Margaret accepted the file from him and he saw her forehead wrinkle into a small frown as she concentrated on the report. He leaned his hip against his desk and simply watched her as her lips pursed while she read through the columns. Did she give everything in her life that intense concentration? he wondered. The prospect was both intriguing and enticing and occupied his thoughts as she thumbed methodically through the pages.
She must indeed have had a good head for figures, because she closed the folder after about ten minutes and looked him square in the eye.
“It would seem that the figures don’t match up. The error margin isn’t large, but it’s consistent.”
Her quick discernment gave him a punch of delight. Not only beautiful under that frumpy disguise, but sharply intelligent, too. The knowledge made him look forward all the more to what he’d planned.
“Good,” he replied as he took the file back from her. “I think we’re going to work very well together. Tell me, what would you recommend if you had discovered such an anomaly?”
“Well, I’d probably suggest a deeper audit of the books—see how long this has been going on. Then perhaps a more specific check as to who has been involved with the accounts and has access to the funds.”
Will nodded. “That’s exactly what we have done in this case.”
“So this is an ongoing investigation?”
“It’s pretty much wrapped up, with the exception of one or two things.”
“That’s good to hear,” Margaret said. “It’s too easy for people to be tempted these days. Too often a little responsibility puts a person in a position where they think they’re entitled to help themselves to something that’s not theirs.”
“Yes, well, in this case we’re certain we have the culprit lined up. He will be facing a disciplinary panel later this afternoon.”
“Disciplinary panel? You won’t be firing him?”
“Whether we choose to fire him or not has yet to be decided. Which kind of brings me to you, really.”
“Me? In what way?”
Confusion clouded her features and for a moment Will almost felt sorry for her. He knew that what he had to say next would probably rip the rug right out from under her.
“Just how close to your brother’s work habits are you?”
“Jason? What? Why?”
Understanding slowly dawned on her and all the color in her face slowly drained away. If she hadn’t already been seated, Will had no doubt she’d be dropping into the nearest chair by now. “Jason is the one you’re investigating?”
“He is.” Will leaned back against his desk again and caught her gaze with a rock-hard stare. “How much do you know about what he’s been up to?”
“Nothing! No! He couldn’t, wouldn’t do such a thing. He loves his work. There’s no way he’s capable of doing something like this. Seriously, I…”
“So you have had nothing to do with it?”
Her features froze. “Me? No, of course not! Why would you even think such a thing?”
Will shrugged. “Stranger things have happened, and you know the saying. Blood is thicker than water.”
A fact he knew all too well. It was that very fact that had him in this situation with Margaret Cole in the first place. Rather than take his time, relishing her pursuit and letting it play out to its natural conclusion, his father’s latest edict forced him to speed things along somewhat. If Will didn’t show some sign of settling down soon, his father would sell the family sheep station back in New Zealand rather than transfer it into Will’s ownership as he was supposed to have done over a year ago when Will had turned thirty.
Each of the Tanner sons had received a massive financial settlement on their thirtieth birthday, but Will had said that rather than money he wanted the farm. His father had agreed, but that agreement seemed to now be laden with conditions Will wasn’t prepared to meet. Not in truth, anyway.
It wasn’t the fact that he wanted or needed the land—goodness only knew he had little enough time to travel back to his home country these days. But the farm was such a vital part of his family heritage that he couldn’t bear to see it carved up into multiple parcels of “lifestyle” farms, or worse, fall into corporate or foreign ownership. The very thought that his father could so cavalierly cast off something that had been a part of all their lives was no laughing matter. That Albert Tanner was using the farm as a bargaining chip showed how very determined he was to see his youngest son settle down.
And, above everything else, it was the knowledge that his father was deeply disappointed in him that rankled. That and the fact that both his parents and his brothers couldn’t seem to understand that while love and marriage were at the forefront of their minds, it wasn’t at the forefront of his. Not now, maybe not ever.
“Blood might be thicker than water but there’s no way I’d ever condone such a thing. Jason can’t be behind this. It’s just not like him. Besides, he only holds a minor position in accounting and he wouldn’t have access to be able to do this.”
He had to admire her loyalty to her brother. Will’s digging had discovered that Jason had a none-too-smooth history, going back to when he was just a teen. While his records had been sealed by the courts because of his age at the time, money had a convenient way of finding people with a truth to tell. Jason Cole’s habit of petty theft as a teenager could easily have escalated over the years into something far more sophisticated. And yet, despite everything, Margaret still believed he wasn’t involved with this current situation. Well, he hated to shatter her illusions, but the truth was there in the report. The numbers didn’t lie. He pressed home his advantage.
“But you have higher clearances, don’t you?”
“Not for this kind of thing and even if I did, I would never share that information with anyone. Not even my brother.”
She was so puffed up with righteous indignation and outrage he was tempted to tell her he believed her. But any softness would remove the leverage he needed right now.
“I’m very glad to hear it. The fact remains, however, that your brother is most definitely involved. All our evidence points to him. However, there is a chance he may not be prosecuted over this.”
“A chance? What chance?”
Will took a deep breath. This had to go right so he needed to choose his words very carefully, indeed.
“I have a proposition that will protect your brother’s position here and ensure news of his activity won’t get out, nor will it be permanently recorded on his file should he leave to work for another company.”
He saw the hope flare in her eyes and felt a momentary pang of regret that he had to manipulate her in this way. A pang he rapidly quashed.
“What is it? What do we need to do? Seriously, we’ll do anything to protect Jason’s position here.”
“It’s not so much what the two of you can do, although he’ll definitely have to clean up his act. It’s more to do with what you can do.”
“Me? I don’t understand.”
“Your appointment as my executive assistant is a two-pronged affair. On the one hand, I need someone with your acumen and your experience to be my right hand while I’m here.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “On the other, I need someone—you, specifically—to pose as my fiancée.”
“Your what?” she gasped, shooting to her feet, her shock clearly visible on her mobile features.
“You heard me.”
“Your fiancée? Are you crazy? That’s just ridiculous. We don’t even know one another.”
“Ah, but we do.”
He crossed the room in a few long strides, coming to halt directly in front of her. The light scent she wore, something floral and innocent and totally at odds with the sensual creature he knew lingered under her proper exterior, wafted on the air between them. Will lifted his hand and traced one finger along the enticing fullness of her lower lip.
“Let me enlighten you.”
He didn’t give her so much as a split second
to react. He closed the short distance between her lips and his. The instant his mouth touched hers he knew he’d been right to pursue this course of action. A powerful thrill pulled through him as her lips opened beneath the coaxing pressure of his, as her taste invaded his senses and held him in her thrall. It was all he could do not to lift his hands to her hair and free it from that appalling knot and drive his fingers through its silky length.
Reason fought for supremacy and he wrenched his lips from hers in a force of will that surprised even him.
“See? We do know each other, and I believe we could be quite—” he paused again for effect “—convincing together.”
Margaret took a couple of steps back from him. She shook from head to toe. Desire? Fear? Perhaps a combination of both he decided, watching the play of emotions across her face.
“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “No, I will not do it. It’s just wrong.”
“Then you leave me no choice.”
“No choice? In what?”
“In ensuring that a recommendation is made that formal charges be laid against your brother.”
Two
“That’s blackmail!”
Her heart hammered in her chest as the finality of William Tanner’s words sank in. Surely he couldn’t be serious?
“I prefer to call it a basis for negotiation,” he said smoothly, as if he did this sort of thing every day.
Who knew? Maybe he did. All Maggie knew was that her usually well-ordered world had suddenly been tilted off its axis. Jason had been on the straight and narrow for years. The trouble he’d gotten into as a teen now well and truly behind him. Surely he can’t have been so stupid as to dip into company funds?
She went on the attack. “You’re mad. You can’t do this to me—to us!”
“If by ‘us,’ you’re referring to your brother and yourself, rest assured, I can and I am. Margaret, your brother took a risk when he started playing in the big boy’s league. Embezzlement is never a good look on a résumé. Sure, this is only a beginning, but who is to say he wouldn’t get more daring if I hadn’t picked this up in our audit?”
Maggie watched William in horror. She processed his words as quickly as she’d processed the information in the damning report on her brother’s activities. Whether Jason was guilty or not, it was doubtful that he’d escape from this without some serious scars. The last judge he’d stood before in court had made it quite clear that he was being given one final opportunity to clean up his act—and he had. She didn’t want to even consider what might happen if he went before the courts again.
If what William said was true, then it was just as well that Jason be stopped now. But, in her heart of hearts, she didn’t want to believe a word of it.
“No, he wouldn’t. He promised—” She cut off her words before she gave Mr. Tanner any further ammunition to use against her brother.
“Margaret, please, sit down. Clearly this news has come as a shock, and why wouldn’t it? I understand you campaigned quite hard for your brother to be given the position he now occupies.”
The innuendo in his voice left its mark. He’d already intimated that she could be linked to the fraudulent activity. As innocent as she knew she was, mud had a habit of sticking. She wouldn’t have a position here for long if there was any suspicion she was involved, especially not with the corporate restructuring that was rumored to be in the works. Rafe Cameron’s determined takeover of Worth Industries, and almost instant rebranding to Cameron Enterprises, had left everyone feeling a little precarious with respect to their jobs. It still wasn’t certain what his plans were for the company, and fresh rumors arose each day about the likelihood of the factory work being outsourced to Mexico or, worse, the whole company being moved closer to Cameron’s home base in New York—which would mean the loss of almost all their jobs. Several top-level executive heads had already rolled, or been ousted on the basis of early retirement. And then there was the steady stream of Cameron’s own people coming into those key roles, William Tanner being one of them. A shiver ran down her spine.
She swallowed back the words she longed to say. The words that would set William Tanner straight on exactly where she stood on matters of honesty and loyalty. Common sense held her back. Granted, it had been six years since Jason’s last run-in with the law. She’d lost track of the number of times she’d been called to the local police station to collect him after he’d been picked up for one misdemeanor or another, in the first couple of years after their parents died. But then the trouble had started to get worse—so much so that Officer Garcia could no longer let Jason go with a stern lecture and a promise of dire things to come.
The first—and last—time Jason had been locked up he was eighteen. The experience of being charged as an adult, with all its long-term ramifications, had finally opened his eyes to his behavior. He’d promised her that would be the only time, and that he’d learned his lesson, big-time. He even swore on their parents’ graves that he’d stay away from trouble for the rest of his life. She’d believed him—believed in him—so much so that she’d increased the mortgage over the home they’d grown up in so she could borrow the money necessary to send him to college out of state. Somewhere he could start afresh. Somewhere he could grow into the man she and their parents had always believed he would be.
Was it possible he’d thrown that all away?
“Look—” William butted in on her thoughts “—the way I see it, we’d be doing each other a favor.”
“A favor?” she repeated dully.
What kind of favor saw her lose everything she held dear? She’d fought long and hard to maintain her dignity through years of adversity and a lack of recognition. She had always aspired to do better—to be more. Now it appeared that everything she had ever done had been for nothing. Now she was expected to prostitute herself to save her brother.
“In return for you doing this for me, and believe me, you will be very well compensated, I will ensure that your brother receives nothing more than a reprimand. Obviously he’ll be under close supervision. If he keeps out of trouble, this transgression will be removed from his staff record and he’ll have a clean slate once more.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will both be escorted from the premises immediately and I imagine that we can arrange for the police to be waiting for you at the front door. It’d probably take some time to go to trial, but I can assure you that if it did, there would be no question of Jason being found guilty.”
William Tanner’s voice was adamant. Each word a cold steel nail in the coffin of what had been her dreams.
“How long?” she asked.
“How long what?”
“How long would I have to pretend?”
She injected enough distaste in her voice to make William’s eyes narrow as he appeared to consider his answer.
“Don’t think this would be a walk in the park, Margaret. If you take this on you will have to be convincing in your role.” When she didn’t reply, he continued. “My father has put some pressure upon me to follow in my brothers’ footsteps and find a good woman to settle down with. At this stage of my career that is the furthest thing from my mind. He’s withholding something that is rightfully mine over this issue, and the situation is distressing my mother. I would need you to be my fiancée until I’m assured that the transfer of ownership of property back in New Zealand takes place. Basically, until my family calms down again and continues to act reasonably.”
“So there’s no finite term on this?”
Margaret could feel the walls closing in on her now. With his open-ended proposal and the continued threat of Jason losing his job hanging overhead, this would be a total nightmare. One from which she was afraid she might never awake. And yet this morning had started so promisingly with the inter-office communication confirming that she’d been promoted to being Tanner’s EA. For Margaret, the only way from a position like this was up and her summons to report to his office this afternoon had
been something she’d been looking forward to all day.
“Obviously this won’t go on forever. It’s not as if we’ll be getting married.”
He said the words as if the entire prospect of marriage was completely abhorrent to him.
“Let me get this clear. You want me to pretend to be your fiancée for an undetermined period of time. In exchange you’ll recompense me and you will ensure that Jason doesn’t lose his job.”
“That Jason doesn’t lose his job over this incident. Should he push his boundaries and try something a little more sophisticated there will be no more second chances.”
No more second chances. The words were exactly what the judge had said when Jason had been brought before the court. She’d never been certain if it was the judge’s words or the night he’d spent in the county jail’s holding cells that had been the catalyst he’d needed to finally want to break free from the creeps he’d been hanging out with. She hadn’t cared much at the time. All she’d been concerned with was getting her brother back on an even keel. It had cost her far more than money to do so and she wasn’t about to jeopardize things now.
Margaret knew she wasn’t in a position to argue, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be forced into something like this. It wasn’t enough that the man had infiltrated her private thoughts and fantasies in the six weeks since the Valentine’s Day ball. Now he would control her days as well.
“Why? Why me?” she whispered.
He reached out a finger to trace her lips.
“Because you intrigue me, Margaret Cole. You intrigue me very much.”
Despite her distress, she reacted to his caress as if it was a touch of lightning. Her lips parted on a sharply indrawn breath and deep to her core she felt the sizzling awareness of his touch.
“Margaret,” he continued, “if you truly believe your brother to be innocent in this, you owe it to him to allow him to prove it. He can’t do that if he’s suspended pending further investigation, can he?”
Bought: His Temporary Fiancée Page 2