by Kira Blakely
Crossing her arms over the bustier that did lovely things for her already ample tits, she pasted on a smile that was more of a grimace. “Thank you.” Then something remarkable happened; her expression softened and she tried again. “Thanks for your help, Gage, even though I can take care of myself.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
She growled, turned on her stiletto ankle-booties that kept with the Revolutionary War theme, and stomped away, his laughter echoing behind her.
An idea came to life inside of him, and Gage smiled. He’d thought of a way he could help Shawna and help himself at the same time. And if things really came together, he might be able to help himself to Shawna as well.
He had a feeling things were about to get a whole lot more interesting around here.
Chapter Two
The next night, Shawna was halfway through her shift, and Pearce was nowhere to be seen. She smiled for the first time in weeks. Maybe Gage’s heavy-handed interference had actually helped. At least a little, since the bastard had still had three dozen red and white roses delivered to her apartment. Like that would change my mind. She’d happily brought them in to work for the other girls to enjoy.
There were already three hundred bucks in tips in the inside pocket of her shorts. The day was looking up and honestly, she owed Gage an apology for her less-than-friendly gratitude last night. After my shift.
“Hey, Shawna, how’s it going?”
She turned and smiled at Evie, Gage’s executive assistant. The woman was beautiful and looked much younger than her fifty years. Her presence among Gage’s staff led Shawna to believe he was more than just a rich playboy. Not that he would ever allow her, or anyone else, to see that side of him. “Evie, how are you? How was the second honeymoon?”
“Fantastic,” she enthused. “I’ll tell you all about it over lunch one day soon. For now, Gage would like to speak with you.” Her stoic expression was impossible to decode.
But her tone said everything. The boss wasn’t happy, and he wanted to see her now. With a sigh, she gave Evie a half-smile. “At least the tips were good today.” And they were probably the last tips she would receive, because Gage was probably going to fire her. Thanks again, Pearce.
When she made it to Gage’s office on the thirtieth floor, a tall striking brunette in a slinky silver dress walked out and glared at her. Another conquest. She barely suppressed a groan as she remembered exactly who Gage Steele was. Women like Silver Dress and the dozens of cocktail waitresses who had quit after their roll in the hay with him didn’t go where they hoped it would were exactly why she never took his flirtations seriously. The man slept with every woman he met—for one night only—and promptly forgot about them, tossing them aside like yesterday’s garbage. It was as though he was determined to sleep with everyone woman alive, at least the beautiful ones.
He was the kind of man who made a woman stupid, and after being raised by a woman who was constantly on the prowl for a rich Prince Charming only to find a bunch of rotten toads, she had no plans on being stupid for a man. Ever. Then again, she’d thought Pearce was a decent guy, so what the hell did she know? Shawna sucked in a fortifying breath before she knocked and waited.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open and glanced around, trying to discern exactly where he might have had Silver Dress on her back. She’d never been in his office before, and he’d probably had women on every surface, so it didn’t really matter. Everything was spotless, so she took the seat in front of his desk. “You wanted to see me?”
“We need to have a chat,” he answered, his voice stern and icy cool. His gaze never wavered, searing through her until her nipples pebbled. Dammit.
“I know we do, and I do owe you an apology. I should have been more grateful for your help, even though I could have handled it myself. But firing me is hasty. I’m your best waitress, and I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not my fault he turned into a stalker!” She was rambling, and her hands were shaking, but dammit, she needed this job.
A small smile ghosted the corners of his mouth. “Are you finished?”
Damn, but he had a way of making her always feel like an overemotional teenage girl. “Sure, I guess, but it depends.”
“On what?” he asked, hands steepled below his chin and another smirk on his handsome face. No, his stupid handsome face.
She shrugged. “On whether you’re firing me.”
“I’m not firing you.”
Shawna relaxed back in her seat. “Oh, good, then yes, I’m finished.”
“Good, because I have a proposition for you.”
Of course, he would use this opportunity to finally get into my pants, tiny though they may be.
***
Gage couldn’t help but chuckle at the expression on her gorgeous face. “Not that kind of proposition, Shawna. When we go there, and make no mistake about it, we will go there, it will be because you beg me to take you, to fuck you until you can’t remember your own name. And only then will I give you what we both want. Long and hard and slow.” He shrugged. “Or maybe fast and hard, if you prefer.”
Her pupils dilated and the little pulse at the base of her neck pounded furiously, but that was the only indication she was as affected as he was. “Right.” She gave her best disbelieving smile and shook away all traces of desire. “So, this proposition?”
Gage stood and walked around his desk, leaning on it right in front of her. She wouldn’t be able to ignore him now. “I find myself in need of a girlfriend.”
“What?” She uncrossed her legs and moved to the edge of her seat. “Can you be serious for a second, please?”
Leaning forward just enough to make her lean back, Gage sighed. “Oh, I am serious. I want you to move in with me and pretend to be my girlfriend.” He’d thought about it long and hard for the past two days, and it was the perfect solution.
She stood so that they were face to face. “Move in with you? And why would you need a fake girlfriend when I just saw another one of your women leaving? Ask her!”
Gage watched her cheeks flush prettily and bit back a grin. “That was not one of my women, merely a woman looking to get a few benefits by fucking a billionaire. Which is another reason I need you.”
“There is so much wrong with what you just said, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“In return, I will protect you from Pearce.” Gage knew women, and he’d had dozens try and make their way to his home in nearby Henderson, but he never allowed that. Visits to his home would give them hope, something he never wanted to give. They got one night with him in a penthouse suite and nothing more, unless they attended an event with him, in which case he was happy to shell out a necklace, bracelet or earrings. Never rings, because they could be easily taken the wrong way. Shawna would likely jump at the opportunity. After all, there was only reason she would date a guy like Pearce Worthington.
She scoffed and shot him a disgusted glare. “I hardly need your kind of firepower to protect me from a pouty frat boy.” A look of surprise must have crossed his face because she asked, “What?”
“How long were you with him?”
“Two lousy months, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Why?” He had to know. She obviously had no idea he was rich and connected, so what was the attraction?
“What’s it to you?” she asked, arms crossed in a clear back the hell off signal.
That pulled another laugh from him as he shook his head in amusement. “I’m just curious because you obviously didn’t go out with him for his family money and influence, so why?”
“I can’t even believe you would say that. You know what, I guess I’m not. You only date chicks who want you for your money.” She scoffed and then froze, turning questioning emerald eyes his way. “Wait, his what?”
Unbelievable! “His father is a very wealthy land developer, and he has plenty of juice in this city to make Pearce’s threats to y
ou a reality.” She noticeably deflated at his words, and Gage almost felt bad. Almost. Except this new revelation increased his chances of getting her to do what he wanted.
“Shit… for real? How did I not know that?”
He quirked a brow. “Other things kept you busy?”
Shawna snorted out a laugh and for some stupid reason he found it adorable. “Yeah, right! I never even slept with him. I was going to actually, until I found him in bed with Skank and Skankier bouncing on him like a carnival ride. I definitely dodged a round of antibiotics with him.” Her smile was gorgeous but missed her eyes. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “What would I have to do to get this help of yours?”
Gage smiled, leaning in closer until he could smell the sweet scent of her cinnamon breath. “I need it to look like I have a girlfriend I’m getting serious about, which is why you need to move in with me.”
Her emerald eyes darkened to an enchanting forest green but she scoffed anyway. “Ah, because everyone knows you don’t take your conquests back to your precious palace.”
“Exactly. In return, you’d be under my protection, and I have a lot more juice than Walter Worthington,” he promised in a suggestive voice. “I also need you to keep the gold diggers at bay.”
She frowned. “But I thought that was your thing.”
“What?” Gage didn’t think he liked where she was heading, but as usual, she was oblivious to the effect she had on him.
“Using your money and your good looks to get any girl you want to do anything you want.” She spoke so bluntly it was impossible to get upset.
But the more he thought about it, he was kind of offended. “That’s really what you think?”
She shrugged. “I do have eyes and ears, Gage, and you have slept with every cocktail waitress we’ve ever had, other than me.” She rolled her eyes. “So how long would you need me to do this if I were to agree?”
He smiled, because he had her. At least, he was pretty sure he did, but this was the tricky part, so Gage fixed on his most charming smile, the one that had landed a princess and a mayor in his bed. At the same time. “At least one year or as long as it takes to repair my reputation.” He had a meeting coming up with Steve Wilde, who was reluctant to sell to Gage because of his reputation as a party boy.
“What? No, that’s impossible. No one will believe that you’d go out with me for a full year. Hell, anyone really, but definitely not me.”
Was she blind or did she really believe that nonsense? He’d wanted Shawna since the moment she’d walked onto the floor in those tiny white shorts that hugged her curves and drew his attention to those thick thighs he knew it would be heaven to slide between. But she didn’t need to know any of that. That’s how women worked; give them the upper hand and they would use it to get everything they could from you. No, Gage always had the upper hand, so he schooled his expression. “I’ll expect an answer by the end of the week.”
She stood and glared at him. “So, you want an answer on Friday? As in two days from now? Fine,” she said, turning and leaving before he could even respond.
Chapter Three
Shawna felt like crap when she woke up on Friday. She hadn’t slept well after Gage dropped that one-year bomb on her, floating through a long shift like a zombie and finally dropping dead on her bed sometime after midnight. She got up fully prepared to turn down Gage’s proposition, because living with him was ridiculous. It would only lead to trouble. Hot, sexy trouble and that was just the type of trouble she was looking to avoid.
She hopped in the shower, hoping that the hot hard spray would wake her up and maybe knock some sense into her, but by the time she got dressed, she was still tired and without an answer for Gage. “At least I still have my health,” she sarcastically told her reflection.
Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, because she refused to wear her uniform outside the casino, Shawna stepped outside and found a giant orange sticker on her apartment door. “Double damn!” An eviction notice caught her attention, and she groaned.
This was the problem with month-to-month leases. They allowed you the freedom to get up and go at a moment’s notice, but that also meant she could be kicked out with just thirty days’ notice. And for no reason, dammit. She went to speak with the apartment manager and was stunned to find out he’d been told she’d been turning tricks out of her apartment. To her stunned amazement, nothing she said could convince him otherwise.
On her way back to her apartment, she caught a glimpse of Pearce’s familiar figure leaning against an equally familiar red Mercedes SLR in the parking lot. “Shit!” Damn you, Pearce! Everything suddenly made sense. Stomping back inside her apartment and slamming the door, she called the bar manager to let him know she wouldn’t be in today. “I’m sorry, but I have to deal with this right away. If you can’t find someone to cover for me, I can probably make it in later.” He grunted an answer, and she smashed the ‘end’ button before tossing the phone on the sofa.
Missing the tip money on a Friday would hurt her bank account, but the sooner she got out of this place the harder it would be for Fuck Face to find her. Getting him out of her life was a top priority, second only to finding a new place to live. On short notice.
She groaned when the phone rang again, diving on the sofa and grunting an answer. “Yeah?”
“I hope you didn’t think calling off work today would get you out of giving me an answer.”
Gage. “Of course, I didn’t, but contrary to what you seem to think, not everything in this world revolves around you and your enormous ego! I was prepared to text you a big fat no until I found this stupid eviction notice on my door. Oh, and a slimy ex-boyfriend with a gloating smirk outside my door, you jerk!” She kicked her door in frustration, crying out as the pain reverberated up her leg. He was silent for a moment. “Oh, now you have nothing to s—”
“Don’t go anywhere. I’m on my way.”
“You don’t even know where I… live,” she said, even though he’d already disconnected the call. “Whatever,” she groused, unwilling to worry herself over Gage and his nonsense.
She marched to her room and dug inside the back of her closet in search of the boxes she was now glad she’d kept. It was a habit leftover from childhood, as was quickly packing up the essentials when her mom’s latest boyfriend stole away with the rent money and they needed to be gone by morning. Oh, the memories, she thought bitterly and went in search of packing tape.
She refused to cry and instead focused on taping all the boxes before packing up the kitchen cabinets. I hate this crappy apartment anyway. That much was true, but it was also cheap and close to work and campus, which was why she dealt with spotty plumbing and the grease-ball manager who always talked to her boobs.
“Ow!” That’s what I get for not paying attention. She stared at her now-bleeding thumb, completely oblivious to the door opening behind her.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She turned at Gage’s deep hypnotic voice and swallowed around a lump of sawdust in her throat. He looked sexy as hell in those thigh-hugging jeans and a t-shirt with the Revolution logo emblazoned on one ridiculously sculpted pec. “Yeah, I am. You didn’t have to come.”
Don’t cry. Absolutely do not cry. The last person she wanted to fall apart in front of was Gage.
“Of course, I did.” He flashed that grin that made women go stupid. Speechless. Dumbstruck. “My girlfriend is being evicted, which sucks, but now it will be easy to convince her to move in with me. Where she belongs.” He flashed his best loving boyfriend smile and moved in for a hug.
Shawna couldn’t help it, she laughed.
“That was almost believable, Gage.” She appreciated the effort, even if there was no audience to see his performance. “Except I know that you’ve only come to gloat.” Keeping her tears where they belonged—inside her head—she released a shaky emotional breath.
His frown only made his rugged features more handsome. “Actually, I came to help and to give that douch
e a show.” Winking, he pulled her into his arms in the open doorway. She peeked over his shoulder to see that, yep, Pearce was scowling up at them. “Seriously though, are you all right?”
Shawna let her arms wrap around his hard, narrow waist, enjoying the feel of his masculine warmth for just a minute. Only a minute. “I will be.” Eventually.
His blond brows rose in surprise, blue eyes scanning the boxes already assembled. “You already started packing?”
“Yep. I figured the quicker I was gone, the sooner Pearce would be out of my life.” Plus, she didn’t want to stay where one phone call could make her homeless when she hadn’t done anything wrong. “I tried calling the manager, but he made it clear he didn’t want ‘my kind’ polluting the place.”
Gage stared at her, obviously not understanding what she was saying. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means Pearce led him to believe I was selling myself and using this apartment to do business.” Talk about humiliating, telling all this to her billionaire boss.
He frowned again, darker this time. “My place will guarantee that jackass keeps his distance. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to deal with me. Pack a bag and let’s get out of here.”
“You may be my fake live-in boyfriend, Gage, but you are not the boss of me.” Pulling herself from his grasp, she smacked his hard stomach when he laughed. “I need to pack.”
“No, you don’t. Where’s your bedroom?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He marched past her, leaving his masculine scent swirling around in her head and making her think crazy thoughts. “It’s a good thing you’re tiny, because this place is a shoebox,” he called from the back of the apartment.
“Well, it’s affordable and convenient, not that you’d know about that. What do you think you’re doing?” She stopped in the doorway, watching him throw her bras and panties into a small suitcase.