The Deal

Nicole Summers doesn’t do impulsive.

She runs the Austin branch of her family’s tech empire, overthinks every decision, and keeps her personal life carefully compartmentalized. But with Thanksgiving looming and her family circling like sharks over her single status, Nicole makes a reckless choice: she hires a girlfriend.

E. G. Jones is not what Nicole expected.

Confident, grounded, and maddeningly unreadable, E agrees to the arrangement with minimal fuss—and zero intention of giving away more of herself than necessary. The rules are clear. A contract is signed. It’s temporary. Simple.

Except nothing about being with E feels simple.

As Nicole’s carefully controlled world begins to tilt, what starts as a strategic performance turns into something far more dangerous: vulnerability. And the one thing Nicole has always avoided—needing someone—becomes impossible to ignore.

Because pretending to fall in love is easy. Stopping might not be.

The Deal is a fake-dating, age-gap sapphic romance about control, desire, and learning that love can’t be negotiated.