the straight and narrow. Behaving in a way a little more fitting for my heir."

"Are you expecting him to take over the company?" That sounded like a plot point from some bad romance novel that Lacy had tried to make her read.

"No, of course not. My niece is lined up for the job already. Why would I want my rebellious college dropout son in charge of my company, over my capable, stable, niece, who has a master's degree? I'd just like his behavior to be cleaned up a little. He'll gain full access to his trust fund at the end of the year, and I'd like to ensure it will be spent responsibly."

Cyrah nodded, and waited for him to continue. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Here's the catch. He can't know you're getting paid. He has to think you're really in it for him. As far as he's concerned we never met here today."