by Lori Ryan
What was happening to his ordered world?
“If Andrew didn’t send you, then who the hell are you?” Jack demanded. This day was getting worse and worse. Hell, it had to be a nightmare. There was no way he had just agreed to marry some complete stranger in front of his aunt and cousin. A complete stranger who happened to materialize out of thin air right when he needed a wife?
Jack rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He hadn’t slept much the night before after he lied to his aunt about having a fiancée, and he was working even more than usual lately. Maybe he imagined this.
That’s it. She’s a hallucination. A very vivid hallucination.
The hallucination was speaking, though. Do hallucinations speak?
“I’m Kelly Bradley,” she said, tentatively.
Jack leveled a steady glare at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nice to meet you, Kelly. Now who the hell are you and where did you come from?”
She squirmed under his gaze, just as he’d wanted her to. He wanted the truth and he was damned good at getting it.
“I recently became aware of your problem, Mr. Sutton, and I have my own problem. I put two and two together and figured out we could help each other, and so here I am. Voila,” she explained with a little flutter of her hands at the “voila.”
“’Jack’” he said, almost absent mindedly. Something in him didn’t like her calling him Mr. Sutton. Still, he focused on what she’d said. “’Became aware’? That’s a bit vague. Start from the beginning, woman.” Jack knew he was a formidable-looking man, and he was using that to his advantage as he grilled Kelly, but he also couldn’t help be a little amused by her attempts to skirt his questions.
Damn, she’s cute when she squirms.
“Um, well,” Kelly bit her lip as she started the story, but he hardly heard her. He found himself distracted by her luscious, kissable mouth.
Jesus, Jack, get a grip on yourself and focus.
Kelly was still talking and he forced himself to listen to what she said.
“Jennie overheard you talking about your mother’s will and that you needed someone to marry you by the end of the week. So, here I am. We’ll get married for a year and then get a nice neat divorce, and we’ll never have to see each other again. I’m not a psycho—just a normal girl with a degree that apparently isn’t going to get me a job anytime soon.”
She took a breath. “So I improvised. And, before you get all worried, I have zero interest in a real relationship. I have other plans and marriage isn’t one of them. And besides, I’m immune to falling in love. I’m broken or something. It just doesn’t happen to me, so that won’t be a concern.” At this point, Kelly was babbling.
Jack held up his finger to stop Kelly’s story for a moment. He pushed the button on his phone and spoke. “Jennie, can you come in here, please?” He released the button and turned calmly back to Kelly.
As he faced off with her once again, he asked, “Why $154,000? Why did you ask for such a specific amount?” Gather the information first, Jack told himself. Get the right information so you stay ahead of this thing—whatever the hell this thing was.
“I need it for law school. I got into Yale, but I can’t pay for tuition. I need that amount to cover three years so I can get my J.D.” she said.
Jack noticed that she raised her chin just a hair as she told him that she had gotten into Yale. As she talked, she began to look more like the confident woman who had claimed his office as her own an hour earlier.
Hmmm. If what she said were true, she wasn’t an idiot and—all evidence of mood swings aside—she probably was a fairly bright, normal person to have made it into law school. Much less Yale Law School.
That showed she wasn’t completely psychotic, anyway. And she wasn’t looking to take him for millions. His rough net worth was a matter of public knowledge, so she had to know the amount she was asking for was chump change to him. She could have demanded millions, and it wouldn’t have put a dent in his bank account. He wondered why she hadn’t asked for more.
Watching her now, he began to think they just might be able to pull it off. He’d have to teach her about negotiating though. Really, what was she thinking only asking him for tuition? She’d had him over a barrel when she walked in this room. She should have held out for more.
Jack made a mental note to have a full background check done on Kelly. He could have the results back tomorrow. If that panned out, he would go through with getting the marriage certificate the next day as she suggested. If not, he’d send her packing.
While Jack was busy thinking, Jennie came into the room. She looked appropriately embarrassed, trying not to make eye contact with her boss. He figured she was probably wondering if she would get fired from the temp agency or only from this particular assignment.
Jack glanced up at Jennie. “Call the temp agency and tell them you quit. You work for me now. Go down to Human Resources and tell them you’re joining Chad’s team. Chad runs our security and investigations department. I think that’s a good fit for your…skills. HR will get you set up.”
Jennie stood there with a stunned look on her face, and Jack wondered if she’d ever been caught at any of her little games before.
“Oh, and Jennie,” Jack said.
“Yes, sir?”
“Keep the marriage deal quiet. Don’t mention it to anyone, including Chad, or you’re fired and Kelly won’t get a penny. That goes for anything else you’ve overheard. And tell maintenance to get that damned intercom fixed.”
He had known the light didn’t work right on the phone but hadn’t thought it would be an issue. Hell, usually his company was the one investigating other people. But Jennie had been eavesdropping on him—in his own office. He should have been more careful to protect himself. But at least he could put her to work for him from now on. Jennie had managed to fool him and look so damned innocent this whole time, he was sure she’d be an asset on Chad’s team.
As Jennie skittered out of the room, Andrew walked in and looked at Jack and Kelly. “Hey, Jack,” he said slowly, “what’s going on?” His head whipped back and forth from Jack to Kelly as if he were watching a tennis match.
“Did you find anything?” Jack ignored Andrew’s question, asking one of his own. If it was still possible to get out of this marriage deal, he should do it. Even if the woman was stunning and intriguing and gutsy as hell.
“I found a friend of Chad’s from prep school that owed me a favor. Says Bryan and Chad knew each other. They weren’t close but they also didn’t hate each other. Hung out with some of the same people, so it might be a gamble hoping that he wouldn’t back Chad for CEO considering his feelings for you. I think we need to go to Chad and get him involved.”
Jack shook his head as Andrew finished his explanation. Andrew knew Jack didn’t have it in his heart to ask Chad to do that to his mom.
To Jack, family was family and he would lose everything he had, for his family. The irony was, in this case, it was his own family that was attacking him, so he was in a Catch-22. Still, he wanted to do all he could not to hurt his aunt as he defended himself.
Chapter 11
Jack faced Kelly again. He was once again fully back in his element. He took control of the negotiations now that he had made the decision to run with this. He didn’t really have any other option, and she didn’t appear to be a lunatic.
In fact, as he watched her quietly come to grips with what she had done and get her confidence back, he marveled at her. It had really taken guts to walk into the room and pull off what she had. And she’d done it with such grace and confidence. She owned his office as if it were hers, and there weren’t many people who could pull that off.
He found himself a little in awe of the gorgeous creature who now sat quietly on his couch.
“One year of marriage. Prenuptial agreement. You get your law school tuition, and you’ll have a credit card for expenses while we’re married. You’ll have to attend occasional dinner pa
rties and fundraising events, that sort of thing, so you’ll need appropriate clothes. Some of them will be black tie. You’ll put anything you need on my card. After the divorce, I’ll get you a condo in New Haven and spending money while you’re in school, plus your tuition. After graduation, you’ll be on your own. You’ll move into my house in Fairfield while we’re married. At the end of the year, we cite irreconcilable differences and end the marriage.”
“I hadn’t really thought I’d need to move in with you. I-I thought this would only be on paper,” Kelly stammered while Andrew watched the scene play out, with a look of shock on his face. It was more than obvious Andrew didn’t know who this woman was or how Jack had found her.
Jack could see Andrew tensing. His friend had his own reasons to be doubly suspicious when it came to women, but Jack was going with his gut here, and his gut told him this woman wasn’t a threat to him.
Jack shook his head. “My Aunt and board of directors will need to be utterly convinced this is a real marriage. We need to live together. There are nine bedrooms so we won’t need to sleep together. The house is on the water so you can spend the summer relaxing and hanging out before school. I have a housekeeper who lives in an apartment over the garage, but she’s very loyal and discreet. She won’t say a word if we aren’t sharing a bed.”
Kelly blushed at his mention of sharing a bed and Jack found himself intrigued as he watched her cheeks flame red. She was gutsy and courageous one minute and sweet and innocent the next. It was a captivating combination.
Wait.
Jack shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Focus on the big picture, Jack. She’s a means to an end. Nothing more.
Andrew piped back in. “I left you alone for three hours and you found a wife?”
“She found me,” Jack answered in a distracted manner, not bothering to elaborate.
Andrew raised his eyes to the ceiling and muttered to no one in particular. “Whole industries are built on helping men and women try to find someone, and Jack has women walking in off the street to marry him. Wait, why did she walk in off the street?” Andrew asked as he directed his eyes back to Jack. “She just happened to know you were in the market for a wife? This is like an episode of I Dream of Jeannie.”
Jack ignored the questions and kept his focus on hammering out the details with Kelly. “We’ll have to go out to dinner and things occasionally, maybe kiss once or twice in front of the right people,” Jack continued.
Now Jack could really see the heat climbing its way up Kelly’s cheeks. He was almost enjoying this and wondered how pink he could make those cheeks burn. Her eyes had gone big and round at the mention of a kiss. What would those doe eyes do if he told her what else he was thinking of doing as he watched her now?
Jack glanced over at Andrew and saw Andrew had one eyebrow raised as he regarded the couple.
He leaned a shoulder on the wall, crossed his arms, and watched the scene unfolding before him. Jack knew he was going to catch a lot of flak about this from Andrew, but he needed to focus on Kelly for now.
Andrew shook his head and muttered something about a bottle and Jeannie and Captain Nelson. Andrew looked amused now, but Jack knew once he heard the full story, he was going to catch hell for what he was planning to do. Andrew didn’t have very much faith in women’s motives.
Chapter 12
Kelly watched Jack as he detailed the terms of their deal. She hadn’t really thought through the actual implementation of her plan. Her palms were sweating and her cheeks flamed as she listened and considered the implications. She wasn’t a virgin or anything, but she certainly hadn’t thought through the possibility they would need to share a bed, so she was relieved to hear she would have a separate room.
She could handle being housemates if necessary, but the thought of kissing Jack made Kelly feel like an inexperienced fifteen-year-old. In a normal world, she wouldn’t dream of kissing a man like him.
He was powerful and striking, with a chiseled body and eyes that felt as if they could melt her with a glance. He was also completely out of her league.
When she was with Jack, she felt as if a whole swarm of butterflies had been let loose in her stomach. Her breath came faster and shorter. She felt as if she might pass out when he looked at her with that steady, sensual gaze as if he could look right into her and read her thoughts.
It was impossible not to second guess herself again and again. She shouldn’t have done this. She couldn’t go through with it.
But based on his words, he was clearly counting on her to marry him in two days. Marry him and move in. She closed her eyes as she felt a tightening in her stomach and wondered for the fiftieth time that hour just what she had gotten herself into.
Chapter 13
“Married, my ass,” Chad’s mother bit out as she walked in his office without knocking. “That engagement is as fake as my highlights. I don’t know how he did it or who she is, but we need to expose this marriage as a fraud.”
Mabry tossed her purse down on one of the two chairs in front of Chad’s desk and lowered herself into the other.
“Hello again, Mom. Long time no see,” Chad deadpanned as he turned away from his computer to face his mother.
He didn’t know quite what was going on with Jack’s sudden marriage announcement, and he agreed something didn’t smell right, but Chad would respect his cousin’s decision.
He didn’t have to tell Jack he was running background checks on her that went so deep she’d probably feel it when they were run.
He had no idea what his mother’s angle was and he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to help her with whatever her latest plot was when it came to hurting Jack. She was on her own with that.
His mother ignored his reply and continued her tirade. “They’re going to be married by the end of the week, just in time to meet the terms of his mother’s will. There’s no way this is a real marriage. I’ve never even heard him talk about this girl, and all of a sudden they’re getting married?”
Ah. So that was it. His mom was going after the stocks in the trust. Chad had forgotten about the terms of Jack’s mother’s will. Chad had his own shares in the company, though his dad hadn’t wanted to invest much early on when the rest of the family got in on it, so most of what Chad owned had come from his own pocket and hard work.
His mother wasn’t even pretending to listen to him.
“Nonsense,” Mabry said harshly. “We need to put the spotlight on this wedding and end this now before he gets controls of those shares.”
Chad waited his mother out. He was used to this from her and if there was one thing he’d learned in the military, it was patience.
He knew he could press her and make her stop, but he’d had trouble putting his foot down with her since his dad walked out on her ten years ago.
That abandonment had changed her. It broke her, and that broke Chad’s heart. It was as if she were a different person. She was hard and unreachable sometimes, and other times she was fragile and would have a meltdown at the drop of a hat. She seemed filled with anger.
Chad was afraid if he pushed too hard, and said just plain ‘no,’ she’d feel as if he were leaving her too.
Mabry ignored the look on her son’s face as he continued to sort papers on his desk. “If we can show the board the marriage is a farce, we can convince them Jack isn’t fit to run the company even with those extra shares and outvote him. We need to figure out how to prove those two aren’t really in love. We need to know who she is and what she’s getting out of this.”
Chad grit his teeth together. Damnit, it was one thing for him to bitch at her, but he needed to make sure she didn’t go too far and hurt Jack. That wasn’t something he was willing to let her do.
Chapter 14
Jack had never seen Roark turn as red as he was now. If he hadn’t been the only person Jack trusted to write the confidentiality agreements and prenup Jack needed, he wouldn’t have told the man until after the wedding
to Kelly took place.
Jack leaned back in his chair and waited for Roark to finish steaming. He crossed his legs at the ankle and stretched out. They’d be here awhile.
“This was not even remotely what your mother wanted, Jack!”
Jack didn’t doubt it, but his mother shouldn’t have fucked with his personal life like this.
He felt a flash of guilt at the thought, but it was true. What woman tries to reach out from the grave to manipulate her son into marriage. If he didn’t resent that on some level, he wouldn’t be normal.
“Roark, you had to know I was going to find a way around this. I’m not losing my company, even if it is to family.”
The other man went to the window and looked out over the city. “Don’t do this, Jack. You don’t even know this woman.”
Jack didn’t bother to repeat what he’d already told his lawyer several times. The man knew he was having a background check done on Kelly and that she was friends with Jack’s secretary.
“She’s nothing more than a woman who wants to pay for college. She’s not psycho or a gold digger.”
Roark turned to him running a hand down his face. “You don’t know that.”
“You can’t argue that I’m not good at reading people. She walked in and asked for only the amount she needed to pay her tuition, Roark. She could have asked for more than that. Hell, she didn’t even ask for money towards her expenses or anything. She didn’t even round up, for Christ sake!”
His lawyer sank into the seat across from him, shoulders slumped. “Marriage isn’t something you buy and sell, son. It’s not one of your deals.”
Jack had known the conversation would come down to this. Roark had been married to the love of his life for fifty-two years before she died almost a decade ago.