I swallowed my fear—not to mention my sense of self-preservation—to answer. "I'm sorry, but that's a personal matter. The main point is that I'm going to pay every cent back into that fund. You have my word."
"Yourword," he repeated, his voice full of icy derision. "You believe that's worth anything to me?"
"I guess not." I shook my head, another gigantic wave of shame washing over me. "I don't blame you for doubting me, especially after you found that charity fund empty. I can imagine what's going through your head right now. You have no reason to trust me, but I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to pay the money back. Whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes." He once again repeated my words. But there was no derision this time. And his gaze...well, I wouldn't say it softened. Cole Benton's entire emotional range appeared to exist within the mildly cold disdain to the impenetrable ice part of the spectrum.
However, his expression became slightly more thoughtful as he said, "Tell you what. I'll put the money back into that fund myself so Nora doesn't find out what you did—what you took from her."
"You'd do that? Refill the charity fund?"
Relief started to fill my chest again—only to come to an abrupt stop, like a valve switching off. The debt was my responsibility to pay back.
Also, this might not be a relief kind of situation. I eyed my former CEO suspiciously. Just a few minutes of conversation with him had told me that he wasn't the type to make generous offers—at least, not without strings attached.
"In exchange for what?" I asked.
Instead of answering my question out loud, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small leather ring box, which he opened to reveal a gorgeous solitaire ring with a small dainty emerald.
It reminded me of the huge emerald Nora still wore on her wedding ring finger, despite the fact her husband had been dead for nearly ten years.
And something made me ask, "That's not a wedding ring, is it?" Even though I knew it couldn't be.
But then Cole Benton answered, "Yes, it's my grandmother's wedding ring," erasing all my doubts.
"Why would you...?"
"Agree to marry me,” he answered before I could finish. "Agree to marry me, no questions asked, and I'll make all of your problems go away."
CHAPTER3
Cole
SEVEN WEEKS EARLIER
"So…what did you think?"
My grandmother turned to face me with an expectant smile as soon as John, her long-time driver, ferried the company Rolls Royce onto the stop-and-go shitshow that is Las Vegas Boulevard at rush hour.
"About you continuing to sink company funds into a party for that money pit of a show?"
"No, you silly grandson of mine."
I hadn't even been half kidding. But Nora slapped my arm as if I'd cracked a great joke.
"I'm talking about Sunny. C'mon, then, tell us what you thought of her."
"Who?"
Nora's blindingly white, all-capped smile dimmed. “The lass who was literally kicking it up with me before you rudely yanked me from my own party. Surely, you noticed those grand knockers of hers—not to mention her pretty face. She's a stunner, that one. And she finally came to her senses and parted ways with her last boyfriend. Some boxer eejit. But she won't be single for long with those looks and personality, mark my words. You'll need to act fast to seize this opportunity, Coley."
Oh.Aggravation radiated behind my eyes like an incoming headache.
So, Nora had decided to use this ride to our meeting with AudioNation as her chance to try to set me up again. This time with some showgirl from the revue we only kept running because my grandfather had left her his position as chair of the board and an absurd number of shares in Benton Worldwide.
My grandmother refused to accept that I was perfectly capable of setting up my own dates—after an extensive background check and making sure whomever I chose signed a contract listing the exact nature of our relationship, along with terms and conditions for how we'd conduct our bi-weekly sex appointments.
Instead of indulging my grandmother’s fantasy, I focus on her complaint. "If you wanted to stay at that party, you shouldn't have scheduled it at the same time as our meeting with the Lathams."
