“Charlotte, Charlotte, are you okay?” Anabel was rubbing my shoulder as I opened my eyes slowly.
“Am I dreaming?” I mumbled as I looked at her concerned face, but immediately I knew I wasn’t. Max Parker was standing there next to Emily staring at me with glittering eyes and a sardonic look on his face. “No, I guess I’m not.”
“Are you okay?” Anabel held her hand to my forehead. “You fainted.”
“I, uh, I . . .”
I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say. How could the blue-eyed man be Max Parker? All this time, he had known. He had known and he had made fun of me. And me, being the fool that I was, had gone right along with it.
“My car is out front. I can take you to the hospital,” Max said authoritatively as he reached out to grab my arm. “Come, Charlotte.”
“No, it’s okay,” I said, not budging. “I’ll be okay.”
“Who is your friend?” Emily asked with wide eyes and a grin on her face. “I’m Emily, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Hello, Emily, my name is Max. Max Parker. I believe you might have heard of me before.”
“Ooh.” Her eyes widened even more, and even Anabel looked shocked. “The Max Parker?” Emily mouthed at me, and I nodded.
“Thanks for everything, Max,” I said quickly, scrambling to my feet. “My friends and I should get back to our table now.”
I avoided his eyes. I could feel people staring at me from all around the restaurant now, but I just wanted to leave. I looked up and could see that his two male companions were looking at me with inquisitive eyes, and I wondered if they knew who I was.
“I think we need to talk, Charlotte.” He pressed his lips together. “Just the two of us.”
“Oh, I don’t think—” I started to say but Emily cut me off.
“I do think that’s a good idea.” Emily nodded. “You guys can get everything out in the open.”
“There’s not much that we need to—” I said, but I was cut off once again.
“Oh, I disagree, Charlotte,” Max said. “I think there is a lot we need to talk about.” He nodded at Anabel, who stood up and then he grabbed my hand. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“We can chat here.” I stayed seated.
“I don’t really think that this is the place you want us to have our conversation, is it?” He raised a single eyebrow at me. “Given our previous conversations and emails?”
“Well, uh . . .” I looked at Anabel who seemed to be thinking. “What do you think?”
“It can’t hurt to have a one-on-one conversation,” she said after a few seconds and then she turned toward Max. “I hope you know that Charlotte had no ill intent or malice.”
“Oh, I’m quite sure of that. She just wanted to benefit from my name.” His voice was deceptively casual.
“Well, I wouldn’t say benefit—” I started, but then I saw Anabel shoot a look at my Chanel handbag and I kept my mouth shut. “But, of course, I’d be willing to discuss this misunderstanding.” I made an effort to sound friendly and nice. I wanted to tell Max Parker to take a long walk off of a short pier, but I knew that Anabel would wholly disapprove. “I am hungry though, so . . .” My voice trailed off as I caught Max smiling about something. Our eyes met and for a few seconds, I forgot about what an arrogant asshole he was and just pictured him as a man. A very handsome man. A very handsome and rich man. It was a pity, because under other circumstances, I would have quite liked to get to know him.
I’m ever so sorry for lying. No, that’s a big lie.
I want you to know that I only lied the one time. Yeah, right, he knew that wasn’t true.
How about we forget everything and you just put your tongue in my mouth. Or somewhere else. I could feel myself blushing at that thought.
Is it true what they say? Do you have a ten-inch cock? I could feel my eyes going down to his lap and I snapped my head back up again as I felt his eyes on me. No way I was going to let him catch me checking out his goods.
Did I dare reach down and grab it? Just to check? Yeah, right. A giggle escaped before I could stop myself.
“Something funny?” Max finally spoke to me, his legs outstretched as he sat back.
“Nothing.” I took a sip from the water bottle his driver had given me and looked around the back of the limo I now found myself in. I couldn’t stop myself from squealing inside. I’d never been in a stretch limo before. Never had a chauffeur open a door for me and hand me a selection of snacks as I sat down. The plush leather seats were also more comfortable than my couch and I gawked at the full-size TV screen directly in front of us.
“So, Charlotte Johnson, I suppose you wonder why I wanted to talk?” Max looked at me with a smug smile.
“Not really. I’m pretty sure I can guess why,” I said with a shrug. “I have a reason for lying, you know. I’m not some weirdo; I didn’t just pick your name out of a hat. This isn’t something I go around doing.”
“You mean you don’t pretend to be dating a billionaire every month?” He cocked his head to the side. “What made me your lucky first?” He stressed the word first, and it made me blush.
“You’re not my first.” I stopped talking as I realized what I’d said. “I mean, you’re the first guy I’ve ever said is my boyfriend that isn’t. That is true. You’re just not the first guy I’ve ever kissed or anything.”
“I should hope not.”
“You fired me,” I said finally. “You bought my company, and you fired me, and I have no real savings, and I was mad, and well, things got out of hand. I didn’t intend for this to happen.”
“You didn’t intend to lie?” He shifted closer to me in the back seat. “The lie just slipped out?”
“Yes.”
“Funny that. I’ve never heard of a lie slipping out by mistake, or a cock slipping in by mistake, either.”
“What?” I blushed at his words.
“You heard me.” He shifted even closer to me and now his thigh was pressed against mine.
“I didn’t mean to lie. I was actually complaining about you when the hostess misheard me and—”
“Stop.” He put his hand on my leg. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Oh?” I pushed his hand off my thigh. “I hope you don’t think I’m going to have sex with you because you caught me in a little white lie.”
“Sex?” He laughed. “You think I’m driving you around for sex?”
“It certainly seems that way.” I looked down at his legs so close to mine.
“Honey, I have a Rolodex two miles long. I don’t need . . .” He paused and looked me up and down, “or want you in that way.”
I blushed at his remark. How rude was he? “Well, you certainly enjoyed kissing me,” I spat back at him.
“Those pecks I gave you?” He laughed louder now. “Honey, my tongue didn’t even enter your mouth. I’ve kissed dogs more passionately than I kissed you.”
“Do you go around kissing dogs then?” I looked him up and down dismissively. “I suppose they’re the only ones that could truly fancy a pompous asshole like you.”
“There you go with the compliments again.” He grabbed my hand. “I’m going to think that you can’t get enough of me if you keep this up.”
“What are you doing?” I swallowed hard as he ran a finger along my palm. “I thought you didn’t want to sleep with me.”
“Oh, I don’t want you to sleep with me.” He closed his fingers in on mine. “I need you to scratch an itch I didn’t know I needed scratching.”
“I’m not about to give you a blow job.” I shook my head vehemently. “I know you’re some hotshot with a fancy limo and loads of money, but I’m not getting on my knees to give you a blow job. No sir, I’m not some hooker.”
“Hooker?” He threw his head back and laughed even louder. His hand let go of mine and he grabbed a bottle of water and chugged some down. “Oh, my dear, I don’t think you’re a hooker, and I don’t want a blow job from you.” He paused and looked at my lips. “Though I have to admit that if you begged me, I wouldn’t say no.”
“I would never beg to give you a blow job.”
“Well, you sure do like bringing it up, don’t you?”
“I don’t like bringing it up. I was just saying.” I growled at him, flustered. “That’s not an offer from me.”
He leaned toward me. “What would you say if I dropped to the ground and put my head between your legs?” he whispered.
I blushed. Was he actually offering to go down on me? Was I dreaming? Would I dare?
“You’re thinking too long, Charlotte. I’m not actually offering.”
“I didn’t think you were offering. I just wasn’t about to answer such an obviously stupid question.”
“Oh, of course.” He nodded. “Of course.”
“So what was it you wanted from me, then?” I asked him after about three minutes of silence. “And where are we going?”
“We’re going to 727 Fifth Avenue.”
“That means nothing to me.” I sighed. “Is that where you live?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I live in Chelsea.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“We’re going to Tiffany’s.”
“Is that your girlfriend? The one I made mad at you?”
“What?” He blinked at me then as if he was confused. “Who?”
“Tiffany. The girl you just mentioned.”
“Oh, no. We’re going to Tiffany’s. The jewelry store.”
“We are? Why?” I licked my lips nervously. Was he playing with me? Was he actually trying to kidnap me? Why had I gotten into this limo with him again?
“To get you a ring.”
“A ring?”
“Do you have a stutter?”
“No, I’m just very confused.”
“Aww, I see.” He nodded. “As confused as I was to hear that I had a girlfriend?”
“Touché.” I rolled my eyes. “Am I never going to hear the end of this?”
“You will, but right now you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything. In fact, you owe me for making me lose my job.”
“I need you to pretend to be my fake fiancée.”
“You what?” I made a face. “Isn’t that sentence redundant? Why would you say pretend and fake in the same sentence?”
“I didn’t know you were an English major, Charlotte.”
“Actually, I studied history at Columbia, so I’m not exactly a dumb blonde.”
“I should think not. Your hair is brown.”
“You know what I mean.” I shook my head and sat back as questions raced in my mind. What had he meant that he wanted me to pretend to be his fiancée? Was that another way of saying he wanted me in his bed? Hadn’t he just said that he didn’t want to have sex with me?
“I need you to pretend to be my fiancée.” He spoke more slowly this time. “It will help me out.”
“How will it help you out?” I frowned. “I’m confused.”
“I have a business deal. A very important business deal. With a Japanese company. Turns out they were very much in favor of doing business with a family man. A bachelor? Not so much . . .” His voice trailed off. “I think you know what I’m saying.”
“No, not really.” I shook my head.
“I’ve been trying to do a billion-dollar deal with a company in Japan for two years. They have not been very responsive. All of a sudden they hear that I might be getting married, and they are interested in chatting.” He paused. “I need to stay engaged for the time being.”
“What would they care? Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.”
“The company is a toy factory. They produce most of the toys manufactured in the world.” He shrugged. “I guess they care who buys it.”
I stared at him. “I don’t owe you anything. You haven’t even apologized for getting me fired.”
“Sorry, Charlotte.”
“That didn’t sound the least bit sincere.”
“I’m so, so sorry, Charlotte. Please forgive me.”
His words mocked me, but I could tell from his tone that this was actually quite a sincere apology. He wanted me to forgive him. He wanted me to say yes. But why? Just so I could play his fake fiancée? What did he care? He could hire anyone to be his fiancée. Shit, he could easily get a real fiancée. He was hot as hell.
“I don’t understand why you want or need me,” I said honestly. “Like, look, I know what I did was wrong, and at the end of the day, I’m ashamed of my lies, but you don’t really need me. I mean, you can sue me for libel or whatever, but I don’t even have a pot to piss in, you won’t get any money from me.”
“You don’t even have a pot?” His tone was sarcastic and I rolled my eyes.
“You know what I mean. It’s just a saying.”
“I like the fact that you’re honest.” He chuckled. “Which is ironic because you’re actually a big liar. But you know the score. The other women in my life, well, let’s just say that things would be complicated if I asked any of them to pretend to be my fiancée.”
“How many of them are there?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“That’s why I asked.” I ignored the ripple of jealousy that coursed through me. What did I think? He was a monk? He was gorgeous and rich. He was most probably sleeping with half of Manhattan.
“Look, my personal life is none of your business. This deal will be a transaction between you and me.” He tapped his long fingers against the seat. “I just need you to play a part. You’ll be well compensated, of course.”
“I don’t care about money.” I held my head up high. “I know you might not believe that, but I’m not some sort of gold digger. I’m not just all about money.”
“I will compensate you for your time.”
I paused. I wanted to tell him I didn’t need to be compensated, but who was I kidding? I wasn’t going to do this for free. He wasn’t my best friend or my actual lover. If he wanted my help, he could pay.
“Oh, yeah? How much were you thinking?” I tried to sound nonchalant, but I needed to know if it would cover my rent.
“A fair amount.” There was a sparkle in his eyes as if he knew that I wanted actual figures.
“Yeah, like how much are we talking?”
“I thought you didn’t care about money?”
“I don’t, but every job deserves to be paid fairly.” I played with my fingers. I wondered if he’d be willing to give me an advance. “Also, how long will the job be lasting?”
“That I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It will last until the documents have all been signed and ratified.”
“Then you’ll dump me.” I rolled my eyes. “Figured you wouldn’t care once the contract was signed.”
“What does that mean?” He looked at me sharply. “You really do have a low opinion of me, don’t you?”
“Well, you bought Sally’s company and told her you were going to keep us all on, and then you fired us.”
“Sorry, I have no idea who Sally is.”
I was incredulous. “You bought her graphics design company last month. I mean, I get it, you’re rich, but do you really buy that many companies that you can’t remember?”
“Yes, I really do buy that many companies. I’m in the business of buying and restructuring, Charlotte. Surely, your research gave you that much information about me?” Then he looked at me with an amused look. “Or perhaps not. It doesn’t seem like you did much research, did you? You didn’t even know who I was.”
I shrugged. “Google didn’t have many photos of you.”
“You said you were a history major? At Columbia?” He sounded disbelieving. “And yet, the only research you did was a Google search.”
“Well, what would you have me do? Look you up in the library?” I said in my most surly tone, but I knew that any good researcher worth her salt would have done a far more exhaustive search.
“Did you graduate from Columbia?” He chuckled, and I rolled my eyes.
“So, my salary?” I prompted, needing to know an actual dollar amount.
“I was thinking I could pay you in kind, seeing as you said you’re not interested in money.”
“Pay me in kind? What the hell does that mean?”
“With kisses and sexually exciting adventures,” he said with a straight face.
My jaw dropped. “You what?” My eyes narrowed at him. “You already told me you don’t want me sexually.”
“Can’t a man change his mind?” He draped his arm around my shoulder and played with my hair. “I think I’d quite like to see you bouncing up and down on—”
“That’s enough!” I said, my face red. “That is not appropriate.”
“Ten grand a week. How does that sound?” His fingers were still in my hair.
“Ten thousand dollars? US? A week?” I said, my voice squeaking. I was trying to keep my excitement down.
“Is that not enough?” He frowned. “Fifteen thousand dollars a week, with a minimum commitment of eight weeks? I think I should be able to get this deal done in four weeks. The next four weeks can be for us to wind down the relationship so that it looks like it was real.”
“So, a hundred and twenty grand?” I wanted to sing and dance in the back seat.
“Yes, I’ll give you half up-front and half at the end.” He raised an eyebrow. “Does that work?”
“I suppose so.” I grinned at him. “Am I going to get a check today?”
“Today?” He laughed. “You’re an eager beaver, aren’t you?”
“Well, I have bills to pay.” I shrugged. “You know how it is.”
“Yes, yes, I do.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “You know I do quite like you, Charlotte Johnson. You have no pretenses about you. No games. Yes, I think you’ll do quite nicely.”
“I’m still not going to give you a blow job, you know. That will be a hundred grand extra.” I grinned at my joke, but his expression didn’t change. I quickly clarified. “That was a joke, by the way. Like I said before, I’m no hooker, you can’t pay me for sex or anything. I can’t be bought.”
“Good, good.” He beamed. “Aww, we’ve arrived. Ready to pick out your ring?”
“Sure,” I said as I looked out the window. We were in front of Tiffany’s and the signature blue awnings seemed to be calling out to me. “Let’s go and get me a ring.” The chauffeur opened the door for me then and I started to get out of the limo.
“Oh, and Charlotte?” Max said I made my way out.
“Yes?” I looked back at him.
“I never pay for it, but anytime, you want to drop on your knees and put those luscious lips around my cock, just let me know. I’ll make the time to blow your world for free.”
My jaw dropped at his words, but I didn’t have time to respond because he was already getting out of the other side of the limo. I didn’t know what to think or say. This man confused me. Did he want me or not? And more importantly, did I want him? It had been so long since I’d been with a man who excited me, but was it worth it to become involved with him? I already felt like I was in some sort of alternate reality. I didn’t really know what to say or do, but I knew I could suck it up and play his fake fiancée for the next two months for a hundred and twenty grand. That would take care of all my money woes for the time being and then maybe in the new year I could become an actress full time. And if he gave me an advance, I’d still have time to buy the gifts to mail overseas. I bit down on my lower lip as I walked into Tiffany’s with Max behind me. This wasn’t how it was meant to be. This wasn’t how I was supposed to get my first engagement ring, but I supposed it didn’t matter now. My daydreams of finding true love had blown up on the day that Brandon had gone.