Possessive Fake Husband

by Hamel, B. B.

  “I know,” Josh says. “And he could reveal something.”

  “I think I should go.”

  “I’m worried,” he admits. “I don’t want to send you in there alone.”

  “It’s not like he’s going to hurt me.”

  “I know that, but I just…” He trails off. “I don’t want you to feel the pressure. You know what I mean?”

  “I do,” I say. “But it’s okay. Come pick me up and drive me out to his office. Let’s see what this asshole has to say.”

  He laughs and lets out a breath. “Fine. But we’re prepping in the car.”

  “Works for me. See you soon?”

  “Give me fifteen. Now I’m in the mood for bananas.”

  “Gee, wonder why.”

  “See you soon.”

  He hangs up and I sit down, feeling better. I know Seb wants me to keep this meeting from Josh, but he can’t really expect me to do that.

  But I will go in alone. I know Josh wants to protect me from this, but I’m as involved as anyone else at this point. He can’t really think he’s the only one stressing out and taking on the burden.

  It’s time for me to do my part, even if it’s a small one.

  * * *

  “No matter what, you give him nothing,” Jared says as we pull into a parking spot outside of Seb’s office.

  “I know,” I say. “You’ve told me a million times.”

  “Don’t mention Guava or Duncan. Don’t mention Elizabeth or anything else. Just listen to what he has to say, tell him you’ll consider it, and come back to me. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I lean across the car and kiss his cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

  He reaches out and catches me by the hair before I can pull away. He kisses me hard, tongue lingering in my mouth, before he lets me go. “Just come back.”

  “I will.” I laugh. “I’m just going into a meeting, not into some Mafia hit.”

  He grins a little. “I’m just possessive of you, that’s all. The idea of sending you in there alone drives me insane.”

  “I know,” I say softly, a strange thrill running through my chest.

  I open the door and step out. I head up the sidewalk and into Seb’s office. His secretary isn’t there, but the lights are on and the door to his office is open. I step down the short hall. “Hello?” I call out.

  “In here.” Seb’s voice comes from the open door. I walk over to it and find him sitting behind his desk, staring at his computer screen. He looks up and smiles at me. “Ah, Miss Fyall,” he says. “I’m happy you’re here.”

  “It’s Mrs. Cork,” I correct. “And I’m only here to listen and report back to Josh.”

  His smile falters, but he shrugs. “Have it your way. Please, sit down. I suppose I couldn’t rightly ask you not to report to… him.”

  “Yes. My husband.” I give him an odd look.

  “Husband, right.” Seb takes a seat. “You married each other just recently, isn’t that right? About a week before you two started campaigning for this merger.”

  “That’s right. The merger’s something we’d been talking about for a while before that.”

  “Really?” He raises an eyebrow. “You know, it’s strange. I went through both of your social media profiles. You’re very active on Instagram, you know that, right?”

  I shrug. “I like it.”

  “Sure, sure, it’s fun.” He smiles. “I post pictures of my grandchildren and my dogs. But the point I’m making is, you’ve never posted anything about Josh before. Not a single time. You’ve posted about joining a new yoga studio, but never him. I find that odd.”

  “What are you suggesting?” I say, narrowing my eyes, trying to make myself sound angry. But fear spikes through me.

  “Nothing,” he says, keeping his voice bland. “Only that it’s interesting you two married so recently, but don’t really seem to know each other at all.”

  “If you’re implying something, Seb, you should be careful.” I shift in my chair and am about to stand. “I’m not going to stay here and listen to you slander me. You’ve spread enough disgusting rumors as it is.”

  He smiles and waves his hands. “No, no, please. Stay, I’ll cut it out. I was only curious.”

  “What do you want?” I snap.

  “I want to make a deal with you,” he says. “Not with Josh. Not with the board. But with you.”

  I cock my head. “What could I possibly do for you?”

  “You could easily make sure this merger doesn’t happen. You could talk to your father about it, or you could talk to Josh, or you could simply tell the board not to listen to Josh anymore and destroy it all on your own. I’m not sure you realize just how smitten some of the board members are with you, Mrs. Cork.”

  I stare at him for a long moment. “There is nothing in this world that could make me want to ruin this deal,” I say. “It would help both my father and my husband. What could possibly make me want to hurt either of them?”

  “Money,” Seb says with a laugh. “Money, of course. I’d pay you handsomely for your time. How does half a million dollars sound? Reasonable?”

  I blink. “Half a million?”

  “I could do more,” he says quickly. “Eight hundred thousand. I could have that in your account by tomorrow evening.”

  I nearly choke. Eight hundred thousand dollars is an absurd amount of money. It’s more than I’ve ever dreamed of having in my entire life.

  “That’s… that’s a lot of money.”

  “Yes, it is.” He beams at me. “And you’re worth every penny. If you’re willing to help me, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Imagine, you’d be able to do whatever you want with that kind of money. Invest it and live off the dividends for the rest of your life.” He shrugs a little. “The possibilities are limitless.”

  “All I’d have to do is betray my husband and my father.”

  “Ah,” Seb says, leaning back. “Well, I suppose so. But think of it this way. You barely know your husband, and your father was going to be screwed either way. If our companies merge, do you really think your father is going to stay around in his current role? He’ll be forced out, with a nice severance package, I assure you. This way, Bushings will get bought up by one of the big telecoms and he’ll get a nice payout, and you’ll end up with your own little nest egg. What do you say?”

  I stare at him for a long moment. He beams at me and probably think that he won.

  But the man clearly doesn’t know me.

  I don’t know how he figured out that my marriage with Josh isn’t exactly real. He must’ve done some serious research into our online lives, and maybe even hired a private investigator. That sort of due diligence suggests he’s far from solid in his own position. That sort of due diligence makes me think he’s on the verge of losing.

  I smile at him sweetly. “Here’s the problem with that,” I say.

  “Yes?” he asks.

  “You presuppose that I’m a total piece of shit like you are.” I stand up, still smiling. “Unfortunately, I’m not. I’ll see you when the board votes.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” he says.

  “Maybe. But I’m not going to sell myself out for any number.”

  “One million,” he says.

  I turn away, disgusted. “Good luck, Seb.”

  I walk out of his office without saying another word.

  But I can’t help wondering one thing: how is breaking this merger worth that sort of money to him? It seems strange, but he must be able to make even more by keeping the companies apart. He must have a large share of the company, and think that a buyout by one of the big players in the market will net him even more than a million.

  It’s insane, but it’s business.

  I get into the car and Josh gives me an anxious look. “Well?”

  “He offered me a million dollars to betray you and my dad,” I say.

  He nearly chokes. “Holy shit. Really?”

  “Really. Wild, right?”
>
  “Wow. I assume you didn’t take it.”

  I glare at him. “Don’t be a dick. Of course not.” I give him a little grin. “Besides, I still want my seven percent.”

  He laughs. “I might’ve sold you out for that much.”

  “I don’t think you would’ve.”

  “No,” he says, shaking his head. “No, I wouldn’t have. Come on, let’s go home. I have a good feeling about tonight.”

  I reach out and take his hand. I hold it for a second and I feel a wave of anxiety rush over me. I don’t know what it is, but I suddenly don’t want to go back to that house, don’t want to do anything but stay in this car with Josh. I don’t want the future, I don’t want the past. I just want the now, with him.

  He leans toward me and kisses me softly. “Don’t stress. It’s all going to work out.”

  I nod once, but don’t speak, as he puts the car into gear and we head home.

  22

  Josh

  I stand in front of the board for the second time in twenty-four hours, but this time, the mood in the room is entirely different.

  I can’t figure out what’s going on. Maggie sits over in her seat and frowns at me. I can tell she feels it too. Nobody will meet my gaze, not even Rupert Guava. His normally flamboyant clothes are muted and surprisingly normal. Seb grins like a bastard, but there’s no way he should be happy.

  And yet there he is, still smiling.

  “Thanks for coming, everyone,” I say. “I want to bring this meeting to order. Before we begin, would anyone like to address the board?”

  Seb stands up. He beams around at the group then his eyes land on me. “I’d just like to say that you’ve been steering this ship right into the iceberg,” he says. “And now, here we are. Time to turn it aside, or ram straight ahead.”

  “Thank you for that vivid metaphor,” I say and let out a breath as he sits. “Anyone else?”

  Nobody speaks or raises their hands. I try to meet Elizabeth’s gaze, but she’s staring straight down at the table in front of her. I don’t understand what’s going on at all, but it doesn’t matter.

  This is happening. This is everything we’ve worked for, the gamble I’ve been meaning to make. We’re doing it, and nothing can stop it now.

  “Very well,” I say and take a deep breath. “We’re here tonight to vote on the matter of merging with Bushings Telecom. In the case of a tie, the CEO’s vote breaks it. Before we begin, all those abstaining, please raise your hand.”

  Elizabeth’s hand goes up. She gives me an apologetic look then drops it back down. I nod once. “Very good. Elizabeth Gulp abstains her vote.” I glance over at Maggie and she nods once. “All those in favor of the merger, please raise your hands.”

  I stand there, very still, and watch. Duncan Trucking raises his hand first, though he doesn’t look at me. Rupert Guava is next. My heart hammers in my chest as nobody else moves, and for a moment, I think we’re finished.

  But then Ed Rich raises his hand, followed by Janet Tierce. I glance around the room, heart hammering. I need one more hand, just one more hand to make this a tie. If one more person comes my way, I get to vote, and my vote will be the decider.

  Nobody moves. Seb’s smile grows even larger. I want to scream at them, scream that they’re making a mistake.

  “And all those opposed?” I say, sweat curling down my back.

  Seb McKenzie, Paula Nyx, Jeff Thomson, Larry Sloan, Gail Moncrief, and Alfie Khan all raise their hands.

  “Four yes, six no. The nos have it.” I sit down in a chair and stare at the table. “That’s all for tonight’s agenda. Thank you very much.”

  There’s no noise as everyone stands and filters out. I catch looks of pity from Rupert and Elizabeth, and looks of triumph from Larry and Seb. I just sit there and take it as everyone walks past, leaving me alone with Maggie in the large empty conference room. The smooth, polished wood table suddenly feels absurd and disgusting, and I pull my hands off it.

  “How did that just happen?” Maggie asks, her voice quiet. “I don’t understand. If Seb knew he had the votes… why would he try to bribe me?”

  “It was all a game,” I whisper, shaking my head. “He played us. He made us think he didn’t have the votes so that I’d push forward. He knew what he was doing the whole time.”

  “No,” she says. “That can’t be true. It’s just… there’s no way.”

  “He knew.” I look at her. “He fucking played us.” I stand, rage rolling through me. I walk over to the closest phone, rip it from the cord, and slam it against a wall. The plastic shatters and electronic guts seep out all over the carpet. I stare at the broken thing, breathing hard. I want to hurt something, destroy something.

  I fucked up. I failed. And now there’s nothing I can do.

  I let everyone down. Not only did I bring Maggie into this fake marriage, but I made her believe I could actually pull this off. I fucked up for her father, for myself, for this company.

  I fucked up.

  I punch the wall. Pain flares through my fist, but it’s delicious pain. I want that pain right now. It distracts me from the anger, the self-loathing, the bile that’s rising up my throat. I put my hand flat against the wall and lean against it, breathing hard.

  “You couldn’t have known,” Maggie says. I hear her stand and come closer, but I shake my head.

  “Don’t,” I growl. “Just don’t. I pulled you into this, I made you marry me, all on the assumption that I could make it work. And here I am, a fucking failure.”

  “Josh—”

  “Don’t,” I say again. I look at her, barely able to stand it. She’s beautiful, gorgeous, and all mine. And yet I don’t deserve her.

  “This can’t be over.”

  “It’s over. They voted.”

  “But you didn’t vote.”

  I shake my head. “I only vote in the case of a tie.”

  “What happens if you do get a vote? Or if I get a vote?”

  I frown and cock my head. “What are you talking about?”

  “I could join the board,” she says.

  I laugh and shake my head. “No,” I say. “That won’t work. The board has to vote on new members.” I hesitate for a moment. “Unless…”

  “Unless?”

  “If we bought a controlling stake in the company. But that would cost… millions.”

  She nods a little and paces away. “If we bought a controlling share, I could join the board. We could do the vote again, and I’d tie it up.”

  “Then I’d break the tie.” I pull my hand from the wall. “But this would cost so much money. We can’t…. We just can’t. I don’t know where we’d get that kind of cash.”

  She looks at me and grins. “I do.”

  I meet her gaze and groan. “Your aunt is against this,” I say.

  “But my cousins aren’t.”

  “Maggie—”

  “They’re not all like her,” she says quickly. “In fact, none of them are. I think they’ll actually listen to us, you know? If we can convince them to invest, we could buy a controlling stake and make this happen.”

  “But we’d be bringing the Lofthouse family into this.” I step toward her, my hands balling into fists. “I can’t ask that of you. If we try and fail again… I can’t ask that of you.”

  “You’re not asking anything,” she says. “I’m doing it. You’re not involved.”

  “Maggie.”

  She steps close to me, her eyes hard and wild. “This isn’t the end,” she says. “We’ve come too far. We’ve done too much. We washed cars together. I’m not letting this end.”

  I stare back at her and reach out. She moves closer and I wrap my fingers through her hair, pulling her against me. I kiss her deep and slow, tasting her tongue, letting myself fall into that kiss. As we break apart, I linger there, close to her lips.

  “Are you sure?” I ask. “If we keep going, it might only get worse.”

  “I’m not stopping.”

  I
take a sharp breath and nod once. “Good. Okay. Let’s do this.” I hesitate. “Where do your cousins live?”

  “We’ll go to Shaun.” She kisses my lips gently. “He lives in California. He’ll help.”

  “All right then. Let’s go to California.”

  I hug her tight against me and hold her for a long moment.

  I don’t know what I would’ve done here without her. I think I would have lost it completely. The idea of losing like that, of getting outmaneuvered by Seb might drive me absolutely insane with rage.

  But touching Maggie, talking to her, kissing her, hearing her plan, it centers me again. It brings me back from the brink and I feel like I can make this work still, even with this tiny chance. We have to make sure everyone still votes the way they just voted, that nothing changes, and that we can purchase enough of a stake in the company to get Maggie on the board. But that’s all possible, all very possible, and we can do it fast. We can do it so fast Seb doesn’t have time to plan against us.

  We can make this happen. I hug her tight. We can make this happen.

  23

  Maggie

  We get on the first plane out to LA. It’s a long flight and I manage to catch up on some sleep. Josh is restless the whole way out, and he spends hours on his laptop setting up a presentation for my cousin Shaun.

  When we land, I wake with a start. Josh is asleep, and I let him stay asleep until the plane taxis to the terminal and it’s time to get off. It’s five in the morning, and I gently shake him awake. He blinks at me then smiles.

  “Are we on the other side of the world?” he asks.

  “We are,” I confirm.

  “Perfect.” He stands up and stretches. “Let’s go make a deal.”

  We get off the plane and Josh leads us through the terminal. He hails a taxi and it takes us to the hotel we’re staying at. We check in, drops our things off in the room, get showered, get changed, and then head out for breakfast. We find a little diner in a strip mall and Josh heads in to grab us a table while I linger outside and call my cousin.