The Billionaire's Proposal (Scandal, Inc Book 4)

by James, Avery

  “Not at all. As my son would probably agree, this is a wonderful neighborhood for a walk. I’ve heard he’s been here almost every morning for the past week,” Stanton said. “You’re not the only one who works for me, Maggie,” he added. “Shall we walk? You seem like an ambitious young woman, and I’d like to talk about your future.”

  Maggie stepped outside with Stanton. “I’m quite happy with the job I have,” she said. As they started walking, Stanton’s Range Rover followed slowly along.

  Stanton grinned, but there was something menacing in the way he smiled. It was the way a cat looked when it cornered a mouse. “I’m sure you are,” he said. “I’d like to help you keep that job.”

  “I’m not sure I follow,” Maggie said. She followed just fine. She wondered what threat Stanton would make. Maybe he’d issue an ultimatum to Amy. Maybe he’d find some other way of applying pressure. Maybe he was bluffing.

  “Cuba,” he said. “I put a lot of planning and resources into Cuba. And somehow, the site we scouted for months is in the process of being made into a national park. I know you bribed the minister,” Stanton said. “If I beat your price, he is willing to say as much.”

  “What do you want?” Maggie asked flatly. So much for the sweet act.

  “My son cares for you,” Stanton said. “From what I’ve heard, he trusts you. Get him in line, or I’ll ruin you. You’re a smart girl. I think you can connect the dots. I wonder what the jail sentence is for bribing a foreign official.”

  “I’m sure your lawyers know the answer very well,” Maggie said. “You’d really do that? Implicate your son in something like that because he’s not following your every command? He’s already marrying someone he doesn’t love because of you. What else will you make him give up?”

  “You think you know my son,” Stanton said. “You’ve known him for a few weeks. I’ve known him since the day he was born. When he’s interested in something, he’s all in, but the minute he loses interest, he’s on to the next thing. Scuba diving, heli-skiing, cars, girlfriends—he flits from one interest to the next. Don’t throw away your future for his present, because it won’t last.”

  Stanton stopped walking and signaled to his car. “You have twenty-four hours, Ms. Walsh. I suggest you use them wisely.”

  ***

  As Maggie stepped into Amy Haven’s office, she knew there was only one thing she could do. She’d thought through every possible scenario, and the only way she could protect Harry and her coworkers was to resign. If she fell on her sword, Stanton would have no way of forcing her to change Harry’s mind. “I need to resign,” Maggie said.

  Anger, betrayal, indifference—Maggie had visualized and prepared for them all. But the look of utter confusion on Amy Haven’s face caught Maggie completely unprepared. “I just think it’s better for the company if I step down,” she repeated.

  “Maggie,” Amy said, “I’m going to say this as respectfully as I can. That isn’t your call. What’s going on?”

  “I’ve put this company in a compromising position, and I think it would be best for everyone if I step away.”

  “Is this what you want?” Amy asked.

  “No, of course not. This is my dream job,” Maggie said. “I told you that when you hired me. I love being part of this team.”

  “Then why are you leaving?” Amy asked.

  “To protect you from harm,” Maggie said.

  Amy laughed. “That’s my job,” she said. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Stanton Howard found out what happened in Cuba, and he’s furious.”

  “What exactly did he find out?” Amy asked.

  “He knows about the land deal,” Maggie said. “And he threatened to expose it if I don’t convince his son to fall in line. I thought I could handle it, but I don’t see this ending well.”

  “The arrogance,” Amy said.

  “I’m sorry,” Maggie said.

  “Not you. Him,” Amy replied. She marched to her desk and pressed the intercom. “Get me Stanton Howard now,” she said. There was venom in her voice. “The complete and utter lack of any respect. Listen to me. You’re not going anywhere, Maggie. Just keep doing your job. I will deal with Stanton.” Amy was seething. “This is what happens with men who have gotten their way for their entire lives. They think they can just push people around. No one messes with my team. No one. It’s almost like he’s forgotten that I know everything there is to know about him. I’m the one who buried his skeletons, and I can just as easily dig them back up. Why the hell would he threaten you?”

  “He thinks his son is planning to oust him,” Maggie said.

  “Is he?” Amy asked.

  I wish, Maggie thought. “If he were ousting his father, why would he go to such lengths to follow his father’s plan?” Maggie asked.

  “Maybe he’s waiting for the right moment,” Amy said. She snorted a short laugh. “It would serve the Machiavellian bastard right to get pushed out by his own son.”

  “What do I do?” Maggie asked.

  “Keep doing your job,” Amy replied. “For better or worse, the board meets tomorrow. Whether or not Stanton Howard is still upright when that happens… that’s up to him.” Maggie hoped Amy was being figurative, but she couldn’t be completely sure. “The son is proposing tonight, right? I read over the fluff piece you arranged. Everything looks good. Our job was to make the son palatable to the board. If you ask me, we’ve done that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some aggression issues to work out.”

  Maggie had two hours until she had to watch over Harry and Katrina’s last date. Of course, the possibility of seeing the man she loved propose to someone else didn’t make her feel one bit better.

  Chapter 27

  Maggie looked up from the best-looking dessert she’d ever seen and watched Harry and Katrina from across the restaurant. Maggie had barely been able to eat dinner, and now her stomach was so knotted up that she couldn’t think about touching dessert. The last of the staged dates had passed without incident. It had also passed so far without a proposal. Any moment, Harry would pull a ring out, drop to a knee and make Katrina his fiancée. “What was that?” she said.

  “I asked what you were going to do,” Abby said.

  “I’m not hungry,” Maggie said.

  “I meant about you-know-who,” Abby said, “now that his father isn’t a client.”

  “What?” Maggie asked.

  “You didn’t hear?” Abby said. “Amy fired Stanton as a client this afternoon. She summoned him to her office and berated him for threatening you. How did you not know this? I heard you were there.”

  “I left before Stanton was ever there,” Maggie said. “Are you really saying Amy fired Stanton Howard?” Maggie asked.

  “Yup. As of right now, you are no longer conflicted by your role as Harry’s handler. You’re a free agent.”

  “So what are we doing here?” Maggie asked.

  Abby looked down at her plate. “Amy said to finish the job. Plus, the meal was already paid for. Did you think I was going to pass up a three-hundred-dollar dinner and one last chance to ask Katrina Nussbaum if we can be BFFs? The answer to that question is no, but the real question is what you’re going to do now that you know. Tell me before you have time to chicken out.”

  “I’m going to sit here until Harry proposes, and then I’m going to make sure every press outlet in the world gets a picture of the happy couple. Then I’m going to rediscover my appetite at some point and drown my sorrows in chocolate cake.” But she knew she felt an emptiness inside that no amount of cake could fill.

  “You’re not really going to let him go through with it,” Abby said. “He’s not even your client anymore.”

  “He has to,” Maggie told her.

  “He hasn’t yet,” Abby said. “Forget about everything else. You two are clearly a thing, and he doesn’t seem like the type to give up. He’s been looking over at you all night.”

  “He’s been glaring at me. He’s mad
or annoyed. I don’t know. Maybe he’s enjoying his last few moments of single life.”

  “Maybe he’s pining over you,” Abby said. “Maybe he’s thinking about what devious things he’d like to do with you now that you’re available.”

  “He has to get engaged,” Maggie said. “He has to take over Avalon. I can’t let my feelings for him get in the way of something that will change his life and others for the better. Will you just let it go?”

  “See, you’re pining over him too.”

  “In a few minutes, none of that will matter,” Maggie said. “He knows what he wants. And he knows what he has to do.”

  “Well, right now, he’s headed this way.”

  Maggie looked up to see Harry striding across the restaurant. She pushed herself out of her chair and headed back to the kitchen before he could get to her table. She ducked around two waiters as she stepped through the swinging door to the kitchen. Harry followed close behind. “We need to talk,” Harry said. “It’s important.”

  “No,” Maggie said.

  “How long are we going to avoid this?” Harry said loudly enough for everyone in the kitchen to hear. “I can’t do it any longer. What reason do we have for putting ourselves through all of this? If I asked you to leave everything behind for me, would you do it?”

  Maggie ducked into a small storeroom and pulled Harry inside. “Are you really doing this right now?” she asked. “You’re about to propose to Katrina and you ask me that?”

  “I can’t put it off any longer. Does the job really mean that much to you? Wouldn’t keeping one privileged white guy out of trouble be enough?”

  “We make a difference,” Maggie said. “And you can make a difference, too.”

  “I’m asking you if I could ever be enough for you,” Harry said, “because I know you’d be enough for me. It’s killing me, Maggie. Every day I wake up excited because I know I get to see you. Every night when I fall asleep, I’m thinking of you. I can’t help it. I’m completely in love with you.”

  Maggie’s throat felt dry as she tried to find the words to respond. We can’t be together. We both know what you have to do. She could tell him that. They were both adults. They both understood why they couldn’t be together. There was only one way Harry was taking over his father’s company, and it didn’t involve dating Maggie.

  “I love you,” Harry repeated. “And I don’t care who knows it. I’m not going to spend the next however many years of my life hiding behind some lie. And I’m not about to let you do so either.” There was a tenderness in his voice that cut right through her and made her feel like she could break down crying. She could feel the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She felt drawn to Harry, like she had to lose herself in his arms for just a moment in order to keep herself together.

  She loved him. She needed him, and yet he needed her to be strong. She told herself that he needed her to make the decision. She told herself that she had to do this for him. She wanted to tell him that she loved him more than she had ever known possible. She wanted to tell him that she’d never felt more alive than when she was with him, but she knew she’d never be able to take it back.

  Maggie became aware of the distance between their bodies. She could smell Harry’s cologne. She could almost feel his pull. She stared into his eyes as she tried to find the right words to explain how they couldn’t be together, and she found herself leaning towards him, as if kissing him would somehow solve their problems. As if it would answer his question instead of simply confusing things even more.

  It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Harry brushed his hand against her cheek, and she could see the pain in his eyes. Suddenly, his glances took on new meaning. He hadn’t been angry with her. He hadn’t been toying with her. He’d been trying to mask his feelings, trying to hide his frustration. Or maybe that’s what she’d seen: just how much he needed her. As she looked into his eyes, she felt even more drawn to him. She felt like she had when she’d fallen for him the first time.

  “This has to be it,” she whispered. “I could never ask you to give everything up for me.”

  “I’m telling you that you don’t have to,” Harry said. “I just need to know that you feel the same way I feel.”

  One kiss, she told herself, one kiss to say goodbye. One last kiss to finish our story. She knew that wasn’t why she was kissing him. She knew that she didn’t want this to be the end, but she couldn’t begin to think of what would happen if it wasn’t. She reached for his hip as she leaned in. As Harry pulled her tight, she felt the bliss and comfort of true connection. Her lips met his, and she gave in, leaning her weight against him as she felt the thrill of being in his arms. It was sweet and electrifying all at once, and she wondered how she could possibly give up that feeling, that kind of feeling that seemed to fill her with life and leave her breathless all at once. Then she felt a jolt of panic as the door opened behind Harry.

  The door bumped into Harry’s shoulder, making him turn in surprise and leaving Maggie face to face with Katrina Nussbaum. Shit. Maggie watched Katrina’s eyes widen as she realized what she had walked into.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” Maggie tried to say, but Katrina turned without a word and fled into the dining room. It’s exactly what it looks like, she thought.

  Harry froze in the doorway for a second. The moment was gone. Maggie knew it. Harry knew it. “Go after her,” Maggie said. “Don’t give everything up because of me. There’s a group of paparazzi expecting a proposal. If you don’t get her, the story tomorrow will be about Katrina storming off, and someone will connect the dots. You’ll lose her, and you’ll lose the company.”

  “They’re not the ones I’m afraid of losing,” Harry said. “Just tell me you want me to stay, Maggie.”

  Maggie felt breathless, and no longer in a good way. Her chest ached, and she couldn’t tell if she was upset or scared or panicked. “You need to go after her,” she said.

  It felt like an eternity before Harry moved, and even then it was just a slight step toward Maggie. She wondered if he was going to stay, if he was going to call the whole thing off to be with her. Maggie stayed frozen, too. If he was going to choose her, he had to do it on his own. Harry looked into her eyes again before breaking away.

  “I won’t play this game,” Harry said. “I love you, Maggie, but I can’t do this if you’re afraid to love me back. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t think you’re making some noble sacrifice, because you’re not. I screwed up by trying to end things before, but I’m telling you now that I know we can make it work.”

  Maggie searched for the words to explain how she felt, how much she needed him, how much it hurt to think of losing him, but the words didn’t come. She felt tears starting to roll down her cheeks. “Just go,” she whispered.

  “Katrina, wait,” Harry called as he marched off after her, leaving Maggie alone. She tried to tell herself that she was doing the right thing, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

  ***

  It took every ounce of Harry’s willpower to follow after Katrina after she walked in on him with Maggie. He’d come so close to telling Maggie how he felt, how he had figured out a way for the two of them to be together, but all of that would be undone if Katrina did something drastic. “Katrina!” he called as she bolted away, “wait!”

  He didn’t catch up to her until they were outside. The volley of flashes from a dozen cameras lit the sidewalk up like a strobe light as he followed her into the car that had been waiting outside for them since the date started. As soon as he closed the door behind himself, the car sped off.

  “I’m so sorry,” Katrina said. “I had no idea.”

  “You’re sorry?” Harry asked. “I’m sorry.”

  “I just didn’t know how to react. When you told me you were in a relationship, I didn’t think it was with your handler.” Katrina laughed. “I guess I should have seen it all along. What’s her name again? Maggie?”

  “Yes
, Maggie. I’m having a really hard time reading you right now. Are you mad?” Harry asked. He’d made a point of telling Katrina from the start that their relationship and pending engagement were simply business, and that while he welcomed her friendship, he wasn’t interested in more. He’d told her he was romantically involved, but he’d left Maggie’s name out in hopes of avoiding drama. That move had backfired spectacularly.

  “I’m just embarrassed,” Katrina said.

  “But you’re not upset?”

  “No,” she said. “Harry, I’m a big girl. I understand this arrangement. You and I gave it a shot once, and it didn’t work out. One question, though. Why were you making out in a restaurant back office?”

  “We weren’t making out,” Harry said. “I think we were on the verge of it. It’s complicated. We’ve been in a bit of a fight for the past few days.”

  “Is that what you call it?” Katrina said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You two have been making eyes at each other since I got here. I just figured it was you being you.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Harry, when we were dating, you hit on everything that moved. I assumed that was the case here, but thinking back on it now, except for the times we’ve been in front of reporters, you haven’t even flirted with me. This is all starting to make a lot of sense. Are you saying you’re serious about her?”

  “I’m in love with her,” Harry said. “And I know she feels the same way. She’s just afraid.”

  “I thought you were in love with me once,” Katrina said.

  “I didn’t know what love was,” he said. He stared out the tinted window at the restaurant. Maggie was still back there, and he wanted more than anything to be back there with her. He wanted to explain why he had to run away. He wanted to explain what he had to do next. “It consumes you until there’s nothing left. No matter what you do, it pushes its way into your every thought, rises in every breath. I can’t lose her.” He had been so close to pulling off his plan, and instead everything had gone to hell.