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I want you for the job.”
     
    “You have?”
     
    “If you want it, yes, it's yours. I decided it a while ago. That first night I met you actually. When I came in late and you really just wanted to go home, but you were nice to me instead.”
     
    I smiled. “I try to be nice to everyone. It's one of the worst things about me.”
     
    “No, not at all. I think it's great, Nell. I really do. And I hope you really are available to travel, and you really do think this job would be a good fit, and that you'll find my salary is fair.” He told me a number then that made me choke on my salad.
     
    “I know it sounds high.” He paused as I tried to compose myself. “But I have to admit, I haven't been completely honest with you yet about the demands of the job.”
     
    “You must have a lot of stresses and inconveniences to deal with on location.”
     
    “I do. It's extremely difficult to go to one of these shoots, constantly traveling, working, doing PR, all the little things. I really need someone with me who I can depend on. I mean, it's a complicated job, but it's really very simple. I just need someone to get me what I need when I need it, to keep me happy and focused and able to work.”
     
    “Sure,” I said, but the look on his face was weirding me out a little. He reached for the small portfolio he'd carried in.
     
    “I brought this paperwork along, just for you to look over. You don't have to sign anything or agree to take the job right now. This just sort of lays things out for you, what your duties, tasks, expectations would be.” He opened it up and handed me a long, single-spaced document in dense legalese.
     
    “To start, this is your typical confidentiality agreement. These are, unfortunately, a necessary evil in my business.”
     
    Yes, I thought, my old business too. I had signed many a confidentiality agreement in my old line of work.
     
    “I understand,” I said soberly. “Of course you can count on absolute circumspection and discretion on my part.”
     
    “I'm glad to hear that. So perhaps, before we go any further, you might just sign this document. Because the rest of these papers contain more personal details about the day-to-day demands of the job, and somewhat more personal details about me.” He looked at me expectantly.
     
    “Of course,” I said. “If you like.”
     
    I signed the paper after scanning it to be sure it read just like all the other ones I'd signed. By this time the food was getting cold, but I was too spellbound by his attention to eat another bite. We were going over papers . I was about to learn his personal details . Oh my God.
     
    “Now, Nell,” he said with what almost sounded like a sigh. “Let's talk seriously about the job.”

Chapter Three
    Requirements
     
     
     
    Jeremy slid the papers across the table.
     
    “Why don't you just read them? And let me know if you have any questions.”
     
    There were five or six pages of job description. I smiled, resting my head on my hand. Okay, the high salary made sense now. I began to scan the first page, also written in something akin to legalese.
     
    “I guess you keep your lawyers busy with all these papers and contracts,” I said.
     
    “Yes, I do. But I think it's important to have everything perfectly clear and written down in black-and-white. It's easier for everyone involved.”
     
    “Yes, of course.”
     
    The document began with more verbiage about privacy, discretion, the outward appearance of normalcy. Outward appearance of normalcy . Okay, that was a little weird.
     
    Near the bottom, it got even weirder. The applicant will tender public displays of affection as needed…
     
    The applicant agrees to cooperate with photo opportunities and/or candid interviews regarding the love relationship of Jeremy Gray and the applicant with a positive, convincingly affectionate tone…
     
    I stopped reading, my pulse suddenly beating in my ears. “I don't… I'm not… Okay. I'm a little