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“That you picked for him.”
“Yes, that I picked for him,” she said, stepping forward and pointing a manicured finger at his chest. “And they’re married, with two little boys to carry on the good Gale name, as they should. They attend charity balls. He’s every bit the CEO this company needs. If it were left up to you, you’d bring a lady of the night to the mayor’s dinner next month.”
Lady of the night? My God, what was this woman? Did she walk straight out of a Charles Dickens novel? Maggie lifted her chin. “If you’re insinuating I’m—”
Mrs. Gale swung a glower on her that would scare the devil out of a hellhound. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”
She swallowed her words, staring back at the woman.
Where was that freaking meteorite?
Mr. Gale rocked back on his heels, finally showing some emotion. But it was amusement, not anger. “I wouldn’t be the first to do so, and if you think otherwise, you’re more naive than I ever imagined. Last week, Mr. Thorn brought a woman that I know for a fact is a—”
“Don’t.” She dropped her hand and shook her head sadly, as if she’d caught him banging a woman in front of her late husband’s shrine, instead of walking in on an awkward dinner between boss and employee. “You will announce an engagement before the next board meeting, or I will put forth a motion to remove you as CEO under a No Confidence vote, and do everything in my power to instate Andrew into the position in your stead. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t get the votes needed. I will. I’ve ensured as much. As I said, I abhor losing.”
He glanced at Maggie again, and the idea he’d planted with his silent gaze earlier took an insane, reckless turn. She’d been trying her best to ignore the plan forming silently in her head, but something inside of her snapped.
But she couldn’t do it. Could she?
She didn’t do things on impulse. Ever.
And yet, she was about to. Like a boss.
Ignoring her actual boss, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “That’s ridiculous, and this is the twenty-first century. You can’t force someone to get married because you want them to.”
Slowly, her boss turned to her, shock on his face as if he couldn’t believe that someone was sticking up for him. Or maybe he’d forgotten she was there. Either way, it looked as if a strong gust of wind would have blown him right onto his perfect, tight butt. “Maggie—”
“Excuse me?” Mrs. Gale said. Her face flushed an angry red, and her hands fisted at her sides as she advanced on Maggie. “Who exactly are you to speak on this matter? And why are you still here? I fired you.”
“Ah, but he didn’t. And there’s a reason for that.”
Mr. Gale blinked at her, looking like a fish out of water for the first time.
His mother spluttered. “How dare you—”
“I’m your son’s fiancée,” she blurted out. “We were together before I joined the company. That’s why he can’t date other women, why he didn’t show up last night. And it makes all of your threats empty ones, too. You can’t fire me. So–yeah. He already wins, because he has me.”
Mrs. Gale’s jaw dropped. Finally the woman shut up.
But as quickly as her uncharacteristic impulsiveness had come into play, Maggie’s common sense came right back. She’d literally just announced, without her boss’s permission, that she was engaged to him. If he denied it in front of his mother, she would not only be fired, but everyone would hear about her shame, and no one would hire her.
New York might be a huge city, but the pharmaceutical research field was not.
And all of this had happened because she had a stupid soft spot for creatures who needed help. Her boss, with billions in his bank account, shouldn’t fit into that category, but yet he somehow did.
Mr. Gale, who probably wanted to strangle her, choked and dragged his hands down his face. “Maggie, you don’t—”
“It’s okay. I told you I didn’t want to announce it yet, but I’m ready.” She forced a smile. His mouth opened, closed, then pressed into a thin line. “We can tell the whole world how muc
h we love each other if you want…Benjamin.”
He made a strangled sound and tugged on his tie. He seemed more shocked than anything, but he had to be angry underneath that cold exterior of his. “Love—?”
She cast a quick glance at Mrs. Gale, who was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen, before turning back to her boss. Not giving him a chance to ruin the ruse she’d thrown together, she launched herself into his arms and kissed him, right in his office in front of his mother.
The second their mouths touched, it was as if she’d woken up from a long, deep sleep. This wasn’t a kiss—not really—and she was fully aware of that.
But her body didn’t get the message.
