by Natalie Ann
“If you love me at all, please be waiting for her downstairs in the lobby so she doesn’t have an excuse to come see me. I don’t have time for this.”
His father lips lifted in a smirk that must have had the ladies chasing him when he was younger. “Nice way to pile on the guilt. But since I was sitting in that board meeting with you and know how bad it was—though you handled yourself like a pro—I’ll do you the favor of saving the lecture from your mother.”
“Thanks,” he said, sitting behind his computer now. He knew there was a ton of emails waiting for his attention too.
“I’ll just take my glass and go walk around the building and chat with people.”
“You do that,” he said, dismissing his father, knowing that his father enjoyed that now. Talking with old senior staff that he didn’t have to work with on a daily basis anymore. Nope, that headache was Gabe’s now too.
There had to be a way around his meddling mother so that he could get some peace and just focus on running the damn company and earning the respect he deserved.
He glanced toward his phone when it rang on his desk, noticed the business card with lace edging on it and ignored the call in favor of the card, picking it up again.
Leah Morrison, A Day to Celebrate.
When she’d handed him that card after their fender bender two weeks ago, he’d just shoved it on the dash without looking. He’d been late for a meeting and didn’t have time for anything else.
It wasn’t until days later when the insurance company called him to bring his car in for an estimate, that he remembered her card and looked at it.
He’d had no idea people had divorce parties now, but it looked like Leah was covering her bases. Good way to meet a need, he supposed.
A crazy idea just popped into his head and he wondered if Leah might be able to help him out.
Lucky You
The phone rang at Leah’s desk. Normally she’d let it go and it’d roll over to her cell phone since her part time receptionist wasn’t working today, but she figured it’d be one less message she’d have to return and she needed a break from trying to run numbers and see if she could afford that dream full time assistant. Maybe next year, but she didn’t want to have to ration her grocery bill again like she’d done for years.
No matter how many times she tried to look at the numbers, they always showed the same color when it came time to expand. Red.
Scream in your face till you notice me red. Give me a twitching eyeball red. Make me want to throw black at the screen red.
Catering to the wealthy meant she had to look the part. She was frugal when she needed to be, which was often, but she always made it look otherwise.
Her splurge had been her car that she leased so it’d be cheaper. Of course now it was still in the shop and she was driving a rental. She prayed she didn’t lose the deposit on that lease because of the accident, just another thing to worry about.
After the third ring, she finally picked up. “A Day to Celebrate,” she said.
“I’m looking for Leah Morrison,” the deep voice on the other end said.
“Speaking.”
“Leah. This is Gabe Richards. We ran into each other the other day on Central Ave.”
She held back her snort. “That’s a polite way of saying I smashed into your car. Is there a problem with the insurance claim?” Please don’t let there be. She was already dreading a rate increase as it was.
“No,” he said and she breathed a sigh of relief. “I got my car back yesterday.”
“Lucky you,” she said. When she heard him laugh on the other end she knew her sarcasm slipped through. Not that she was trying to fight it much. It’d just been one of those days. She sometimes wondered how she still did what she did for a living—making glorious weddings—and enjoyed it so much, but then she remembered that she used to believe in everlasting love. In forever. In fairytales and Prince Charmings.
Although she saw many of the marriages didn’t last, she hadn’t been burned by any man herself. When she had time to date, she normally had healthy relationships that ended with them both going their own way. Nothing much more than that.
Now she barely had time to sleep, let alone date, if she could find someone to even put up with her making her business her priority.
“How long until you get your car back?” Gabe asked her.
“Maybe another week. I had more damage than you,” she reminded him.
“You did hit me.”
“Were you calling me to rub my nose in that? Or was there another reason?”
“I’ve got a reason. Are you able to meet for lunch to discuss it?”
“Sure,” she said. She figured he must be engaged and wanted a wedding planner. She didn’t get a lot of calls from men unless they were planning a wedding with their husband and she was a good enough judge to know Gabe wasn’t gay. Maybe it was her lucky day running into him after all. A new job was a new job.
The next day she wasn’t thinking that when he walked into the restaurant he’d chosen though. What a bummer that he was taken.
Dark wavy hair that looked like he’d been running his hands through it.
Deep brown eyes that were staring at her making her wonder if he could see into her soul.
She’d given up on fairytales after so many of the weddings she’d planned ended up in divorces, but that didn’t mean her mind couldn’t slip back into the romance mode now and again.
It’s just it easily slipped right back out, reminding her the divorce rate was on the rise and it normally led to heartache.
Good thing she was good at keeping those facts to herself when planning that dream day for her clients. Everyone deserved the best day of their life and she was determined to give it to them and hoped it lasted forever.
She’d noticed how tall Gabe was before when she was standing next to him in the road. She’d had heels on, adding four inches to her five-foot-four-inch frame and still was at least eight inches shorter than him. She really did like tall men.
“It’s good to see you again, Gabe,” she said, extending her hand forward. “Under better circumstances at the very least.”
“You might not think so,” he said, smiling.
Hmm, she couldn’t imagine why. “Why don’t we get a drink and then you can tell me what this meeting is about.”
The waitress came over and took their drink and food orders. She sat there patiently with her hands folded on the table in front of her, her eyes direct, matching his stare. He sure looked serious.
“I noticed you do wedding planning.”
“I do,” she said, “no pun intended.”
He cracked a little grin. That was something since she got the feeling he didn’t laugh often. “I’m not engaged. At least not yet.”
“Ah, okay.” This was odd. She’d never had anyone come to her before they got engaged, but maybe he was looking ahead. “Sometimes people like to get an idea of what a wedding entails before they pop the question.”
“I’m not even looking for a big wedding,” he said.
She frowned. “So what are you looking for?”
“You do divorce celebrations too, correct? Is that what you meant on your card?”
“I do. Mostly for women. You said you weren’t engaged, there is no ring on your finger—which doesn’t mean much—but I’m going to hazard a guess you aren’t married either?”
“No. I’m looking to be though. I was thinking that maybe one of your divorce clients might be sour enough for what I’m hoping to accomplish.”
She started to grin. This just didn’t sound right from the handsome man in front of her that could probably have any woman he wanted. If she hadn’t been so swamped with work since he called she would have done an internet search on him to see if she could find out more, but she just crashed by the time she got home at nine last night.
“What is it you want to accomplish? Excuse me if I’m confused here.”
“I’m confused myself and
can’t believe I’m even doing this.” He started to frown, but it didn’t take away from any of his gorgeous looks. “I need a temporary wife. I need it to be kept on the hush hush with a legal contract that will pay her for her time. Just a year. That should do it.”
She burst out laughing this time, then looked around to see if there were cameras anywhere. This had to be some kind of joke. Guys like him didn’t need to buy a wife.
“Do I look like I’m a dating service?” Though she probably could start one up with the contacts she’d made over the years. That might be pretty lucrative too, letting her expand. Business always came first with her.
“No. I didn’t even know who to go to with this. I did a little research on you and your business. You come highly rated. Your clients are from the same social background as myself so I know they could conduct themselves accordingly.”
“That sounds a little snooty,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s not meant to. In order for this to be a believable marriage, I need to be seen with someone in that class, so to speak. Or someone who can easily fit into it. Especially because I want to put a rush on the marriage end of it if I could.”
“I just have to ask—why? Why would someone like you need to buy a wife?”
He sighed and looked adorably frustrated. She wondered if he was serious all the time.
“I don’t have time for dating or relationships. Work has always come first and now I’ve got even more responsibility on my shoulders, but my mother won’t stop setting me up with women and it’s getting on my nerves. I figured if I said I had a whirlwind romance and eloped or something, she’d back off. After a year, we could divorce quietly and I could milk the time by saying I’m sour on relationships for another year or so.”
“Wow, you’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
“Actually I haven’t. It came to me yesterday after a long board meeting only to find out my mother was up to it again. I just can’t deal right now. I’ve got too much on my plate.”
“What do you do?” she asked.
“Do you have someone in mind?” he asked her.
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never thought of it before. On top of that, legally, I’m not sure I want to be caught up in even suggesting it to someone, but I find I’m curious just the same.”
“Heard of Richards’ Manufacturing?” he asked.
“Oh. You’re that Richards?” she asked, wishing she’d looked into him after all. Big money in the area. Like more zeros than she’d ever see in her life type of money. “I guess I would expect a more expensive car. Or maybe I should be glad it wasn’t a more expensive car I ran into.”
He laughed, and boy, did it transform his face. He should do that more often. “I don’t need to drive around in a Bentley so that everyone knows my worth. That would just draw more attention to me that I’d rather not have.”
“True enough,” she said.
Now that she was looking more closely, though the wealth didn’t stand out on him, she could tell he came from money. It was the way he carried himself. The expensive watch, the silky hair, his skin looked flawless and he smelled fabulous. Like expensive cologne. Even sitting across the table from him, the scent drifted over and was making her mouth water.
“So what do you want from me? A name and you’ll handle the rest? I guess I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. What if the person I tell it to laughs it off, what’s to stop her from spreading the information to others?”
“Good point,” he said. “Guess I didn’t think about it as much as I should have. I’m getting desperate for the peace.”
“You can’t just tell your mother to back off?” she asked, finding this kind of funny.
“I wish. Trust me, the only way it would work is if I said I was in a relationship. A serious one, or just showed up married.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?” she asked. “Trust me, weddings aren’t easy to plan on the spot.”
“But you could, right? I mean if I needed you to. I’d like it to feel a bit like a wedding. I’m not a complete cad.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she said, grinning, which produced a twitch of his lips. “I’m curious. How much is something like this going to run you? How much is it worth to get your mother off your back?”
“One million.”
She spit the water out of her mouth that she was drinking. “You’re joking.”
“Nope. I figured it’s well worth it for me. I’ve got to make it worth it for the woman too. That’s one year she can’t date anyone else. She has to be good at acting and she has to keep this quiet. That comes at a price, I know.”
“I’m sure you could get anyone you wanted with that amount. I’ve been thinking of the divorce parties in my head in the past few years and honestly, I just don’t know anyone that would be trustworthy enough to recommend.”
“I understand.” The waitress came over and put their food down in front of them. She’d just put a piece of her salad in her mouth when he asked, “What about you? Are you interested in it?”
She ended up choking a second time.
Deal With That
Gabe knew it was a farfetched idea that he had, but he was getting desperate.
And though he didn’t really think Leah would have any good candidates, it was the first place he thought to ask. But when he was looking into her business, he’d seen the wonderful reviews. He’d known some of the women writing those reviews and he could barely stand to be in the same room as them. If Leah made them happy then she had the skill set he was looking for.
“You heard me,” he said. “I asked if you’d be interested in it.”
“Why me?” she asked.
“You didn’t say no,” he said, leaning his elbows on the table and getting ready to make a business deal. He enjoyed this. “And you know what I’m looking for.”
“Let’s say the curiosity is getting to me again.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you then. You’re easy on the eyes.” She crossed them and made him laugh. “You made me smile.” Which he didn’t do often, or so he’d been told.
“Anyone can do that,” she said. “So I’m not a troll and I made you laugh. What else?”
“Fishing for compliments?”
“Maybe,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
“I don’t even know you other than what I saw online and yet I feel comfortable with you. I get this feeling that what I say to you won’t go any further. My guess is half your clients confide things to you and you’d take it to the grave.”
“That would be a yes. A yes to everything, especially feeling comfortable with you. Considering I rammed your car, I’d think you’d be ticked at me, but obviously you aren’t if we’re having this conversation. I find that you aren’t so hard on the eyes and have made me laugh a few times myself.”
“So what do you say?”
“Maybe I’m dating someone,” she said.
“Are you?” He hadn’t even thought of that, but if she was, she’d have said no right away and she still hadn’t.
“No. I don’t have time to date. I work an ungodly number of hours and my clients think they can call me at midnight if they want. No man wants to deal with that.”
“I’m up working that late anyway. Not an issue.” For some reason he wanted her to do this and he didn’t know why. It was crazy, he knew, but he was going to try his damnedest to persuade her. “Besides, who couldn’t use a million dollars?” She seemed like a shrewd businesswoman so he was going to appeal to her that way.
“Very true,” she said. “Honestly, Gabe, I’m honored b—”
“Don’t answer me just yet. I won’t take an answer during lunch.” He looked at his watch. “Tell you what. Let’s not talk about it anymore. We’ll just talk about each other or the weather, for all I care. It’s Thursday. I’ll give you until Sunday at six to give me an answer. I won’t take any answer before that, even if it’s yes.”
; “Wow, I’ve got a whole almost four days to tie my life up for a year. Hmm, thanks for that.”
But when she winked at him, he had hope that she’d say yes.
***
By Sunday morning, Leah was seriously considering Gabe’s proposal. She’d argued with herself it was nuts, that she was nuts, and maybe even Gabe was nuts. But the truth was, it made sense.
He needed an out and a break and she could use the money to expand her business. It’s not like she was burning up the hotlines with dates and frankly she was fried going on less than five hours of sleep a night. All those red numbers while trying to fit a full time assistant to her staff could be going to be black with his offer.
She had a part-timer that worked a few mornings a week and did some paperwork and made a few calls. What she needed was someone that could meet with vendors and even go to weddings, showers, and parties so that Leah wasn’t splitting herself in half most times.
On top of all the work she’d had to get done, she’d spent a substantial amount of time researching everything she could on Gabriel Richards. Even his name was sexy.
What she’d found was that he’d been seen with a handful of women in pictures over the years, but not more than once with any and never in connection to a serious relationship.
He was thirty-five and just named the CEO of the family business worth more money than she could ever equate in her life. Though she dealt with a lot of wealthy clients, none had been in the same league as Gabe.
Which was another carrot he’d dangled in front of her. This “arrangement” could potentially expand her business with clients alone that she’d be brought in contact with by having his name.
Before she could give him an answer by his six o’clock deadline, she had a bunch of questions she needed answers to.
As crazy as this all was, and as lucrative as it could be, she wasn’t stupid and needed to know the expectations and what she could be getting herself in the middle of.
