“She knows,” he assured her. “But she doesn’t want toadmitshe knows. Because then she’d have to tell me that, sadly, I’m still not enough for her after all these years.” That breakdown threatened to surface once more.
“That hardly sounds like Betzy to me,” the woman said.
“Yep. Wish I was wrong about it, but I’m not.” A wave of light moved over the room, and Sawyer hopped up and hurried over to the window. Miracle of all miracles, his ride was already there.
“Well,” he said in a whisper. “It’s been a pleasure. You have a wonderful family. As for the…arrangement, unless you can get Betzy to change her mind, it’s on, and there won’t be any stopping it.”
She nodded, but stayed in place. “If that’s how you feel about it.”
He hurried over to the door, pried it open, and twisted the lock behind him. “It is.”
Chapter 18
Revenge was the name of the game and Betzy wasn’t about to lose sight of that again. So what if she wasn’treallygoing to marry Sawyer Kingsley? All of America would believe that she was. More importantly, Daisy Shay would believe it, and thatwould notbe a hollow reward. Betzy would find total satisfaction as the owners and operators ofSlipper Magazinebit into that giant piece of humble pie.
This was the only real way to take fate into her own hands. This, unlike Sawyer’s feelings for her, was something she could control.
“How does that look?” the makeup artist asked, pulling Betzy back to the present.
Betzy looked into the mirror and primped her hair a bit. Was this the right look? It was hard to say what makeup, hair, and clothes were right for the moment your best friend would become your fake fiancé. On live TV, no less.
Today’s episode would feature diverse nonprofit organizations rather than multi-million dollar companies in jeopardy. Organizations that saved lives, focused on the forgotten, and bettered communities across the country. What the guestsdidn’tknow, was that—on today’s show—every contestant would be a winner.
There couldn’t be a better platform. Here she was, a billionaire bachelorette, helping one awesome organization after the next, then getting engaged to one of New York’s hottest bachelors. One Daisy Shay happened to want for herself.
Betzy knew the thoughts were shallow, knew they didn’t really represent her or the life she’d strived to live, but look where those ideals had gotten her. It was time to play the game like everyone else.
“Ms. Benton? Is it good? Would you like anything added or changed?”
Betzy shook her head. “No, sorry. You did a great job. Thank you.”
Their last live performance of the show hadn’t gone so well. James, bless him, had been struggling with Winston’s death the entire year leading up to the episode, which had led him to grab one of the guests by the shirt and scare the living daylights out of him. That wouldn’t happen today.
The show’s theme song had been replaced with Christmas music. She watched from the curtain’s edge, Zander at her side, and smiled at the shift in the overall mood of the crowd.
Good, this was good.It was just what she and Grandma had been aiming for when they planned the special edition. Give the audience members and people at home a feel of Christmas.
Her thoughts veered next to a few of the charities they’d be helping today. While researching the many organizations that applied, Betzy had been moved to tears by the compassion shown. People—normal, everyday people—had put their lives on hold and focused on making the world a better place. Many sacrificed greatly to do so.
Shelters for the homeless were high among them, but there were also groups that focused on Christmas gifts for kids in foster facilities, companionship for the elderly, scholarship programs for the youth.
Just recalling those causes gave Betzy pause for what she was about to do—steal the thunder of the evening with a complete sham.
Stop, Betzy. You have the right to save face.After all, she’d worked as hard as any man in the industry to accomplish what she had over the years.Harder,since she was a woman. And look how it had come back to bite her.
Not if she could avoid it.
Milo Jazz, the show’s host, welcomed the crowd, his tone different from the exuberant one he usually started out with. James and Duke were, of course, waiting on the other side of the stage for the introductions to begin.
While The Lion’s Den had held primetime, seasonal slots for years now, very few of those episodes were filmed live. Thank heavens for that.
“Today we have a very special live edition of The Lion’s Den. One that will warm your heart just in time for Christmas. Let’s start with the king of the den, always up for an adventure, Mr. Duke Benton.”
Duke headed onto the stage with a grin, his man bun perfectly in place.
“You’re going to do great, sis,” Zander said from behind.
Betzy tossed him a grin over her shoulder. Inwardly, she was nothing but nerves.
