Chapter 2
“Thanks for agreeing to see me.”
“No problem.” Robert watched as she flitted across the blue-gray carpet, her slender frame tensed, her movements jerky. He had been surprised by her phone call and had not hesitated in agreeing to the meeting.
“I know you are busy and probably had to shuffle things around to meet me.”
“Nothing much.” He thought of the conference call to China and the dinner invitation he had declined in order to make the meeting, but she did not have to know that. He was curious as to why she wanted to see him. And of course, dazzled by her beauty as always. “You sounded…, anxious.”
Whirling to face him, she studied the man behind the massive oak desk. Robert Faulkner had come a very long way from being the poor scholarship kid from their high school days.
He was wearing a baby blue cotton shirt that was discreetly expensive, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal powerful arms with their covering of dark brown hair. His tie was loose around his neck and the two top buttons of his shirt opened to reveal his strong throat.
“I’m afraid I am going to ask a very big favor, and I want you to know that you are free to say no and boot me out of your office,” she began, nerves scattering along her spine.
His brows lifted as he continued to stare at her. “You cannot tell me sitting down?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Oh God. I cannot do this.”
“Is it that much of a favor?”
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, she decided to just plunge on. “I want you to marry me.”
To his credit, Robert did not react, at least not outwardly. In business he was known as a shark, as a man who did not reveal his feelings. He was dubbed as the man without an ounce of emotions.
Years of bottling things up inside him had come in handy when doing business. The women he had taken over the years, accused him of being carved from stone. One had accused him of having a plank of wood where his heart should be.
“I see.”
“No!” She shook her head quickly. “You don’t.” she explained about her mother and the demands being made.
“And your only solution is to give into her?”
“Yes!” She sat, sinking down on the sofa. “She holds the purse strings. All of it. And what I am doing is incredibly important to me.” Her exquisitely beautiful face was tense. “It would not be a real marriage.
Just for show, something to get her off my back. I do not want to be married. I have seen what that institution does to people, and I don’t want to be part of a statistic.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I have this friend, he is an actor and plays the part of a priest in a series and he owes me a favor.
It would be just us and of course…,” she frowned slightly. “You have a sister as I recall?” When he nodded, she continued. “Just close family and I am afraid we’re going to have to pretend to live together for a while. We could do alternate days.
My house is small but it is in the middle of the uptown area and near enough to your office and mine.” She passed her hand over her forehead. “It would be just for a month or two to satisfy her and then we can go about our business as usual. Are you seeing anyone?”
Robert was still trying to process and for a few seconds he did not respond.
“Not at the moment.”
“Good, neither am I.” She stared at him pleadingly. “You are the only person I could think of to ask. I know you are not interested in a relationship, and neither am I. So, it’s perfect.”
Moving forward, he folded his hands on the desk and pinned her with his intense hazel gaze. “Let me get this straight, you want us to pretend to get married.”
“Yes.”
“And live together?”
“Yes. Well, not exactly. You would be free to do as you please, see whomever you want, you just have to be discreet. I am aware that this is an awful lot to ask…”
“The mother lode,” he cut in bluntly.
She sank back in the chair and closed her eyes in defeat. “I am sorry. I don’t know why I came, why you should do me this favor. It’s going to put you out of your way, and you don’t know me, not really.”
“I knew you when we were in high school,” he pointed out.
“But we were…,” her voice tailed off abruptly.
“We were in totally different stratospheres,” he supplied smoothly. “The sun and the moon - as far apart as two people could ever be. I was the poor scholarship kid, and you were…,” he gestured with one hand.
“You were the most popular girl with an entourage. One who had never given me a second look, except that time when you came to my rescue.” His face was expressionless, his eyes hooded. “I have often wondered why you deigned to stoop so low.”
Sonya felt shame coursing through her body and could not look at him. Staring down at her clasped hands, she fingered the ruby ring on her index finger. It had also been a gift from her daddy, one she cherished.
“I don’t know!” She admitted truthfully, lifting her head to meet his gaze. “And there is no reason for you to come to my rescue…”
“Oh, but I want to.”
Her head jerked in shocked surprise. “You do?”
“I have my reasons. Won’t your mother be horrified that you have chosen someone like me? Without a pedigree?” His sensuous lips twisted cynically.
“I don’t care, and neither will she. You have something very desirable.”
“Ah, my extreme wealth, that will do it all the time.” Cynicism was stamped all over his face. A face, she noticed, was very attractive. “When do you want to do this?”
She stared at him for a moment in dazed wonder, not really believing it could be this easy.
“Next week, the sooner the better.”
“How shall we proceed?” A bitter smile touched his lips. “Surely you cannot expect anyone to believe we fell in love and decided to rush into marriage?” His hazel eyes raked her face and lingered for a few seconds on her lips.
Pushing away from the desk, he strode over to the built-in cabinet and pushed a button. Sonya was impressed in spite of herself when a fully stocked cabinet with rows of shelves bearing liquors of all description slid out smoothly. It was so cleverly designed that one would not know it was there.
“We could go out on a few – er – dates,” she fussed with her tote restlessly, “you’re an attractive man…”
“One who had previously avoided matrimony.” He had turned around to face her, one hand holding the squat glass. “My sister was just saying yesterday at lunch that it was time for me to settle down.”
He twirled the liquid in the glass, his eyes holding hers. “She has been dating and wants me to meet the guy. She is bringing him by on Sunday for dinner, why don’t you come as well? That way we could get the formalities out the way.”
“I am not sure…”
“She will want to meet you,” his expression hardened, “and she has to approve of my choice.”
“It’s not as if we are really getting married,” she reminded him with a shaky laugh.
“Nevertheless…,” he left the rest of it unspoken. “Shall we say seven?” Moving towards his desk, he picked up a silver card and jotted something on the back. “My address and mobile number.” Turning around, he handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She moved towards the door and then stopped.
“Robert?”
“Yes?”
“You haven’t told me why you’re willing to do this.”
“No, I haven’t,” he glanced at his watch, “I am afraid, I have a meeting.”
“I will never forget this.”
“I am sure you won’t,” his tone was clipped and enigmatic, sending shivers up and down her spine.
Stepping out, she closed the doors behind her.
He had lied to her of course. He had no meeting. Sinking down in the chair, he leaned his head back and expelled a shaky breath. He was mad. There was no other word for it. He had to be insane to be agreeing to this, but Jesus! He would do anything, barring none, to get a chance with her.
He closed his eyes and tried for calm. It was almost twenty years. That was a hell of a long time to be hung up on a woman. But he was stuck and hell he had tried to get over her. He had fallen in love with the most popular girl in that private high school – that damn place that had caused him so much hell and humiliation.
Of course, he would have had to be blind and totally immune, and he had a feeling that no one could ever be immune to her beauty.
His mind drifted back to the first day he had seen her. He had been attending Belair High, the prestigious Catholic school that had magnanimously offered him and several other downtrodden kids in the depressed area where he lived- scholarships.
He had a feeling that they had been trying to fill some sort of quota demanded by the state and somehow his name had made the cut.
The speech from the pompous asshole who had been the principal at the time had made it clear that they were privileged to be awarded a place in such an institution and to make the best of it.
The man’s eyes had drifted over them with barely disguised distress and distaste as he stressed the fact that they were to walk the straight and narrow.
“We do not tolerate the use of drugs on our hallowed grounds. Do your due diligence and try and make something of yourselves. You have been given a chance, I would advise you to always remember that.”
Robert had hated the elegant hallways, the snotty rich kids who did not waste any time in making them feel like crap. But he had been given the chance and it was a stepping stone to what he wanted to achieve.
He was determined to get out of the hell hole, he called home. He would keep his head down and do what’s necessary, even if meant enduring the ribbings and the scornfulness and pettiness from his classmates.
But they did not stop at words. They had to assert their powers as well, by beatings and snide little pokes every chance they got. Robert was a scrawny kid – too little food and too much energy. And the first time he was cornered by three of the most popular boys in school, he had been helpless.
They had beaten him within an inch of his life and managed to bruise several ribs. He went home limping, but never complained or said anything to his mother.
The next time was two days later, and he was rescued by what he thought was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. There he was, cowered in one corner, when the doors to the science lab burst open and she came marching in.
“Really? This is what we are doing now? Beating up on the weak.” She had aimed lethal dark brown eyes on the blonde asshole who had his foot on Robert’s chest. “I expect better from you, Jason, and if you don’t back off right now, we are no longer in a relationship.”
Apparently the threat had been enough, because all three of them had backed off.
Jason had tried to pull her into his arms as a way of being contrite, but she had shaken him off, leveling him with a cool look. “Just go away.”
Robert had somehow managed to ease his way off the floor, ignoring the blinding pain that was emanating from his sore ribs.
“Thanks.”
She had nodded. “My name is Sonya, and I would advise you to try and stay away from those three. I will ensure they don’t bother you again.”
“Robert! She was at the door before he found his tongue.
“Pardon?” Even her voice sounded rich and beautiful.
“My name is Robert!”
She flicked him a glance as if that did not interest her in the least but had nodded politely and had left him leaning against the wall, his heart racing.
He had tried to talk to her after that, but she had looked through him as if she had never met him before. Afterwards he had the painful task of watching her every single day and torturing himself with hopeless thoughts.
She was everywhere. Not only was she the most popular girl in school, but she was also the most active. Head of the cheerleading team, head of the debating team, she was also very athletic. She was on the swim team, lacrosse, volleyball, and tennis.
The blonde asshole was the star quarterback and the two were dubbed the most beautiful couple at the time. Robert had to endure seeing them together constantly. He recalled the evening after a match when they had won an astounding victory over a visiting team.
He had been on the bench when Sonya had raced onto the field, her short skirt barely covering her long and shapely legs. His heart had jolted painfully when she flung herself into Jason’s arms and the two had exchanged a torrid kiss that had the crowd cheering.
That night he had sat outside on a tree stump near his home and cried. It was then he had vowed to make something of himself so that she would notice him.
Now he had. He had clawed his way up against all odds and was now one of the most powerful men in the country.
And he was still in love with her. It was pathetic. He had spent years trying to forget her, telling himself that he should move on. But no matter the women he took to his bed, her face was the one he always sees. He had stopped trying.
Picking up his forgotten drink, he downed it, relishing the fiery path from throat to stomach. He wanted her and by God, he would have her.
*****
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I was thinking we should start going out.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Leaning back in the chair, Robert jerked his head, indicating that he wanted privacy. Without a word, his assistant gathered up her things and discreetly left the office, closing the doors behind her. “What do you have in mind?” His head was still woozy from drinking himself into a stupor last night.
“Jackson has an opening at his gallery tonight over on Main Street. Did you have anything planned?”
He mentally checked his schedule, which was always too packed and ruthlessly decided to break the dinner date with Merva, an actress he had been seeing casually for the past two weeks. “Nothing of significance.”
“Shall I meet you there?”
“Why don’t I send a car for you? That way we can be seen entering together. The press will be there in all its glory.”
“Or we could start small.” She sounded nervous. “What do you think?”
His expression hardened as the insecurities of his past came flooding back.
“If you’re ashamed to be seen with me, then I suppose we could find somewhere private.”
“No! I apologize if it sounded as if I was implying that I was. It’s just that we are entering this farce, and the press is going to make a big deal- you know what? Let’s do it. We will cross that particular bridge when we get to it.”
He heaved a silent breath of relief and felt the giddiness rushing through his body.
“Shall we say seven-thirty?”
“I will be ready. Robert?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you again for agreeing to do this.”
“Of course. See you later.” He hung up before he could make a fool of himself.
Picking up the phone, he called Merva and set about breaking the date. She will know soon enough that it was over.
*****
Sonya stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself critically. The weather had taken a turn, portending the hint of fall that was just lurking around the corners. She missed the fading away of the summer weather, the kiss of heat on her skin when she was outside and the flowers blooming in the garden, she took such pleasure in molding.
The house was a mile or two away from her nearest neighbor and she preferred it that way. She had purRobertd it sometime ago, when she decided that living in the city had its charms, but they had worn thin.
She was near enough to the city to indulge in her love of the arts, the theater, the museum, art galleries and the delightful park where she loved to jog. Not to mention her favorite restaurants and department stores.
She did not have a maid but preferred to use a cleaning service. She had come a long way from being the spoiled daddy’s girl of the past.
She would like to think that she had grown up and matured. And that she was a better person. She worked hard to get rid of the selfish, shallow person of her youth. Sometimes she thought she was succeeding. Sometimes not.
Passing a hand over the russet gold sheath, she examined herself carefully. The dress was thin, the material light and had been picked up on one of her visits to Paris in the spring. It had thin straps crisscrossing around her back and making it impossible for her to wear anything under it.
She had left her hair loose and the thick dark brown strands crackled with vibrant life, drifting past her shoulders. Her makeup was flawless, the diamond earrings glinting at her lobes.
She was wearing the necklace her dad had given her and decided that it was enough. Stepping back from the mirror, she walked into her vast closet to look for shoes and sat on a padded bench against the wall.
Robert Faulkner had agreed to come to her rescue. Passing a hand over her arm, she stared at the revolving shelves, an anxious expression on her face. She vaguely remembered him. The memory of a scholarship kid zapped through her brain, one that had been tortured by her then boyfriend, Jason.
A grim smile touched her lips as her mind drifted to her first love. It was natural for them to get together as a couple. They were the two most popular in school. Jason with his honey blonde hair and laughing blue eyes.
The star quarterback and the head cheerleader. They had been so cliched. And those days, thought they were going to end up together, married and having children.
But life had turned out differently and she had no regrets. Now Jason was a corporate lawyer and on his second divorce. He had not maintained his good looks either. His hair had started thinning and his former athletic body had gone soft. There was a look of extreme discontent about him that was unmistakable.
“If you had married me when I asked, I would have been much happier,” he had told her teasingly.
But she doubted that. Jason had only grown in age, as far as maturity goes, he was lacking in that department. He had joined his family’s law firm out of a sense of duty and was not happy with his choice.
Sonya was happy with the way her life was going. She loved what she did, and it was not considered work. Most of all, she was happy with her life and sorry that she had been foolish enough to think that a childhood crush was something to take further.
Shaking her head, she wondered what people – their friends from school would think if they knew she and Jason had never made it all the way. Somehow, Sonya had not wanted him to be her first. It had not felt right.
A breathless laugh escaped her as she wondered what they would say to the fact that she had never allowed any man to go all the way, that at thirty-two, she was still a virgin. And she had tried several times to change that.
In college, there had been Jeffry, but he had not done it for her. His pawing and eagerness to get her clothes off had turned her off.
Then after college, there had been Michael, who was sweet and kind, but had started pressuring her to marry him.
Taking a deep breath, she rose and resumed her search for appropriate footwear.