by Holly Jaymes
I laughed derisively. “That’s what they all say.”
“Hallie, I’m sorry,” Allison finally chimed in. “I just…well as you know, Nate and I had a thing once.”
He shot her a vicious glare and then turned to me again, “It’s done. It’s been done for a long time.”
“Allison doesn’t think it’s done,” I was proud of how calm I sounded. But then this was a fake marriage. Perhaps I should be shriller. Maybe I should let out how I was really feeling, something like You’re a motherfucking bastard.
“What Allison thinks doesn’t matter. It’s done,” He stepped toward me, but I wasn’t going to let him fog my brain with his nearness.
“Are you sure? Because you weren’t fighting her off very hard,” I looked toward his groin expecting to find a hardon. There wasn’t one, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been.
“Seriously, Hallie, you can’t blame me for trying.” Allison flipped her long blonde tresses over her shoulder. “I’ve got to run.”
I had a few choice things to say to her, but since she was making a move to leave, I kept them to myself.
She went to Nate, but he held his hands up, his voice flat, hard, “You know where the door is.”
She gave him an exasperated look then shook her head, “Play hubby all you want, Nate. You and I both know you can’t keep it in your pants.”
She turned and walked out. Good riddance.
I shut the door because the office didn’t need to hear what I was about to say to him.
He walked to me and was about to put his hands on my arms, “Hallie, I know that looked bad but—”
“No. I talk, you listen,” I pushed him away from me.
His brows shot up in surprise, “Okay.”
“Your reputation is no secret, Nate.”
Annoyance flashed in his eyes. I wondered why, if he didn’t like his reputation, he kept acting like a horndog.
“And I have no doubt that you’d cheat on your wife.”
His jaw tensed, and his cheeks flushed in anger. He looked like he’d respond, but I didn’t let him.
“I know this marriage is fake, but I’m not a woman who’d stay with a man that cheated. People who work here know that. So you either act faithful, or this deal is off.”
“She was coming on to me, Hallie. I wasn’t accepting it.”
“She had her lips on yours, Nate. If that’s not accepting it, I don’t know what is.” I shook my head and stalked away, feeling like an idiot for letting him touch me last night. It wasn’t just the sex that had clouded my mind, but also discovering a man that had more depth than I’d thought. And if I was honest with myself, a part of me wished that this fake marriage could be more than just a business deal with benefits. Okay, so maybe not a real marriage, but perhaps a romantic relationship. What an idiot!
He ran his fingers through his hair, “She took me off guard. I realized it too late. I have no interest in her. None. Even without our deal, I wouldn’t be taking her up on her offer.”
I scoffed, “I don’t believe you.”
His anger flared again, “Why not? What have I ever done to indicate I’m a liar?”
“Your reputation.”
He leaned in toward me, apparently giving up trying to appease me, “I like to fuck women, but that doesn’t mean I lie and cheat.”
“It shows a lack of morals,” I couldn’t believe I just said that. I wasn’t a pious prude.
He scoffed, “So you’re Miss High and Mighty, all of a sudden? Did you forget you agreed to lie about this marriage to get your home built? Or is fucking worse than lying? If so, what does it mean about you that you let me fuck you last night? All night.”
I wanted to slap him, except he wasn’t wrong. Truth was the way to go here, “It means I’m an idiot.” Not wanting to risk saying something that might get me fired, I walked out of his office.
“Everything okay?” Clair asked as I stalked past her desk toward my office.
“Just fine,” I said through gritted teeth. For a moment, I wondered if she knew what was going on in Nate’s office. Why hadn’t she told me he was with someone? Had she wanted me to catch him? Was she looking out for me, or did she want me to be hurt? Inwardly I groaned. Now I was distrusting my friend.
In my office, I slumped in my chair and wondered what the hell I’d been thinking to agree to this dumb marriage. To think there was more to him than being a womanizer. Then, to sleep with him! IDIOT! Ugh!
I shut my eyes, but when I did, the picture of Allison rubbing up on him came to mind. I blinked them open. What should I do? I told him he had to act right or I’d call off the deal, but maybe I should call it off regardless. He never answered so maybe he was going to call it off.
I shook my head. No, I didn’t think he would. It was too early in the IPO presentation, and if we were all of a sudden not married, that would lead to questions about fidelity, except he wasn’t faithful. Ugh! I lowered my head to my desk, giving it a small whap against the wood surface. What to do?
The only solution was to get to work. Distraction was what I needed from this problem.
I pulled out notes I took on my trip to the lab when the door opened.
Nate stepped in, looking angry. Why was he angry? I wasn’t the one kissing an old flame.
He pointed a finger at me, “You and I are married. I don’t cheat. I’d never cheat. Got it?”
I nodded, even though I still didn’t believe him. But I supposed for the purposes of our deal, he could keep it together. Of course, depending on how long this fake marriage lasted, he might get blue balls because there was no way in hell, I was going to sleep with him again.
“Good,” he stalked out, slamming my door behind him.
I blew out a breath and got to work. I hid in my office all day, taking care of Nate’s various business needs, including verifying meetings for our trip to Chicago next week for his next round of IPO presentations. I wondered if I could get out of that trip, but then remembered, I was supposed to play his loving wife. How was I going to pull that off after what I saw in his office?
Not wanting to commute home with him after work, I texted him that I was going to visit my parents and would be home late.
Should I have you followed? Do you have another man on the side? Distrust goes both ways. Was his pissy text back. Asshole. I didn’t respond.
I ordered an Uber to pick me up at work and take me to my parents. On the drive, I wondered how I was going to manage the next two days over the weekend. I couldn’t hang out in Nate’s house when I could hardly stand the sight of him. I needed to make plans to stay busy and away from him.
My parents were surprised but happy to see me. I helped my mom cook dinner, and then I played backgammon with my dad. They were practically falling asleep in their chairs before I realized how late I was keeping them up. I nearly asked if I could stay the night, but knew I needed to go. I ordered a car to bring me back to Nate’s house.
When I arrived, I was going to go straight to my room but didn’t want to appear like I was being childish. When it was clear he wasn’t in the house, I wondered if he’d changed his mind and gone off to have a good time with Allison after all. But a quick look out back found him in the pool swimming laps.
I watched as his strong, powerful body glided through the water. He was naked, as evidenced by his fine bare ass. As I observed him, I wondered why he couldn’t be the man I thought he was last night? The one who put his customers first. The one who didn’t need accolades for his good deeds. The one who made my skin shiver in delight. The one who could love a plain, curvy woman.
That last thought made me realize that some of this angst I was feeling was self-inflicted. I meant it when I told him I wasn’t a woman to accept cheating so he’d need to keep his dick in his pants if he wanted me as a pretend wife. But I could hardly blame him for my getting caught up in the fantasy of him. The reality of who he was as a person was crystal clear. Sure, he did good deeds, but that didn’t m
ake him Prince Charming. He said it himself, I’m not a saint.
He stopped at the end of the pool and turned his head to look at me, “You should turn away, or you’re going to get an eyeful.”
I rolled my eyes, “If you don’t want me to get an eyeful, perhaps you should wear a swimsuit.”
He got out of the pool, and he was right, he was an eyeful, but I kept that to myself.
He wrapped a towel around his waist, “This is my home. If I want to swim naked, I will.” He stepped closer to me. “Unless of course, my wife disapproves.”
He was being pissy again, which made no sense. He was the one kissing another woman.
I shrugged like I didn’t care, “Do what you want.” I turned and went back into the house. I wanted to go to bed, but the situation today was rattling around loudly in my brain. I decided to go over my house book and perhaps search the Internet for more ideas. Where was the book?
I retraced my steps yesterday and thought I must have left it in the kitchen. But it wasn’t there. I went to my room and found it on the dresser. I didn’t remember putting it there, but clearly, I must have.
I changed into my pajamas, unflattering ones to dissuade Nate in case he got any ideas about joining me in my bed, and brought my book and laptop to bed. I heard him walk up the hall and then close his bedroom door. The shower went on a few minutes later, and it was hard not to think about the water sluicing down his hard, strong body as I’d witnessed this morning, after waking up to his hard dick against my ass.
No wonder he got whatever he wanted from women. Even me, a woman who currently disliked him intensely, couldn’t help but want to feel him inside me again.
I shook my head and wondered if there was any way I could speed up this IPO presentation process so he could get his initial investors, go public, get his gigantic infusion of money, and end this fake marriage. Hopefully, when it was all said and done, we could go back to me being his assistant and his being my boss. There would be one difference though; I wouldn’t be secretly fantasizing about him anymore. I decided that was a good thing. It would make my work easier.
Book 2: Chapter 11—In the Dog House
Chapter Eleven: In the Dog House
Nate
It was unbelievable how hurt Hallie’s mistrust made me feel. Twenty-four hours ago, she’d admired me, and now she believed I was a lying cheat. I may have been a womanizer, but I’ve never cheated or lied to a woman.
When she first appeared in the doorway of my office, I’d hoped she remembered she was supposed to be my wife and act angry. I was a little disappointed she hadn’t been angrier. But then after Allison left, she was still mad, so clearly it wasn’t an act.
I could understand her being upset. We’d spent the night before having some spectacular sex. I’d want to throttle a man who groped her too. And I had to admit, I underestimated Allison’s actions. Sure, I thought she was trying to seduce me, but I thought she’d coo and suggest we go someplace to have a good time. I didn’t think she’d go so far to grind her body against mine and kiss me.
It definitely proved that I wasn’t cut out for marriage. I couldn’t even have a fake marriage without my new wife accusing me of cheating and then running home to her parents. I seriously questioned whether she’d be back.
There was a sense of relief when I noticed her standing on the back porch as I swam away my frustration. Unless of course, she was there to pack her things and go home again. It didn’t sound like packing was going on behind her bedroom closed door.
I took a shower and got in bed, cursing that my sheets smelled like her. I nearly got up to change them, but that was too much hassle. So, I lay in bed, wondering what the fuck I’d been thinking to suggest this crazy idea and whether it was really going to help me. Just my luck it would backfire.
It showed how much Hallie wanted her home rebuilt that she’d come back, so I could see that as a bright side. There were only a couple of weeks of travel and presentations, and then the public offering would follow. We’d need to be married six weeks at the most. I could handle that, couldn’t I?
The best thing to do would be to focus on the presentations and less on Hallie’s lack of trust in me. Our next trip was to Chicago. Despite her current animosity, I’d tell her to arrange a private charter as I’d planned. There was no reason for me to be such an asshole that I wouldn’t follow through on my goal to make sure she wasn’t away from her parents too much.
My phone next to the bed pinged that I had a text. I picked it up, noting it was from Gabe.
What’s the budget on assistant’s rebuild?
I didn’t know what insurance was giving her, but it didn’t matter.
Whatever it takes.
A few seconds later, another text came in.
Will be expensive. Does she have the funds?
I tapped out, yes. She had the funds because I agreed to give them to her.
Will have an estimate to you in a couple of days.
It really was handy to have a brother that could fix homes. Thanks.
With that out of the way, I turned off the light and willed sleep to come.
The next morning, I woke early and decided on another swim, this time wearing swim trunks. I didn’t want to appear like I was a total douche, and I didn’t want to give her any ideas that I wanted her.
The water was cool and refreshing, waking me up and energizing me for the day. After thirty minutes of laps, and a few minutes to just float, I hopped out of the pool, toweled off, and then poured a cup of coffee that had just brewed. Thank goodness for coffee makers with timers.
I took the hot brew back out to the porch and sat at the table, taking in the lushness of my yard. I heard movement inside but stayed where I was.
The door opened, and Hallie poked her head out, “I was wondering where you were.”
“I’m here. All alone. No cheating going on,” I winced at my own immaturity. Clearly, a swim and quiet contemplation in my garden hadn’t soothed the wound.
Her response was to close the door. She was better at this marriage fighting than I was. I needed to get a grip. First, what did I really care if she believed me or not? This was a fake marriage. While I understood the need to be faithful for this ruse, it wasn’t like it was a real marriage in which she should be jealous. Then again, we did sleep together, so maybe she was jealous. While there was some comfort in that, it was also dangerous. I couldn’t afford for her to think there could be a future with me. I enjoyed being with her, and the sex was out of this world, but I wasn’t a man-made for long term commitments. The fact that I couldn’t do a fake marriage was proof of that. So perhaps her attitude toward me was a benefit as long as she could fake being happy when it counted.
Ah fuck me, this was a mess.
I finished my coffee and then showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. It was Saturday, and I’d had no plans. Did Hallie have plans? Shit, were we going to be hanging out at home both surly toward the other? Fuck that.
I was going to text my brother Will when another text came in from Gabe.
Can you meet me at the house today? Got a question.
I shook my head. Didn’t the guy ever take a day off? Still, I needed out of the house.
Sure. When?
Gabe gave me a time twenty minutes from now.
Searching the house for Hallie, I discovered her hiding in her room.
“I’m meeting my brother so I’ll be gone for a few hours. The house is yours,” I didn’t wait for a response and instead closed her door as it had been and strode out of the house.
Her home was only ten minutes from mine. As I drove up to it, my heart stopped. The house was charred to a crisp. What had happened? Had Hallie been hurt?
Half of the roof was gone, along with most of the side of the house. The side that was standing was covered in soot.
I heard a car pull in behind me, and Gabe stepped out.
“Jesus, it’s worse than I thought,” I said.
He st
ood next to me, looking at the house.
I had to ask, “Would it be better to raze it and start from scratch?”
“It looks worse than it is,” Gabe said. “Most of the structure is still intact. We’ll take down that side and rebuild, but the rest looks okay. The first thing needed is clean up. Do you want me to handle that too?”
I nodded, “If you could handle all of it, that would be great.”
Gabe looked at me, “You must pay your assistant well. Insurance never covers a complete rebuild, and what she wants in those ideas you sent will be expensive. Some will need to be custom-built.”
“Money isn’t a problem.”
Gabe studied me, “Is there something between you two?”
I inhaled a breath to put my poker face in place, “I just want to help her. She’s invaluable as an assistant, and I don’t want her distracted by worrying about her house while this IPO is going on.”
Gabe pursed his lips like he didn’t believe me. For some reason that annoyed me.
“I’m a fucking nice guy, Gabe,” I stalked toward the house to check out the other side of it.
“Hey, wait…of course you’re nice. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”
Fuck. So much for keeping calm, “I’m just tired of people thinking I’m a liar and an asshole.”
“Who thinks you’re a liar and an asshole? I don’t, not usually anyway,” Gabe followed me to the back of the house.
I really needed to get it together, “It’s just this dog and pony show thing. I feel like a fucking freak show.”
He nodded and had an expression that suggested he bought my explanation, “I have no doubt you’ll do well.” He patted me on the back.
“So, tell me what needs to happen to get this house livable again?”
Thankfully, Gabe accepted my change of subject. He toured the home with me showing me the parts that might have looked bad, but in fact, were salvageable, and the parts that needed to be gutted. He also showed me places that could be made wheelchair accessible and suggested adding some smart home technology that I hadn’t seen in Hallie’s book but would offer some ease and convenience to her parents.