Fiance by Fate

by Jennifer Shirk

  Her laugh sounded strained and pitiful to her own ears. “You’re already screwing this up. David, I’m trying to be patient, but please, I want you to be honest. I’ve seen you around the city with another woman. A pretty redhead. Is all this space you need because of her?”

  “Rose?”

  She held in a snort. The redhead’s name was Rose. How cliché.

  “Rose is a friend from the hospital,” he continued. “She’s a trauma nurse. You met her once. Our schedules have been coinciding lately and well, she’s been a good friend to me .”

  “I bet,” she said tightly.

  He reached out and pushed her hair behind her ears. “Don’t be like that, Sabrina. I can have female friends. Just because our timing seems to be off doesn’t mean I want someone else.”

  She squeezed her eyes closed and her heart began to feel lighter. He doesn’t want anyone else. Thank God. He loved her. She knew it. This talk proved it. He was scared of commitment even though they’d been together for three years. Three years. But there was a chance that this woman friend could talk him out of coming back to her. What could she do? She didn’t know how else to convince him they were meant to be husband and wife and that they should have a life together. She needed to think. Then her eyes sprang open as an idea struck.

  Or rather, Jack’s idea struck.

  “You’re right,” she said with a double dose of sincerity she didn’t feel. “I know exactly what you mean, what it’s like to need friendship. In fact, I’ve been confiding in a friend at work too.”

  He nodded. “Chris.”

  She turned away, afraid her expression would give away her lie. “No, not Chris. A new wholesaler at work. Jack.”

  “A man?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She glanced over her shoulder with raised eyebrows. “Oh, does that bother you?”

  He cleared his throat. “Uh, no. Not at all,” he said, although his voice sounded unsure.

  She took that as a good sign and continued to steamroll through her plan. “I’m glad, because Jack has been an absolute treasure to me.” She resisted rolling her eyes and prayed lightning would not strike. “I’d hate to give up his friendship. He’s given me lots to think about and process while we’ve been separated. It’s so funny that he happened to come into my life just as you left it.”

  David frowned. “Now hold on, I haven’t exactly left—”

  She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Thank you for understanding.”

  His face fell at that, which fueled her next words. She decided to go with the final nail in the coffin. “You should probably go. Jack told me he was going to call tonight to check up on me.”

  David stood there, blinking adorably, as if someone had snuck up behind him and swatted him on the back of the head. “I, uh, could stay a little longer if—”

  “No,” she said, holding up her palm. “I don’t want to interfere with your decision-making for one more minute. You said you needed time and time I will give you. It’s a big step and I want you to be sure. For both our sakes.” Drumming up whatever acting skills she had in her, she gave him her most winning smile—right before she ushered him out the door.

  David turned around, his finger in the air. “Sabrina, I want you to know, this isn’t good-bye. And I think you’re an angel for giving me this time.”

  A cold knot formed in her stomach. She felt like a manipulative liar. If only David knew how far from an angel she was. “Whatever is meant to be between us will happen,” she assured him.

  Then she closed the door on his confused, handsome face and hoped she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.

  She resisted the urge to open the door again and instead turned away. That was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done. But necessary if she wanted David back for good. In her mind, Jack’s suggestion to make David jealous was ridiculous, but now something in her heart felt that he could have a point, that there was hope. Maybe a little jealousy was all David needed to push him over the edge back to her. Plus, if Jack got his promotion, she stood to get Jack’s territory and a promotion herself. Win-win.

  Her gaze shot to the coffee table. The box of her things sat there, almost mocking her. As much as David’s words reassured her, his actions spoke of something else. Time could be running out for them. That knowledge twisted inside her and she closed her eyes.

  One last thing to do.

  She realized she was trembling, but she walked over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone along with Jack’s business card. Idly running her fingers over his embossed name, she had to wonder if she’d lost her mind. But then again, if that were true, she really didn’t have anything left to lose. She was already relying on the advice of psychics. Why not add playboys to that list as well? She sat down at the kitchen counter and punched in the number.

  After a few rings, a deep voice answered. “Hello?”

  She cleared her throat. “Um, hi, Jack. It’s Sabrina. From work.” She felt compelled to add that part in. Who knew how many women called his number on a daily basis?

  “Hello, Sabrina from work. What can I do for you?” His tone sounded amused but a little cautious.

  She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  “Hello? Are you still there?”

  “Y-yes. Sorry.” She took a deep breath then sighed. “I just wanted to call and tell you that I’ve thought about your…your…”

  “Proposition?” he finished.

  She wrinkled her nose. That made it sound even more sordid, like she was living out a scene from her own personal General Hospital. “How about we just call it your suggestion?”

  He chuckled. “Okay, and what is your thinking on the subject of my suggestion?”

  “I’ll do it,” she said softly, then bit her lip.

  “Excellent.” His voice boomed through the phone and she could practically hear his brain filing the information and formulating what to do with it. “We can talk about it more at work tomorrow and hash out a plan that suits both of us then. You and David will be back together in no time.”

  “That’s the least of my worries right now. I’m more concerned with what you’re asking in return.”

  “You worry too much. All I ask is for a little display of adoration in front of others and perhaps for you to keep the venom in your voice toward me to a nice nonlethal level. Trust me, posing as my girlfriend will be a cake walk.” He paused then added, “You won’t be sorry, Sabrina.”

  Too late. She already was.

  …

  The next day, Sabrina sat in Jack’s office with the anguish of a woman who had just been sentenced ten to fifteen years with no hope of parole.

  “Will you relax,” he told her. “You’re making me anxious and I’m never anxious.” Although he was anxious to get their plan started, but he was also hungry. He opened his desk drawer to his new stash of beef jerky he had on hand for such an emergency and pulled some out.

  Sabrina threw her hands up in the air. “Oh, great. This is so completely fitting with you. While I’m stepping into a web of lies, you’re stepping into a Slim Jim.”

  He looked at the beef thoughtfully, then held it out to her. “I’m sensing you need this more than I do.”

  “I’m a vegetarian.”

  “Now that explains a lot.”

  She bristled. “That’s it. Forget it. This is so stupid. We’re never going to convince anyone that we like each other, let alone that we’re dating.” Shaking her head, she was on her feet before he could blink and looked about ready to hightail it out of his office.

  “Wait,” he said quickly. Where was his normal finesse when it came to women? She had a way about her that brought out his worst. But she was right. If he didn’t watch himself, he’d ruin everything.

  “I’m sorry, Sabrina. This will work. How about we both try to keep the smart comments to a minimum?”

  She sat back down but her shoulders were still stiff. “All right then. Let’s just figure this plan out so I
can get back to work.”

  Damn, there was a lot of pent-up energy going on in that tight little body of hers. It was kind of amusing to watch, especially the way she tried to quiet her hyperventilating breaths so he wouldn’t notice. Call him a jerk, but he noticed. Her chest was going in and out like a runaway steam engine and it was all he could do not to stare. And he liked what he saw.

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked, breaking into those thoughts. She nibbled one corner of her lip, her hair hanging loosely as she cocked her head to the side.

  “Well, I…” Their gazes met and held.

  Have her eyes always been that blue? Hell. He knew she was pretty, but he never realized she was that pretty.

  He cleared his throat and reached for more beef jerky.

  “You do have some sort of agenda, right?” she asked.

  “Agenda?”

  “A list of dos and don’ts.”

  He rolled his eyes. Sabrina was definitely not a play-it-by-ear kind of woman. He should have known she’d want an itemized list of how he expected her to act.

  She licked her lips. “Nothing over the top, I hope. Oh, and I guess I should have mentioned this before, but I don’t want to have to, uh…”

  “Don’t want to have to what?” he asked, popping another piece of jerky in his mouth.

  “Kiss you,” she finished.

  Jack froze mid-chew, then swallowed. “What?”

  She shifted in her chair. “I don’t want to have to kiss you.”

  “Absolutely not. That’s non-negotiable. You have to kiss me. What kind of fake girlfriend are you, anyway?”

  She lifted her chin. “One that doesn’t believe in public displays of affection.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “No, it’s not. Look, you’re the one who wants to change your reputation. Kissing and any other type of manhandling—fake or not—in front of people is not a way to show them you’re in a serious relationship. I won’t be treated like all your other bimbos. We’ll just have to be convincing in other ways.”

  Jack sat back and grunted. Little Miss Perfect had a point, as per usual. Kissing was not something they could be caught doing at work, and even if they were out on a fake date, at their age, they wouldn’t be lip-locked at some restaurant. But the idea still didn’t sit well with him. Who knew that he’d actually be disturbed he wouldn’t be able to kiss her?

  And the more he thought about how it disturbed him, the more disturbed he became.

  “So…are you okay with that?” she asked, nibbling her bottom lip.

  He forced his attention away from her mouth and smiled tightly. “No problem at all.”

  “Good. However, I think handholding would be completely appropriate.”

  “Are you sure? Hand over hand or full-on fingers entwined? I don’t want to look cheap.”

  She folded her arms and glared at him. “Can you ever be serious?”

  “Can you ever not be serious?”

  Leonard Brenner poked his head in Jack’s office then and smiled at the sight of the two of them apparently having a nice company chat. “Oh, there you are, Sabrina.” He smirked as he cast a sideways glance at Jack. “I don’t want to interrupt anything, but I need to steal Sabrina away from you. I wanted to go over a few of the last expense reports that Chuck just emailed me.”

  “No problem, Mr. Brenner,” she replied. “I’ll go grab my notes.” Looking way too happy to leave Jack’s presence and not at all like a woman smitten with a potential new boyfriend, she jumped up and turned on her heel to go.

  Before she could leave, Jack reached out and blocked her with his arm. “I’m sure I can count on you to handle the situation we’ve, uh, discussed,” he reminded her pleasantly.

  She gave him a long look. If he wasn’t starting to know her so well, he would have completely missed the silent message she shot him that told him exactly where he could stuff their so-called situation along with all his beef jerky.

  “You can count on me,” she said, letting the words roll off her tongue as sweet as maple syrup. “I’ll definitely handle the situation as I see fit.”

  Jack smothered a grin as he watched her leave. Sabrina surprised him. For all her bossiness and rule-making, he liked her. Much more than he thought he ever would.

  When his father turned back to Jack, it was with a pleased expression. “This is very refreshing to see.”

  “What is?”

  “You and Sabrina getting along so well.”

  Jack thought about announcing his and Sabrina’s fake relationship now, but he figured it would have more believability if he didn’t rush things. Played it cool. Plus, there was still the outside chance his father would go to the board before their quarterly meeting without this exercise in wholesome behavioral CEO standards.

  “Yes, Sabrina is proving to be a very valuable coworker,” he agreed. “It was a good decision pairing her up with me.” For more reasons than you know.

  “I’m glad you think so. I also wanted to tell you that I won’t be around this afternoon.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “I have to go to the doctor’s.”

  Jack felt as if he’d taken a punch to the stomach, which made it hard for him not to sound alarmed. “Dad, are you feeling—?”

  “I’m fine. Just a follow-up visit with my primary care doctor. I think he might change my meds around, but other than that, no cause for alarm.”

  “If you need me to come with you, I’ll cancel my appointments.”

  “I know you would, and I appreciate it. But your sister is going to take me.” He nudged Jack with his elbow. “I get to see my grandkids that way,” he said, grinning.

  Jack couldn’t smile back. He was too concerned about his dad’s health. He wanted to do anything he could to help his dad, to be there for him. Jack hadn’t been there for his mom before she died. He’d been away at college and had come home only on major holidays. If only he’d been around more, paid attention, he would have seen how lonely she was, how much she’d been hurting. If he had, he couldn’t help thinking that she might not have taken her own life.

  Leonard placed a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Don’t let my health distract you. Everything’s fine.”

  “But I think if the board knew of your health issues they might force you to step down. You have to reconsider me for National Sales Manager and not wait.”

  “We’ll see. As much I’d like to believe you’re looking to settle down, the stockholders will need to see proof. After all, old habits do die hard.” His father frowned, then motioned to the beef jerky on his desk. “You still eat that junk?”

  “Um, yeah.” Jack hastily swept the beef into a drawer and shrugged. “One habit to overcome at a time.”

  …

  Sabrina finished the last of her reports, then sat back, trying to work out the kinks in her neck. She’d been looking at her computer screen for the past hour without a break. Unfortunately, whenever she wasn’t working, her thoughts went straight to Jack.

  How in the world was she going to convince people that she and Jack were dating? They couldn’t even agree on something as simple as food. More importantly, how was she going to convince David she was interested in a man like Jack?

  What had she gotten herself into?

  Biting her lip, she decided to take a peek at Jack’s traveling schedule—just to get an idea of how often he’d be around. She called it up on her computer, and her eyes widened in surprise. Next week was jam-packed with office visits in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Jack even had a lunch appointment for every day but Friday. Tension seeped a little from her shoulders. For someone who had the reputation of playing hard, he certainly seemed to work hard, too. Jack was taking his new territory by the horns.

  Her eyes shot to Mr. Brenner’s door as she heard it open. “Sabrina,” he said, taking off his glasses, “I wanted to have a word with you before I left for the day.”

  “Of cou
rse, sir.”

  He paused and smiled down at her. “I know it’s a little soon to ask, but I wanted to know how everything was working out with you and Jack?”

  If you only knew. “Great.” She beamed.

  He cocked his head. “Really? I know he may be a little rough around the edges.”

  Ha. No kidding. But she kept silent and waited for him to continue.

  “He’s used to getting his own way. After his mom died, I may have let him run a little wild. His sister was just a young teenager then, so I had a lot on my plate. I didn’t have it in me to rein Jack in like I should have.” He shook his head.

  The strings of her heart tugged, but only for the older man standing before her. “Don’t worry, Mr. Brenner. Jack’s really been working hard,” she said soothingly. “His schedule is booked solid. It’s been an absolute pleasure to team up with him. In fact, I’m seeing a whole new side of him that anyone in this company would admire.”

  Did those words really just come out of my mouth?

  His face brightened. “Thank you, Sabrina. Keep up the good work,” he said as he walked out the door.

  She smiled at his retreating back and took a deep breath. Okay, that hadn’t been so hard. And it wasn’t much of a twist of the truth either. See? She could do this. About to go back to her computer, she heard a throat clearing. Something told her it was Jack even before she fully turned around and looked.

  When she did, there he was, giving her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. That and the devilish grin plastered all over his face told her he had heard everything she had just said about him. Heat flooding her cheeks, she spun away.

  Good, she thought, pummeling the keys on her computer. She was glad he’d heard. It showed she was keeping her end of the bargain. Now let’s see what he could do to help her get David back.

  Her phone rang. Grateful for the reprieve, Sabrina swiftly answered it. Her landlady’s voice was on the other end.

  “Oh, hon, I’m glad I caught you before you left for lunch.” Mrs. Metzger sounded out of breath and anxious—or at least more anxious than normal.

  “Is there a problem?” Or fire, or theft, or pipes bursting with water as we speak?

  “I just ran into your David.”