Billionaire's Bride

by Eden Proctor

  “Did he show you documentation?” she asked.

  Nate nodded. “Yes. Everything is official.”

  “So there’d be no way you could contest the change?” she said.

  He nodded.

  “Yeah, your grandfather wouldn’t leave something like that to chance,” she said.

  “I know,” he replied.

  Gordon was meticulous, and Nate knew the documents would be ironclad.

  Mindy looked off again, tilting her head so that her eyes weren’t on him. She thinned her lips, licked them, and Nate looked down, trying to ignore his sudden interest. Now, instead of looking at her surprisingly lush mouth, one he hadn’t really noticed before, he found his gaze snagged by her smooth jaw. Her skin almost glowed, the golden peach undertone of it flawless, all without an ounce of makeup.

  Nate wondered if that skin was as soft as it looked, imagined how it would feel to run his lips across her jaw, down her neck…

  He almost launched himself out of his chair but instead squeezed the arms of it tight, trying to calm himself.

  Where the fuck had that come from? Nate had never noticed how enticing her skin looked, and he’d never, ever, thought of kissing her.

  Today had been a total mind-fuck.

  When Mindy shifted and turned to face him again, Nate panicked, worried that Mindy might be able to guess the unexpected route his thoughts had taken him. If she did, she didn’t show it. Instead, she crossed her ankles in the opposite direction and looked directly into his eyes.

  “You should call his bluff,” she said.

  “What?” he replied.

  “You know your grandfather thinks the sun rises on your ass,” she said.

  “I’ll have to take your word for it,” Nate replied.

  “Yes, do take my word for it. He’s hard on you, but only because he cares. When you’re not around, he goes on and on about how smart and capable he knows you are. He says you’ll run the company better than he ever did,” she said.

  Nate believed her, though there was little comfort in that fact right now. His grandfather might have faith in him, but that faith had strings.

  “So you should call his bluff,” she said, nodding as though she had reached the right conclusion.

  “And what’s that going to do? I do that, and I’m out. You know he won’t go back on his word. He’ll feel duty-bound not to,” Nate said, even more certain of the truth of that statement as he spoke.

  “No, he won’t go back on his word, at least not initially. But if you call his bluff, go out on your own, you can prove to him that you’re not irresponsible,” she said.

  “I considered that. And I know I could be successful,” he said.

  “Yeah, and so does your grandfather,” she replied.

  “So what if he does. How does that help me?”

  “He’s concerned that you’re not responsible enough to take over. You go out, make your own way, and you’ll prove to him that you are. He’ll see that, and then he’ll change his mind,” she said, speaking with a degree of calm that Nate didn’t think the situation warranted.

  Nate laughed, and when he looked at Mindy, he saw that she was surprised.

  “You actually believe that, don’t you?” he asked.

  She frowned. “Yeah, I believe that. That’s why I suggested it.”

  “Then you haven’t been paying attention. My grandfather has never changed his mind.”

  Nate sobered as he considered that.

  “Are you saying your grandfather is stubborn?” she said.

  “That’s an understatement,” Nate replied.

  “That must be a genetic thing,” she said, an easy smile playing around her lips, lips that he was far too taken by.

  Nate smiled quickly but then thought more about his predicament.

  He could call his grandfather’s bluff, but if he did, he would be out, and he could never bank on getting back into Gordon’s good graces. The old man might keep him frozen out just on principle, and Nate wasn’t sure that he was ready to let go of his lifelong dream.

  “Or…”

  Nate had looked off into the distance but the sound of Mindy’s voice brought his attention back to her. He saw the expression on her face, the one that told him she’d had a breakthrough. He leaned forward, anxious to hear what she had to say.

  “Or?” he said.

  She shrugged again, this one even more nonchalant than the ones that had come before it. “Get married.”

  Nate leaned back, his excitement leaving him in one breath.

  “Thanks, Mindy. I appreciate the helpful insight,” he said sarcastically.

  “You have a better idea?” she asked.

  He scowled. “No, which was why I came to you. Looks like that was a mistake,” he said.

  “Do you have a better idea?” she repeated.

  “No, which is why I asked you, remember?” he repeated.

  She waved a hand, dismissing him but then leaned forward.

  He could see from the sparkle of excitement in her eyes that she thought she was onto something. Hear me out,” she said.

  He frowned at her but then nodded, and she continued.

  “You know this isn’t really about you getting married, right?” she asked.

  “I don’t know that at all,” he replied.

  “Well just trust me, then. Your grandfather is old-fashioned, but he doesn’t really care about that kind of stuff,” she said.

  “He picks a funny way of showing that,” Nate replied.

  “Yeah, that’s the old-fashioned part. To him marriage is just a representation of stability. He wants to see you as stable. Wants to trust that you’ll put the business first, do what he thinks is necessary to run it well,” she said.

  “I’ve been doing that for fifteen years,” Nate said. His voice had risen, but he lowered it, frowned.

  “I know that. And in some ways your grandfather knows it too. But you have to admit…”

  She trailed off, and when Nate looked at her again, he saw her lifted brow, that same mischievous glint in her eye.

  “What do I have to admit?” he asked, feeling surly and in no mood to hide it.

  “Your reputation. That false image you try to push,” she said.

  “What reputation? What false image?” he said.

  “Come on, Nate. This is me you’re talking to, so you can cut the crap,” she said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked defensively.

  “It’s supposed to mean that I thought we were beyond this. I know exactly who you are, and you usually have the decency not to try to pretend to be otherwise,” she said.

  He scowled at her, feeling some of the frustration that she inevitably inspired coming up. “The way you phrase that suggests that I don’t do the same with others,” he said.

  “And you don’t.”

  She leaned forward, her posture mimicking his, her eyes gleaming with a dare that he contradict her. He might have thought she was onto something, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of agreeing with her. Not yet.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mindy,” he said.

  “Bullshit,” she said on a quiet whisper.

  “You’re calling me a bullshitter and a fake. Thanks for the help, Mindy,” he said.

  “Don’t be so sensitive. I’m not calling you a bullshitter or a fake. I’m just saying that you like to pretend to be,” she said.

  “Small difference, don’t you think?” he asked.

  “No, it’s a huge one. And it’s the key to your problem.”

  He sighed and leaned back, still staring at Mindy. “I’m all ears, so go ahead.”

  She wrinkled her face into an expression that he couldn’t quite read and then she started. “You like to pretend to be some empty-headed playboy and faithless manwhore.”

  “Pretend? Faithless manwhore?” he said.

  “Well, I guess the playboy and manwhore parts aren’t really pretend.”

&
nbsp; She smiled, and Nate laughed.

  “My social life is none of your concern, Mindy,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Nope. It’s not. But you asked for my opinion, and now I’m going to give it to you,” she said.

  She paused for a breath and then continued on.

  “You like to put up this wall, pretend that you don’t care about anything and that you’re not very smart,” she said.

  “Is this your very roundabout way of complimenting me?” he asked.

  “God, no. I think your behavior is ridiculous. You act like a college kid and you’re a grown man,” she said.

  He scowled again but didn’t speak.

  “But your grandfather cares about appearances. And, unfortunately, other people do too,” she said.

  Her expression darkened, and Nate watched her, able to guess at what she was thinking.

  Mindy wasn’t from a fine family, and she’d had to work her way up. Nate knew that she had been turned down by a variety of their competitors. She didn’t have the right pedigree or connections. Gordon had finally given her a shot, but even still, he knew she felt like an outsider. The whole thing made Nate unspeakably angry.

  Mindy was a thorn in his side at times, a little too particular and outspoken, but she was damn good at what she did.

  It was their loss, he decided.

  “If you could just show him that you’ve moved past all that stuff, I think you’ll get what you want,” she finally said.

  “So your conclusion is that I’ve spent the bulk of my adult life pretending?” he said.

  She nodded.

  “And the way to fix that is with more pretending?”

  She nodded again. “Exactly.”

  He shook his head. “Mindy, I don’t know if you’re a genius or crazy,” he said.

  “Probably both,” she said. Then she stood and started to leave his office as quickly and unceremoniously as she had come in.

  “Good luck. And if there’s a wedding, I want an invitation,” she said, looking over her shoulder to smile at him mischievously.

  And then she was gone, leaving Nathaniel with his thoughts.

  His grandfather had thrown down the gauntlet, and it was up to Nate to figure out what to do about it.

  Chapter 2

  The instant she reached her office, Mindy closed the door and leaned against it.

  Closing her door was something she rarely did, but it was warranted in this case.

  Her heart was still pounding, and she didn’t want to risk running into someone right now, not when her emotions were so scattered.

  She never forgot that she always needed to stay calm, couldn’t risk allowing others to see her emotions. And there was the fact that she was so pissed off at herself for even having these emotions.

  Not that the feelings surprised her exactly. She was always aware of Nate, wasn’t immune to him even after all these years. So when she’d seen him earlier, she’d been drawn to him. Today had been different, but only because she had so rarely seen Nate look so troubled, withdrawn.

  He was usually such a strong presence. He could get intense, especially about business. But most of the time he was pleasant, happy, and had an enthusiasm and excitement that Mindy found herself drawn to.

  So when that usual excitement had been missing, she’d felt compelled to investigate.

  And had wanted to kick herself every step of the way.

  This…thing with Nathaniel was bordering on ridiculous. Scratch that, not bordering, it was beyond ridiculous.

  She had been attracted to him the very first time she’d seen him. There was no shame in that. Nate was handsome, tall, with a muscled physique that would have been more fitting for a man who worked outside. More than once, Mindy had imagined being held in his strong arms, resting her head on his broad shoulders, looking up into his dark eyes that were warm like melted chocolate.

  So, yeah, Mindy didn’t hold her physical attraction to him against herself. But the stuff that came after…

  She had tried so hard to cling to the belief that Nate was a spoiled playboy, one who didn’t take anything serious. From the outside, it was easy to think so. But for years now he had been proving her wrong on a daily basis.

  She’d been honest with him about that. Nathaniel pretended that he didn’t care, but she worked with him side by side, she saw how dedicated he was, how much he loved his grandfather and what his family had built. How he genuinely cared about the people he worked with every day.

  His looks and his thoughtfulness were a devastating combination, one that had made her initial physical attraction to him something so much more dangerous.

  In fact, the only thing that had saved her from falling for him completely was the fact that he was a manwhore. She chuckled, remembering the incredulous look on his face when she’d told him as much.

  She tried not to pay the stories and rumors much attention, but it was hard to ignore them, especially when Nate did nothing to counteract them. Mindy had lost track of the number of different women Nate had brought to company functions over the last seven years. She’d also heard stories about Nate’s expense account with the local florist and jeweler, and as much as it embarrassed her, she sometimes wondered what it took to be upgraded from flowers to jewelry.

  She always shut that train of thought down quickly though. She wasn’t in the running for either, so that was not a fruitful use of her time.

  Still, some part of her wondered what it would be like to make Nate’s list.

  There was no chance of that ever happening, though, so instead of even entertaining the question, she relied on the one thing she knew. She looked nothing like the women that decorated Nate’s arm. She wasn’t tall, willowy, but instead was short, solid, her curves making it unlikely Nate could sweep her off her feet.

  And, if her looks didn’t seal the deal, her personality would. Nate’s women were soft-spoken, whisper-voiced. Not at all like Mindy with her boisterous, stubborn personality, one that she couldn’t modulate if she tried and that she wouldn’t just on principle. So physically and in terms of personality, she and Nate were a complete mismatch.

  But she held onto the one thing she knew was certain. Nate might not be attracted to her, but he respected her. He always treated her as an equal in their work, gave her opinions and perspectives more than a fair hearing. Hell, he had even come to her with a personal problem of significant magnitude.

  That meant something.

  It wasn’t adoration or even desire, but it meant something.

  And it would have to be good enough.

  She sighed, tried to push away the heaviness that had settled over her and walked to her desk. She sat down and tried to focus, but after a few minutes, she gave up because she found doing so impossible.

  Why had she suggested he get married? She rubbed her forehead, trying to stave off the headache that was brewing.

  She was certain her assessment of the situation was correct. Nate’s grandfather loved him more than anything, and the old man wanted to leave the company to his grandson. Mindy was certain that if he had even the smallest confidence in Nate’s stability, and his desire to leave his bad-boy ways behind, Gordon would jump at the chance.

  It was the right plan, then, for Nate to settle down and be on his best behavior for a couple of years. Telling him so had been obvious, and he had asked for help. She’d felt obligated to give him her honest opinion.

  But doing so had hurt.

  It was insane, silly, actually kind of ridiculous, but the thought of Nate married made her blood run cold.

  She could easily picture it. The wedding of the year, Nate and his perfect blushing society bride.

  She had known this would eventually come to pass. But to have helped him, maybe even nudged him farther down the path was something that unsettled her.

  But some part of her wondered if maybe it had been a selfish act.

  As difficult as it was to think of Nate married, she thought she could
swallow it better if he did so out of convenience. His wouldn’t be the first marriage of that sort, and though it hurt, it was far preferable to the alternative, far easier to accept than having to deal with Nate falling in love.

  But no matter what, she needed to let her feelings for Nate go. She was going to get hurt, so she needed to stop this now. She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that she had his professional admiration, tried to make herself believe that was enough.

  Failed.

  She would have to do something about this, but what could she do?

  No matter how she tried to get around it, no matter how much she wished it was otherwise, there was no chance for her and Nate. This was her wake-up call, and she’d be foolish not to heed it.

  Maybe she needed to start focusing on her own personal life. For years now, she’d been focused on her work and viewed dating as a distraction. She’d been far too busy to try to cultivate a relationship. And, if she was being totally honest with herself, those moments with Nate, sometimes tense, sometimes light, were more satisfying than any date she’d been on in years, and for her, it was enough.

  But today proved that wouldn’t last, and it was time for her to break the pattern and accept the reality of her situation.

  Nate might not take her advice, or maybe he would, but ultimately, it didn’t matter.

  He wasn’t hers and never would be. And the sooner she accepted that, the sooner she would be able to get over him.

  Deciding that she would put her money where her mouth was, she picked up the phone. She quickly dialed a number and was relieved when the man picked up.

  “Hi, Jim. It’s Mindy Martin. We met at the cocktail party last week? Are you interested in dinner tonight?”

  Chapter 3

  “Was this the only place you could get reservations?”

  Dahlia frowned at Nate, and then looked down at the table, her disgust clear on her face. She used her napkin to wipe the fork and then rubbed her hands together, her frown deeper now.

  “I like this place. And you don’t need a reservation,” Nate said.

  He added a smile at the end of his sentence, but only to cover his grimace.