“What did I say wrong now?”
“ Are you kidding me?” Her nose had scrunched up on one side and her brows had crashed together. “I think it’s time for you to leave, and please tell Zoe to come in person next time.”
“ No,” he said around the last bite, and then wiped his hand on a cloth napkin decorated with green and silver squares. He might as well make a go of it, even knowing he had less of chance with her than with the Board. At least they were willing to reconsider restoring his position as President.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Excuse me?”
“ I have a proposition for you.”
“ If it involves you taking a really long walk off a really short pier into shark-infested waters, count me in,” she said sweetly.
He fought back a grin. “Bloodthirsty little American.”
“ Ever consider it’s people like you that made us bloodthirsty?”
“ Hardly.” He brushed an errant crumb off a cuff link. “People adore me.” Well, people who weren’t his brother, his cousin, his mother…or her, apparently. Actually, she adored him when he was conversing with her as Jules.
Jaw working, she looked nearly ready to bludgeon him to death. “You’re demented.”
“ Possibly, and in light of what I’m about to propose, certifiably.” Taking another drink of water, he looked straight into Daisy’s eyes. “I’ll pay off your insurance bill if you agree to pretend to be my fiancée for a period of no longer than three months. Then we shall part as friends, with goals met.”
It was perfect, really. He could have the best of both worlds this way, until he found a way to tell her the truth.
Hazel eyes rounded. “Who told you about the bills in the first place? You didn’t seem that shocked when you read the letter.”
“ Your Aunt Leah, of course,” he said, grateful the chatty woman had provided him with an airtight alibi.
Daisy crossed her arms over her chest. “Of course she did,” she grumbled.
“ Think about it: all you’d have to do is pose as my fiancée for three months, and in return I’ll pay off your insurance bills.”
“ What do you get out of it?”
You , he thought, I get to spend time with you . “My position as President of Romanov Industries. I’m here to make nice with the brother, acquire a fiancée, etcetera, so they will vote me back in. I won’t bore you with the details.”
Rounded eyes narrowed. “Try anyway.”
Clever girl. One should always know the specifics, and as he recalled that blustery winter day where she made him promise not to do anything to hurt Rose, she always wanted specifics. “My vice president, Liam Stewart, suggested fabricating a relationship to make me look more…stable. Quite Machiavellian of him, yes?”
“ I guess.” She shrugged. “But why?”
Because he’d become reckless after his father’s death by making shady deals with shady people, acting out of character in his personal life by making it public fodder, and worst of all, had for a brief period set out to destroy Romanov Industries from the inside. And he hadn’t told anyone, not even the person that meant the most to him.
So much for the very untouchable golden child of Vladimir Romanov.
“ I haven’t been myself for a while, and it wasn’t good for Romanov’s bottom line. We have shareholders to answer to, you know. So, I’m out, until I’ve proven myself to be different or rather the same.
“ Whatever. Sometimes, I’m not sure who they want me to be. Hell, I’m not sure who I want to be,” he added in a murmur, gazing off into the distance.
She stroked the sleeve of his suit jacket, bringing his attention back to her. “Bless your heart. I’m sorry about your dad, by the way. Zoe said he’d died in a boating accident a few months ago.”
Her softly spoken words touched him while at the same time made him feel vulnerable. Without a computer or phone between them, he was awkward, something he’d never been in his life. He shifted his
“ Are you kidding me?” Her nose had scrunched up on one side and her brows had crashed together. “I think it’s time for you to leave, and please tell Zoe to come in person next time.”
“ No,” he said around the last bite, and then wiped his hand on a cloth napkin decorated with green and silver squares. He might as well make a go of it, even knowing he had less of chance with her than with the Board. At least they were willing to reconsider restoring his position as President.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Excuse me?”
“ I have a proposition for you.”
“ If it involves you taking a really long walk off a really short pier into shark-infested waters, count me in,” she said sweetly.
He fought back a grin. “Bloodthirsty little American.”
“ Ever consider it’s people like you that made us bloodthirsty?”
“ Hardly.” He brushed an errant crumb off a cuff link. “People adore me.” Well, people who weren’t his brother, his cousin, his mother…or her, apparently. Actually, she adored him when he was conversing with her as Jules.
Jaw working, she looked nearly ready to bludgeon him to death. “You’re demented.”
“ Possibly, and in light of what I’m about to propose, certifiably.” Taking another drink of water, he looked straight into Daisy’s eyes. “I’ll pay off your insurance bill if you agree to pretend to be my fiancée for a period of no longer than three months. Then we shall part as friends, with goals met.”
It was perfect, really. He could have the best of both worlds this way, until he found a way to tell her the truth.
Hazel eyes rounded. “Who told you about the bills in the first place? You didn’t seem that shocked when you read the letter.”
“ Your Aunt Leah, of course,” he said, grateful the chatty woman had provided him with an airtight alibi.
Daisy crossed her arms over her chest. “Of course she did,” she grumbled.
“ Think about it: all you’d have to do is pose as my fiancée for three months, and in return I’ll pay off your insurance bills.”
“ What do you get out of it?”
You , he thought, I get to spend time with you . “My position as President of Romanov Industries. I’m here to make nice with the brother, acquire a fiancée, etcetera, so they will vote me back in. I won’t bore you with the details.”
Rounded eyes narrowed. “Try anyway.”
Clever girl. One should always know the specifics, and as he recalled that blustery winter day where she made him promise not to do anything to hurt Rose, she always wanted specifics. “My vice president, Liam Stewart, suggested fabricating a relationship to make me look more…stable. Quite Machiavellian of him, yes?”
“ I guess.” She shrugged. “But why?”
Because he’d become reckless after his father’s death by making shady deals with shady people, acting out of character in his personal life by making it public fodder, and worst of all, had for a brief period set out to destroy Romanov Industries from the inside. And he hadn’t told anyone, not even the person that meant the most to him.
So much for the very untouchable golden child of Vladimir Romanov.
“ I haven’t been myself for a while, and it wasn’t good for Romanov’s bottom line. We have shareholders to answer to, you know. So, I’m out, until I’ve proven myself to be different or rather the same.
“ Whatever. Sometimes, I’m not sure who they want me to be. Hell, I’m not sure who I want to be,” he added in a murmur, gazing off into the distance.
She stroked the sleeve of his suit jacket, bringing his attention back to her. “Bless your heart. I’m sorry about your dad, by the way. Zoe said he’d died in a boating accident a few months ago.”
Her softly spoken words touched him while at the same time made him feel vulnerable. Without a computer or phone between them, he was awkward, something he’d never been in his life. He shifted his
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