“I didn’t think she would!” he says, responding with equal exasperation.
“Oh, I’m sorry, have you never heard the phrasehell hath no fury like a woman scorned? She’s pissed you rejected her. Of course she was going to fuck you over!” I exhale, trying to calm my nerves, but I’m already feeling defeated. “What does all of this mean?”
“My team is a little… worried about the optics. We have a few huge deals in the works, and they want to make sure nothinginterferes with that.” He shakes his head. “But I’m not doing what they want.”
“Which is?”
“They think I should start dating someone… publicly.”
I blink at him, stunned. “What? That’s a thing? Companies actually ask people to ‘fake date’? If that’s the case, I don’t like my part in this potential romance novel,” I respond sarcastically although I’m very serious. I’ve read this scenario enough to know thatfake datingcan becomereal datingat any moment.
Wild rolls his eyes. “I’m not doing it.”
“Do you have a choice?”
“I own the company.”
If he’s this bothered by their request, it means they do actually have some say in this decision. “My question still stands.”
“I’m not doing that. I belong to you in every scenario, real and fake. I don’t even like doing role-plays where I might potentially belong to someone else,” he says just before he takes my glass of wine from me and downs the rest of it.
“I’m assuming the idea to ‘date’ someone else is to discredit any idea that Quinn’s information was accurate. But… it is accurate? So what would that even mean for us long term? Again, I—wewould just be reduced to the shadows? We’d only be together in private?” I wince, thinking about a life where I’m only in a relationship with Wild behind closed doors while he has another relationship out in the open.I hate this idea.
“Fuck no,” he grits out, and then he’s grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the staircase.
“Where are we going?” He’s pulling me faster now as I trail him slowly.
“Privacy.”
“Here?” I ask as we make it to the top of the winding staircase. The hallway is long and is lined with a few doors as ifthere are offices up here. Wild opens a door and closes it before doing it to two more down the hall. I follow him, listening for anyone else who may be up here. When he opens one toward the end, he motions for me and pushes me into what I think is a coat closet. It’s pitch-black, but I put out a hand and touch what feels like various types of wool and cashmere. “Saint, I said I wasn’t doing it. I’d never do anything to jeopardize things between you and me. I’d never entertain another woman.”
My heart is pounding from this situation and from being at my stepmother’s engagement party, and I’d really hate to be caught in a coat closet with my stepbrother. “How bad is it if she goes public? I mean… What's stopping her from doing that now?”
“I think she already has. That’s why they were hoping my denial of it and me dating someone else would shut all of those rumors down.”
“Did you deny it…?” I ask before holding my breath because I’m not sure which answer will make me feel worse. Him denying us to protect me, or not denying us, and hearing about the fallout over the truth.
“To my PR team? I said my relationship was none of anyone’s business. They didn’t agree with that.”
“So you avoided the question?”
“I was caught off guard, and I wasn’t ready to tell them yet. So, no, I didn’t explicitly admit it, but they probably read between the lines.”
“What's the worst-case scenario, then? We come out as a couple, and your company suffers because people are no longer interested in working with you?”
“Or maybe they won’t care. My team is only speculating over some of the more conservative businessmen.”
“You said you’re in the middle of a few right now? Could it negatively impact those?”
“I don’t care. Fuck those deals.”
“You do care, and you’ve worked so hard—”
“So I would be good enough for you.” It’s too dark for me to see him, but I still know what facial expression crosses his gorgeous features. Soft, yet stern and honest. “Everything I’ve always done has been so I could be good enough in your eyes. Even if we were never together, your opinion and how you see me have always meant the most to me.” Tears prickle in my eyes while he continues, “I wanted to be successful so you’d be proud of me. So I’d always be able to take care of you, even if you weren’t mine to take care of.”
I let out a shaky breath, wishing I had my drink still. “Well, congratulations, you’re very successful to the point that your relationships are everyone else's business.”
“Fuck,” he whispers before letting out a sigh of what sounds like defeat. “I may have to fly back tomorrow.”
