“Since we’re supposed to be honest, it’s also because I want to stick it to my brothers. They always give me shit for not having a girlfriend, but now I have one. I can’t wait to see their faces.” He leaned back, looking smug.
“You have a fake one,” I reminded him, determined not to create another Nathan situation.
“We’re going to be really married though.”
There was my stomach churning again.
The car pulled up in front of my apartment building. Blade stepped out the door with the sack of food then helped me out. His large hand rested at my waist. I swallowed. Blade leaned in.
“Is this the part when I kiss you?”
“No,” I said too loudly.
He jerked back as if I’d slapped him. Any of the warmth that had slowly grown this evening was immediately extinguished. I took the bag of food from him then looked down at the ground and back up into his cool gray eyes.
“Another rule of fake relationships is no PDA without an audience. We have to remember that we are simply creating an elaborate illusion. Actors don’t sleep with their costars off stage, or if they do, it ends in heartbreak and stabbings.”
I held out my hand. He shook it.
“This was a productive date. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
9
Blade
Iwasn’t sure what had come over me the previous evening. Avery and I were in a business relationship, nothing more. Yet I had wanted to kiss her, fake-relationship rules be damned.
I wondered if she was going to call it off. She had seemed unsure the preceding night. What I’d felt for her was just lust, I decided. I was in the process of moving our company to Harrogate. I didn’t have time or energy to waste on a real relationship. Avery was a means to an end, nothing more. I could not let my emotions get the best of me. I refused to be like my father. He would allow himself to become obsessed with women to the detriment of him, his children, and everyone within fallout range. I was a rational, unemotional man. I would play the part, marry Avery, win that Harris & Schultz contract, and most importantly, get that watch.
When I arrived back at my condo, I took off my shirt and went into my closet. I had my Patek Philippe watch collection arranged in a series of shallow drawers. All of my brothers liked nice things; some collected cars, others art. My vice was watches. I needed to find a spot for the one Avery was going to give me when we pulled off the fake marriage of the century.
In addition to the watches, I had also assembled an impressive variety of expensive and rare scotches, liquors, and whiskeys. One would make an impressive gift. Avery wanted the billionaire boyfriend that would make her family green with jealousy? I could do that.
As I packed for the weekend trip, I thought about Avery. Though she insisted this was strictly professional, a part of me still wanted her to want me.
* * *
The next morning,I brushed through the wide-eyed interns that smelled like Laffy Taffy and other cloyingly sweet confections.
“Good morning, Mr. Svensson,” they chorused.
“Unless you all have billion-dollar contracts ready to sign, Mr. Svensson does not want to start his day off like this,” Avery barked.
“We brought him a bulletproof coffee,” one young woman said breathily, offering it to me.
“Thank you,” I said automatically. The girl swooned. Avery rolled her eyes.
“We saw you in the latest issue ofTechBizmagazine,” one of them said. “Could you sign my copy?”
“No autographs,” Avery ordered. “Shoo.” She plucked the coffee from my hand. “I’m dumping this out. They probably roofied it.”
* * *
I hadto force myself to concentrate during the rest of the day. Avery sat in with me for several meetings, taking notes and providing backup. The Harris & Schultz contract was my number-one priority. While moving the company to Harrogate would save us tens of millions in the long term, in the short term, it was disruptive. ThinkX was a consulting firm, and most of our employees traveled a significant portion of the time, so whether the firm was headquartered in Manhattan or Harrogate didn’t matter. It took about the same amount of time to drive from my hometown to the international New York airport as from Manhattan due to traffic. Still, winning this contract would put the company in a much stronger position.
“We just received an invitation to a dinner,” Stacy, the project manager, was saying. “The Holbrooks have been invited as well. Chuck Schultz wants to get to know the project managers and the company owners he’s going to be working with. It says that spouses are expected to attend. Do you have a date?”
I forced myself not to look at Avery. “Something will be arranged.”
