Chapter 10 Inconvenient
INCONVENIENT
RHODES
I retreated to my office, locking the door behind me. There’d been enough disturbances for one day.
I sank into my chair, mind whirling. I needed to work, but I couldn’t concentrate right now.
I am not falling for your act. Miranda’s words rang in my ears.
I’d expected this, but it was still unfortunate. Everything was happening at once—the girl arrived, we’d signed the contract and gotten “engaged,” and Miranda was already convinced that it was an act devised to take control of Barrington Enterprises.
Unfortunately, she was right.
But I would inherit my company—it was my birthright.
Miranda would control Barrington Enterprises only over my dead body.
In order to win, I would have to convince my stepmother and everyone else that my relationship with Rory was real.
If the board found out I’d hired her and paid her to marry me, I would lose everything.
I put my face in my hands.
I was used to acting quickly, trusting my own judgment, and leading confidently. But today had turned my world upside down. I’d never wanted to get married. I’d seen, firsthand, what could happen.
First, my father and mother—they’d been best friends, and experienced what looked like true love.
But then cancer had stolen her from us. My father never got over the heartbreak.
It made him bitter. When he’d married Miranda, it seemed to me like he was giving up.
Tired of living alone, he acquiesced to her demands, letting her run their social lives, ignoring the fact that she was more interested in his money than his children.
Second, there was William and Gigi. My brother had fallen hard for the young model, believing she’d change her ways once they had a child.
But Gigi rebelled against motherhood’s responsibilities, showing her worst side once Luke was born.
Out of desperation, my brother had left her and taken full custody of Luke.
The bitterness of their divorce made it even clearer to me: there was no point in ever getting married.
For a man in my position, it was simply safer not to.
With love came pain, and because I was a Barrington, that pain had an enormous price tag attached to it.
But now I didn’t have a choice.
Rory Harris was an enigma to me. Although I was relieved that I’d found someone to play the role of fiancé on such short notice, I didn’t trust her.
How could I? I didn’t know anything about her, except that she was desperate for money.
She was young and seemed naive. The girl appeared too friendly and normal for such a tawdry proposition as a fake marriage.
And yet, she’d signed the contract and was currently sleeping in my bed.
Fate had dealt her a difficult hand. She was caring for her two siblings and saving her grandmother from foreclosure.
Those were noble goals. But I wondered if caring for her family might be at odds with acclimating to a brand-new life at Barrington Manor, and remaining faithful to her promise for five years.
It was a big ask. That’s why I was paying her a fortune.
She would need to meet Luke tomorrow. It was imperative that she bond with the boy. We had to get full custody of him—not Gigi, and sure as hell not Miranda. If she got Luke, she’d manipulate it to her advantage in order to take over the company…
Tired of trying to out-scheme my stepmother, I contemplated going to bed. The girl’s in there. I sighed. She was young, pretty, and wearing the diamond engagement ring I’d given her.
She was in my bed. Waiting.
Per the contract, she was mine.
But I was not at all prepared to claim her.
It would be better to keep my distance. She was pretty, like I’d said, but I’d had plenty of pretty.
She’d shown resilience and a sense of humor, but those were pedestrian qualities—nothing to lose my head about.
I needed her to be my ally, but it was best if I kept her at arm’s length.
Feelings and attraction had no place in this arrangement.
Nothing good could come from making this more complicated than it already was.
I finally gave up, closing my laptop and turning off the lights in my study. Then I headed to my room. I hoped the girl was asleep. This was going to be awkward enough.
The lights in my room were still on, but Rory was curled up on top of the bed. She was still wearing her clothes. In spite of that, she looked peaceful, her face smooth and unlined, her pouty lips slightly parted as she breathed deeply.
I didn’t care to admit it, but she was perhaps even more attractive than I’d initially realized.
Seeing her in this state, unarmed and relaxed, her natural beauty was evident.
There was nothing fake about Rory—she was literally a farm girl from the middle of nowhere who just happened to be stunning.
I shook my head. Don’t think about it.
She wrapped her arms around herself, and I realized she must be cold.
I found some pajamas for her, something pink and silky, the Madam must’ve packed. I gently nudged her. “Rory.”
“Mmmm.” She burrowed into the bed.
“Rory, wake up. You need to get changed.”
I shook her shoulder, and she moaned. “Go away. Tired, so tired…”
Realizing that she wasn’t going to budge, I had to make a decision. Undress her and put her under the covers, or simply throw a blanket over her and leave her be.
I let myself have a moment. I considered removing her top and skirt, revealing her creamy skin underneath, then taking her into my arms and slipping her under the covers… What if she clung to me? What if she nestled against me?
I snapped out of it, realizing I had all the information I needed—I grabbed an extra blanket out of the armoire, draped it over her, and hustled away. I refused to recognize Rory as a person, as a woman. She was part of a transaction, I reminded myself. A crucial transaction.
I decided in that moment that I would never touch the girl, nor would I think about her in anything other than a business-like way.
I was good with clear, firm rules. I never wavered.
Rory Harris might be sleeping in my bed, wearing the engagement ring I’d given to her, but she would never be more than a hire to me.
I woke up before my alarm, confused. It was still dark. I was warm, comfortable, peaceful… and I had my arm draped over someone.
She murmured, snuggling closer to me.
I sat bolt upright. At some point while I’d slept, Rory had joined me underneath the covers. We’d been spooning.
What the fuck? Rhodes Barrington did not spoon.
I glanced at the clock: four a.m. I slid from the warm bed, determined to hit the gym and punish myself.
One night—a few hours—and I’d already made a mistake.
And Rhodes Barrington did not make mistakes.