Cross Check (Marriage Contract #1)

by Colleen Masters

  “Hey, what are friends for if not getting you out of weird corporate marriages?” she asks.

  We say goodbye and hang up just as my dad trundles down the stairs. He likes to sleep in a little on Sundays, but I’ve been wide awake for hours. I didn’t exactly sleep soundly after everything that happened yesterday.

  “Morning, honey,” Dad says, ruffling my red hair.

  “Morning, Dad. There’s some coffee on,” I reply distractedly, staring out the kitchen window as I try to sort through my careening thoughts.

  “Hey, you doin’ all right?” Dad asks, glancing over his shoulder at me as he pours himself a cup. “You’ve been acting off ever since you got back from the reception yesterday.”

  “I’m just…still in shock about Loudon and Priscilla,” I tell him, which is not untrue. It’s just also true that I’m in shock about a whole score of other things, too.

  “Grieving takes time,” Dad nods sagely, laying a hand on my shoulder, “We know that full well, don’t we?”

  “We sure do,” I say softly, planting a kiss on my dad’s palm.

  We were each other’s only support when Mom lost her battle with cancer. God, what I wouldn’t give to have her here today. Maybe she, in all her pragmatic wisdom, could tell me what the hell I’m supposed to do about this whole mess with Jamison?

  Just as Dad’s about to join me at the table, there’s a knock on the front door. I look up, surprised. Who could that be on a Sunday morning?

  “Probably just one of the landscapers returning something,” Dad says, rerouting toward the foyer.

  I settle back in the breakfast nook as he goes to answer the door. A moment later, I hear my dad’s exuberant, cheerful voice welcoming someone inside, the sound of two sets of feet approaching the kitchen. Blinking up in the morning light, I see my dad’s beaming face reappear in the kitchen doorway.

  “Look who stopped by for a visit!” he says happily, stepping aside to let our unexpected guest by.

  I freeze as a second person appears. The person that’s been occupying most of my thoughts for the past twelve hours. Jamison King. His insanely tall form makes our cottage look like a hobbit hole—he practically has to stoop to make it through the doorway without clonking his head. He’s wearing a pair of well-loved jeans and a crew neck sweatshirt, but he still manages to look far more put together than me. I’m still rocking the tiny cotton shorts and tank top I slept in…and my barely-clothed state definitely doesn’t escape Jay’s notice.

  “Hey Brody,” he grins, raising an amused eyebrow at my getup. “Sleep OK?”

  “Sure,” I reply, aping his casual tone. The last thing I want is for my dad to know that there’s something up between us. I haven’t exactly filled him in on the details of Loudon’s ridiculous will. “What brings you by?”

  “Wanted to see if you’d be up for a walk,” Jay says, “It’s a beautiful morning.”

  “Thanks, but I’d really like to spend some more time with my dad before I head back to the city,” I tell him coolly.

  “Don’t be silly!” Dad interjects, “I don’t mind at all. You two barely get to see each other! Go on. I still need to wake up anyway.”

  “See? Frank doesn’t mind,” Jamison says, his grin growing wider, “What do you say?”

  “Uh. Sure,” I relent, grabbing a slouchy sweater to throw on over my cat-hair coated ensemble, “Why the hell not.”

  Jamison was right about one thing. It is a beautiful morning. Summer is finally upon us, and the smells of salty sea air and sweet honeysuckle make my heart ache with nostalgia. How many summers did Jay and I spend tumbling around this property, with hardly a care in the world? Who would have ever guessed that we’d find ourselves back here under these bizarre circumstances. Me without a mother, him suddenly orphaned, with an insane set of expectations being thrust upon us both.

  “Listen,” Jay finally says, as we amble along the path to the beach, “I want to apologize for lashing out at you yesterday. That wasn’t fair of me.”

  “No. It wasn’t,” I reply, “We’re both in the same boat here, Jay.”

  “We are,” he agrees, “Which is why I wanted to come and talk this whole thing over with you, one on one.”

  “Well,” I sigh, “I had my lawyer friend look over your dad’s will. And Greg was right, Loudon’s wishes are ironclad. We either have to agree on who should run the company in the next two weeks, get hitched, or watch Cordelia sell the whole thing off for scrap.”

  Jamison shudders at this last possibility. “We can’t let Delia get her hands on the company. I’m sure you can at least agree with me about that.”

  “Absolutely,” I tell him, “That’s the worst case scenario.”

  “Huh,” Jay says, glancing over at me with a rakish smile, “So marrying me isn’t the worst case scenario for you, then?”

  “I—I just meant—” I stammer, feeling unaccountably bashful, “It’s not like getting married is actually an option.”

  “Well,” he replies, “It’s not an option we’ve considered. Yet…”

  His words stop me dead in my tracks.

  “Yet?” I echo. “What do you mean—?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Leah,” Jay goes on, hooking his thumbs in his jeans pockets, “I think we owe it to ourselves to discuss all of our options, here. Including honoring my father’s wishes by getting married and running King Enterprises together.”

  I stare at Jamison’s cool, collected features as I wait for the punchline.

  “Oh. I get it,” I reply, laughing nervously, “You’re fucking with me, here.”

  “No. I’m not,” Jay says, with a totally straight face.

  “In that case, you must still be drunk from last night to even suggest discussing this,” I tell him, crossing my arms tightly across my chest.

  “You mean last night when we were about to fuck in my dad’s study?” he shoots back, taking a step toward me. “You can’t tell me we don’t have chemistry. Not after that.”

  “I’m not about to deny that there’s nothing between us,” I shrug, “But wanting to sleep with each other isn’t grounds for marriage.”

  “First of all, thanks for admitting that you want to sleep with me,” he grins mischievously, “And second of all, that’s not the only thing we have going for us as a couple.”

  “No?” I challenge him, secretly thrilling at his use of the word couple.

  “Don’t act like what I’m saying is crazy,” he says, “We’re a good match, and you know it. We’ve known each other forever, we have professional goals in common, and our sexual chemistry is off the fucking charts.”

  “We had sex one time,” I remind him, “Twelve years ago.”

  “Well, that can be rectified any time you like,” he grins, running his hands down my arms as he closes the space between our bodies.

  “Of course it can,” I tell him, refusing to give him the power, here, “Because you’ve always been a sucker for me, Jamison King.”

  “And you’ve always been the one person I can count on to call me on my bullshit,” he replies, letting his arms slip around my waist. “Another reason why we’d make a great team.”

  “You’d still be a member of my team if you took a less senior position and let me move up to president of the company,” I point out, trailing my fingertips down his chest.

  Jamison’s eyes flash dangerously at the suggestion.

  “No fucking way,” he growls, his face mere inches from mine, “I’m not giving up my right to run this company. No matter how much you happen to turn me on.”

  “Well,” I sigh, planting my hands on his chest and giving him a firm shove, “Then I guess we’re at an impasse, aren’t we?”

  My breath catches as Jamison grabs hold of my wrists.

  “Just think about it, Brody,” he says, “If not for my sake, then for my dad’s. There’s a reason he wanted us to be together. Maybe he knew us better than we know ourselves.”

  “Maybe
you’re right,” I allow, letting Jamison keep his hold on me, “But Loudon isn’t the one I’d be marrying. If you want me to consider this, you need to convince me.”

  “Fine,” Jay says, letting go of my wrists as he takes my face in his firm hands, “Challenge accepted.”

  Before I can say a word, he seals our deal with a swift, searing kiss that sends my world spinning madly on its axis. Just two weeks ago, my life was more or less set on its course. But I should have known the second Jay showed up at the restaurant that my nice, predictable life would never be the same. Jamison King is chaos itself. Do I really have the courage, the strength, to take that chaos head-on? To even consider embracing the madness, letting it fully into my life? The idea of being Jay’s partner is daunting, to say the least. But does that mean that it’s necessarily wrong?

  There’s only one way to find out. I have to live in this question. Really consider it. Alison was right—I’ve never had any starry-eyed notions about finding my One True Love. Marriage has never been that important to me, so why I am so opposed to having a strategic one? Maybe I’m reacting so strongly against the idea because it’s secretly so appealing to me.

  The world settles around us once more as Jay takes a step back from me, the taste of him lingering on my lips. Gazing up at him in the early summer light, I dare to imagine the life we could have as partners. A life of great sex, financial stability, and comfort—that’s what Jamison King could give me. Not exactly love, perhaps, but I’ve made it this far without having that in my life anyway…

  “So what happens now?” I ask him.

  “Now,” he replies, “You let me take my best shot at convincing you to marry me.”

  “Oh god,” I scoff, as we continue along the trail to the beach, “What does that even mean, your best shot? Flowers and chocolates and shit?”

  “Please,” Jamison laughs, glancing down at me as the salty sea breeze tosses my auburn hair, “Give me a little credit.”

  “Well, what then?” I press, as the bay rises up before us, “How do you plan to convince me, Jay?”

  “By showing you exactly what being married to me would be like,” he replies, “Starting with all of this.”

  He sweeps his arm across the expansive King estate, from the stately mansion to the rolling grounds.

  “I don’t understand…” I say slowly.

  “Then let me spell it out for you,” he replies, his eyes gleaming with pride, “If you were my wife, Leah, I could provide for you like no one ever has. Not only would you be getting a share in my parents’ estate, you’d be sharing mine. I’m not sure if you know this, Leah, but I’ve done pretty damn well for myself these past few years.”

  “Yeah, I figured…” I tell him, recalling his countless endorsements and ad campaigns, his great professional success as a hockey player. It didn’t even occur to me until this minute that marrying Jamison would mean benefiting from that success.

  “I’m sure my dad was paying you well,” Jay goes on, “But I could give you a level a comfort that you’ve never even dreamed of.”

  “Are you seriously encouraging me to marry you for your money?” I ask him incredulously.

  “Sure. Among other things,” he smiles, “I’m not an idiot, Leah. I’m not asking you to fall head over heels in love with me or anything. I’m just saying, you should think about your future. Your father’s future, too.

  “What does my dad have to do with all this?” I ask him.

  “If we were to get married, Frank would be a part of the family,” Jay says lightly, “And as a part of the family, he’d be provided for, too. He could stay here in the cottage, never have to work another day in his life, live in total comfort. Wouldn’t you like that for him?”

  I blink back sudden tears at this wonderful idea. If I accepted Jay’s offer, my dad could retire. Spend the rest of his life taking it easy, enjoying himself. After all those years of backbreaking labor, Frank could finally rest. More than anything else Jay’s mentioned so far, this would definitely be the thing to persuade me. And Jay knows it, too.

  “Here’s what I’m proposing. Other than marriage, that is,” Jamison says, taking my hands in his, “You let me spend the next two weeks showing you exactly what being my wife would be like. You can’t give me an informed answer until you know exactly what you’d be passing up, am I right?”

  “I guess that makes a kind of sense…” I allow, easing into the idea.

  “I think so too,” he smiles, rubbing a thumb against the back of my hand, “So, first things first. You’ll stay at my place in the city for the next few weeks.”

  “Your place?!” I exclaim.

  “That’s right,” he affirms, enjoying my bafflement.

  “But… What about my apartment? My things?”

  “I’ll cover the rent on your apartment. And we’ll send for your things.”

  “Well…What about Gigi?” I spout nonsensically.

  “Who the hell is Gigi?” Jay asks, his brow creasing in confusion.

  “She’s my…uh…cat,” I mutter, blushing like mad.

  A roaring bark of laughter rips out of Jamison’s throat.

  “Your cat?! Jesus, Brody, I didn’t realize you were that far gone into spinster-dom.”

  “Oh, fuck off,” I tell him, smiling despite myself.

  “I’m sure Gigi will like it just fine at my place, you crazy cat lady,” Jay teases me, laying his hands on my shoulders, “Any other objections you wanna cook up, or can we do this?”

  I gaze up at Jamison’s handsome, familiar face. This whole situation is so comprehensively insane that making a reasonable decision is damn near impossible. We’re way beyond reason or logic, by now. All I can do now is see this predicament through. If the way forward is giving Jamison King’s lifestyle a spin…well, I can think of worse fates.

  “I guess…I’m all out of objections,” I tell him, “Cat lady jab aside.”

  “So is that a yes, then?” he presses, running his hands down my sides, “You’ll come and stay with me?”

  “I will,” I tell him, “As long as you can assure me that this little arrangement won’t interfere with our work at King Enterprises.”

  “Not at all,” Jay smiles, “In fact, this’ll make it that much easier for you to train me. I am King Enterprise’s newest creative exec, after all.”

  “Well shit,” I say, shaking my head in wonder, “This should definitely make for good gossip around the water cooler, huh?”

  “Around the water cooler?” he laughs, “Try around the world, Brody.”

  “Ugh. Don’t remind me,” I wince.

  Jay’s been a celebrity in his own right since he was twenty-two-year-old NHL rookie. Hell, even before that he was a home town hot shot with a famous family. He’s had thirty years to get used to the spotlight. But me? I’ve been working behind the scenes this whole time for a reason. I’ve never been comfortable being the center of attention. But Jay’s like the sun itself—just being in his orbit is going to throw a light on me for all the world to see.

  As if this whole thing wasn’t terrifying—and exciting—enough.

  Chapter Seven

  Showing up to work on Monday morning is one of the more surreal experiences of my life. The offices of King Enterprises are exactly as I left them the week before, but even as I sit down at familiar desk, it’s with the knowledge that everything else about my life if changing. By the time the work day is over, all of my possessions will have been moved from my apartment on Riverside Drive to the Jamison’s place in the West Village. For the next two weeks, I’ll be sharing in the life of my billionaire pseudo-suitor, the mysterious Jamison King.

  And I have no idea what will come of it.

  As if it weren’t enough that Jay is turning my life outside the office on its head, he’s also causing quite a stir at work, as well. The second he and I show up to King Enterprises together on Monday, fresh from the rooftop helipad, the gossip mill goes into full swing. The significant glances and
whispered remarks from our coworkers begin immediately, and I’m sure they have all kinds of ideas about my relationship to the late boss’s son. Man. If they only knew half of the real story, those smug grins would be wiped right off their faces.

  For his part, Jamison is loving the attention. He strolls into King Enterprises like he already owns the place. I have to admit, he looks the part in his perfectly cut charcoal gray suit. Jay’s dark blonde hair strikes the perfect balance between swept-back and tousled, the stubble along his jaw defiantly still in place. His look telegraphs to the entire company that while he means business, his being here is still a changing of the guard. He’s not going to be afraid to shake things up at King Enterprises. That means it falls to me to keep him in check.

  Naturally.

  “So, what’s on the docket, boss?” Jay asks as we step into a conference room. “Gimme the lay of the land.”

  “Well,” I explain, waving Pippa in as she appears at the door with fresh coffee, “The main thing I’m working on right now is the Huntress of Tomorrow adaptation, so—”

  “And who might this be?” Jamison grins, eyeing my assistant as she ducks into the conference room.

  “This is my assistant, Pippa McBride,” I tell him, happily accepting the mug of coffee she hands me.

  “Nice to meet you, Pippa,” Jay says, offering his hand to the young woman, “I’m Jamison King.”

  “Oh, I know who you are,” Pippa replies dreamily, placing a mug in the hand Jamison meant for her to shake. I suppress a fond chuckle at her mistake. Pippa’s a very diligent assistant, but her people skills leave a little bit to be desired.

  “Well. I look forward to getting to know you better,” Jamison tells her, his eyes hard on her eye-eyed face. “See you around, Pips.”

  Pippa smiles shyly, shooting me a guilty look as she hurries out of the room. I cock an eyebrow at Jamison as my assistant flees the scene.

  “Seriously, Jay?” I say wryly, “Don’t tell me I have to give you an office sexual harassment lecture on your first day here.”

  “I was just being friendly,” he shrugs, running a fingertip around the rim of his coffee mug, “I can’t help it if women find me charming.”