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He finally stops his pacing and sits back down. “My father told me I need to do two things for him to finally retire and give me the business. I need to settle down with a nice, wholesome girl, and I need to get your company for pennies on the dollar.”
“Seriously? My business is the make or break?” He nods.
“You kind of tipped your hand by telling me. Not very smart, Carter.”
He laughs. “Any enemy of my father is an ally of mine.”
“Psychiatrists would have a field day with you and your daddy issues, Carter.” He chuckles. “What is it you propose we do about this situation?”
“What if we kill two birds with one stone? What if he thinks we’re getting married? That means I have the wholesome girl, and I’d get your company for nothing once we marry.”
I look at him like he’s crazy, which he may be. “I’m not marrying you, and I hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not very wholesome. Let me assure you that you’re most definitely not getting my company. Ever.”
He laughs. “Reagan, I promise that you’re very wholesome compared to what’s out there.” That pisses me off for some reason.
“And I don’t mean for us to actually get married but get engaged and act like we are. He said when I’mon the right path, he’ll retire.
“My body isn’t for sale, Carter. I may not be wholesome, but I’m not a prostitute.”
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. You’re misunderstanding me. We’re going to fake a relationship. We’ll fake date, and then fake get engaged. Once he believes it’s all happening, and he retires, we can end things. You have my word that as soon as we do, you’ll never have a single threat from Daulton Holdings.”
This sounds insane. “I don’t know, Carter. You don’t know me, but I’m not a fake person. I lack a filter, I’m abrasive, I have a foul mouth and a dirty mind. I’m unapologetically me. I wouldn’t be very good at faking anything.”
He smiles. “I respect that. I’m much the same. I’m just trying to kill two birds with one stone. We could both get what we want out of this situation.”
I think for a moment. “How long would it be for? How long would we have a fake relationship?”
“I’m thinking we could do this all in around three months. A month or two of dating, followed by an engagement. We’ll make a ton of appearances together. I’m usually photographed when I go out at night. For some reason, it’s big news when I have a beer with a friend. We’ll definitely need to be photographed to sell it to my father. He’ll believe it, and then step down.”
“What if he doesn’t step down?
“There are no guarantees, but if you give me the three months, then I’m almost positive we can make it work. I think he wants to retire. He’s turning seventy this year. All his friends are retired. They play golf all day in Florida through the winter, and then spend their summers down the shore. He just wants to hold on to the last bit of leverage he’ll ever have over me. Once he thinks I’m acting and doing what he wants, he’ll step down. I’m sure of it.”
We sit quietly for a few minutes as I think. “To be clear, there can’t be anything physical between us. I’m not willing to sell my body for my store. I do have morals.”
He nods. “I totally understand.”
“I mean it. The deal is off if I feel uncomfortable in that regard.”
“I agree. It would probably complicate things anyway. It’s smarter for us both to keep this professional.”
“And no lies. I fucking hate liars. You need to always shoot straight with me.”
“Agreed. I do too. No secrets.”
I slowly nod. “I’ll think about it, Carter. Let me discuss it with my family this week and I’ll let you know.”
He shakes his head. “Reagan, this needs to stay between you and me.”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t keep secrets from my family. Even if I did, they’d see right through it. We’re very close. They’ll know right away if we’re faking it.”
“Really? I hope you realize how lucky you are. My father wouldn’t notice anything involving me unless it pertains to the business. I could grow a third eye, and he’d only notice if it meant it would benefit the business.”
“What about your mother?”
“We’re close, but I lost a sister when we were young kids, and my mother hasn’t ever quite recovered. She can be a bit zoned out at times.”
“I’m sorry, Carter. That sucks.”
