by Kimberly Fox
“Right,” I say, nodding along even though I wouldn’t put ‘rambunctious’ and ‘tattooing a poor woman’s face’ in the same category.
“I need you to meet with Mr. McMillan senior,” he says.
My heart starts drumming a happy beat in my chest. “Really?” I ask, trying to stop myself from hugging him.
It’s an opportunity to erase this disastrous day and start fresh with the real boss. I know I can impress him and get him to like me. From there, I can convince him to save the factory and the town of Summerland.
“He still calls the shots, no matter what his son says. This is a very important meeting for the factory workers, for us, and for the town. I’m counting on you to nail this meeting.”
I nod so fast that I get dizzy. “I can do it, boss. You can count on me.”
“I know,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I’m constantly impressed by your business sense and work ethic,” he says. “Except for today.”
I thank him for the opportunity, and he leaves to go take care of his soon-to-be-jailed son.
Wow. A real opportunity to impress the boss. The real boss.
It’s going to go great!
As long as he doesn’t find out that we’re currently related…
4
Dahlia
I’ve never been in awe of a door before.
But I’ve never been at the front door of a billionaire’s mansion either. The intricately carved door is the most beautiful piece of wood I’ve ever seen, well, with the exclusion of Tyler’s wood. That was pretty damn beautiful too.
I take a deep breath and ring the doorbell.
You got this, Dahlia.
I’m nervous, but I’m ready. I’m meeting with the seventy-five-year-old billionaire Mack McMillan, the new owner of my company, my new boss, and my new father-in-law. But he doesn’t have to know that last part.
This is strictly a business meeting, a one-on-one meet and greet where I can impress him with my industry knowledge and try to save the factory and all of my coworkers’ jobs with it.
I studied the stats and figures all night until I fell asleep on the floor, curled up with a calculator for a pillow and spreadsheets as blankets. I know my stuff. I’ve memorized all the facts about his company, can talk about every factory and office, and I’ve even come up with ways to save money in several departments.
He’s going to be so impressed with me that he’s going to want me to move into his personal office.
From what I heard, Mack McMillan is a hell of a business man, and I’ll finally be able to see how I stack up against the best of the best.
As long as his son’s name doesn’t come up, I’ll be fine.
I hear footsteps shuffling on the other side of the door, and I glance back at my rental car that’s being driven away to the parking lot by security. It’s too late to escape.
I smooth out my jacket as Mack himself opens the door. A wave of wealth, affluence, and power hits me as the door swings open.
His intense green eyes lock onto mine, and I gulp. He’s shorter than I expected—his tall son must have gotten his height from his mother—but he still reeks of confidence and authority. He’s good looking with a kind face that reminds me of an older version of Tyler.
I clear my throat as he stares at me, waiting for me to say the first word. Classic power move to throw me off my game. I’m impressed.
“Hello, Mr. McMillan,” I say, trying unsuccessfully to keep my voice from shaking. “I’m Dahlia, the COO of Hospitech. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I thrust my hand out while keeping my shoulders straight back, waiting for a handshake that never comes. His lips curl up into a smile as he looks down at my hand.
“Ha!” he says, breaking into a wide smile. “That’s a good one. Tyler said you were a funny one.”
Tyler?
“Sir, I-”
He interrupts me when he rushes past my extended hand and wraps his arms around me, giving me a tight bear hug. “I’m so happy to meet you,” he says, giving me an extra squeeze.
My chest tightens as my mind races, searching for answers that aren’t coming.
“Is that her?” a female voice squeals from inside.
A gorgeous older lady with curly blonde hair, big breasts, and an outfit that would make a Kardashian stop and turn her head, rushes over, squealing with her hands raised over her head.
“My daughter-in-law!” she screams, crashing into my other side and completing the Dahlia sandwich.
My thoughts are frozen. My brain is broken. I could have sworn that I heard her say daughter-in-law, but that couldn’t possibly be right because I haven’t died and descended to the depths of hell.
Or have I?
While Tyler’s two parents cling onto me like needy spider monkeys, he walks into the hallway, cringing as he watches.
My jaw is clenched so tight that my teeth are dangerously close to shattering as I glare at him. My nostrils are flaring like a dragon’s. If I could breathe fire, his face would be a pile of ashes.
A pile of sexy ashes.
“Sorry,” he mouths as he walks over with his hands in his pockets and a nervous look on his face.
I’m going to kill him.
“Mom, Dad,” he says, “meet Dahlia. My new wife.” His voice cracks with the last word.
I just glare at him. He’s going to get more than just his voice cracked by the time this is over.
My two new unwanted in-laws finally release me, and I’m forced to drop my scowl and smile.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Mack says, grinning as he stares at me in awe.
Tyler’s mother clasps her hands together and squeals again, making me swallow hard. “I can’t believe you two got married!”
“I can’t believe it either,” I say, giving Tyler a dirty look. “I nearly faint every time I think about it.”
“That’s what true love feels like,” his mom says as she grabs my hand and pulls me inside.
His father takes my laptop bag that’s full of ways to optimize, streamline, and monetize dozens of his company’s departments and tosses it on the bench like it’s a useless sack of potatoes. “Did you just come from work?” he asks, looking at my professional yet classy pantsuit that right now feels wildly inappropriate. “We have a strict no business talk in this house.”
“Great,” I mutter, thrilled that I spent all night preparing for this meeting.
“Come in, come in,” his mother says, waving me into the enormous kitchen. It looks like Extreme Home Makeover threw up all over this place. “I want to know everything about you. Tyler hardly told us any details.”
“Well,” I say, narrowing my eyes on him. “We’re still learning all about each other.” All I know about him is that he likes to wear bright red underwear, and his cock is longer than any of the bananas lying on the counter.
“We sure are,” he says, walking over. He approaches me like a scared tourist about to take a picture with a tiger. If he gets any closer, my claws are going to come out.
“Tyler,” I say, giving him a sweet smile despite the fire brimming from my eyes. “Can I talk to you for a second? Alone.”
“Sure,” he says, swallowing hard. He turns to his mom and dad and excuses us.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask when we’re back outside out of earshot. “You told them we’re married? Are you fucking crazy?”
“Well, technically we are married,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
He takes a step back when I take a step forward. “A marriage is more than just a piece of paper with a bunch of tacky pineapples on it.”
“Not according to the state of Nevada it’s not.”
“Well, according to me it is,” I snap back. “What happened to the annulment?”
He takes another step back. Probably a wise move. He should be running away from me in a full sprint with the way that my heart is pumping so hard.
I’ll be lucky if I don’t get fi
red at the end of this because of him. He’s ruined any shot that I had at impressing his father, Mack. Six years of working hard at Hospitech down the drain.
Because of him.
“What. Happened. To. The. Annulment?” I speak slowly trying to shove every word into his thick skull.
He gulps. “I thought that maybe we could hold off on the annulment for a while.”
I rub my forehead, trying to ward off the headache that’s rushing forward. “You didn’t think to consult me on this? Or before you told your parents?”
“I knew that you would have said no.”
I’m livid. I want to rip his beautiful head off of his body and laugh as I watch his sparkling green eyes turn to a dull gray.
“Then why the fuck wouldn’t you get an annulment?”
I’m screaming so loud that the security guard who took my car starts walking over, looking unsure.
“Are you okay, Mr. McMillan?” he asks. His hand is hovering over his pepper spray.
“Great, Wilbur,” he says, giving him a thumbs up. “The new wife has a bit of a temper.”
I grind my teeth as I glare at him. “You haven’t seen my temper,” I say in a voice that’s ice cold. “This is me very controlled.”
He gulps and takes another step back. One more and he’s going to fall off the front stoop into the bushes.
“Just hear me out,” he says, showing me his palms. “I think you’re going to like what I have to say.”
“If it’s not ‘you’re on Candid Camera’ then you’re going to be very disappointed.”
He’s talking so fast now. He knows that I’m two seconds away from storming back into the house and telling his parents the truth. “You want to keep the factory open, right?”
I don’t answer, but I’m listening.
“And I want my parents to sign the company over to me,” he says, his voice racing. “We can work together.”
“I think we did enough together already.”
“If you stay cool and tell my parents that we’re married,” he says, scraping a hand through his hair, “then I’ll get the company, and I’ll make sure that your factory stays open.”
I stare at him for a full ten seconds before moving. “How can I be sure that you won’t screw me over and close it the second you get the company?”
“If you can’t trust your husband, who can you trust?” he asks with a smirk on his face. “Kidding, kidding,” he says when he sees my face. “I promise.”
I don’t want to trust him. I don’t want anything to do with him, but I’ve been over the numbers and I know that whoever is running McMillan Worldwide Inc. will see the same thing that I’ve seen. The factory in Summerland is too expensive. They could save at least twenty-five percent in production costs if they close it up and move to Mexico. That would be disastrous for the town. Everyone would lose their jobs, their homes, everything. If there’s something I can do to prevent that, then I have to do it.
“How long is this going to go on for?” I ask. I can’t believe I’m actually considering this.
“Just a few months. You can go back home next week, and I’ll stay here. Once the company is transferred to me, I’ll tell them that we had a falling out, we’ll get that annulment you want so badly, and we’ll go our separate ways.”
“And the factory stays open?”
He nods. “I pinky swear.”
I want to pull my hair out and strangle him with it.
He looks at me with hopeful eyes. “What do you say?”
The front door creeps open before I can answer. His mother pops her excited head out and smiles. “Quit hogging her,” she says to Tyler. “I want to get to know my new daughter-in-law! Champagne is served. It’s time to celebrate!”
She holds the door open and looks at me with raised eyebrows. “Coming?”
“Yeah,” Tyler whispers. “Coming?”
I turn to his mother and smile as wide as she is. “I sure am, Mom!”
She squeals in delight and races back into the mansion, leaving the door open.
My smile vanishes as I turn back to my new husband. “What’s your mother’s name?”
“Thank you,” he says, exhaling in relief. “You won’t regret this.”
I march past him into the house. “I already do.”
He follows me in and tells me that his mother’s name is Kirsten. I’m shaking my head the whole way into the kitchen until I see his parents standing around the marble island with four full champagne flutes in their hands.
Mack hands me one, and Kirsten hands Tyler one. “I never thought this day would come,” Mack says, tearing up as he raises his glass. “I never thought my son would settle down. I was worried he would stay a playboy forever. I can’t wait to meet the girl who finally tamed him. You must be a miracle worker.”
“I am,” I say, shooting Tyler a look. “It’s a miracle that I’m still standing here.”
“Thank you for sticking around,” he says, smiling as he raises his glass in the air. “To many more years of health, wealth, and happiness.”
Mack wraps a heavy arm around my shoulder and raises his glass, smiling from ear to ear. “Cheers.”
I force out a smile as I clink glasses with my new unwanted family.
“Tell us how you met,” Kirsten says, ushering us to the table. Tyler pulls out my chair for me and then sits on my right as his parents sit in front of us.
“It’s a great story,” I say, nodding. “Tyler tells it so well.”
His parents turn to him with big smiles as they wait for it. I may be playing the sweet new wife, but I’m definitely going to make him pay for putting me in this awkward situation. “Tell them about the part with the elephant,” I say, making it harder for him. “And the aliens and how you tripped on the apple pie and fell into the barrel full of warm beer and how Shaquille O’Neal helped you up.”
“Wow!” his mother says with wide, excited eyes. “This seems like quite the story!”
“It is,” I say, trying to stifle my giggles. “Wait until Tyler tells it. It’s even better than it sounds.”
“Don’t build it up too much,” Tyler says, placing a hand on my thigh. He gives my leg a hard warning squeeze, but it just makes me laugh even harder. “The story is not that good.”
“Aliens, Shaq, and an elephant?” his father says, staring at him with complete attention. “It doesn’t get better than that!”
“Don’t forget about the apple pie and barrel full of warm beer,” I say, batting my eyelashes at him.
Tyler sits up straight and clears his throat. “So, I was at the premiere of Shaquille O’Neal’s new movie called… Alien Basketball Players.”
I burst out laughing. Could he have picked a more ridiculous name for a movie?
“She’s laughing already,” he says, placing his hand on mine. “It’s not even your favorite part yet, honey.”
“I can’t wait,” I say, watching him with rapt attention.
“So, after the movie, which was horrible by the way. Don’t bother seeing it.”
“I don’t think they could even if they wanted to,” I say, between chuckles.
He flashes me a wide-eyed look. “Anyway,” he continues. “After the movie, they had an elephant there as part of the festivities. Shaq was riding around on him and throwing pies into the crowd.”
“Oh, I don’t like when they bring elephants into the city like that,” Kirsten mutters, shaking her head in disapproval.
His father leans forward. “They were throwing pies, into the crowd?” he says with a furrowed brow.
“Of course,” Tyler says, and I laugh at the casualness of his reply. “It’s what all of the young kids do these days.”
“Oh,” his father says, dropping his eyes in thought.
“So,” Tyler says, turning to me with soft eyes. “I saw this beautiful girl standing in the crowd, and time just stopped. It was incredible. I never believed in love at first sight, but when I saw Dahlia standing there with the
sun on her gorgeous face, I knew there was no turning back. I knew that she was going to be it for me. The one I always want to be with.”
His parents let out an ‘awww’ as I shift in my seat and undo a button on my jacket. Is it hot in here?
“But then,” Tyler continues, “I saw an apple pie flying at her, and I just reacted. I dove in the air and knocked it out of the way just as it was about to hit her.”
He takes my hand and turns to me with a smile that makes my breath quicken. “We’ve been in love ever since.”
“That’s so sweet,” Kirsten says, tilting her head as she looks at us with doe eyes.
“What about the barrel of warm beer?” Mack asks.
“Yeah, Tyler,” I say, shaking my head to get the hearts out of my eyes. “Tell them about the barrel of warm beer.”
“We were leaving to get a cup of coffee,” he says, trying not to laugh, “and I slipped on one of the pies and fell into Shaq’s barrel of warm beer. He helped me out.”
His mom looks confused. “Why was there a barrel of warm beer out?”
Tyler shrugs. “Shaq is a giant, Mom. He drinks beer out of a barrel.”
“Oh,” she says, tilting her head as she tries to process it.
“So how have you two been?” Tyler asks them, desperately trying to change the subject.
“Oh, no,” Kirsten says as I take a big gulp of champagne. “We’re talking about you two. We’re finally meeting Dahlia after you’ve been dating for two years!”
I spit a mouthful of champagne all over my new father-in-law’s face.
Tyler jumps up to get a napkin while Mack stares at me with wide eyes as the champagne that was in my mouth a few seconds ago, drips down his shocked face.
“Goodness, dear,” Kirsten says, leaning forward with a look of concern on her face. “Are you okay?”
I nod as I wipe my chin with the back of my hand. “I’m sorry, sir. It was the bubbles.”
“No problem,” Mack says as Tyler returns with some paper towels. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a glass of champagne thrown in my face by a pretty girl. No harm done.”
He wipes his face as Tyler sits down beside me. I turn to him with a tight smile. “I’m sorry. Did she say two years?”
