“Yeah.Other than me, nobody else will know.And she should know that.”
I shook my head, a disbelieving laugh escaping me.“This is a fucking ridiculous situation, and I know there’s going to be so many more random things to hash out.”
“Are you going to kiss her in public?”Archer asked, lifting a brow.
“I wrote that into the contract,” I reminded him.“Well, not those words exactly, but yes, public-facing intimacy for purposes of the charade or whatever the fuck.”
“What aboutsex?”Archer’s smile turned devilish.
I sent him a severe look.“Not part of the deal here.”
“You said you knew her before?”
I let out a terse sigh, not wanting to think too much about that insanely hot encounter all those years ago.So much time had passed.Chances were I’d inflated the memory, and hooking up with her again would feel just…normal.Maybe even sub-par.
Yeah fucking right.
“We’ve hooked up before.It was mind-blowingly hot.I’m not planning on going there with her because of reasons.”
“Like what?”
“Like the ridiculous contract I just had her sign.And the fact that she lied to me four years ago.Not to mention the fact that she has a daughter, and I’m not trying to play house with her.But more than that, this is a business arrangement.It’ll be easiest if it stays just that.”
So why was my heart pounding like Archer might somehow find out the real reason?I’m afraid I’ll fall in love with her for real.
The thought was too ridiculous to say out loud.I didn’t believe in love at first sight, and I especially didn’t believe in love under contractual obligation.But it sure as hell didn’t silence the voice in the back of my head whispering that there was more between Clara and me than I wanted to admit.
“So what’s the deal with the kid?”Archer asked.“You’re not going to play house?How are you going to convince the High Panel of Love Inquisition or whatever is waiting for us on the other side of this bullshit?”
I propped my hands on my hips, mulling over my response.“It was a concession I had to make.Clara doesn’t want her daughter getting attached.It makes sense to me.So my plan is to publicly present as a couple, without her daughter, as much as we can.And if there are any times where her daughter must be involved, then we’ll be explaining that I’m just a friend of her mom’s or something.I don’t know.This shit is so confusing.”
“The kid element really changes things,” Archer mused.
“Yeah.”I ran a hand through my hair.“I don’t want to break her daughter’s heart, so I guess we’ll just tread carefully.”
“What if the investigators want to involve the kid?”Archer asked.
I expelled a frustration burst of air.“You think they would?”
“I don’t know.Just thinking ahead.”
We watched each other for a few tense moments.This was how we processed sometimes—by staring at each other.It was part telepathy, part meditation.
“Well, I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow,” Archer finally said with a wry smile.
“Yeah.You’ll get to meet your future sister-in-law.”
He hefted with a laugh, slowly swiveling back and forth in his chair.“Now there’s something I never thought I’d hear from your lips.”
“It’s a necessary step if we want a shot at this next phase of expansion.”I leaned forward in the barrel chair.“Let’s start collecting properties.”
Archer nodded, gnawing on the inside of his lip.“You think we’re ready?”
“Clara’s locked in.The inheritance money is within reach.It’s now or never.I say we get aggressive.”
Archer swiveled his chair toward the desk, leaning to pull up something on his computer.Then he moved the screen so I could see it too.“Here’s the aerial photo of the neighborhood with the parcels outlined.How aggressive are you thinking, Nashy-Nash?”
He’d highlighted the available parcels in purple.The factory and related properties that Cross Developments had sneakily purchased consumed nearly a third of the screen.What we were looking at buying was a fraction of Queens.But it could be gravel in Sebastian’s gears.
