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Dale held Allyson tightly to him, never wanting to let her go. Her soft skin glistened with sweat. The flowery scent of her hair was more intoxicating than the wine at the reception. Minutes slipped by, and he held onto her until his heart rate slowed. She looked up at him, and he stared into her dazzling green eyes. Something sad flashed in them and she pulled away to sit up. The warmth of her touch was gone, and it filled him with a sudden emptiness. He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said softly.
“Do you regret what we just did?”
“No. Never,” she said earnestly. “It was wonderful. You’re wonderful.”
He sat up. “But?”
“When your mother called about me, you said she was trying to set you up with Katherine Handel,” she breathed.
“I don’t give a damn about Katherine Handel.” She wanted to bring this up now?
“You said Katherine was jealous of me.”
He thought they had put that whole business behind them, but he’d clearly thought wrong. First her family, and now this? “Why are you doing this?”
“I knew Monica figured we were just pretending from the moment she saw us. You heard her, she knew you’d never want someone like me.” She tucked a stray lock of her silky black hair behind her ear.
He scoffed. Women were nuts. “What the hell does Monica know? She doesn’t know me. And clearly you don’t if you think that about me.”
“So, if I was to walk into your mother’s office right now and tell her what we did, you’d be fine with it?” she demanded.
He hesitated. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Yet somehow the tabloids always find out about the latest heiress on your arm,” she countered.
“That’s my mother’s doing,” he said through gritted teeth. “Allyson, what’s going on? I thought you wanted...this.”
“And what is this?”
He didn’t know. Not yet anyway. When he’d decided to be her date for the wedding, he thought he had everything under control. He’d help Allyson, keep his meddling mother at arm’s length, and that would be it for an eventful weekend. Never in a million years did he think he’d get into bed with her. Sure, he had fantasized about it, but he wasn’t the type to have affairs with subordinates.
But being with her this weekend had changed so much so quickly. He saw how much pressure she was under with her family. The stakes weren’t as high for her as they were for him and Prescott Global, but he understood what she was going through. Saw her get through it all with kindness, and grace, and warmth. Allyson was better than her family deserved. They didn’t understand her. He did.
“You’re scared,” he said instead.
She didn’t respond. His accusation hung in the air as the silence grew louder. He knew that she believed the lies her sister had hurled at her. That she wasn’t good enough. Didn’t deserve the best. Earned whatever mistreatment she got from her family of ingrates. Allyson believed it, and now that she’d proven them wrong she was terrified. She was throwing Katherine in his face to drive a wedge between them.
She bit her lip. “Your mother would make you fire me if she found out what we did.”
“My mother can’t make me do anything,” he said flatly.
“No, but she can tell Katherine, and Katherine would have her father call off the merger. Prescott would be ruined.”
“So, what are you saying? First we pretend to be together, now we pretend we’re not?” He shook his head. He couldn’t keep up. “Allyson, this is crazy.”
She sighed. “You’re just fighting this because you can’t stand being told what to do. But deep down you know I’m right. You’ve put your heart and soul into Prescott. You wouldn’t be reckless enough to ruin that for some fling with an...an assistant.”
Some fling? Is that what she thought this was? He didn’t know exactly where things were headed with them, but he’d be damned if this was over. The only thing worse than getting into a relationship with an employee was using that employee for incredible sex. He wanted her. Damn. He wanted her again now. And he also wanted to see where this was going. “This is just a friendly fuck.”
She didn’t even blink at his words. “I don’t need a sympathy fuck.”
“Excuse me? You think that’s what this was?”
She shrugged, unable to meet his gaze now. “Maybe.”
He reached over and lifted her chin “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got a different woman every month. I’m not your type.”
Frustrated, he raked his hand through his hair. “That isn’t true.”
“What isn’t true? The new woman a month thing or not being your type?” she asked.
“Both.”
“So, the women you date have nothing to do with business?” She crossed her arms.
He tried not to stare at her beautiful breasts pressed against her arms and trying to escape. Heat throbbed through him, and he ignored his dick asking for more. Instead, he focused on what she’d said. All those heiresses were his mother’s doing. His love life consisted of his mother throwing blue bloods his way. A lot of those blue bloods were more than likely a business strategy to his mother. They were beautiful, and he was often too busy to have a normal dating life, so how could he refuse? But he’d spent the last three years comparing those women to Allyson. “I wouldn’t say nothing,” he muttered.
“Right,” she said, “which makes me the worst business decision you’ve ever made.”
Before he could say anything more their bedroom door flung open, and Monica came barging into the room.
Allyson gasped and reached for the sheet, trying to pull it around her and Dane’s hips. “Monica! What the hell are you doing?”
Allyson’s mother and father hurried in right after. They all stopped short, shocked expressions on their faces.
“Get out!” Allyson cried. “Can we have some privacy please?” She glared at her family.
“I’m so sorry,” her mother said, but continued to stare.
Her father’s face went bright red and he put his hand over his eyes, obviously horrified. “I thought you said this was fake!”
“I...that’s what the paper said,” Monica stammered. “You two can’t be together. You just can’t!”
“Why are you even here?” Allyson snapped.
Dane sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t getting up, or going to say anything. Allyson needed to handle this herself. Plus, he was naked with half a hard-on.
“We came to talk to you,” her mother said. “We wanted to tell you it didn’t matter if you lied about Dane. I’m sure there are plenty more rich men at your job.”
Allyson groaned. “You guys really haven’t learned anything. And I’m sure Monica just came here to gloat.”
“Well, you can see now that we’re real,” Dane said, grinning
“No, we are not real,” Allyson muttered. “Can you guys please leave?”
“How can you not be real?” Mrs. Smith demanded. “You’re both naked in bed.”
Allyson narrowed her eyes. “It won’t happen again. I don’t want Prescott to go under. Now can you please give us a minute here?”
Dane suspected her words were more for him than her family. He shot her a look, but she ignored him to motion for her family to leave. Grumbling, they all trooped out of the room.
Allyson buried her head in her hands and groaned. “This is just great. Now I’ve been humiliated for the second time today.”
“It could have been worse,” he said. “They could have walked in on us while we were doing it.”
Her eyes widened. “We’ve been really careless.”
“Maybe.”
She turned to look at him. “Your mother can’t find out.”
He didn’t argue. Couldn’t argue. Because his mother finding out meant a world of trouble for not just Prescott, but for Allyson. He had put her in that position. If he had turned her down this wouldn’t have happened. But he hadn’t wanted to turn her down. When she ripped that contract in half he’d been on cloud nine. Now, with her family finding them together so quickly, he realized how reckless he had been. If anyone at Prescott discovered what they’d done this weekend, Allyson was in trouble. “You’re right. She can’t.” A sharp pain shot through his heart. “Nobody else can. You have to remind your family about being discreet.”
She nodded. “I knew you’d eventually listen to reason.”
His phone rang on the nightstand. Reaching for it, he saw that one of the managers from work was calling. He sighed. It wasn’t even Sunday and the weekend was over. Work was calling. Somehow, he and Allyson had to go back to Prescott Global on Monday and act like none of this had ever happened.
This was over. Whatever had happened between him and Allyson would never happen again.
