False Pretenses

by Tressie Lockwood

  “Mark Cunningham.” Nathan greeted the man he’d known for fifteen years but who was not exactly a friend. They’d been on the same side of the negotiating table a time or two, but more often the opposite. He had always felt Mark lived to one-up him, but then that might be his ego talking.

  “Nathan Corde,” the object of his thoughts bellowed and shook his hand. “Welcome to my hotel. She’s impressive, isn’t she? I’ve made quite a few renovations. I’ll take you around later, and if you like, we can let our secretaries schedule us for time to talk about finding you one of these toys.”

  Nathan had trouble keeping the distaste off his face. “Thanks, but I have no interest in buying a hotel at this time.”

  Mark elbowed him. “Aw, don’t be jealous, Nathan. You can’t always be the winner, right? And who is this lovely lady, another mistress? I can’t keep up with you.”

  Alyssa’s lips tightened, and Nathan pulled her closer to his side. “This is Alyssa Jackson. Alyssa, Mark Cunningham, our host.”

  “Beautiful,” Mark breathed and raised her hand to his lips. Nathan resisted smashing his nose and stuck his right hand into his pocket instead.

  When he could without being rude, Nathan led Alyssa to meet other guests. Soon he fell into conversation about the stock market. He glanced in his lover’s direction and found her several feet away, speaking with a couple of the women, and he relaxed a little more. She handled herself well, her head held high, a polite smile on her face. The two women she happened to converse with were not interested in much more than fashion and the net worth of their current lovers. He hoped Alyssa wouldn’t be too bored.

  A hand on his arm transferred his attention from Alyssa to the tiny blonde beauty at his side. “Nathan, I didn’t know you would be here.”

  He stilled, wondering if it was worth removing his arm from her hold. “Hello, Natasha. I hadn’t heard you were in the islands.”

  She pouted, pursing full pink lips. The white dress she wore clung to her figure like a second skin, and the neckline plunged so low, he expected any second to see nipple. Despite the blonde bimbo look, Natasha, heiress to a tidy fortune and former CEO of her father’s oil company, had a brain in her head. The year before she had named a successor. Rumor had it she’d decided her next conquest would be him. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see her.

  “If you’d told me you were coming, I would have joined you.”

  He lowered his head toward hers so as not to be overheard and to make his point. “We had a brief affair. That’s over. I don’t see any reason to inform you of my activities.”

  “Aw, don’t be like that, Nathan, baby. We were good together, and we can be again.”

  “Natasha,” Mark boomed. “When did you arrive?”

  Nathan gritted his teeth when Mark nabbed Alyssa and pulled her over to where he stood with Natasha. Alyssa’s gaze had already been flitting between him and the blonde, lingering a fraction of a second on the spot where Natasha still wrapped around his arm.

  “This is Nathan’s date,” Mark informed Natasha, and he knew what the man plotted. For years, he’d wanted Natasha, but she never gave him more than a nod. “I hear things are pretty hot and heavy between them.”

  Natasha’s bow lips parted in her surprise. She didn’t have to question out loud “a black woman” for him to guess what she thought. The disgust flashed over her features and was gone in a heartbeat. She held out long, slender fingers to Alyssa, the others still curled over his bicep. “Great to meet you. I’m Natasha Pyotr. Aren’t you the daughter of that boxer—um, what’s his name?”

  “Natasha,” Nathan growled.

  “No, I’m not.” Alyssa ignored the outstretched hand.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Goodness.” Somehow Natasha managed to blush. “What do you do?”

  Alyssa’s chin rose. “I’m a business owner.”

  Several heads turned, and a couple people wandered over to them. Nathan disentangled himself from Natasha’s hold and moved to Alyssa’s side. While he rested a hand on her lower back, she straightened even more, causing his touch to fall away.

  “What corporation?” Natasha insisted.

  “I really don’t think that’s—” Nathan began.

  “Jackson Books and Things.” The pride in Alyssa’s tone did not lessen the impact of her words upon the small crowd around them. Nathan saw the realization enter their eyes that she was most decidedly not from a well-to-do family, nor had she built up a fortune with her own skills and ability. He saw the dismissal in every face, except Mark’s, who appeared gratified. Natasha maintained the false smile and friendly air that had won many to her side in business and in her personal life. He had grown to despise that trait in her, although he was not a stranger to manipulating people to get what he wanted.

  “Oh, a little bookstore. That’s so cute,” Natasha cooed.

  “Fuck you,” was Alyssa’s terse reply.

  Several gasps rose among the crowd.

  “E-Excuse me?” Color rose to an unflattering shade in Natasha’s face.

  Alyssa leaned closer to her and eyed her from head to foot. “I said—fuck you. I don’t need you looking down on me. I don’t care who you are.”

  “Alyssa.” Nathan grasped her arm and whipped her around to weave through the crowd that had grown since they’d arrived. Where he could have easily scanned all the guests when they first walked through the door, now he had to force the way between bodies to get to the far end of the room. Leave it to Mark to invite more people than the room could hold with comfort, just to show off.

  When they reached a door exiting to the hall, Nathan took it, shuffling a protesting Alyssa along with him. She yanked her arm free of his hold the moment they were alone and glared at him. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

  “I apologize,” he began. “I know the atmosphere in there was not what you’re used to.”

  “The atmosphere?” She shook her head and put her hands on her hips. “It was more than the atmosphere. It was the skank who felt like she had to make herself look good by belittling me.”

  He extended a hand to her, but she moved away.

  “Alyssa, you know your worth. Natasha didn’t insult you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re defending her?”

  “I’m not.” He felt the breach between them widening and searched for the right words. This was easier when it came to business. He didn’t care to manipulate Alyssa. “I just feel—”

  “That I was the rude one when I said fuck her.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “I’m not stupid, Nathan. I know when a person smiles in my face and is cussing me out in their head. I’d prefer the honest type, but she’s so not it. Look, I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Liar.”

  “Alyssa…” He tried touching her again, but she moved out of reach.

  “Don’t even. This is your world, and you’re welcome to it. I’m here for one purpose, and that’s to be your girlfriend for your parents. They’re not around, so have at it. Enjoy your friends.”

  When she started walking away, he shouted after her, “Where are you going?”

  She didn’t answer or look back. Instinct told him to follow and make her see reason, but anger kept him where he stood. She held him at a distance. He’d have to be a fool not to see it. Alyssa was not some ignorant woman who didn’t know how to play the game. Her intelligence had shined through the way she expressed herself from the first day he met her. They could enjoy each other, so why the hell did she have to resist?

  Turning to face the door leading into the party, he paused. The thought of dealing with Natasha in her bid for his attention, and every other man’s in the room, didn’t appeal. Yet, she’d been good in bed, very good, and she had an incredible body. An image of Alyssa’s sexy figure slid into his mind, and he sighed. What to do?

  Chapter Nine

  What kind of Jimmy John beach party was that? Alyssa
fumed. She stomped down the hall and made her way back toward the entrance of the hotel. When she turned a corner, she came to a spot where she could turn right or left. The right led to where she and Nathan had entered the building, but the left, she realized, led to the beach. Out there was what she’d expected, bare feet, and warm sand beneath her toes. She’d been shocked he wanted her to wear this fancy dress and high heels. Now she knew why. Bastard had no clue to fun.

  An image of their time on the beach, sharing a picnic, came to mind, or riding the jet skis and swimming together, and she sighed. Okay, that had been fun, but it did not negate the fact that the man couldn’t do without his servants. He probably never ate without silver utensils or licked rib juice from his fingers.

  Still, a part of her had hoped he would follow and apologize, beg her to go to the beach with him for real. Who am I kidding?

  She took a left and headed outside. The warm night breeze stirred a tendril of hair, and she started to feel a bit better. After slipping her shoes off, she started out along the path that quickly turned to sand. Her feet sank with each step closer to the water. Steel drums and laughter floated on the air, drawing her in that direction, and before long, she stumbled upon what she’d been looking for.

  “Hey, come join the party,” several men and women shouted in her direction. Someone raised a beer bottle in greeting. People gyrated to the music. A waiter happened by, and Alyssa ordered her own beer. Looking around, she realized she was way overdressed. Most of the partiers wore nothing more than shorts and T-shirts. Some of the women had forgone clothing completely and sported bikinis.

  On impulse, Alyssa held up a finger to the waiter when he brought her drink. “Can you hold on to it just one moment?”

  The man nodded, and she hurried away to the bathrooms not far off. She stripped out of her dress, glad she’d worn her own bikini in the mistaken thought that she and Nathan would get casual later in the evening. When she left the bathroom, she walked over to the outdoor bar. “Mind if I leave this back there?”

  The bartender’s interested gaze swept her figure, and he grinned. “Sure thing, miss. Have fun.”

  “Thanks. I will.” She waved to him and ran back to the waiter holding her drink, tipped him, and swallowed a mouthful of beer. “Now that’s more like it.”

  Glad her handbag was tiny and of soft material, she tucked it into the band of her bottoms and went to enjoy the music she’d been waiting to hear. She hadn’t been there long before someone called out her name, and she turned, tensing, thinking to see Nathan.

  Her eyes widened. “Cullen, what are you doing here?”

  “Off work.” He grinned. “Looks like you’re enjoying yourself.

  “I am now.”

  “Can I buy you a drink?”

  She held up her beer. “Just starting, but”—she tilted her head to the side and surveyed him from head to foot—“you can dance with me.”

  They were soon swaying to the mellow tones, and Alyssa shook her hips and laughed at Cullen trying to dance. His gaze never left her face, and the attention went a long way to soothing her hurt feelings. Here, she didn’t have to feel like she didn’t measure up or that she’d say the wrong thing. Cullen treated her like she mattered even though there were plenty of beautiful women on the beach.

  “Want to walk a little?” he offered, and she agreed. Under the moonlight and with the sound of the music fading, they strolled along the shore. Cullen reached for her hand, and she let him hold it. “You looked sad when I first saw you.”

  “Me?” She considered lying and bit her lip. “I guess I was a little. I went to one of those fancy parties and regretted it.”

  He stopped walking. “Let me guess, bunch of snooty people looking down their noses at you, talking about nothing but business?”

  She laughed. “Oh no, we can’t forget the two women that told me exactly how much my dress and shoes cost and where I bought them. Then they proceeded to advise me on where to go the next time.”

  His brows dropped low. “I’m sorry.”

  She waved her hand, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. For those two, I really feel like they meant well. They had no clue how insulting they were. It was the other one.”

  “The other one?”

  “I don’t want to talk about her. How about you? How did your day go?” The truth was that Natasha bitch got under her skin more because of how she’d clung to Nathan and the way he didn’t bother shaking her off. Right in Alyssa’s face he had made it obvious they either had a thing going or had one previously. Even if she was a fake girlfriend, the least he could do was show her some respect. After all, he had invited her to the party.

  “Alyssa, are you listening?”

  She blinked. “Oh, yeah, sorry. What were you saying?”

  He shared stories of dealing with the rich, having to take the blame for what he didn’t do. Alyssa patted his arm and commiserated with his plight. He had her tearing up at the sad stories one minute and laughing at his jokes the next.

  “I think you can be a writer,” she told him.

  His eyes widened. “Me? No. Don’t tell me you don’t believe me.”

  “Of course I do. I just meant the delivery is so good. You should make money off this stuff. Then again, I guess you’d lose your job if you exposed the crazy that’s in your household.”

  To her surprise, he seemed to consider her words with all seriousness. “You, my beautiful Alyssa, have a good mind of your own. If I’m not careful, you’ll make me fall in love. Then where will we be?”

  She snorted. “Yeah right.” She started to walk off, but he caught her hand and drew her back. A misstep landed her in his arms, and she sucked in a breath. “I think I should get back.”

  “Stay a while.”

  “I can’t. It’s late.”

  “Aren’t you on vacation?”

  She couldn’t explain. Matter of fact, she didn’t want to explain. Not if it meant he would stop talking to her. Being with him felt good, even if he didn’t stir the longing that Nathan did. Cullen was fun in his own way, and the complication of wanting to spread her legs for him wasn’t there to confuse her. Okay, it might be nice to kiss him. No, that’s wrong. I do not juggle two men at a time. Not my thing.

  “Tomorrow morning,” he urged when she didn’t say anything. “Meet me on the beach where we first met.”

  “I—”

  “Alyssa!”

  Her throat went dry, and she jerked from Cullen’s hold. She peered over her shoulder and realized Nathan was storming in their direction. She couldn’t see his face in the shadows, but she’d recognized the voice and with it the height and build. The moon behind the clouds made it likely he only guessed it was her standing there with no one else nearby.

  She spun back to face Cullen.

  “Don’t say anything!”

  “Don’t say anything!”

  She blinked at the fact that he’d spoken the same words, but then figured he meant pretend it wasn’t her so she wouldn’t have to leave. On her part, she wasn’t ready to let this new friend go, so she didn’t want Nathan and Cullen finding out about each other. She’d sunk low.

  “Tomorrow,” she assured him and darted along the sand until she reached Nathan. He grasped her arm and peered over her shoulder. She pushed past him and started walking in the opposite direction.

  “Who was that?” he demanded.

  “Just somebody I met at the beach party—the real one,” she snapped.

  “You alone in the dark with a man is not a party,” he growled.

  She stopped walking and put her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. “Excuse me? You’re out here questioning my actions when that little blonde bunny wrapped herself around you so tight, she was practically in your boxers.”

  “You’re exaggerating.”

  “Whatever.” She started again, and he fell into step beside her until they bordered the partygoers, and light illuminated his face, a mask of anger. Now she knew he coul
d get angry, but he still hadn’t raised his voice. The controlled way he held himself in check would have been sexy if he hadn’t pissed her off.

  “So that’s what this was, a childish way to get back at me? You picked up some strange man at a party where you know no one, and you walk off into the darkness with him half naked?”

  When he put it like that, she did seem like an airhead, but she would not straighten him out with the truth. “Look, it’s late. I’m tired. This night has been a joke, so if you don’t mind, I want to go back to your house. If you won’t take me, I’m sure I can find a ride somewhere.”

  She cast a glance in the direction of several men, and he grunted as if he would toss her over his shoulder at any second. Alyssa would cut him down to size if he even tried.

  “I bet you could,” he bit out.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Let’s go. I will drive you.”

  “You mean your chauffeur.”

  “I don’t understand the resentment you feel about my station in life, Alyssa. I swindled no one. I don’t own sweatshops. I work damn hard for what I have, probably more than the average man.”

  “I’m not resentful. Just forget it. I’m going for another drink.” She headed to the bar, but he followed.

  “Where are your clothes?”

  His words brought her dress and shoes to mind, and she leaned on the bar and called to the man behind it. “Hey, can I have my stuff now, please?”

  He approached with an excited grin spreading over his face. His gaze lowered to her breasts, which were smashed a little on the counter. “I get off in half an hour. How about I give them to you then?”

  Nathan crowded her from behind and dropped a threatening hand on the bar. “She’ll have them now, and neither of us cares when you’re off work.”