Chapter Three

 

Danielle was having a late lunch at The Garden Room, feeling pretty smug. She’d signed on a new client with a huge budget for a wedding next June and another for a book conference in November. Dressing for success definitely worked. Her friend, the chef she’d mentioned to Mason last night came by her table with two cups of coffee.

“Brought us an afternoon perk-up,” Janet said, giving Danielle a hug after she set the mugs down.

“Thanks,” Danielle said. She took a bite of pasta. “This is so good. You have to give me the recipe.”

“You know I can’t do that. House rules,” Janet said. She whispered to Danielle. “I’ll tell you later, but it isn’t easy to replicate at home.”

Danielle laughed. “Our kitchen is so small, I don’t do much cooking anyway. It really is good, though.”

Janet took a sip of coffee. “So, how did it go yesterday? Did you get the seeds you were looking for?” she said with a smirk.

“Shhh, Janet! I can’t believe you!” Danielle said.

“No one knows what we’re talking about. It could be anything. Did you go to the bank?”

“I’m eating,” Danielle said, shoving a forkful of pasta in her mouth.

“I thought you wanted a baby? And you said you were going to have one no matter what.” Janet gave her a reproving look, not unlike Danielle’s own mother would have done.

Danielle scanned left and right for anyone who could overhear them. “I do want a baby,” she whispered. “But I live in a tiny apartment with roommates and in this city, on this salary, I can’t afford my own place. Besides, it just weirded me out. It isn’t the right decision for me. I want my child to know her father. I can’t go through with it.” She looked down at the plate, suddenly losing her appetite. “I’m so disappointed. I just want to get married and have a family with a nice guy. Is that too much to ask?”

Janet let out a sigh. “In this day and age, I guess it is. Being single doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers you. I guess with the hours I work, it would be impossible to have a kid. I barely have time to date.”

Danielle took a sip of her coffee. “Don’t you think we’re missing out on a real life? I mean, I love San Francisco and the city life is fun, but it’s starting to get old. It’s a constant struggle to stay afloat financially and finding a nice single guy that wants to settle down is like finding a polar bear in a tropical jungle. It just doesn’t happen.”

“I know all your other friends are already married with kids. I think that is why it bothers you so much,” Janet said. “I’m happy with my life. I’m only thirty-one years old. It isn’t as though we are too old to find love and bear children. Just relax,” Janet said. “When the time is right, you’ll meet The One.”

“You sound like my mother,” Danielle said. “You make ‘The One’ sound like some sort of guru. What is that supposed to mean anyway, ‘The One’?”

“Well, ‘The One’ is the person who rocks your world, turns it upside down and makes you feel more alive than you ever been in your life. He is your soul mate, the love of your life and your best friend all rolled in one.”

“Wow. He sounds pretty awesome,” Danielle sighed.

“Yeah,” Janet said, staring off into space. “He is.”

“I’m tired of waiting,” Danielle said. “I don’t want to kiss any more toads. I want to meet ‘The One’ now.”

Janet stood up and took a last sip of her coffee. “Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait,” she said with a wink. “Hang in there. He’s out there. Probably closer than you think,” Janet said as she nodded to something behind Danielle.

Danielle bestowed a loving smile on Janet. She was a truly wise and wonderful friend.

“Thanks, hon. Love you,” she said.

“Love you too,” Janet said as she made her way back to the kitchen.

Danielle discreetly shifted her gaze to see what Danielle had motioned was behind her. Oh no! Behind her was none other than Mason Rutherford, sitting at the table quietly reading a newspaper. Had he heard their conversation? How much of it? How long had he been sitting there? Hoping he hadn’t seen her, she decided to quietly sneak out of the restaurant. She had a tab so she didn’t need to wait for a bill. She slipped some bills on the table for the waitress’s tip and slowly backed up her chair. She stood up, trying to be as quiet as a mouse. One step away from the table and she was almost home free-

“Danielle.” She heard that deep, familiar voice behind her. “What a pleasant surprise.”

She swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She needed to erase the mortified expression she knew was plastered across her face. Just breathe, just breathe.

Slowly she turned around. “Mason.” His name came out of her mouth sounding breathless, which was not what she intended.

He graced her with his still dazzling smile and put out his hand. She took his hand and shook it, not able to take her eyes away from his utterly beautiful face. Just breathe, she told herself silently. Wow. He was truly blessed with good looks.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked, walking over to the table. He pulled out the chair that Janet had been sitting in.

“Not at all, but I’ve got to get back to work,” she said.

“Oh?” he smiled broadly, like the cat who’d swallowed the canary.

“Yes. I just came in for a quick lunch. I’ve got to get back and-”

“Mr. Rutherford, so good to see you,” a voice called out.

Danielle turned to see Neil Anderson, the top hotel manager, who also happened to be her boss, scurrying their way. Could things get any worse?

Mason stood. “Hey Neil, great to see you,” he said as they shook hands. He turned to introduce Danielle, but Neil spoke first.

“I see you have met our Events Coordinator. Wonderful. Danielle is doing a terrific job. She works very close with your kitchen staff to put together the most amazing menus for all the events here at the hotel.” Neil beamed. “We are very pleased with her.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Mason said as his gaze fell on Danielle for a brief moment. “I’d like to speak to her about some of those menus. Do you mind if I steal her away for the afternoon?”

“Actually, I have a lot of work-”

“Of course not, Mr. Rutherford. Take as much time as you need. Enjoy your lunch,” Neil said with a nod towards Danielle. He excused himself and scuttled away.

Mason turned around and planted himself back down in Janet’s seat. Danielle sat back down. She was trapped with the handsome billionaire all afternoon, and she wasn’t happy about it.

“I guess that takes care of that. You’ve got the afternoon off. You can thank me anytime,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“Mr. Rutherford,” she said with emphasis. “I have a lot of work to do so I really don’t have time to take the afternoon off. If you’d like to schedule another time to discuss the menu I’d be happy to invite some of the chefs to join us. It would certainly be more productive meeting with the chefs present.”

Mason beamed from ear to ear. “Please, call me Mason. I don’t want to discuss menus. I just told Neil that so I could spend some time with you.”

Uh oh. This was getting into dangerous territory. “Why do you want to spend time with me?”

“I heard your discussion with your friend. I couldn’t help it. And putting two and two together, considering where I met you last night, I think we can help each other.”

Danielle could feel the blush rising from her jaw to the top of her head. “It’s bad manners to eavesdrop,” she said. “I’ve decided not to go through with it, anyway. I don’t want to be a single mother. I simple can’t afford it and I’d really like my children to know who their father is.”

“So, you aren’t married? Just as I suspected.”

“I didn’t know you so I thought it was best to say I was married,’ she huffed.

“I understand that. I’m not sure quite how to say this so I’m just going to put it out there straight. You seem to be a pretty direct person, so hopefully that will be okay?”

“What are you talking about?” Danielle asked.

Mason leaned across the table and spoke in a low voice. “I need an heir. I need a wife and an heir or my father is going to take everything I have worked for and give it to my step brother who does nothing but surf all day. They will destroy the company I have built.”

She could see where this was going and oh boy, she wasn’t liking it one bit. “Sorry, Mason, but your family issues aren’t my problem. With all the money you have, you should be able to buy almost anything. Anything but me.”

“I don’t want to buy you. I want to marry you so you can give me an heir. That is all I ask. In return, you will have a lifetime of financial security. Our child will never want for anything. You can raise him and have full custody. We can quietly divorce in a few years if that is what you want.”

Danielle’s eyes widened. “Do you think that is the right way to bring a child into the world?”

“It is better than your idea,” he said wryly. “You’ll know who the father is and the child will be well taken care of.”

“What is in it for you? Besides billions of dollars?”

“I have plenty of money with or without the Corporation. Do you know how many people I employ? How many families will be hurt if our Corporation goes under? Thousands.”

Danielle sat back. She felt like she was in a parallel universe. Did Mason Rutherford, the billionaire, the most eligible bachelor this side of the Mississippi just propose marriage to her? And ask her to bear his children? Was she living in another century?

She stood up. “This sounds too fishy to me. I’m not going to just, well you know… I barely even know you!”

“Ok, you’re right. I get that. We can get married and then live together as friends for say, three months as a trial period. After that you can decide if you want to proceed with the rest of our agreement. If not, we get an annulment and go our separate ways. If you decide to stay, you get your baby, I get my heir and we stay married for at least three years after that. I will have my lawyer draw up a prenup so everything will be written out in legal terms. What do you say?”

Danielle stared at Mason across the table. At first, she thought he was playing with her. But the intensity of his stare made her think otherwise. “Why me? You can certainly have your pick of women in every state in the country.”

Mason leaned back in the chair, a thoughtful expression crossed his face. His eyes were a deep, brilliant blue she noticed. And the dimple on his chin was even more endearing when he frowned. They would have beautiful children together, if it ever happened.

“I honestly don’t know why. I know how to read people. It is part of being a good business man. I can see you are a good person. And you aren’t impressed by money, that is clear. I think someone who really wants a child so badly to consider what you considered, is someone who really wants to be a mother. You would be a good mother to my son, not some gold digger who’d send him away to boarding school while she was off partying in Mexico.”

“What if she’s a girl?” Danielle asked.

Mason smiled. “Then she will be so beautiful, I will have to lock her in a tower to keep the boys away from her until she turns thirty,” he said with a laugh.

Daniella couldn’t help but laugh too at the image that conjured in her mind. She looked into those mesmerizing blue eyes and could almost imagine a fairytale ending. Almost. “I just met you. I don’t know. This is crazy,” she said.

“Why? We both get what we want. We get to try it out for three months. You have nothing to lose,” he said. “Life is short. Sometimes you just have to go for it and believe that the best will come.”

“I’d just thought if any man ever proposed to me, he’d actually propose, you know.”

“Do you want me to get down on one knee?” he asked.

Danielle shook her head. No, not here where she worked. “That would probably create a scandal,” she said.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Marry me, Danielle. I’ll do everything I can to give you the life you want. A happy life with children.”

The feel of his fingers entwined with hers made her heart flutter. “Yes.” Danielle couldn’t believe what she’d said. But once the word was out, there was no going back. “I’ll marry you. But it will have to be a secret until we are sure we will proceed. Can you promise that?”

Mason leaned back in his chair, a look of relief on his face. “Yes. For three months we will keep it secret. If it doesn’t work out, no one will be the wiser.”

She nodded. “Except for my best friend. I’ll want her there as my witness.”

“Yes, I’ll have one too.” Mason stared at her across the table, his eyes glittering. “It’s settled then. This weekend we marry.”

“So soon?” she asked.

“The sooner we do it, the better. I don’t want you backing out of our deal, Danielle. It will be the perfect way to start the weekend.”

“I have to work,” Danielle said.

“I’ll talk to Neil and arrange for you to take tomorrow off so we can get the marriage license. I’ll tell him you are to join me on a tour of our restaurants. We need to start to get to know one another. We only have three months.”

Danielle swallowed hard. “Tomorrow then,” she said.

This was either going to be the best decision she ever made or the worst. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out which one it would be.