by Parker, Ali
The one night we’d had together had been hot and passionate, but there had been none of that easy conversation like she had with Jack. I couldn’t help but feel like Jack knew her better than I did. She certainly liked him more than me, which made me believe they had been intimate at some point. It made sense. She was attractive and smart, and Jack wasn’t exactly an ugly duckling.
My mind went to the ride home after our dinner. She’d been wet and had come on my fingers, writhing in the seat next to me as her body violently orgasmed. Had she been wet for Jack? Was she imagining Jack between her legs? The thought had me seeing red. I wanted to hit him. I blinked, feeling the paper under my hand crinkling, and looked around the room. Jack was giving me a strange look. It was then I realized I probably looked downright murderous. I had to rein it in before everyone else in the room caught on and thought I was losing my mind. That wasn’t going to win me any votes if it came down to a battle between Jack and me.
The man currently talking droned on, leaving me to my own thoughts again, which went right back to Hannah and Jack. Could they be colluding? What if Hannah and Jack were working together to usurp me from my position. She could be leading me on and ready to back out of the deal at the last second to make way for Jack to take over. What if they were sleeping together and she ended up pregnant with his child! The thought nearly had me shouting in fury.
Relax!
I didn’t trust her, and I definitely didn’t trust Jack. Money and power were heady things and people did crazy things to hold onto what they wanted. Hell, I was testament to that. I was blackmailing a woman into marrying me and having my child. I was just as bad as Jack was.
I closed my eyes, banishing Hannah from my head so I could focus on the meeting. I made it through and was getting ready to head back to my office when Jack grabbed my arm.
“Hold on a second,” he said, pulling me back into the now empty conference room.
“What?” I snapped, not interested in talking to him.
“This whole thing with Hannah. Are you doing this just to get your inheritance?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because I know you and I know Hannah. You aren’t the kind of guy she would generally go after.”
“You know her? I thought you were friends in college and haven’t seen each other since. Is there more to it?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like her and respect her. You need to treat her right. Don’t lead her on. She deserves better.”
“Don’t lead her on? Why would you think that?” I sneered.
“Because I know you and I know how bad you want to have a kid to secure your place in the family business. Hannah went through a horrible breakup back then, and I would hate to see you do that to her again. Find another way. She doesn’t deserve to be yanked around by you or anyone else. She’s a good woman,” Jack said in a soft voice.
I glared at him, listening to him defend the woman I was supposed to be marrying. “You don’t need to worry about her. And, Jack, stop flirting with my fiancée,” I snapped before pushing open the door and walking out of the conference room.
I was practically stomping down the hall, irritated as hell he had the audacity to try and tell me how to treat the woman. It made me wonder if there was something between them. Jack was acting a little too protective of her for my liking. I was going to do some digging there and find out what was going on between the two of them.
With my mood in the toilet, I managed to get through the rest of the day without firing anyone or causing any serious bodily harm, but it had been close. I was glad it was Thursday and I could meet Justin and blow off some steam. I needed it. We had a tee time schedule for five and this time, I was looking forward to hitting some balls.
I walked into the clubhouse, finding Justin with a drink in his hand. He glowered at me as I approached. I was so not in the mood for anymore shit.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I snapped.
“You’re engaged? I had to find out from the gossip section of the paper that my best friend is engaged.”
I groaned. “I’m sorry. Things have been hectic.”
“You mentioned you were seeing someone. You didn’t say it was that serious,” he complained.
“I wasn’t sure. I wanted to find out if it was the real thing and whether or not she was really the woman I wanted to marry. Then, it just happened,” I said, not really lying about how things went down.
“Congratulations. Am I going to meet her?”
“I’m sure you will,” I muttered, ordering my own drink.
He nodded. “You don’t sound all that excited about the whole thing.”
“It’s been a shit day at work.”
“So, tell me about her.”
I let out a long sigh, knowing I wasn’t going to get that escape I was hoping for. “I don’t know. She’s pretty, smart, a little stubborn. I didn’t want to tell you about her in case it ended up being one of those things that faded away. We don’t get to hang out all that often and I didn’t want to spend it talking about a woman I may not even remember in a month or two.”
Justin smiled. “I understand. It’s hard to accept it when your heart decides you’ve met the one. I do want to meet her.”
“You will.”
We headed out to the course, my mind still trying to figure out the puzzle that was Hannah and my brother. Jack could have set the whole thing up. Her company heading for bankruptcy was the perfect excuse to dangle her in front of me and I had fallen for it hook, line and sinker. I had never thought myself to be such an idiot, but maybe I was. Maybe Jack was the smarter brother and had found a way to trick me.
“What has got you so pissed?” Justin commented as I sliced the ball, nearly sending my club flying along behind it.
“Nothing, I said it was a bad day.”
“For someone who just got engaged to a beautiful woman, you are certainly in a bad mood. Would you rather we kick back and drink? I’m sure someone else would appreciate our time on the course.”
I shook my head. “No, I really want to hit some balls.”
Justin chuckled. “Hit is right. You’re going to be tearing up the course with the way you’re slamming into those things.”
I paused, debated how much I could tell him, and quickly found a way to tell him what was wrong without really telling him anything. “Jack knows Hannah,” I blurted out.
Justin paused, looking at me, then slowly bobbed his head. “Ah, I see. He knows knows her, or just knows her?”
“I took her to meet the family on Tuesday and they knew each other from college. They said they were only friends, study buddies, but I don’t know. I feel like there is something more.”
“But they both told you there was nothing?” he pressed.
I nodded. “Yes, but I think they’re lying. Why are they lying?”
“Are you sure it isn’t just in your head? This is new territory for you and trusting isn’t something you do easily. I mean look at your circle of friends,” he pointed out.
I raised a shoulder. “You’re really my only friend.”
“Exactly what I mean. You don’t trust people. You don’t let anyone in. Hannah got in and now you’re worried you’re going to get hurt. You’re looking for ways to sabotage this. Have you talked to her about it?” he asked gently.
“Yes.”
“And?”
I rolled my eyes. “She insists they were only friends. Jack warned me to be good to her today.”
Justin smiled. “If you can’t trust your fiancée, I have no idea why you asked her to marry you in the first place. You’ve got to have trust or you’re never going to have a good relationship.”
“I know,” I murmured, lining up my next shot.
I knew he was right. The problem was, Hannah and I didn’t have a real relationship. I wanted to trust her, but I couldn’t. How could I when I knew she was lying to everyone else.
I couldn’t expect her to be honest with me when I was asking her to lie.
I hated feeling miserable and angry. I usually managed to keep everyone at arm’s length. I didn’t have to worry about people betraying me or hurting me if I never let anyone in. I should end it. I should call off the whole thing. I could feel myself getting in too deep with her. That made me vulnerable.
Could I live without my job as the head of the company? That, I wasn’t so sure about. If I ended the charade with Hannah, I would most likely lose the inheritance as well. If I stuck this thing out with her, had a child with her, I was going to lose my heart and that was far more dangerous than anything else.
“Let’s finish this hole and head back in. I’m not feeling it,” Justin commented when I sliced the ball again.
He was showing me mercy. I knew it and normally I would fight back and tell him I didn’t want to quit, but just this once, I was going to give up. I didn’t have it in me.
“Fine, I could use a few stiff drinks.”
He clapped his hand on my shoulder and chuckled. “I never thought I would see the day when a woman could make you so miserable. This is a big day, my friend. A day we should celebrate. There are going to be many more days like this. You’ll get used to it. And then, you’ll go home and get to makeup with the woman who has made you so damn miserable.”
I shook my head. I doubted there would be any makeup sex in my future. This wasn’t the typical relationship and our fight was far more serious than arguing over my leaving the toilet seat up.
Chapter 20
Hannah
He was too big for the room. I had no idea how I was supposed to sit in these meetings beside him and pretend I wasn’t thinking of sex. I was convinced it was written all over my face. I knew he had to see it. I kept biting my bottom lip, thinking back to the limo ride home and how I had made a complete fool of myself. I had let him put his hand under my skirt. Not just let, loved it. Loved the naughtiness and the danger of it and wasn’t all that ashamed by my response.
“Do you agree?” I heard him say.
I blinked. I had no idea what he was talking about. “Do I agree with what?”
He grinned, and I wanted to slap him. He knew exactly where my mind had been. I took a deep breath and looked at the advertising executive that had been talking.
“Yes,” I mumbled, nodding and hoping it was the right answer.
I didn’t get the chance to think about the limo ride because I was reliving it all over again. His hand was on my knee, under the table. I jerked away, telling him to stop. I glanced over at him, he looked at me, that strong alpha male staring back at me. I inhaled sharply when his hand moved back, yanking my knee and sliding up my thigh. I was immediately wet at the thought of him touching me like he had in the limo.
I held my breath, waiting, silently hoping he would do it. When his hand left my thigh, I looked at him. He smiled in return. He knew exactly what he was doing. Damn the man! I shot him a glare, letting him know I didn’t appreciate his games, earning a wink from him that only I could see.
A few of the investors were sitting in on the meeting and when the chance for questions and concerns opened up, they didn’t hold back.
“I read one article that paints you in a very bad light,” the man said, looking directly at me.
“A bad light?” I questioned.
“Yes, they’re calling you a gold digger, claiming you only hooked up with Grayson because of his money.”
I laughed. “I don’t see why that matters. It doesn’t hurt the company.”
“It does because it hurts your image. People have looked up to you as being a strong, independent woman who wasn’t afraid to go against the grain and now they see you as nothing more than a money-hungry woman looking for power by using her looks.”
My mouth fell open. “That’s awful!”
Grayson cleared his throat. “I haven’t read that exact article. I think we read different papers. I can tell you the response has been mostly positive. I’ll also add the stocks for the company are on the rise. I don’t think all the press is bad. You’re always going to find negative press if you look hard enough.”
I smiled, looking at the embarrassed faces around me.
“Still, we think it’s important you maintain the positive spin on this. The more good articles posted, the better for all of us, don’t you think?”
I maintained a stalwart expression. Inside I wanted to scream at them for trying to control my personal life. Grayson’s hand was back on my thigh, making me forget all about the personal attacks. This time, his hand was slowly sliding upward, his fingers running over my crotch, sending shivers of desire coursing through me. I was immediately wet.
I bit my lip, fighting back the urge to moan as he stroked over me again. I was trying to control my breathing while fighting the flushed cheeks I knew were blooming on my face. I could hear them talking, but I wasn’t listening. I didn’t care what they were saying. All I cared about was the fire being stoked between my legs.
His hand squeezed my thigh. “We can do that, right?”
I peered at him and nodded, having no idea what I was agreeing to, but I didn’t want him to stop. “Yes, we can do that,” I muttered.
“Great, I think that’s all I have today. If there’s nothing else, the meeting is adjourned,” he was saying, his fingers brushing over my crotch through my soaked panties.
Everyone left the conference room, leaving me and Grayson alone, his hand still under my skirt, teasing and bringing me close to the edge without actually touching my skin.
“Want to have dinner at my place tomorrow?” he said in a whisper.
I nodded, willing to agree to just about anything to get that release that was hanging just out of reach. “Okay.”
“We’ll go out for drinks first, make a public appearance, let the press see us together,” he said in a husky tone.
“Yes,” I moaned, my response having nothing to do with what he was actually saying.
His fingers slipped under my panties, touching my core. His finger pressed against the hard nub that was throbbing in time with my heartbeat, sending me cascading into heavenly bliss. My head fell forward as I rode out a very public orgasm, doing my best to conceal what was happening to my body.
His quiet presence beside me helped ground me. I looked up as his hand pulled away from my leg. “I’ll text you the details for tomorrow,” he whispered, then kissed me on the cheek before he headed toward the door of the conference room.
Amber appeared seconds later and flopped down in the seat he had vacated. I couldn’t quite get my legs to stop shaking and was glad she chose to sit.
“Damn, he is one fine looking man. I do envy you,” she whispered.
I looked up and watched him walk away, confident and cocky as usual. “I’m not sure you should.”
She laughed. “So, how did it go? I heard they were all in a tizzy about one of the articles printed in the paper.”
I laughed. “The one about me being a gold digger?”
“That’s the one.”
“It’s fine. Grayson put them in their places. We’re going out for drinks tomorrow night to give them something new to talk about.”
“Good plan. You don’t seem very happy about it,” she said, eyeing me carefully.
I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. I feel like I am in way over my head. There is something about him I really like. You know the comparison of a person and an onion?”
She nodded her head. “Yeah.”
“Well, Grayson is like an onion. Except, I’m kind of afraid to peel back the layers. I think there is something there that I might really like. I don’t want to like him or fall in love with him. I know he’ll hurt me. But…”
She was smiling. “But, there’s that part of you who loves a good challenge and you want to see what makes him tick. You want to see if you can make him let loose and be real with you.”
I shrugged. “Basically. However, there�
�s something else,” I said, hesitating to tell her my secret.
“What else is there?”
“His brother Jack. I knew him in college. He called me yesterday and wants to get together and talk. He says he needs to talk to me about Grayson. I got the impression there is some serious animosity between them. I mean, I know he thinks Jack is trying to have a baby before him so he can get the company, but it feels like something much bigger,” I explained.
She grimaced. “I don’t think you want to get in the middle of a brotherly rivalry. That could end badly for you.”
I nodded. “I know. Plus, I feel like I should be loyal to Grayson, after all, he is my fake fiancé. If he thinks I’m doing anything sneaky behind his back, there is a good chance he’ll get pissed and fire me, calling off the whole arrangement. I wish I knew him a little better. Then, it would be a lot easier to understand the relationship he has with the rest of his family. I could feel the tension between him and Jack, but he seemed fine with his other brothers.”
Amber shrugged her shoulder. “I guess if he gets pissed and fires you, that’s one way to get out of things. You won’t have to worry about making the decision.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I’m ready to give up my company. I thought I was and I was really thinking about calling the whole thing off, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not a quitter and I really want to see this through. I keep trying to imagine what my life would be like without this company. I mean, where would I go every day? What would I do with myself if I wasn’t worried about the bottom line or thinking about the next new product we can put out to help cement our foothold in the industry,” I told her.
“You are definitely not a quitter.”
I shook my head. “I like my job. Not a lot of people can say that. I worked hard to make this a company I could be proud of.”
She nodded in agreement. “What did you tell his brother? Did you agree to meet with him?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I told him I would get back to him once I had time to check over my schedule.”