honest, old-fashioned way.” Like, say, marry for money. In the grand scheme of things, what he’d done wasn’t all that outrageous. She’d bet nearly every single one of her ancestors had married for money. That would explain why there was so darn much of it in her bank account. Wait, was she trying to make excuses for him?
“Where do you plan to look for clients?”
“There are a couple who moved away from Maddox that I intend to pursue. And since I’ve put out the word I’m going out on my own, I’ve had some serious interest.”
“Oh. How long have you been telling people you’re starting your own company?” Hope bloomed in her chest. Perhaps this was something he’d been workingon for some time that had nothing to do with her and her money. Maybe he was independently wealthy.
Maybe he really did love her.
Pathetic how she still shamelessly hoped for that.
“Just the last couple of days. I’ve been planning it for a long time but I was waiting for some things to come together.”
“Oh.” She stuck her fork into an innocent lettuce leaf. So much for her pathetic hopes. “How nice that they finally came together.” She shot him a somewhat steely glance.
He didn’t even notice—he just beamed at her. “It’s the culmination of a lifelong dream. I’ve wanted my own company since I was a boy. At the time I had no idea it would be advertising, but that’s what really gets my juices flowing.”
Much to her chagrin, Gavin still got hers flowing. His excitement and enthusiasm were infectious. She almost wanted his company to be a big success just so she could enjoy that winning smile that lit up his chiseled features.
But she couldn’t resist needling him a bit more.
“Juices are fun, but what about cash flow? Will things be tight while you get it off the ground?”
Gavin hesitated and looked at her as if surprised by her question. And really, why would an heiress ask the man she loved about money? Couldn’t she just haul out some bags of gold bullion?
Then he leaned back in his chair, a satisfied look on his face. “I’ve got good start-up funds. Enough to rent a nice office space, pay good people and keep things going for at least six months even if it takes that long to land a client.”
“Wow. You do have it well planned.”
“It helps that I’ve got one of the best art directors in the country ready to come on board. Wait until you meet Tom, I know you’ll like him. He does fine-art photography, too—collage mostly—and you’ll recognize his work as soon as you see it. He’s going to bring a couple of key people from the agency he’s at now.”
“I bet they won’t be too happy.”
Gavin shrugged. “Advertising is a bit of a dog-eat-dog world. Agencies form, merge, gain clients, lose clients. It’s all part of the business. You’re only as good as your biggest client.”
“And who do you hope to snag as your biggest client?”
Gavin cocked his head and gave her a cheeky glance that tickled her insides. “You’ll laugh if I tell you.”
“I could use a good laugh.”
He hesitated a moment. “No. Let me surprise you when I really do win them.”
“Great. I love surprises.” He didn’t seem to notice the slight edge of sarcasm that crept into her voice. How could he string her along like this? How could he sit there and eat dinner so casually, when their whole marriage was a farce? Did he really intend to spend the rest of his life with her, or was she a temporary fundraising measure until he got his company off the ground?
Then he’d probably kick her to the curb and bring in a slender blonde who’d look better on his arm at the awards ceremonies.
No doubt that’s exactly what he had in mind. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life saddled with adumpy nobody. Not once he really had his own money and didn’t need hers.
She shoved a bite of lasagna into her mouth, to stem the flood of angry words to her tongue. Part of her wanted to let him
“Where do you plan to look for clients?”
“There are a couple who moved away from Maddox that I intend to pursue. And since I’ve put out the word I’m going out on my own, I’ve had some serious interest.”
“Oh. How long have you been telling people you’re starting your own company?” Hope bloomed in her chest. Perhaps this was something he’d been workingon for some time that had nothing to do with her and her money. Maybe he was independently wealthy.
Maybe he really did love her.
Pathetic how she still shamelessly hoped for that.
“Just the last couple of days. I’ve been planning it for a long time but I was waiting for some things to come together.”
“Oh.” She stuck her fork into an innocent lettuce leaf. So much for her pathetic hopes. “How nice that they finally came together.” She shot him a somewhat steely glance.
He didn’t even notice—he just beamed at her. “It’s the culmination of a lifelong dream. I’ve wanted my own company since I was a boy. At the time I had no idea it would be advertising, but that’s what really gets my juices flowing.”
Much to her chagrin, Gavin still got hers flowing. His excitement and enthusiasm were infectious. She almost wanted his company to be a big success just so she could enjoy that winning smile that lit up his chiseled features.
But she couldn’t resist needling him a bit more.
“Juices are fun, but what about cash flow? Will things be tight while you get it off the ground?”
Gavin hesitated and looked at her as if surprised by her question. And really, why would an heiress ask the man she loved about money? Couldn’t she just haul out some bags of gold bullion?
Then he leaned back in his chair, a satisfied look on his face. “I’ve got good start-up funds. Enough to rent a nice office space, pay good people and keep things going for at least six months even if it takes that long to land a client.”
“Wow. You do have it well planned.”
“It helps that I’ve got one of the best art directors in the country ready to come on board. Wait until you meet Tom, I know you’ll like him. He does fine-art photography, too—collage mostly—and you’ll recognize his work as soon as you see it. He’s going to bring a couple of key people from the agency he’s at now.”
“I bet they won’t be too happy.”
Gavin shrugged. “Advertising is a bit of a dog-eat-dog world. Agencies form, merge, gain clients, lose clients. It’s all part of the business. You’re only as good as your biggest client.”
“And who do you hope to snag as your biggest client?”
Gavin cocked his head and gave her a cheeky glance that tickled her insides. “You’ll laugh if I tell you.”
“I could use a good laugh.”
He hesitated a moment. “No. Let me surprise you when I really do win them.”
“Great. I love surprises.” He didn’t seem to notice the slight edge of sarcasm that crept into her voice. How could he string her along like this? How could he sit there and eat dinner so casually, when their whole marriage was a farce? Did he really intend to spend the rest of his life with her, or was she a temporary fundraising measure until he got his company off the ground?
Then he’d probably kick her to the curb and bring in a slender blonde who’d look better on his arm at the awards ceremonies.
No doubt that’s exactly what he had in mind. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life saddled with adumpy nobody. Not once he really had his own money and didn’t need hers.
She shoved a bite of lasagna into her mouth, to stem the flood of angry words to her tongue. Part of her wanted to let him
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