by Chelsea Hale
“I guess I never thought about it that way before, but yeah, my sister and I always felt included.”
And for the first time he had felt included in a family. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“Thank you for coming. I know I wouldn’t have lasted as well as I did without you.” She handed him a dark red envelope. “Your payment as promised ... and thank you. If I ever get into a pinch again I know exactly who I want to call.”
She ducked her head, her cheeks turning the same color as the envelope she’d just given him.
He stopped at her statement. She would want him to be her fake boyfriend again in the future if something were to come up. It was a sentiment that made him pause. Did she only look at him as someone to save her in a pinch, not someone to actually be with in reality?
He looked down at the envelope and turned it in his hand. This was the moment he needed to tell her everything. He didn’t need her money. He didn’t want her money. He wanted to go out with her and stop pretending.
They’d danced around the idea the whole week and the more in love they pretended to be with each other the harder he was falling. “You really don’t have to…” He started to hand the envelope back to her, but she pushed it back towards him.
“A deal is a deal,” she said.
He put the money in his coat pocket, knowing that he would just find a way to give it back to her another time, but it wasn’t worth making a big scene about in an airport terminal surrounded by other passengers.
“What is next for the amazing Emery?”
“I’m back to work. Hopefully it will be quiet until after the New Year and I can make up all the work I missed this week.”
“Planning a tropical vacation?” he asked. He hoped she would still take her trip even though she’d just given him $1,000 of her vacation fund. Why did he bring it up? He was stalling, and he just needed to ask her out.
“Always planning.” She laughed. “What about you, James?” Her eyes seemed to pierce him, like it was important to know what he was going to do. Now was the opening he’d wanted for the last couple of days.
“I am going to go and visit my family. I haven’t been back to California in a while. I thought I’d surprise them.” Now that he said it, it sounded like a dumb idea.
She put a hand on his arm. “I’m sure they’ll love that.”
“I’ll be gone a few days, but I hope to be back by next Wednesday.” He cleared his throat. “My, uh, company has basketball tickets. I’m not sure if it’s really your thing or not but if it is, would you like to come with me? There’s a game on Wednesday … uh, New Year’s Eve.” He held his breath just a moment as he watched the expression on her face.
Her mouth twitched slightly. “Are you asking me out for real?”
His throat tightened. “I get it if you don’t want to.”
“You would?” She shook her head. “Because I wouldn’t understand me if I said no.”
“So, is that a yes?” he asked, trying to follow the conversation with his nerves on high alert.
“It’s definitely a yes!”
They walked down the terminal to where his connecting flight was already boarding. “I almost feel like I should kiss you goodbye.”
“Just almost?” she asked, flirtatiously batting her lashes at him.
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her slowly, wishing he hadn’t really booked a connecting flight for the same day they arrived home. “More than almost.”
Chapter 30
Emery couldn’t help but bounce up and down on her toes on her first morning back to work after the Christmas holiday.
“You’re in a good mood,” Matt said, handing Emery her favorite cup of coffee in the lobby. “Did you have a good break?”
Her smile broke out over her entire face and when she tried to make it smaller it stretched wide again. “I really did. It’s been incredible. Thanks for setting me up with James. He’s really amazing.”
Matt smiled. “He’s one of the best. So, you two hit it off for real then?”
Emery nodded. “I hope so, at least. I mean, I’m pretty well smitten. Before we parted ways at the airport he asked me to go to a basketball game with him this Wednesday.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose. “Wow. It’s more serious than he led on. I’ve talked to him a few times. He is so happy with you. He was really nervous about how you would handle the news when you found out, but taking you to his basketball suite, well, that’s great. I’m happy for you both.”
“I’d hardly call the nosebleed section a suite,” Emery said laughing. Then her brain caught up with what Matt had just said. “Wait. Nervous about how I’d handle what news?”
Matt’s eyes widened. “Forget I mentioned anything. I was just rambling.” He turned away from her and headed down the hall toward the conference room.
She blocked Matt’s retreat. “Matt, tell me. You can’t just drop that kind of news on me and expect me not to ask questions.”
“The way you were talking just now about basketball … I just thought that if he was taking you to a game, then he would have given you some insight into how he is connected to basketball, that’s all.” Matt’s eyes shifted. He took a drink of his coffee, but it didn’t hide how uncomfortable he looked.
“I’m still in the dark. Help me out.”
“This isn’t my secret to share,” he muttered.
“Tell me. Please.”
He took a deep breath and said, “James has a lot of stock in the basketball arena.”
“I know he works for an investment company. I assume they have stock all over the place. He did say that he has an extra ticket from his company to go to the game. I assumed they just rotated who got to use them.”
Matt sighed. “He is the investment company, among other things.”
Emery's mind raced, trying to piece together the cryptic clues Matt was giving her in between drinking his coffee. “So, what? James owns an investment company?”
“DiverTech Investments.”
A whoosh of air ran from her lungs, leaving her gasping for a moment. DiverTech was the name of the basketball arena. DiverTech. “He owns the building.” She didn’t ask it as a question.
“Among other things.”
Why hadn’t James told her himself? Emery shook her head. “I need time to process this. Please don’t tell James about this conversation. I need to think through some things.” She turned and walked down the hallway to get away from the revelation that Matt had just dumped on her.
“Emery, wait,” Matt said, calling her as he followed behind her. “It doesn’t have to change anything.”
Emery didn’t know what to say to that, so she just nodded. The fact of the matter was that this changed absolutely everything for her.
She went to her desk and opened a drawer. The box of chocolates James had given her a couple of weeks ago stared back at her. She pulled the lid off the box and found three chocolates left. She bit into one, then gagged.
Obviously that one was meant for Matt and not her. She bit into another one. It tasted fine, but the memory of the day she’d gotten them rolled around in her mind.
How had James not told her who he really was? She pulled up her web browser and typed in his name into a Google search. She clicked on several articles, skimming the contents. She clicked on link after link of all the different things he owned, including the ritzy restaurant that he had taken her to their first night out.
A voice in her head niggled at her, trying to bring reason into the moment, but she silenced it. How could he do that? How could he pretend that he didn’t own the restaurant, and that it was his company’s tickets and not his?
A sinking feeling hit her stomach and she threw the rest of the chocolate away. He hadn’t been truthful with her. Nothing felt real. He’d been pretending everything, not just being her boyfriend, but who he was. She was going to be sick, and it was her own fault for being gullible enough to fall for it.
The fact o
f the matter was that she couldn’t trust him. Couldn’t trust someone that couldn’t confide something in her. She blinked away the tears that came to her eyes. He’d been perfect for her, but all of his perfection wasn’t the truth—wasn’t who he really was.
Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. She’d fallen in love with someone who didn’t exist. And he was going to be harder to get over than any real relationship she’d ever had. Sometimes life was so unfair.
Chapter 31
James sat with his parents on their yacht in the Sausalito Harbor, opposite the bay from San Francisco. From the window he could see the outlines of the Golden Gate Bridge through the thick clouds.
In the last couple of days, he’d had the start of a conversation towards mending the relationship with his parents. It wasn’t perfect, but at least they could all be in the same room together without the animosity that used to overcome him. It was a start. And it was thanks to Emery, though she didn’t know it.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he held his breath hoping it was Emery. They had texted over the weekend, but he hadn’t heard from her today. He looked at the screen, expecting to see her picture light up, but Matt’s picture showed up instead.
He excused himself from the room, going on the top deck, though the air felt frigid. “Hey, Matt,” he said, into the phone.
“Hey.” Matt cleared his throat loudly into the phone. “So, funny thing, I talked to Emery this morning…”
“Yeah?”
“I asked her about her holiday. She said she had the best time with you.”
Warmth spread through him, even as the cold wind whipped around him. “I had the best time with her too. I really think there might be a future together. She’s amazing,” he said. “And it’s all thanks to you for introducing us.”
“Don’t thank me just yet.” Matt cleared his throat. “I’m just going to say it. I kind of told her who you are, indirectly.”
James sat down on a swivel chair next to a small circular table. “Explain to me how that went.” Perhaps it was no big deal. He wanted her to like him for him and not his money. Their week together had proved they had feelings for each other, without his net-worth being involved.
He had planned to tell her before the basketball game anyway. It would be hard to keep his secret when his picture was on the wall of the suite he owned. It would be fine. They’d gotten close, and he knew that her feelings for him weren’t based on his money.
“She told me about your week, how much fun you guys had had together, and then she said that you’d asked her out to the basketball game,” Matt explained.
James was confused. “That all sounds good to me. We really did have fun. In fact, most of the time I had forgotten that I was her fake boyfriend. It felt real.”
Matt explained his reaction to the mention of a basketball game, what he had said, and how Emery had acted afterwards.
James listened intently. It was going to be fine. “She asked you not to tell me she knew? Then why are you telling me?”
“I just didn’t want you to be blindsided by this. I messed up and tried to backtrack but she wanted the information, and I’d already told her there was something to know. Under the circumstances, I didn’t think it was fair for you not to know what happened. It was your secret to share or not, not mine to give away.”
James scrubbed a hand over his face. “So … I suppose I should call her and talk to her.”
“Please don’t mention me in any of this,” Matt said. “I don’t want to come in the middle of this, but I thought you should know.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how mad do you think she is right now?”
Matt didn’t answer.
James sighed. “It’s really that bad, huh?”
“I … I don’t know.”
“I suppose this was the risk I had to assume when hiding my identity.” He drummed his fingers against the cold tabletop and took in the view from the Bay. He’d promised his dad he would help him for the next two days, and in the spirit of reconciliation, he didn’t want to go back on that. He wished he could be in two places at once because he wanted to talk this over with Emery in person.
“It could still be okay,” Matt said, but the way he said it left little hope in James’ mind.
“I’ll do my best from here. I’ll be home in two days. Emery and I are going to the basketball game on New Year’s Eve.” But even as he said the words, he wondered about them.
He hung up with Matt and immediately called Emery. The call went to voicemail after only a few rings, but she was in the middle of the work day. Maybe it didn’t mean anything. He decided to leave a message.
“Hi, Em. I miss you, which I know is probably strange, but after spending so much time with you, it’s … lonely without you next to me.” He cleared his throat, realizing the truth in all the words he’d spoken. “Call me when you get a minute. Hope you’re having a good day back at work … bye.” He’d wanted to end with “I love you,” but no, not on a voicemail.
Over the next three hours he called Emery three more times. Each time the call was sent to her voicemail, and each time he left her a message.
* * *
James spent the entire evening being introduced to his parents’ friends like he was a prodigal son. His parents doted over him for the first time in his life and named several of his accomplishments that they had probably only read articles about.
They’d certainly never asked him many questions about his career and how he’d been doing over the last several years. It was a start, and he knew he could do a better job of keeping in touch. From the way his parents talked to their friends, their praise felt genuine.
He knew it was later in Chicago than it was in California, but he tried one more time to call Emery. After two rings, he heard her voice.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi.” There was a long pause, so he filled in the silence. “Did you get my messages?”
“I did,” she said, her voice curt. She was not making this easy on him.
He swallowed then tested the waters. “I guess I wanted to tell you that I miss you. I’m excited to see you again soon.”
“About that,” she started to say.
“And I want to tell you something first,” he said, hoping his words were understandable even as he rushed them together.
“Don’t bother,” she said. “I think that the owner of the basketball arena won’t have a hard time finding a date. I’m busy … every night.”
“Emery, wait, let me explain,” he said, but she’d already hung up.
He stared at his phone for several minutes, looking at the screen saver of all the pictures they’d taken together. So many memories flooded his mind. Had they all only taken place in a week and a half? What they had was real, and he wasn’t going to call it quits because of this. Somehow, he was going to win her back.
Chapter 32
The next morning Emery made her way to her favorite coffee shop, arriving thirty minutes earlier than when she normally met Matt. She hoped she could avoid him as much as possible today. It was going to be hard since they worked together, but she had a few solo projects that could take up the whole rest of her week if she stretched it out. Matt had known the whole time that James wasn’t who he said he was, and Matt had said nothing about it.
She didn’t see Matt in the coffee shop, or during the morning. She stayed buried in design meetings all afternoon, going the long way to the conference room and avoiding Matt’s office.
She stayed late on Tuesday night, trying to keep her mind from wandering to James, which it still did multiple times an hour.
When she finished work for the day, she looked at her phone for the first time since lunch. She had several texts from Matt, but none from James.
I know you’re avoiding me.
I’ll give you space today.
I’m sorry for what happened.
Can we talk over coffee tomorrow morning?
; Usual time and place?
Emery scrolled through all of them. Avoiding Matt today hadn’t made anything better. She couldn’t justify her work suffering because of this problem, and she and Matt had a strict deadline next week. They’d have to coordinate at least a little if they wanted to meet it.
She texted back. Sure. Coffee tomorrow. But you’re buying.
Then don’t jump in line early. See you tomorrow.
* * *
The next morning, Emery walked through the coffee shop doors and froze. A man with two cups of coffee in front of him sat at her table and it wasn’t Matt.
James. If she was smart she would have turned around and walked out the door the way she came, but she hesitated when his eyes captured hers.
Her phone buzzed in her hand, and saw a text from Matt. Just talk to him. And don’t hate me for keeps.
Emery moved slowly toward the table. She would stay because Matt asked her to, and she didn’t need to make her working relationship with Matt more strained than it needed to be.
She took a seat across from James and kept her arms folded across her chest. She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to say something.
Pain filled his eyes and expression, but she pushed that thought away. She’d been through her fair share of pain too and it was heartbreaking to be in the same room with him. She pulled herself together.
“I’m James Bordeaux. I’m the CEO and founder of DiverTech and a billionaire. I own the building the Chicago Chargers play in. Anytime I find something that interests me, I either buy stock in it, buy the company, or both.
“Aside from DiverTech, I currently own two restaurants, an investment company and two small islands in the South Pacific—I keep the islands in a separate portfolio, it’s not common knowledge. I’ve worked on lots of projects that I’ve loved, but I’ve never fallen in love on a job, until you hired me to be your boyfriend at Christmas. I’m madly in love with you. Forgive me, Goldleader?”