Possessive Fake Husband

by B. B. Hamel

  “Got it.”

  “This is the easiest one of the group,” he says, opening his door.

  I get out and follow him. “Why?” I ask.

  “Like I said, friends with my dad. But they were all friendly with him, so…” He frowns a little. “I guess it’s because she’s practical. And a little bit younger than the others.”

  “Practical and younger. Okay, right… how much younger?”

  “She’s in her sixties, I think.” He shrugs. “I don’t ask.”

  We walk up her front step and ring her bell. A dog barks before I hear someone scold it. There’s scratching on a wood floor then silence for another few seconds before the door opens.

  A woman in her mid-sixties with stylish dark hair cut short, an elegant business outfit of a button-down shirt and trousers, and glittering jewelry greets us.

  “Hello, hello, sorry about that. Hotdog can be a little…” She makes a face. “Eager.”

  Hotdog stands behind a little wooden room divider fence and stares. He’s a cute black lab and his tail is wagging like crazy.

  “It’s good to see you, Liz,” Josh says, kissing her cheek.

  “You too, you too. Come in, come in. This must be your new wife.”

  “Hi, I’m Maggie,” I say, shaking her hand.

  Her entryway is gorgeous. The floor is gleaming hardwood and there are simple and understated oil paintings hanging on the walls. It’s a mix of modern artwork and classic architecture that seems to work really well. She leads us down a short hall and into a formal sitting room.

  “Tea?” she asks. “I’ve already made some.”

  “Please,” I say.

  “Me too.” Josh smiles at her. “When was the last time I was here?”

  “Two Christmases ago?” she asks. “I think you were at the party.”

  “I was,” he says, nodding.

  “Back when your father was still with us.” She sighs. “I miss that man sometimes.”

  “I do too.”

  “Be back in a flash.” She leaves the room.

  I look around at the built-in bookshelves. They’re lined with leather-bound volumes that I swear all have a little crust of dust on them like they’ve never been opened. He leans toward me and grins.

  “Like I said,” he whispers, “easy peasy.”

  Liz comes back a minute later with a tray. She places it down on the coffee table, pours three cups, and offers them to us. I take mine and sip it with a pleased smile.

  “So,” she says. “I think I have an idea of why you’re here, but you go ahead and start.”

  “It’s business, unfortunately,” Josh says.

  “Of course. You and your father, always business.” She laughs and looks at me. “Is he always like that, all business all the time?”

  “Yes,” I say. “That’s why he married me.”

  She laughs and shakes her head at Josh. “You better be treating this one well. I think she’s too much for you.”

  He grins at me. “She definitely is. And she’s also the reason why we’re here.”

  Liz nods a little, sips her tea. “Go on.”

  “You know who her father is, right?”

  “It’s the only thing anyone’s talking about.” She sighs and frowns at him. “Marrying the enemy, dear? Your father would be rolling over in his grave.” She looks at me. “No offense. You seem like a lovely young woman. It’s just that, his father hated your father with a passion you wouldn’t believe.”

  “My father was more agnostic about the whole thing,” I say.

  Liz smiles. “I’m sure. I’ve met him, you know. Your father’s a decent man. I never understood why George hated him so much.”

  “My father could only see business,” Josh says. “In most situations, that’s not a bad thing. But sometimes he got too competitive.”

  “Yes, well, that competitive spirit is still alive at Cork.”

  “I know it.” Josh frowns. “Liz, I want Cork and Bushings to merge.”

  I stare at her but she doesn’t react. I expected something from her, especially considering the way Josh just blurted it out like that, but she only manages a little sigh and a shake of her head.

  “Why?” she asks.

  “Because we both know Cork isn’t going to survive much longer.”

  “We’ve been doing well. Some restructuring—”

  Josh cut her off. “Could buy us a few years, at best. Come on, Liz. We all know Bushings is going to get pushed out of the market sooner or later and Cork is next. We’re not going to pick up their business, but one of the big guys will.”

  She shrugs. “I know it. I think we all know it. But nobody’s talking like that, not yet at least.”

  “I want to talk,” Josh says. “I want it out in the open. If we team up with Bushings, we’ll be so much stronger. We might actually be able to fight back.”

  “They won’t go for it,” Liz says.

  “Can we convince them?” I ask. “I mean, I understand that there are some longstanding hatreds and prejudices, but I’m in the family now.”

  Liz looks at me and nods. “Yes, that’s true.”

  “She’s not going anywhere,” Josh adds.

  “He’s right. I love Josh and I want this partnership to work more than anything.”

  Liz cocks her head. “I have to ask… are you the mastermind behind this?”

  I laugh but Josh looks at me thoughtfully. “She might be,” he says.

  I give him a look and he just shrugs.

  “Interesting,” Liz muses. “Well, it’s a good idea, I’ll give you that.” She sips her tea and puts it down on the tray. “I’d be willing to consider it, but unfortunately, I’ve already decided to sell my shares.”

  We both stare at her like she just dropped a dead rabbit on the floor and screamed in our faces.

  Josh recovers himself first. “Wait. You’re doing what?”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but… well. I haven’t had the time.”

  “You’re selling. Why would you sell now?”

  “The price is high. And I’m ready to be done, dear. I want to get out of business and retire. My husband’s been bugging me to buy a place in Paris and I think he’s right. The time is right.”

  “But…” He trails off. I can see the terror in his eyes. “What’ll happen?”

  “Who knows? The board will lose me, but that’s not such a big deal.”

  “I mean, to Cork?”

  “I don’t know, dear. You’ll have to convince the others of your little plan.”

  “I was hoping you’d help.”

  She smiles and I can see the sadness in her eyes. “I can try, but I suspect my opinion won’t matter now that I’m selling.”

  “Do the others know?” he asks, his voice soft.

  “Not yet. But they will.”

  “Don’t tell them yet.” He leans toward her. “Please. I’m begging you. Wait as long as you can.”

  She frowns. “But—”

  “Please,” he presses. “Give me time. If they know you’re selling, all the others will think it’s time. You’ve been the rock in all this, and… they’ll know the game’s up.”

  She looks at him for a long moment and sighs. “How long?”

  “I don’t know,” he says. “As long as you can.”

  “I was going to put in the order within weeks. But I can delay… oh, I can give you a month.”

  “One month.” He closes his eyes and lets out a breath. “To convince the whole board to do this merger.”

  “I’m sorry, dear. I know that’s hard.”

  “It’s okay,” he says, opening his eyes. He looks harder, stronger for some reason, like he just made up his mind. “I’ll do it. Give me one month before you tell anyone your plans, and I’ll save this company.”

  “I hope you do, Josh. I really, really do. Meanwhile, I’ll be in Paris.”

  “You deserve a good retirement, Liz.”

  We stand up. She hu
gs him and shake my hand then leads us to the door. We linger there for a moment, but then we head back out. Josh doesn’t look back as he marches over to his car, gets in, and starts the engine.

  I sit there, not moving, terrified. It feels like this whole thing, this whole fake marriage, is failing before it even started. I want to scream in frustration and rage, but I know that won’t help.

  He turns to me, fire in his eyes. “This isn’t the end,” he says. “This just makes things harder, and we’ll have to move faster, but we can still do it.”

  “Are you sure? You said she was the easy one… and the rest of them would take time.”

  “I’m not giving up.” He grips the steering wheel. “We’ve come this far. I’m not about to just let you go.”

  I blink, surprised. “Let me go.”

  “The company, I mean.” He frowns, shakes his head. “Let the company go. I’m not going to back down.”

  I nod a little, but I heard what he said the first time.

  He said, let me go.

  I bite my lip as he pulls out and starts driving back to the city. I can see the plans already starting to form in his mind.

  8

  Josh

  Finding out that Liz is selling her shares was a blow.

  All that night, I stewed. I can’t pretend like it didn’t hurt. Liz was my best bet, my easy win. I thought we’d convince her then move on from there with a little firepower. She could’ve helped us convince all the others.

  Now though, she’s out. She deserves to retire, but hell, this is the worst moment possible for me.

  I don’t sleep much that night. I stay up late, trying to figure out what to do next, and I get up early with only a few fitful hours of rest at most. I make coffee and stew in the kitchen some more.

  “Morning.”

  I look up, surprised to see Maggie out of bed. “Morning. You’re up early.”

  “I heard you down here and figured you’d want some company.”

  I smile a little. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Look, yesterday, that was hard.”

  “It was.”

  “But like you said in the car. We’re not giving up.” She walks over and takes some coffee. “So what’s the plan?”

  I look at her for a long moment. She’s wearing gym shorts and a baggy t-shirt, her hair a little messy, not a bit of makeup on her face, and she looks fucking gorgeous. She leans against the counter as the sunlight streams in through the window and sips her coffee, the mug in both her hands.

  “We’ll go see Rupert Guava next.”

  “Rupert… Guava? Are you kidding?”

  I grin and shake my head. “Nope. He made his fortunate on this weird drink with guava in it, so that’s why he changed his name.”

  “And Rupert?”

  “Just his first name.” I shrug a little.

  “Okay, right, so he has a weird name.”

  “And I should warn you, he’s a little… unconventional.”

  She frowns. “Yeah? How?”

  “I can’t explain. You’ll see. But listen, he might go for this, he might not. I can’t be sure, honestly. So be ready for anything.”

  She nods once. “Yes, captain. I’ll be ready for anything at all.”

  I laugh at her and sip my coffee. “Go get dressed. We’re leaving in a half hour.”

  “Isn’t it a little early to go meet with this guy?”

  “Like I said, he’s a little different. Better hurry.”

  She sighs and walks out of the kitchen. I stare at her ass and feel a thrill run through me.

  I can’t stew in my anger. I can’t let it hold me back. She’s right, we can still do this. At the very least, I’m going to try my best. She got hooked into this and did something crazy, like marry a total stranger, so now I’d better step up and make it worth her time.

  We head out into the city, not bothering with the car. I lead Maggie up a few blocks then cut toward the river.

  “Where are we going?” she asks.

  “Just up a little further.”

  “He has an office out here?”

  “Not exactly.” I turn down a side street and we stop outside of a rundown old building with a sign out front.

  She steps up and reads it. “This is a diner?” she asks, blinking.

  “Yep,” I say. “And it’s a real dive. Food’s good though.”

  “I didn’t know we were getting breakfast.”

  “We’re not. Come on.” I push inside and immediately the smell of bacon and toast hits me, followed by the overwhelming feeling of grease floating in the air.

  The Sundown Diner isn’t in great shape. The booths are ripped and patched over with tape, the counter is stained and peeling, and the equipment is all old and rusty. But the place is packed anyway with people sitting, drinking coffee, reading menus. I scan the room and spot a man with frizzy white hair and a big blue bow tie sitting in the back corner. I walk past the waitress with a smile and head toward Rupert Guava.

  He looks up from his paper and frowns as I stop in front of the table. He squints at me for a moment. Rupert has long features, a horse-like face, big teeth, a wide nose. His big hands paw at the table top and his clothes barely fit his skinny, long frame

  “Why, it’s Josh Cork,” he says then looks at Maggie. “And who is this young lady?”

  “I’m Maggie Cork,” I say. “His wife.”

  “Ah.” Rupert grins at me. “Now I see why you married the enemy’s daughter.”

  I give him a look. “We’re here to chat, Rupert.”

  “All right, all right. Sit down then. Order some food. I always eat alone but I can change that for you young people.”

  I hesitate then slide into the booth. Maggie sits next to me as I lean toward Rupert. He beams at us, adjusts his glasses, and takes a sip of his coffee.

  “I want to talk about the company,” I say.

  “Of course. What else would you possibly want from an old kook like me?”

  “How do you think the market’s looking for Cork right now?”

  He shrugs a little and pushes a salt shaker around in little circles. I glance at Maggie and she’s frowning at the way he fidgets.

  “I suppose not bad,” he says. “Although also not good. I can’t quite say, really. We’ve been fighting the good fight for years but losing ground to those giants all the time. I will admit, however, that I haven’t been paying as much attention as I maybe should.”

  “Well, Rupert. Your assessment is dead on. But what nobody seems to realize is that Bushings plays a role in our future.”

  “How’s that?” Rupert asks.

  The waitress comes over, interrupting the conversation. I ask for a coffee and Maggie asks for the same. When she’s gone. I look Rupert in the eyes.

  “When Bushings goes under, and that’ll be soon, the big guys will snatch it up. When they do, they’ll force us out of business not long later. It’ll be like dominoes, and they’ll win it all.”

  Rupert frowns. “I see what you’re saying.”

  “That’s why we want to merge with Bushings,” Maggie says.

  Rupert looks surprised and stares at her then looks back to me. “Is she serious?”

  “Yes,” I say, nodding. “We want to merge with Bushings. That’ll give us a fighting chance.”

  “My word.” Rupert sits back in his seat and stares at me for a long moment before he start to play with the salt shaker again. “A wild idea, I must say.”

  “We need to be bold now, Rupert, if we’re going to win this thing.”

  The waitress returns with coffee. I smile at her, take a sip. Rupert grumbles under his breath.

  “Rupert,” I say. “You know this will work.”

  “But they’re the enemy.”

  “I’m the wife now,” Maggie says. “And I can get my father to play ball. I won’t let anything bad happen to Cork. It’s my last name now, too, you know.”

  He frowns at her and I feel a glow of pride in my chest. S
he’s clever, that much is obvious.

  “Well,” he says. “Interesting. I suppose… I suppose I could back this plan.”

  I lean back, relief flooding me. “That’s great,” I say.

  “If you two agree to wash my cars, of course.”

  I sit there and stare at him for a long moment. “Excuse me?”

  “My cars,” he says. He takes a pad of paper out of the bag sitting on the seat next to him, finds a pen in his pocket, and writes down an address. “They’re in a garage here. If you go and wash them, I’ll back this little… merger.”

  “You can’t be serious,” I say. “Rupert, this is a business deal. It’s for the good of everyone… and you want me to wash your cars?”

  “Yes,” he says, frowning. “I do. That’s what I want. Please? Wash them.”

  “No, Rupert,” I say.

  “Oh. Okay, then. Forget the merger. I’m out.”

  “We’ll do it,” Maggie says. “I’ll make sure it gets done, Rupert.”

  He beams at her. “I knew it. You’re the smart one.” He shoves the paper toward her. “Take it, take it.”

  She takes it from him and glances down. “Is this… where your cars are?”

  “Yes, go there, it’s a garage. There’s a key outside. Or maybe it’s unlocked. I forget. Everything you need will be there. Wash my cars then come here tomorrow morning and let me know it’s done. Then… we’ll merge. Yes? Good?”

  “Deal,” Maggie says, nodding once.

  I stifle a sigh. “Thank you, Rupert,” I say.

  “Don’t thank me! Just wash the cars!” He grins at us. “Good morning to you both.”

  I nod at Maggie and she slips out of the booth. We leave the place together and stop just outside. She stares at the address then looks up at me.

  “This is like an hour away at least,” she says.

  I sigh and close my eyes. “Of course.”

  “We’d better get your car.”

  “Right.”

  “Josh.”

  I open my eyes. She grins at me, tilts her head. “Yes?”

  “If you’re willing to marry a total stranger to make this happen… then I think you can wash some cars, right?”

  “You have no clue what you just agreed to.”

  She hesitates. “What do you mean?”