Chapter 7
Amanda
I stood there, my mouth gaping open wider than the Lincoln Tunnel. Time seemed to stretch out into infinity. No one dared to speak and shatter the pristine illusion that everything was hunky-dory and normal.
Only it wasn’t normal. Eccentric hunky billionaires are not supposed to take your hand and propose marriage. Even if you have slept with them on a plane with clear walls and floors. It just doesn’t seem like a logical trajectory.
I kept waiting for someone to laugh. If someone laughed, then it would all be a big fat joke and we could move on. Only nobody laughed. I started trying to will people into laughing so I could escape that endless moment.
Come on, laugh. Somebody laugh! Now’s the time, Evan. Look at me and say, ‘just kidding’ and let me off the hook already.
Nobody laughed, and it started to sink in that maybe, just maybe, this was for real. That had me reeling even more. I mean, on the one hand, hearing a marriage proposal—even a fake one—from a man who was a literal dream sent my body and soul into heaven. It was surreal, the best kind of surreality in fact. The dream come true variety.
On the other hand, the logical part of my brain knew that it was just a business deal. Nothing personal. Just business. That phrase had never been truer than it was at that moment .
“You know,” Fritz said, stroking his weak little chin. “I think I kind of like this idea, sir. Well played.”
Fritz gestured at me.
“I mean, look at her. You couldn’t ask for a more self-made woman. She started off as a literal waitress and now she’s an event manager for one of the biggest charity organizations in the entire world. You don’t get more rags to riches than that.”
Jenna shrugged.
“I do like the idea of having a candidate with an actual brain, rather than some vapid actress or influencer.”
I turned to Jenna. She shot me a wink and what may have been the ghost of a smile. I sort of felt better about her. I figured maybe she wasn’t the soulless corporate drone that I had thought her to be originally. I supposed that having a boss like Evan meant she had to adopt a certain type of persona just to deal with him.
I turned back to Evan, who continued to hold my hand, waiting for my answer. I knew it would be fake, but at the same time, I thought how good it would feel, even just as a pretend love affair.
But then I remembered the sticking point. It would be a fake marriage. I would be opening myself up to that hurt that we’d all talked about and dismissed at Rinaldo’s bar.
“No, I can’t do this.” I gently pulled my hand out of his grasp. “I’m sorry, I just can’t do it. I can’t be part of a fake relationship, let alone a fake wedding.”
Evan cocked an eyebrow at me.
“There’s no reason for you to decline my offer.”
“Yes, there is. I just said I don’t want to. That’s a good enough reason.”
His lips twitched slightly, but his gaze remained steadfast.
“I fully vetted you as well, Amanda. I know for a fact that you are single. You spend most of your time working. Your career is your life, as much as you might hate to admit it.”
He was right. I really was something of a workaholic. I rarely, if ever, dated. For one thing, we were always holding events all over the country, even all over the world. It was hard to meet anyone when you were always on the move.
But that was just a cop-out. I knew the truth. Sticking to my job was easier. I didn’t have to feel anxious or worry about whether a guy was into me or not. I could just concentrate on my career.
“Besides,” Evan continued as I reeled from his previous speech. “You can continue to work for the charity just as you do now. The only difference will be that you will now have my financial resources, public sway, and business clout at your disposal.”
“That’s a very good point, and it would provide a considerable boost to the cause of saving the rainforest,” I said, “but still, you’re talking about my life here. I can’t just upend it and play your phony wife for the sake of an increase in your stock prices, or to make you more money.”
“It would only be for a year.” Evan’s voice sounded so reasonable. Or maybe I was just looking for excuses to say yes. “Only a year, that’s all. Think of all the good you could do, Amanda, with my financial might and celebrity at your behest.”
I understood the value of his proposal. Logically, it made good sense. I could use his financial means and clout to get things done. To make a real difference for the rainforest and the people who lived there.
But my soul was in disarray. I just couldn’t bring myself to agree, as much as part of me wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “My answer is still no.”
Evan’s face darkened, and I shrank back from his gaze.
“Everyone out.”
Without a word, everyone rose to their feet and headed for the door, even Jenna, his personal assistant. I started to leave as well, figuring he was mad at me.
“Not you, Amanda,” he said. “Sit down.”
I sat down and spread my hands out wide in supplication.
“I’m sorry, Evan. I just can’t help you with this.”
“I see.” His cold gaze melted into a smoldering heat wave. I felt a tingle run down my spine. He hadn’t looked at me like that since that night on the plane. “So, perhaps you need another type of convincing?”
He reached out and took my hand in both of his own. Evan stroked his nimble fingers along my skin. I felt goosebumps rising all over me. It felt so good, so fantastic even to have him touch me again. Moreover, the velvety soft tone had returned to his voice.
“What are you doing?” I asked, but it was a rhetorical question. A blind man could have seen what he was proposing. I knew it, and my body knew it too. I felt myself getting hot.
He rose from his seat, releasing my hand. I panted as he walked behind my chair. I stared out the window, flashing back to when we’d flown above the clouds at sunset.
“Remember that fiery sunset, Amanda?” he purred. “I stood behind you, just like this.”
He put his hands on my shoulders, and I couldn’t stop a sigh from issuing from my mouth. I remembered all right. I had been aching for him to touch me again for so long, despite all of my protests and worries that a man like him could never want a woman to like me.
“I can find any bimbo to pretend to be my fake wife,” he said softly, his breath hot on the nape of my neck. He moved his lips in close to my ear. “Someone who wouldn’t care about your charity. In that case, you’ll get nothing.”
He reached down and started unbuttoning the pearl snaps of my ivory silk shirt. I trembled, my heart thudding in my chest. Some part of my mind screamed we shouldn’t be doing this, but the beating of my own heart drowned it out.
“I don’t want that, Amanda. I want you . I’ve only wanted you ever since that unforgettable plane ride.”
He kissed the back of my neck, and I let out a deep moan, my eyes fluttering closed. He had my shirt unbuttoned all the way to my navel at that point.
I wanted to give in to him. I wanted to surrender so badly, but I knew that he was simply out of my league. I grasped his hands, stopping them from continuing to disrobe me.
“You don’t want me,” I said, my voice growing firmer. “You want an obedient little employee to follow you and bat her eyes at you for a year. I mean, you’re not asking me to be your wife or even your girlfriend. Not really. You’re asking me to be your employee. Should I call you sir like everyone else does?”
He growled low and deep and sexy in his throat.
“I like the sound of that. I like it when you call me ‘sir’.”
He went back to kissing my neck. I let go of his hands and he went back to undressing me.
Evan got to the last snap, then unexpectedly stood up. I ached to feel his heat close to me again, in spite of myself.
“Stand up,” he said firmly.
“Yes, sir ,” I said like a snotty little brat.
He arched his eyebrows as I rose to my feet.
“Take off your shirt.”
“Right away, sir . Whatever you say, sir . Your wish is my command, sir —”
I had my shirt halfway off when he suddenly surged forward, taking my biceps in his grasp. His face was so close to my own, my lips ached to feel his touch .
“That’s right. Whatever I say.”
He grabbed me tight, hands clasping my ass in a firm grip. Evan pressed my body against his own. I could feel the hardening lump in his pants straining to reach me. My pussy throbbed, my brain buzzed, and I felt very lightheaded and dizzy.
Evan lifted me up and sat me down firmly on the tabletop of his soulless meeting room. The skyscrapers looked on like silent sentinels, not judging but not offering anything else, either. A stark contrast to how the plane ride had felt, I had to admit.
But even if the setting was cold, Evan’s touches were hot. Red hot. I felt like streaks of lightning followed his every caress.
“Are you going to eat my pussy again, sir ?” I asked mockingly.
“Not this time,” he growled. “This time I’m going to show you who’s boss.”
“You’re the boss, sir . You’re the man, nobody’s got as big a dick as you—”
He kissed me hard, deep, silencing my smart mouth. His hand firmly groped my breasts as he pushed me back onto the table.
Evan lightly bit my lower lip, stretching it out slightly before pulling away from me enough to look me in the eyes. His gaze was like an inferno, filling me with heat, but also mischievous energy.
“I’m going to stuff you full of hard cock now, Amanda.”
I made an ‘O’ with my lips and sucked in a hiss of air.
“Oh, yes, sir,” I said, not having to fake the eagerness in my voice.
He unzipped his fly and withdrew his admittedly phenomenal cock. Evan roughly pushed my thighs apart and pushed the head of his cock between my wide open, swollen pussy lips. My eyes squeezed shut as he thrust fully into me for the first time since the plane.
Evan glided his cock inside of me. My pussy convulsed, exulting in his presence. His hands slapped onto the table on either side of my head as he thrust away.
“How you like that?” he growled.
“If Evan Jones comes back, can you tell him that his grandpa was trying to fuck me?”
His eyes widened, and I shot him a fierce grin. Then he clamped his hand down on my neck and drove into me harder. His teeth gritted, his eyes shone with that perfect moment where men give in to their physical desires.
“You like it hard, huh?” he growled.
“Yes,” I gasped between slapping thrusts. It felt amazing, but I couldn’t help but poke the bear. “So, if you want to start fucking me hard any time now, I’m ready. Sir .”
His fingers tightened on my throat, and he went at me even harder. The desk shook on its foundation, rattling the chairs. A folder slid off and tumbled to the floor, sending papers flying about in disarray.
I cried out, wrapping my legs around his waist as he thrust into me like a pile driver. His soulless office had never seen passion like this, I knew that for a fact.
“Are you coming?” he asked as he thrust me over the precipice of orgasm.
“Yes, SIR!” I screamed and that time I wasn’t mocking him. I screamed my throat raw as he filled me with his hot seed. His cock throbbed inside of me for several seconds after he came.
I pushed him on his chest until he got the hint and straightened up. I slid off the desk and pulled my skirt back down as he looked on in confusion.
I buttoned up my shirt without saying a word, and then walked out of the office. I paused at the door, not even fully looking at him, just glancing over my shoulder.
“All right, Evan. Send me the damn contract.”