She wrinkled her nose. What did any of this have to do with her? Something didn’t seem right. “What’s the catch?”
He gave her a salesman-like smile, the kind able to sell Ryan Gosling some acting classes. “It’s a couples-only resort for romantic getaways.”
Couples only? She frowned. She’d heard about some of these places, a few had strict rules. No children were allowed, but also no singles, either, to keep the focus on couples and remove any distractions from their time together. “Why don’t you take Carina?” she asked, remembering the architect who’d kept calling him at the office a couple weeks prior.
“You mean Olivia?”
She shrugged. Whatever. “Yes. Sure.”
“Olivia is no longer in the picture. The problem is… I once had a brief affair with the resort owner’s wife. They weren’t married back then, obviously. But, regardless, it’ll be easier for everyone if she thinks I have my eyes elsewhere, since I’m meeting them for dinner.”
She rolled her eyes at Lucas, knowing she was possibly the only one who got away with it. “You really think you’re that irresistible that she will jump into your arms even if she’s married to someone else?”
He flashed her a delicious smile. “Yes. Because her husband is forty years older than her, and during the couple of times I met her at social events she made it clear she’s… available.”
Shit. “So you want me to pretend I’m your girlfriend while we’re there,” she said, managing to sound in control. Note to self: never complain about sending flowers or picking up jewelry again.
“Yes.”
“What if I say no?”
“How much do you want? Give me a number.” He grabbed a piece of paper from his notepad and slid it across the desk for her. “I’m generous.”
She glanced down at the blank note, knowing fully well she could demand a number in the thousands and he wouldn’t even blink. He wanted that deal. Could she do it, though? She hadn’t been anyone’s real girlfriend for so long even pretending sounded like a stretch. Especially where he was concerned. Who would believe a sophisticated, sex-on-a-stick guy like him would go for a plain Jane like her? The mean girls from her senior year, for instance, would laugh at the idea.
Crystal blinked. No. For the first time in a long time, she’d have the last laugh. She slid the blank note pad to him. She didn’t need money from Lucas, she needed something far more important. “I’ll go along if you return the favor and come with me for my ten year high school reunion next month. As my boyfriend.”
* * *
Lucas staredat the intriguing woman in front of him. She lifted her chin and threw her shoulders forward, as if mentally answering the question lurking in his head. Why did she need a pretend boyfriend?
Until not long ago, his uber efficient assistant had been in a relationship with some loser guy who was never around, and worse, cheated on her. Sure, she didn’t make use of her natural assets, like the silky dirty blonde hair she kept tying in a low ponytail, or the hideous clothes that should never belong in any woman’s wardrobe. They were a size or two too big, Polyester-y, and worse, boring shades of grey, black and brown. “Okay. Deal,” he said. How bad could one night out with a bunch of former wannabes be anyway?
She parted her mouth, then hesitated. “Great. Now, we need to establish some rules to make sure things don’t get out of hand.”
Rules. Of course. “Please, go ahead,” he said, amused. Crystal had a knack for implementing policies and seeing them through. She had made several suggestions about ways to increase productivity to the office and even to building in the years she’s worked there. Was that why she was having a hard time finding a date? He remembered the relationship website he’d seen just a few minutes ago, when he’d run to her desk. For some reason, seeing those sneaky men on her work computer annoyed him.
“There will be no chatting about it. I’ll pretend I’m with you during those occasions you mentioned, and you’ll do the same for me. That’s it. No one else needs to know, definitely no one from this office,” she said.
He smoothed his tie. Did she think he was an idiot? Of course he wouldn’t tell a soul. His late father had ruined his life because he’d actually gotten involved with his assistant, who slapped him with a sexual harassment lawsuit and earned millions of dollars. Lucas would never make the same mistake. “Agreed.”
“When you go to my high school reunion, you won’t flirt with my former classmates, or anyone. You’ll act the part.”
Meu Deus. What kind of douche bag did she peg him for? Sure, he was no saint and in the past few years, he’d been with more women than what was socially acceptable. But, he never cheated on them, and on the few occasions he screwed more than one woman at a time, it was with their consent and eager participation. “I’ll be Boyfriend of the Year.”
“Good. And needless to say, we’re getting different rooms at the resort. Different floors.”
A chuckle floated up his throat. “I’ve booked a presidential suite that has two bedrooms, and you’ll have your own room and privacy. I can’t expect people to think we’re together in a honeymoon resort if we’re occupying different floors,” he said, knowing fully well the presidential suite was the size of a medium apartment, therefore, neither of them had anything to worry about.
A lovely shade of pink spread across her freckled nose and cheeks. “Fine. Do you have anything to add?”
“Yes. I need for your wardrobe to reflect someone who would be seen with me. So, we’ll need to go shopping,” he said. Most of the time, he was thankful for her hideous ensembles—they made sure he didn’t harbor any fantasies about her.
“Shopping? I like the way I dress. It’s comfortable.”
“Yes, if you’re an old lady obsessed with cats and word puzzles.”
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with word puzzles.”
