Chapter 20
Jackson
My head isfull of memories and questions for Zara, but I know I need to focus. Now is not the time to figure out how to proceed forward with her. My brain knows that I should forget about her. I do not need to spend any more time worrying about her and what’s happening in her life. The sound of Ethan coughing alerts me that I’ve spaced out, so I try to focus and pretend I’ve been paying attention to him.
”You didn”t have to come,” I tell Ethan and Sarah as we enter my grandmother”s dining room.
”You practically begged us to come,” Ethan says, shaking his head. ”I mean, we canceled our trip to Maine.”
”I”m joking,” I say, grinning at him. “I’m grateful that you’re here. I’ve just been a bit distracted by something.”
”Is everything okay?” Sarah asks me softly, touching me on the arm.
”I”m fine. Why?”
”You”ve just been acting a little bit weirder than normal. Normally, you”re in such a funny, teasing mood. And you haven”t been that way. You’ve been so quiet.”
”I”m fine. It”s just been a crazy week.”
”Your dad?” she asks, and I nod, but that”s not why I”m feeling so upset and out of it right now. I’ve been thinking about Zara and how she said no when I asked for her phone number. I can still picture her as she carried her nephew and niece into the building. The tender way she kissed them and brushed back their hair. She may not be their mother, but she loves them, and I can tell from how they looked at her that they love her as well. That was the first time I ever thought about what it means to have children, that unconditional love. They didn’t care they’d been in a club or out late at night. They were just happy to be with her. It’s hard for me to understand that love.
It”s weird because it’s not something I grew up with. My father wasn’t particularly loving, and neither was my mother. From age seven, I was sent to boarding schools and focused on school and sports. I never thought about loving or being loved.
”Hey, everything okay?” Ethan grasps my shoulder, and I look up at him.
”Sorry, what?”
”You totally spaced out again. Sarah asked if you wanted to come with us to the Hamptons next week.”
”Oh. Sorry. I was thinking about something work-related.”
”Really?” he says, raising an eyebrow. ”What work-related item were you thinking about?” I attempt to come up with an answer and am saved by my grandmother’s arrival.
”There you are.” I don’t know if I’ve ever been so thankful for my grandmother as she walks through the door and gives me a big hug. ”Looking as handsome as ever, Jackson.” She kisses me on both cheeks and then turns her attention to Ethan. ”And you too. You”re a sight for sore eyes, Ethan. Come here, boy.”
”Hello,” he says, giving her a big hug and two kisses as well. ”This is my fiancée, Sarah.”
”Beautiful.” My grandma looks at her. ”Nice to make your acquaintance.”
”Nice to meet you as well,” Sarah says. ”I”ve heard a lot of amazing things.”
”I”m sure you haven”t,” she says, laughing. ”But what can I say? I”m the nicest Pruitt.”
”Grandma,” I say, and she waves her hand at me.
”So, would you like some aperitifs?” she asks and then nods to her butler, who’s standing in the corner. He approaches us, and I see Sarah”s eyes widen. Now, she realizes what it is to be a Pruitt and be amongst old-money. “And we can talk about the future and?—”
”Grandma, we’re just going to just relax for a second.”
”Of course, dear. Our guests won”t be here till later.”
”Guests? More guests?” I can feel myself starting to heat up.
”Just a few friends, dear. Just a few close friends.”
”Uh-huh,” I say.
”How”s your father?”
”He seems to be doing well. I saw him a couple of days ago.”
”I heard you had lunch.”
”Yes.”
”He told you he wants you to take over Pruitt Holding.”
”Yes,” I say, looking over at Ethan, who smiles at me. I”m grateful that I”ve already told Ethan what my father asked me and that my grandma hasn”t just sprung it on the both of us, letting out a big secret.
”And you said?”
”I”ve got a lot to think about.”
“You”re a Pruitt, Jackson. It”s your family company to take over.”
”I know, Grandmother, but…”
”But what? You make money for the Rossers, but you don”t want to make money for the Pruitts?”
Ethan chuckles. ”He does make us a lot of money.”
”I know he does,” my grandma says. ”And he needs to make us a lot of money as well.”
”We have a lot of money, Grandma.”
”But we can always have more,” she says, her eyes twinkling. ”When you have kids…”
”Grandma,” I scold her.
”What? I”m just saying.” The doorbell rings, and she beams excitedly. ”Ooh, that must be Louisa.”
”Louisa?” I question her, my stomach dropping.
”You know. Louisa Augustus.”
I groan. ”Please tell me that”s not Chuck Augustus”s daughter.”
She gives me a smile. “Yes, you know her.”
”Grandma, I”m not…”
”Hold on, dear. Let me go and get her. Come and greet our new guest.” She exits the room, and I clench my fists.
”I knew I shouldn”t have come. I”m so annoyed right now.”
”Well, it”s not like you”ve got any other ladies,” Ethan says. ”Might as well see if this is a good woman to date.”
”Trust me, Louisa is not anyone who I would ever date.”
”I bet she can”t be that bad,” Sarah says. ”Maybe you can bring her with you to the Hamptons next week.”
”Really?” I’m about to say more, but a loud cackle greets us.
”Look who it is. Jackson, my old chum.” Louisa walks in, her long blond hair swishing around her shoulders. Her nails are long and purple, her lips bright red. Her fake boobs are practically bursting out of her top. She looks tawdry, cheap, and smells like she”s just come out of a perfume parlor. If she were anyone else, my grandmother would send her packing. But because she knows Louisa”s dad and she knows that Louisa Augustus is worth billions, she puts up with it. ”Darling Jackson.” She gives me a big kiss on the lips, and I try not to shudder. ”I have been waiting to see you for years and years and years.”
”We saw each other a couple of months ago,” I say. ”At the Met.”
”Yes, but we didn”t do anything, did we? We didn”t get drunk and fuck like bunny rabbits.” She giggles. ”I”ve heard you fuck, fuck, fuck all night long. Like the Energizer Bunny.” I shudder as I look over at a grinning Ethan. This is horrific. ”So what”s the plan?” she asks.
”Sorry?” I raise an eyebrow at her. “What plan?”
”Do we get engaged before or after you take over Pruitt Holding? Daddy wants to know.”
”What?”
”What? You haven”t heard? I”ve heard that we are to be in an arranged marriage like Romeo and Juliet. Wait, were they an arranged marriage? If they were in an arranged marriage, why did they want to kill themselves?” She looks at Sarah. ”You’re pretty. But your outfit looks very cheap. Are you poor?” Sarah blushes, and Ethan rolls his eyes. I can see he’s about to say something when my grandma walks back into the dining room again.
”Oh, great, you”re all chatting.”
”Grandma.”
”Yes, Ethan?”
”There”s something I need to tell you before we go any further tonight.”
”Yes, darling. You can tell me anything.”
”I”m engaged.” There”s silence in the room. Ethan”s gawking, Sarah”s gawking, Louisa”s gawking, and my grandma looks shocked. I grin.
”You”re what?”
”I”m engaged. I have a fiancée, someone I love, someone I”m going to marry. I didn”t want to mention her before, but…”
”We must meet her.” My grandmother uses the wall to her right to hold herself steady. ”I cannot believe you”re engaged, and I didn”t even know you were dating.”
”I didn”t want her to be overwhelmed, Grandma. I…” My voice trails off. I feel bad for lying but cannot let this go any further.
”We”re going to the Hamptons next week for the summer. Your fiancée must join us.”
”I don”t think she will be able to.”
”She will join us, Jackson Pruitt.” Her eyes are shooting daggers at me. ”If you”re to marry her, the family must meet her.”
”Fine. I know she”s excited to meet you all anyway,” I lie. I don”t know what I”m thinking or saying, but the words keep coming. “She’s a beauty.”
”Hmm.” My grandma looks suspicious.
”So what does that mean for me?” Louisa sounds pissed as she looks at my grandmother. ”I thought you said that…”
”Not now, dear,” my grandmother dismisses her and heads toward me. ”What”s her name?” I can tell she doesn’t believe everything I say, but I don”t care.
”Zara,” I say without thinking. ”Her name is Zara Hathaway. Ethan met her last week.”
My grandma looks at Ethan for confirmation. ”You met her?”
”In passing,” Ethan says quickly. ”I believe she was at the Owl and the Pussycat bar we went to the other night.” He raises a single eyebrow, questioning, and I nod.
”Yes, that was her. Sarah was also there, but I didn”t get to introduce them.”
”No, you didn”t,” she says, shaking her head, looking dazed.
”She”s wonderful, beautiful, and we have an amazing chemistry,” I say, looking back at my grandma. ”I”m sure that you”ll love her as well. I mean, why wouldn”t you? She”s the woman that I”ve chosen. She”s the woman I”m going to marry.”
”Well, then,” my grandma says slowly, trying to find the right words. ”This is a woman I must meet. The woman who has tamed my grandson, Jackson Pruitt.”
I nod slowly at her words and realize then that I”ve gotten myself into a world of trouble. I know that as soon as this lunch is over, I”m going to have to head over to Zara”s. I”m going to have to offer her a proposition to make her agree to pretend to be my fiancé. The thought thrills and scares me. I don”t know why I’ve put myself in this pickle.
Well, that”s a lie. I want to be around her. I want to touch her. I want to see her. I want to figure out who she is, what makes her tick, and why she”s such a doormat for everyone in her life.
I looked her up. She worked at a construction company after graduating from Columbia University. It appears that she is the only one in her home currently working. Her best friend was in some crappy play that looks like it has already been taken off its off-Broadway run, and her sister is a deadbeat who hasn”t worked since she”s been in New York. From what I can tell, Zara is taking care of everyone in her household and isn”t financially able to, based on her bank records, which I will not tell her I”ve seen. I used a private investigator who may have used illegal methods to get that information. But I know she was hurting. I know she needs money. And I’ll offer her a large sum to play my fiancée.
I have a feeling she won”t want to do it. I mean, she wouldn’t even give me her phone number. But I know that I am a closer, and with enough negotiation, I get the deal done, so I”ll get her to agree. I”ll get her to spend a couple of weeks with me in the Hamptons and make love to her every night. Not that I’ll tell her that when I make the offer. I will make the most of this situation. I have to ensure that everyone in the family believes we are engaged, and I will also get my fill of her so that she no longer occupies my mind.
She”ll have to play the role well, and that means she can”t tell anyone that this is a lie. That means she’ll have to truly live and breathe the part of being my fiancée. I once told her that her acting skills were poor and that she”d never win an Oscar, but I am praying that I was wrong.
I know we have chemistry. I know we don”t have to fake that. Everyone will see that chemistry, and people will believe that I, Jackson Pruitt, have been tamed. This ruse will put an end to my grandmother’s meddling and trying to hook me up with Louisa Augustus or any other eligible woman with a pedigree. Pretending to be engaged to Zara won’t work forever. But it will do for the summer until I come up with a better plan.