She’d wavered off and on all night. It was ridiculous of her to consider making any kind of deal like this with him. Of course he’d screw her over the first chance he got. Even before she ever confronted him, she’d been well aware that he wasn’t a good man. He wasn’t the honorable sort to do what he said. She had been all prepared to bend and twist his arm and provide copies of the information she had on him. But this whole tangent had thrown her for a loop. How did she deal with crazy?
But she couldn’t go back home empty-handed. How could she face her brother? Her mother? Every time she thought about just running home, pretending this never happened, their faces would pop up in her mind and remind her of all the reasons she had to stay. She could at least go to breakfast with the man. Maybe she could get some pity blackmail out of him or something. Going to breakfast didn’t mean she was committing herself to anything.
Zoe forced herself to get out of the hotel bed and at least get dressed. What did she wear to something like this? In a roundabout way, it was really a business meeting. It wasn’t as if she came with business attire. The closest thing she had to a suit was the catering outfit, which she had to return to Kylie later today before she went home.
And considering Wade had already seen her in it, she couldn’t even try to pull it off for a second day. Besides, someone like him would know the difference between the real thing and a cheap uniform. No, she would just go to this meeting dressed as herself. If she wanted him to realize exactly how bad of an idea this whole proposal was, she had to let him know exactly what he was getting into. So she put on the short denim shorts and loose navy-blue scoop neck T-shirt that would be comfortable and cool enough for the intense June heat. To top it off, she laced up her combat boots and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She debated going makeup-less just to be extra-charming but couldn’t face the idea of walking the New York streets bare.
She meant to just throw on some foundation and mascara, but soon enough she was adding eyeliner, highlighter, and making sure her brows were perfection. It wasn’t anything new. The same makeup look she’d had yesterday, for the most part. He already knew what she looked like if she was half trying.
She took one more look at herself in the mirror and let out a deep sigh. This would have to do. Her mission today was simple: meet Wade, convince him to give her two million dollars and not marry her, and then she’d be done. She could go back home and save the day for the first time in her life.
With that thought in mind, she left the cheap little hotel room that she’d rented and took the stairs two at a time from the third story to the lobby until she was out on the streets. It was nine a.m. and she would’ve thought that the morning rush on the streets would be dying down by now, but it looked as busy as ever. Cars were all bumper-to-bumper, and every minute or two, an angry horn would cut through the morning air. The tall skyscrapers blocked any sun from shining on the street so her T-shirt and shorts seemed like too little material, but Zoe knew that soon enough the heat would be felt all through the city.
It was a long walk to get to the restaurant, but Zoe didn’t want to rush. It was her first time ever in the city, and she liked taking in the sights. Sure, not all the sights were great, but the sounds and the busy feeling around her were an utterly new experience, and she soaked it all up.
As soon as she reached the breakfast place that Wade had specified, she knew she was underdressed. The outside of the fancy restaurant practically screamed power suits and important business discussions. But she wasn’t going to turn away. If she had to embarrass herself a little bit to prove how wrong Wade was, she’d do that. She was just about to tell the hostess who she was meeting when someone tapped her from behind. She turned around to see an imposing man behind her. Even with those dark sunglasses covering his face, she knew it was Wade.
“I see you’ve dressed down for today.” He immediately walked toward the back of the restaurant.
She liked how he just expected her to follow. She really wanted to prove a point and stay right where she was, but she’d come all this way for a meeting, so she wasn’t going to turn back now. Reluctantly, she followed as he led the way to the most secluded table tucked into the back corner. There were already glasses of water, a cup of coffee, an orange juice and a tall flute glass on the table, along with the spread of French toast, pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and anything else that looked like it could be breakfast food. “Did you order the entire restaurant?” She sat down.
“I didn’t know what you might like. Are you a vegetarian? A vegan?”
She cocked her head and looked questioningly at him. “I like how that’s your first question. Would it be a problem if I was?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. It seemed as though he was prepared for battle as well. “On the contrary, vegans are very trendy right now. I was merely asking out of curiosity.”
“Curiosity. Funny. I would think the time for curiosity is over. Maybe you should’ve asked me all these questions before you made such a ridiculous offer. You have no idea who I am or how crazy I am. You could be making a huge mistake by offering to get in bed with me, metaphorically speaking, of course.”
He let out a little laugh before he took a sip of his coffee. “Zoe. I don’t want you to go into this underestimating me. I want you to know that a lot has changed since I made my brash offer to you yesterday.”
She straightened in her seat. “Does that mean you’ve changed your mind?”
“No, it means the opposite. I’ve had a chance to research you. I know exactly who you are now. If anything, I’m more convinced that this is a great idea for both of us.”
Zoe took a nervous gulp and grabbed the orange juice to help with her suddenly dry mouth, only to belatedly realize that it was a mimosa. Even though the champagne mixed with orange juice tasted fantastic, it was hardly what she needed to calm her nerves right now. “What exactly do you think you know about me?” Please don’t know about Johnny. Please don’t know about Johnny. Please don’t know about Johnny.
“I have a much better understanding of why you’re here, taking on the big dogs for money. Tell me, what kind of cancer treatments can your mother afford with no insurance? Do they even try chemo? Or do they just give her pills for the pain and try to make her quality of life as good as possible while they can?”
Zoe’s blood ran cold at the question. It was very telling. Not just that he’d done research and knew why she was so desperate for money, but because of how cavalier his attitude about it was. He didn’t give her any condolences or ask how her mother was. Simply threatened that if she didn’t do what he wanted, her mother would never get better. She was sure that the shock was showing on her face, but she’d have to at least pretend that he didn’t have the upper hand right now. “You know, I’ve heard about your reputation for being a dick. I see that those rumors have been greatly underexaggerated.” There. At least her voice sounded steady.
“Fierce words coming from a blackmailer.”
“I’m sorry my Robin Hoodness offended you. Please, ask me more questions about my dying mother.” There was silence as they stared at each other across the table, each willing the other to make the first move. Surprisingly enough, he caved first. Of course, it didn’t sound as if he were caving. “Let’s face it, Miss Young. You need money. I need a pretty girl who has a plausible shared history with me. If I made this offer to anyone else, they’d be falling all over themselves for a chance to be my bride. What exactly makes me so repulsive to you?”
Zoe looked him up and down. Repulsive wasn’t the right word. She couldn’t deny his famous good looks. The perfectly trimmed beard, those intense cheekbones that seemed more befitting of a model than a businessman, and the broad shoulders that were no doubt aided by all the time that a rich man could spend at the gym. His looks definitely weren’t the repulsive thing about him. “It’s your attitude.”
He raised a dark brow. “My attitude? What’s repulsive about that?”
“Your attitu
de about me. You’ve basically beaten me into a corner, and now I have to do what you want and you’re practically vibrating with victory. This might shock you, but women like having a choice about how their lives turn out.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up and he leaned forward on the table. Only a few inches closer to her, but somehow it felt like more. “Oh, Ms. Young, you definitely have a choice when it comes to this. The problem with making deals with the devil is that the devil’s offer is usually so tempting it seems like it’s the only option.”
“What do I have to say to you to prove that this idea is ludicrous? I’m basically a piece of trailer trash from the middle of nowhere Ohio, and you’re going to introduce me to all your peers as the woman you fell in love with? You’re going to be the laughingstock of this town, and it’s not going to be because some supermodel left you.”
“Give yourself more credit. You might be trailer trash, but you’re also hot. By the time I’m done with you, you’re going to be able to compete with any supermodel out there. From the very limited conversation we had, it was obvious you could even hold your own with people of much better social standing than you. You’re perfect for what I need.”
“You spew out insults and compliments so quickly, does it ever confuse you?”
He smiled at her, revealing some perfect pearly whites. “Oh no. I mean exactly what I say, and, trust me, I know the difference. Besides, you insulted yourself first. What does that say about you?”
She wasn’t going to touch that one, instead taking another deep gulp of mimosa, leaving the glass depressingly close to empty.
“So what’s your choice?” he asked. “Go home to watch your mother die, or stay here with me, getting the best possible treatment money can buy all while having more money than you know what to do with?”
“Tell me exactly what you want from me. You’re a businessman, right? So what exactly are the terms?”
Wade reached down and set a stack of papers in front of her. “I have the prenuptial agreements ready for you to look over.”
“You’re kidding. You had enough time to get a prenup done?”
“I wasn’t kidding when I was bragging about how good my lawyer is. I think if you look over this, you’ll find the terms very agreeable.”
Somehow she doubted that. She took the papers from his hand and looked over the first page, which was mostly legal jargon and nothing mind-blowing. It was only when she got deeper into the document that a few more interesting tidbits started to fly out at her. “You’re allowed to have extramarital affairs and I’m not?”
“I can’t have a repeat of what happened with Tara. Besides, I thought you’d appreciate that I didn’t specify that you have to perform your wifely duties with me.”
It had never occurred to her that he could force her to do anything pertaining to wifely duties. “You expect me to be celibate while you’re off screwing anyone you feel like? That hardly sounds fair.”
He reached out and put his hand on the documents, pushing them to the table, and looked right into her eyes. “Darling, let’s be clear. This isn’t about fair. And if you ever want fair, I don’t recommend you look in my direction.”
Well, she couldn’t argue with that. She yanked the papers out from under his hand so she could keep on looking through them. According to these, she’d be required to live with him, but she would have her own bedroom. During the duration, she’d receive a credit card for all of her expenses not to exceed… whoa. “Ten thousand dollars a month?”
“If you need more than that, we can figure something out. It seemed like a good placeholder number.”
“People can spend more than ten thousand dollars a month?”
He got a wicked glint in his eye as he looked at her. “This really is going to be fun, isn’t it?”
But it was when she reached the last page that her jaw dropped. She didn’t know what surprised her more: the time that he was requiring of the marriage or the final payout. No, it was definitely the final payout. “This is too much money,”
“That’s honestly the first time I’ve ever heard that in a negotiation.”
“Are you crazy? There’s no way a sham marriage is worth this much.”
“Well, if I’d actually gone through with marrying Tara, I guarantee I would’ve lost a lot more than that. Besides, I got a deal with the Chinese coming up in two weeks. If that goes through, I can make at least five times what I’m offering to pay you. I can’t have some silly social scandal blowing all that up for me.”
“I only asked you for two million. Why did you up it to ten million?”
“Because I’m not naïve enough to think I’m an easy man to be with. The compensation should match accordingly. Besides, you obviously have some reluctance. I figured this would get us over that.”
Zoe’s entire life flashed before her eyes. Every time she cried about not having money, every time she’d gone without a meal. She’d never have to worry about any of that again. This would cover her and her brother and her mother the rest of their lives. She let the piece of paper fall to the table and leaned back in her seat. “I really can’t say no to you, can I?”
“If you know what’s good for you, it wouldn’t be advisable.” Wade drank his first sip of mimosa, the victory mixing with the orange juice to create a sweet flavor in his mouth.
“So what happens now? I sign my life away to you and then grin and bear things for two years?”
He winced. “I’m not some villain from an animated movie. First of all, I need to make sure that word of this gets out as soon as possible. We’ll go to the justice of the peace later today and make sure that the news is leaked so we can get ambushed by photographers right after the wedding.” He put the word ambushed in air quotes for emphasis.
She let out a bitter laugh. “Paparazzi photos for wedding pictures. Just like I always dreamed about,” she said sarcastically.
“Don’t forget what you’re getting out of this. I’m making your dreams come true. Two years is nothing. You won’t even be thirty. In two years, you’ll be young, beautiful, and rich to boot. So try to keep the snark to a minimum.”
She snorted. “If you didn’t want any snark, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I appreciate a witty woman. At least try to keep the snark between the two of us. Sound good?”
She put on a fake smile and started batting her eyelashes innocently at him, and he had a feeling he was in trouble. “I’ll sit still and look pretty for you, honey. I promise,” she said with a sickeningly sweet voice.
“I’m so sorry my offer to make you sickeningly rich is offending your feminist principles. Now make your choice. Are you in or are you out?”
She pursed her lips together and looked down at the paper once more. He knew the odds were in his favor. He’d stacked the deck and left her little choice.
Besides, he knew enough about her now to know what she’d choose. Zoe Young was a twenty-six-year-old waitress from Birdsville, Ohio. She’d been an overachiever in high school and gone on to Ohio State, only to move back home a few years later. Ever since she dropped out of college, she’d lived at home with her mother and brother, who was twelve years younger than her. There was no future for her in Birdsville, and Zoe would have to know that. If she wanted a chance, this was it.
She picked up her mimosa and drank it down in a few deep gulps. “All right. Let’s do this.”
“You bought a dress.”
Zoe whipped around to see Wade Maxium looking her up and down, with neither approval nor disapproval. More… curiosity.
“Of course I’m wearing a dress. This is a wedding, isn’t it?”
Zoe self-consciously ran her palms up and down the white sundress. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but she knew there were going to be pictures taken when they left the courthouse, so she needed to at least look the part. After breakfast that morning, everything had seemed to run in fast-forward mode. She had to check out of the hotel room, find something approp
riate to wear, and, oh yeah, go back and forth fifteen thousand times about whether she had lost her sanity. But she’d shown up on time just like she said she would and so had Wade, even though she’d been convinced that he would change his mind by now. “You’re wearing a suit,” she said weakly as she looked him up and down, returning the favor.
“I always wear suits. I figured you would show up dressed like trailer trash just to spite me.”
Oddly enough, she was becoming used to his insults, and they hurt less and less every time. “I’ll have you know that combat boots never go out of style. Don’t you want your new wife to be trendy?”
She could’ve sworn he smiled ever so slightly at that. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be a trendsetter now. At least you look good in them.”
She opened her mouth but found herself speechless, an ever more common occurrence around him.
He held his arm out to her. “Ready to get hitched?”
A silly question. Of course she wasn’t ready. She’d only met him a day ago, and it happened to be one of the most confusing days of her life. Nonetheless, she put her arm in his and let him lead her into the courthouse. They went through the customary security protocols before she followed Wade through the twists and turns of the courthouse. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. How many times had he been in this courthouse? she wondered. How many legal battles had he fought in the past? How many small businesses had he screwed over?
He approached a closed door, and not a second later, the door opened. A middle-aged man with white hair too early for his age greeted Wade with a handshake and smile before glancing over at her. “This is the lucky lady, I presume? Dylan O’Brien. Nice to meet you.”
Zoe stiffened. This was it. This was the beginning. The first person she was supposed to lie to for this ridiculous charade. “Lucky is one word for it,” she managed as she shook his hand.
Lucky Liar Page 2