5. Grant
5
GRANT
Grant
E lise stared at her hand. Her long lashes lay on her cheeks, hiding her blue eyes from me. I was sure I’d see the shock blazing in them.
She froze when I quickly slipped that ring on. Her body remained immobile, stuck like a rock in the moving waters of a stream. Lodged in place, among the throngs of people busily navigating their ways through the airport, she remained rooted right there, gawking at the ring on her finger.
My ring, that I stupidly obsessed over picking last night. I didn’t know what she was up to so late last night, but I really wanted to figure it out. I wasn’t aware of why she wanted to be home this weekend with Claudia, and I was certain she’d be pissed as I unveiled all the reasons I was so adamant that she be here , in the muggy Bahamas, with me .
I bought three, guessing at her size. Late into the evening, I debated which one she’d prefer. Elise liked color, and I hoped I did well by choosing the diamond surrounded by sapphires. They reminded me of the blue in her eyes. As she gaped and kept her face lowered, I grew impatient to see her blue gaze locked on me.
Her skin burned mine where we touched. We’d made contact before, fleeting brushes expected with close proximity. They were all accidental, of course. I’d never fess up to how she warmed me inside out when she fixed my tie. Having her hands on me was a rare and strange high that I couldn’t explain—one I didn’t dare to analyze too deeply.
Just like my aversion to wondering why I nitpicked about which ring to give her today.
It wasn’t as though it could matter, like this was real.
“The meetings this weekend are more of the informal sort. Unconventional meetings outside the office. You’re well aware that sometimes a deal is closed with conversations held away from the rigmarole of what we say in the professional setting.”
Still, she stared at the ring.
Shit. I counted on surprising her, but not sending her into shock like this.
“I was invited to Reese Newman’s wedding months ago, and I planned to come as a guest to show Vince that I cared about his family more. That I’m not just a stiff man in a suit who wants his company. That I’m a pleasant acquaintance he could invite to his daughter’s wedding.”
I burned under the heat of her soft skin under mine. Her hand was still, unmoving as I continued to hold it. Letting go seemed right, yet wrong.
“I planned to come so I could show him that I wasn’t after his company for the dollar signs they’d represent. That I’d care about his employees as though they were family. And I will. Being here as guests is no different from whenever Derek and I go to golf and talk business, or meet up for drinks after conferences.”
The longer she didn’t react, the more worried I got. Stuck in the din of all the noise in the terminal, I wished I could’ve chosen a better spot for bombarding her with this. This lecture about how deals were struck was pointless, but it helped me get to the crux of the matter.
“He’s made it no secret that he has a specific person in mind for selling his company. He wants to find a family man, someone settled down and responsible and less likely to take risks with his company.” I struggled to swallow, captured in the suspense of what she could say. My fear worsened at the idea that I’d lose her with this idea.
“After Derek’s last scandal, after his being in the news again as a womanizing drunk… I wanted to do damage control and make at least one of us look settled.”
She blinked, finally showing a sign of life.
“If I came here with a fiancée, showing the intention to settle down and be the kind of person he’s hoping to sell to…”
Slowly lifting her face, she pierced me with a stern stare.
“It would close the deal that much quicker.”
“By proposing to me?”
I shook my head. “No. No. Not at all.”
She narrowed her eyes and thrust her hand between us, in my face. “Then what the hell is this?”
“To pretend.”
She exaggerated looking at her hand then holding it back in my face. “Looks real to me.”
“I’m not proposing!” I licked my lips, flustered and not liking the foreign sensation one bit. I didn’t get bent out of shape. I didn’t let people see my emotions. Hell no. But I was frantic to backtrack now. “I don’t want to marry you.”
She tilted her head to the side. Her cheeks remained rosy, and her eyes were so wide and full of shock. “You want to pretend that I’m your fiancée.” It should’ve been a question, but it sounded more like she had to confirm to believe it.
“Correct.” I pointed at the ring. “And that’s a necessary prop.”
“You want me to pretend to be your fiancée just to prove to Vince Newman that you’re a responsible, settled-down man so he’ll be comfortable to sell you his company.”
I nodded, wondering if she was catching on. She seemed oddly calm, if shocked. And I knew she was smart. Elise was sharp and intelligent. I wouldn’t have to spell this out for her.
Her hands shot through the air to shove at me. I let out a deep breath at her shove, but I caught my balance before I could stumble back a step.
“What is wrong with you?” She shook her head, holding her hand higher to stare at the ring. “This is ridiculous. You are aware of that, right? This is insane , Grant.”
I nodded quicker. “Yes. It’s a very stupid idea.”
She deadpanned at me.
“But desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“For fuck’s sake,” she muttered.
I checked the time on the clock behind her and grabbed our things. I wheeled my suitcase in one hand and put her carry-on atop her suitcase. I urged her toward the exit, where a driver should be waiting with a sign that would read Future Mr. and Mrs. Bowen , as the clerk cheerily told me over the phone when I arranged for a driver for myself and my fiancée. Still in a daze, Elise followed me. With her gaze back on the ring and her brow furrowed deeply, she walked absently without knocking into anything.
“Grant, this is crazy .”
“It is,” I agreed, “but I’ll be damned if I lose that deal.”
“This is wrong.”
Now I shook my head. All we’d be doing was coordinating a minor lie. “It’s just… part of the job.”
She smirked at me, noticing the sign with our “names” on it. Gesturing at it, she raised her brows. “Part of the job?”
“For this weekend,” I amended.
The driver greeted us and we got into the car. As soon as the door closed, Elise started in on me all over again. “This isn’t right. Grant. Come on. You tricked me!” She scowled at the ring. “When did you get this?”
“Last night.” I watched her, curious why she was this upset.
“I don’t like lying,” she snapped.
“You lied to me about that blue shirt I bought.”
She opened and closed her mouth. “That’s a shirt! It was hideous.” She held up her hand. “This is an epic lie!”
“Not for long,” I repeated. “Just this weekend.”
“It doesn’t matter how long it lasts. It’s not right.”
“Spare me the morality of it. I know it’s wrong. And stupid. But it’s not real. It’s just a prop?—”
“So, I’m just a prop.”
What? “No.” I cringed. “Yes? Fuck. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m getting that company. And if persuading Vince that I can look like a family man is what it takes, fine.”
“Do you also want him to see you as a liar?”
I firmed my lips, caught on the biggest hangup of all of this. I knew she wouldn’t be too enthusiastic. Her moral compass was a bit more accurate than mine right now. But was this so bad? Would it be so terrible to fake it with me for one weekend?
“After I get the company, then we break up. End of story.”
She frowned at me, seeming to search my face for a clue. Or maybe a sign that I’d gone insane. The longer she stared at me, the lousier I felt.
In a stupid, wistful, and thin sliver of my mind, I imagined she’d take this in stride. Her protests were expected, but she seemed so vehemently against the idea of her and me as any kind of a couple outside work expectations.
Of course, she is. I wasn’t the kind of man she’d want. She wouldn’t gravitate to a grouchy and serious man. Someone “fun” and charming—like my brother—would be more her type. Elise deserved someone easy to get along with, and I couldn’t blame her. Asking her to pose as my fiancée was a dirty, rotten trick. She was right. She called it like it was. I was an idiot to do this.
But it didn’t hold me back from trying.
“You didn’t actually think I’d want to marry you, right?” I scoffed, trying to ease out of this awkward moment.
She deepened her frown. “What? No. I mean…” She shook her head. “Obviously not.”
“Can you play along? Just this weekend?” I raised my brows as I ducked to her eye level. “I’ll slip in a bonus.”
She sighed and nodded. “Never say I don’t rise to the occasion.”
I grunted a single laugh. She was the hardest worker I knew.
“Just to close that deal,” she reiterated.
“Correct.”
“This is just work.”
I nodded.
“Another day on the job.”
“However you need to word it.”
“Yeah.” She glanced at the ring again. “Part of what you’ve hired me to do.”
I winced. “You’re making it sound like you’re a hooker.”
She widened her eyes. “We don’t?—”
“Whoa. No.” I held my hands up and shook my head. “I got us separate rooms. We just need to look engaged at the dinners and wedding. That’s all.”
“Okay.” Her frown stayed as she nodded weakly. “Good.”
It stung that the idea of being with me—even under false pretenses—put her off so severely.
Play stupid games, dumbass, and expect to win stupid prizes.
On the rest of the ride to the resort, I sat with a cloud of regret and dread hanging over me.
I might be swaying Vince Newman to sell me his company, but I was undoubtedly pushing Elise further away from wanting to remain my employee after this stupid plan.