God, I hated Monday's. But, I liked making money and eating food and living in an apartment. So, I drug my lazy ass to work even if it was the last thing I felt like doing.

I pushed through the doors of the publishing firm I worked for, heading straight for my office.

Passing Luna, my friend and assistant, on the way.

"Good morning." I greeted.

She rolled her eyes as she stood. "What the hells so good about it?"

She followed me into my office and sat down on the edge of my desk.

I sat back in my chair with a groan. "That one never gets old."

"Thanks. By the way, the boss wants to see you." She replied.

My eyes widened a little.

I've worked here for seven long years and never once has she even so much as looked in my direction.

"I-Is she firing me?" I found myself asking.

She stood up, grabbing a pencil from my desk and breaking it with a pointed look, before strolling out of my office.

I sighed before standing up and heading for the elevator.

"Hey, Shelby!" I heard from behind me.

I turned, coming face to face with Julia, a co-worker of mine. I guess you could call her a friend.

She pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh, I've missed you!"

I gently pried myself from her grasp. "It's only been two days."

She nodded, a bright smile on her face. "I know, doesn't it feel like a lifetime?"

I nodded back slowly. "Sure... Anyway, I have a meeting with the boss, I'll see you later." Then, I turned on my heel and continued my walk to the elevator.

I pushed the button and waited for the doors to open.

When they did, I saw another co-worker inside. He quickly jammed something in his pocket and wiped his nose.

"Shelly, is it?" He asked.

"Shelby." I replied, getting into the elevator beside him.

That's Todd Bowman, the bosses coked out cousin. He was set to take over the company when she retired.

After some awkward small talk, the elevator dinged, dropping me on the top floor.

I hesitantly made my way to the bosses office, stopping in front of her door.

"Bernadette Abernathy." I read from the name plate on the door.

With a quick breath, I knocked.

"Come in." She replied from the other side of the door.

I let out a breath as I pushed the door open.

I was surprised to see an older gentleman standing inside.

He seemed upset.

"Please, Mrs. Abernathy, I have three children."

She stood abruptly. "You have twenty minutes to vacate the premises or I'll have security do it for you."

He lowered his head before shuffling out and closing the door.

I glanced back at the door before returning my gaze to Mrs. Abernathy.

She sat down, a new smile on her face. "Please, take a seat."

I hesitantly did so, the weight of the situation settling in. "Look, Mrs. Abernathy, whatever this is abo-"

She raised a well manicured finger. "How long have you worked here, Miss Porter?"

I cautiously sat back in the chair. "S-seven years."

She nodded before leaning forward, staring right into my soul. "And for seven years, you've made this company lots of money, which is why it's my pleasure to invite you to a charity dinner we're holding this weekend."

"Mrs. Abernathy, please-... wait, what?"

She sat back. "We're holding a dinner to raise money for children's cancer research and we'd like you to attend."

A wave of relief washed over me. "Oh, I'd love to... god, I thought you were gonna fire me."

She smiled. "I still might... you have a boyfriend, yes?"

Confusion swirled around my head. "Uh, no... I'm more interested in women actually-"

"Then you have a girlfriend?" She interrupted. "That would look very good for the company."

"Actually, no, um, I'm single... what's all this about?"

She let out a disappointed sigh. "This is a fancy dinner, you are required to bring a date. So, you have three days."

"Uh, are you forcing me to bring a date?"

She squinted at me. "Did I stutter?"

"No, no, of course not... three days, no problem... I, um, I won't let you down."

She sat back, another smile forming on her lips. "I'm sure you won't, miss Porter, you can leave now."

I slowly stood up, a million different thoughts running through my mind, and headed for the door.

"So, she fire you?" Luna asked as I passed her desk.

I slowly shook my head. "No, um, she invited me to dinner."

Luna shot me a quizzical look. "Then what's with the look on your face?"

I sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "She said I have to bring a date or she's gonna fire me."

Luna chuckled a little. "Thats easy, you have a boyfriend, right?"

"No, why does everyone assume that?"

She shrugged. "Well, what're you gonna do then?"

"I don't know yet..." Then a thought occurred to me. "Hey, Luna-"

"Nope, I'm already going with someone."

"Wait, how'd you get invited?" I asked.

"Todd's bringing me as his date." She replied, a little to wistfully for my liking.

"You seriously agreed to go out with that coke snorting douchebag?"

She just stared at me. "Obviously, he's super rich and the heir to a multi-million dollar company. I just need to date him long enough to get into his will, then poison his oatmeal or something."

I shook my head, resting my hand on my forehead. "I'm... not even gonna jump down that rabbit hole right now, I have more important things on my mind."

"Like?"

I stood up. "Like finding a date, were you even listening to me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, fine, I'll help you." Then, she took a quick glance around the office. "What about him?" She suggested, pointing at a random co-worker.

"I'm gay, Luna. Jesus, I thought we were friends, I've known you for five years, how do you not know this?"

She rolled her eyes with a groan. "Fine, what about her?" She asked, pointing at Julia.

She smiled and waved when she noticed us looking at her.

"Eh, to clingy."

She just shrugged. "Well, you're a good looking chick, I'm sure someone in this office would go with you."

I collapsed back into the chair with a groan, running my hands over my face. "I don't have time for that, the dinners in three days."

She just looked at her computer screen, typing something on the keyboard.

I looked at her silently, waiting for her to answer, which she didn't.

"Are you even listening to me?"

She continued to ignore me, then suddenly spun her computer towards me. A picture of a beautiful blonde woman was on the screen.

"Boom." Luna said.

"Who's that?"

"Her names Katrina Banner, she's an escort."

I shook my head. "I'm not taking a hooker to a charity dinner, Luna."

"She's not a hooker, she's hired arm candy. That's all you need, isn't it?"

I let out a long breath, sinking back into the chair.

'You only need her for a couple hours... she pretends to be your girlfriend for one dinner then I never have to see her again... Jesus, are you actually considering this? Well, I don't have a lotta options here.' I argued with myself.

Then, I sighed. "Fine, let's give her a call and see if she's available."

Luna smiled. "One mail order girlfriend coming right up." She said, picking up the phone.

I closed my eyes. 'This is a stupid idea.'