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.
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 stood 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.
Afterward, we went to lunch and then he went home to his real wife, while I went home to my fake one. God, if he ever found out about my and Hallie’s situation, I’d never hear the end of it.
Her car was in the garage when I got back so at least she hadn’t run off. I walked through the house and finally saw her out back. She was floating in the pool on a float. She was wearing a green floral swimsuit that she must have picked up on a visit to her parents’ house because the other night she said she didn’t have one her. I liked her naked or in her underwear, but the bathing suit was nice too. It accentuated her curves just right. My dick was a fan, no matter what she was wearing.
“Down boy,” I grumbled. “There won’t be anymore of that.” I was going to turn away but decided I should let her know I was back. I opened the door, “Hallie. I’m back.”
She lifted her hand to her forehead to block the sun from her eyes, “Okay.”
Her skin was so pale against the dark blue of the floating mat.
“You wearing sunscreen?” It would be a shame to burn all that creamy flesh.
“Yes.”
I nodded and shut the door. At least she was talking to me even if it was just monosyllabic.
Later that evening, while Hallie was in the kitchen working on her home book, I sat on the porch drinking a beer when I got a call from Dave.
“Nate, tell me you’re not really cheating on your fake wife.”
Fuck. Seriously? “No. I’m not. Where did you hear that?” Even as I asked it, I knew the source. Allison.
“Do I really have to tell you? I believe you were in a lip lock with her in your office.”
“She hit on me, Dave, and I turned her down. I swear to God,” I worked to assure him; I wanted to throw my beer. Instead, I stood and marched down by the pool.
“Well, you need your fake wife to stand by her man and pronto. Will she do that?”
I looked up at the house where Hallie was probably thinking about stabbing me with the scissors she was using to cut out decorating ideas from magazines.
“What do we need to do?” I sighed.
“There’s a wildlife fundraiser tonight in Washington, hosted by Senator Laymer. Many of the Madison people will be there. Show up, do some PDA or whatever to quash the ideas that you’re not only a womanizer but an adulterer too.”
Jesus. My situation was worse. The IPO could end up losing money when my goal had been to make more. How had I not seen what a conniving, conceited, hateful woman Allison was? Probably because my standards were lower. She was smart, attractive, and fun. At the time, I didn’t care about anything more than that. I hadn’t seen her true colors until I pulled the patent application. She’d tried to submit it anyway, and I’d never been so angry at a person in my life. I had her escorted out of my office by security. A far as I knew, she hadn’t done anything to retaliate against me, so this move was a surprise. I’d underestimated her again.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I got off the phone and stood out in my garden for a moment. What were the chances Hallie could pretend to love me at a fundraiser? If I hadn’t fucked her, would she be as angry and hurt? Sure, she’d have to act that way as a wife, but would she truly be as upset as she was now if I hadn’t touched her?
In the end, though, we had a deal. She agreed to play my wife, and in return, I’d fund her home rebuild. With that in mind, I headed back up to the house.
I walked into the kitchen, “We need to go to a fundraiser tonight.” There was no since in making small talk.
She looked up at me with pinched brows, “Now?”
I nodded, “Turns out you’re not the only one who thinks I’m a lying cheat. This time, however, you have to pretend that you don’t think I am the lying cheat that Allison is telling everyone I am.”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, “She’s telling people about what happened in your office?”
“That’s right. I know what you think of me, and so acting like a happy wife might be hard. So maybe it will help if you think about all the work Sloane Labs will be able to do, the diseases we’ll treat if you can help me fix this.”
She looked like she was going to balk, but then I guess she remembered our deal. She said, “I don’t have a different dress.”
“What’s wrong with the green one?” There was one thing wrong with it. She looked too fucking sexy in it, and I was too hurt and angry to let myself be turned on by her.
“I've already worn it twice,” she said it like that made perfect sense. But it didn’t. I wore the same tux or suits to many events.
“So?”
She rolled her eyes, “People will notice. People like Allison will notice. She’ll say it’s proof that this marriage between us is fake. As your wife, I’d have a different dress.”
“Fine,” I checked my watch. There were several hours left before we had to leave. I pulled my wallet out from my back pocket, “How much? Will a thousand do or do you need more.”
Her eyes about popped from her head, “You carry a thousand dollars around in your wallet?”
“Just on weekends. Hallie, focus. Is it enough?”
She nodded, and I thrust the money at her, “Get what you want. We need to leave here at seven, which gives you three hours.”
I wasn’t hopeful that she’d follow through, but she was back and ready by six-thirty. The dress was a pretty dark blue that went well with her hair. I ignored that it was strapless and form fitting to her curves. She gave me several hundred dollars back but didn’t say anything, which told me she was still mad. As long as she could act like she believed me and still loved me, I’d be okay.
At the event, I wrapped my arm around her waist as we entered the hotel ballroom, but it felt different this time. She didn’t settle into me like she had before. I looked at her, and she plastered on a smile, but I could see it was fake. Surely others would too.
I led her back out to the hallway outside the ballroom to a quiet corner where no one would see us, “Hallie, you’ve got to get your shit together.”
Her green eyes glowered at me, “I wasn’t the one--”
“Fuck that, Hallie. Right now my
IPO is at risk of doing worse than if I was just a womanizer. It would be nice if you believed me, but since you don’t, let me remind you that we’ve got a deal. A fake marriage for a home rebuild.”
She jerked back, “I know our deal.”
“Then start looking like a loving wife, not a Stepford wife.”
“What if it doesn’t work, Nate? People mostly take pity on the wife when she stands by her man.”
“Make them believe you.”
“Or what?”
I stepped back and took a breath willing my anger and frustration to calm down. I looked up the hall to make sure we weren’t being watched, and then I finally turned back to her, “I need to know right now if you can pull this off. If not, we stop and end the deal.”
“So I don’t get my house rebuilt?”
What? Jesus. Fucking. Christ. The future of my work was on the line here. How many millions more people would I help by getting the capital that came from going public? All of it was going to hell because of Allison’s pettiness and Hallie’s distrust.
“We end it, or you help me here and now. I’ll build your house either way.”
Her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t believe me, “Either way you’ll arrange for my home to be rebuilt?”
“Yes.”
She apparently thought I was a fucking douche too. Did she really think I wouldn’t want to help her and her family after her home had burnt down and her mother had MS?
She stared at me for a long moment, “Okay. I’ll be the dutiful wife.”
“Fuck that, Hallie. You need to be a loving, trusting wife.”
“Yes, okay, I can do it,” she said in an exasperated breath.
I had no faith that she could pull it off as we walked into that ballroom again, but I had no choice but to follow through. This time when I put my arm around her, she leaned into me. When people we talked to hinted at marital trouble, Hallie made a fffttt noise and talked about my ex’s sour grapes.
When she saw Allison across the room, she marched over, even though I worried that would be a step too far.
Her Hero Boss Page 8