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But she was so…so damn open.
A surge of protectiveness hit him. He’d do what it took to help her keep her job and to make her stay by his side. With her help, he could get to the bottom of his mother’s plan. Hell, maybe he could talk to his brother and see if he was as eager for the position as his mother made him out to be.
He would win this battle.
But he’d need Maggie’s help to get it done and to avoid endless dates with the insufferable, money-grubbing, empty-headed snobs his mother usually set him up with.
She stepped back, and he dropped his hand to his side. “No one will believe it. We’re never al
one together.”
“Yeah, we are.” He stepped closer, towering over her short height. She bit her lip and gave him a onceover. The air between them became charged, and he curled his fists into tight balls to keep from touching her again. “All the time. We always work later than everyone else, just like tonight. If we announce our engagement, people will all slap their thighs and go, ‘That’s why they always stayed late.’”
She shook her head once. “It can’t possibly be that easy.”
“The hell it can’t. People are gullible. Show them what they expect to see, and they believe it. If we tell them we stayed behind late to hide our love from the world, they’ll eat it up.” He paced, unable to stand still with so many ideas running through his head. “My mother will fall for it, too, since she already saw us on a date.”
She spluttered. “It wasn’t a date.”
“I know that, and so do you.” He pointed at her. “But she doesn’t.”
She tugged on her fingers. “Okay, fine. Whatever. But why would you want to pretend to be engaged to me?” she asked, watching him as he paced back and forth. “I don’t get it.”
“You’re the one who told her we were engaged in the first place,” he said. “Not me.”
“I know. And again, sorry. I’m never impulsive like that. I have no idea what came over me. I guess I just wanted to help you.”
“I’m not impulsive either, and I always think things through. To the point of exhaustion, even.” He stopped in front of her. “But I can see the merit of us pretending to be engaged, and you should be able to as well.”
She pressed her mouth into a tight line. “And that is?”
“Well, for starters, you could be fired if she went to the board with what she ‘saw’ here tonight—and she does have that power, if she can convince them.”
She paled. “She does?”
“Yes. It’s against company policy, so we could both be punished. It would help her force me out as CEO, and you would be fired on the spot.” He rubbed his jaw. “But with your smart lie, we wouldn’t have to worry about it. If we act as if we’re in love, and have been for a long time, we’ll both be safe.”
“That’s great and all, but we’ll have to convince people we’re in a relationship.” She held her hands out, palms up. “How do we do that?”
He’d seen it in movies, so it couldn’t be that hard. Smile a lot. Kiss a lot. Hold hands. Stare into each other’s eyes meaningfully. I can handle that.
“We act happy, just like regular couples do. Kiss. Smile. Date. Instagram how in love we both are, and how we can’t wait to get married.” He shrugged. “And then, after a suitable amount of time, we break up and continue on as we have been.”
She shook her head. “But we have to pretend to be in love? That’s crazy. Isn’t it?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugged, his heart pumping hard and fast. “Either way, I think it’s our best option. This way, you keep your job and I keep mine. No cow-milking necessary.”
A small laugh escaped her. “But we’d have to actually, you know, date.”
“Yeah.” Another shrug. “And?”
“And…and you know nothing about me,” she said, wringing her hands. “Nothing at all.”
“That’s not true. Remember when we worked on the Collins project for a week, and on Friday, it all fell apart?”
She blinked at him. “Yeah.”
“We thought it was hopeless, that we’d end up failing the client because we didn’t have the numbers or the presentation ready.” He rested a hand on her shoulder and stared into her gorgeous eyes. She shivered and swayed closer. “We worked all throughout the weekend, only breaking for sleep, but we ended up giving them the best damn presentation we’ve ever given.”
