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“Yeah, for thirty percent of the company.” My jaw clenched at the mention, but it was what it was. She was a hell of a negotiator, and she was also theonlyoption I had. I needed her to agree. I could give up some profit to her.
Josh laughed. “Man, I love my sister.”
“Yeah, everyone seems to—which is why she’s perfect. I just have to try and get along with her for two weeks.” I grimaced. On paper Ally really was the ideal girl, but there was never a time when the two of us had seen eye to eye.
I’ll just have to suck it up and keep my eyes on the prize.
“Okay, fine. Do it, but don’t mess with Ally—like you know,” he warned, though his expression was more weary than anything.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I assured him, awkwardly shifting my weight. “She’s not really my type anyway.”
“She better not be,” he grunted, side-eying me. “Ally deserves better.”
Ouch. But seriously?
I tensed by jaw. “I’m not even going to go there with you—but I’ve seen your sister’s dating choices over the years, and I wouldn’t exactly call them top tier. I mean, who was that one guy she dated for like three years? He was the biggest douche.”
“Which is exactly why she deserves better. She has terrible taste.” Josh chuckled, and my shoulders dropped with relief. “I think you’re a solid bro, but your past with women is sketchy at best. Rachel was your only relationship that lasted longer than a handful of months.”
“I was with Rachel for years,” I pointed out, furrowing my brow. “That’s a lot more than a handful of months, so Iamcapable of maintaining a long-term relationship. I just...I realized after Rachel that I like to have fun more than I like to be nailed down.”
“And so now you’re going to convince Frank Lewis that you’re ready to settle down and be serious. Genius.” Josh shook his head and reached for a pair of my designer sunglasses. “Do you want these? Because you only have like ten pairs, and I broke mine last week.”
I glanced over to the black Gucci sunglasses—they were my favorites, but... “Yeah, you can have them.”
“Dude, you’re the best.”
“Consider it payment for letting me borrow your sister for a couple of weeks, though that sounds...weird.”
“Really fucking weird,” he agreed, before bursting into laughter. “But anyway, I know that Ally can hold her own. The woman negotiated a thirty percent stake out of you. That’s impressive.”
“Yeah, and my mom is convinced that it’s a real relationship, so we’re going to have to just play this off as that. I had to ask off for Ally last minute, and I didn’t want to make her be the one who had to explain it. My mom had a thousand questions, and it was hard to bullshit my way through—even for me.”
“So then I guess the two of you justdon’twork out when you get back?”
“Yeah, and I think it might break my mother’s heart.” I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the bed. “Like, I seriously had no idea that she was pining after the two of us somehow ending up together.”
Josh’s eyes went wide. “No way? I knew Lisa loved Ally, but I thought it was just because she’s, well,Ally.Everyone loves Ally.”
“Which is why she’s perfect for my fake girlfriend. I know she’ll charm the shit out of Frank.”
Josh didn’t say anything, but his phone ringing interrupted the conversation. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled at the screen. “Oh, this is perfect.”
My stomach knotted up as I saw Ally’s face on the phone.Great.
“Hey sis, what’s up?” He put her on speaker phone.
“Uh, well...” Her voice trailed off, and I already knew she was fishing to see what he knew. “I’m packing. What’re you up to?”
“Hanging out at home with Levi, helping him pack for the wedding. What’re you packing for?”
“Uh...”
“So you caught the feelings for Levi?” The amusement in his tone made me smile, but not as much as Ally’s reaction.
“Absolutely not. You can’t seriously tell me that he thinks he’s going to get away with lying to you about the arrangement? I swear he’s such a—”
“I’m right here,” I cut her off, chuckling. “Careful what you say. I’d hate for you to lose that thirty percent of CyberSecure before we’re ever even wheels up.”
