Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tristan
There was rarely a need for me to go to my clients’ offices. I got more done when I was working at home, and I liked the anonymity I got from doing things across email and telephone. I tried to avoid video calls as much as possible for the same reason.
I could admit to myself that my presence at Arthur’s offices had more to do with Saturday night than Arthur’s bank’s security.
Though she hadn’t done it deliberately, Parker had put me in a difficult position.
Now she had told me of her plan to get her hands on her trust fund, I was keeping something from Arthur.
And if I told Arthur, I’d be betraying Parker’s confidence.
Rock. Hard place. And the sound of my bones being crushed as I got caught between the two.
I was shown into Arthur’s office by his assistant.
Arthur had a desktop computer that was joined to the bank’s network, and an entirely separate, independent laptop.
Today was as good a time as any to do my regular checks to make sure everything was in order.
Checks I ordinarily did remotely and automatically.
Today, I’d decided to do them manually and in person.
I slipped into Arthur’s chair and switched on his laptop. A silver photo frame by the side of his desk caught my eye. Parker smiled back at me. She looked like she was on holiday, glowing in the sunshine, her bob slightly less sleek than I’d seen it before. Beautiful.
“Tristan! Maureen told me you were here.” Arthur strode into his office.
I shot up from his seat. “I thought you were in meetings, Arthur. I was just passing and thought I’d drop in and do your regular checks in person. A site check is sometimes helpful.”
He indicated that I should sit back down as he slipped into one of the chairs opposite his own desk. “You carry on. My meeting went unexpectedly short, which doesn’t happen very often.”
“You’re going to watch me work?”
“No, you’re going to work while I ask you questions about your date with my daughter.”
Internally, I sighed. We were edging toward dangerous territory. But that was why I was here, wasn’t it? I’d wanted a way to tell him without telling him what Parker was planning to do to get her hands on her trust fund.
“We had a lovely evening. She’s very charming,” I said, my fingers working on the keyboard, wanting to get these checks done so at least that didn’t turn out to be a lie.
“So you’ll see each other again? It’s been a while since Parker had a boyfriend. She needs something or somebody to distract her from working every minute of every day for that charity.”
Boyfriend?
“You must be very proud that she’s so passionate about something that’s so . . . important.”
Arthur exhaled and gripped the arms of the chair.
“Of course, I’m proud. So many offspring of my peers spend their entire lives hopping from party to party, spending their trust funds on meaningless designer clothes.
Parker has never been like that. I just wish .
. . I wish she was better at balance. She needs to have more fun. ”
I paused and glanced across at Arthur, wondering if he wanted me to tell him what I thought or whether he just wanted me to listen. Arthur wasn’t easy to read. “No doubt your parents felt the same way about you. No one becomes successful without being single-minded and driven.”
Arthur nodded. “Agreed. But somewhere along the way I managed to find an amazing woman to marry and we had a family. I want that for Parker too.”
From our conversations on Saturday, a real marriage and a family weren’t even on Parker’s radar. It was one of the reasons I liked her idea of a sham marriage. If her father had been anyone but Arthur, I might have said yes. It wasn’t like she seemed to put any value on being married.
“Maybe she doesn’t want that for herself.”
“If she just didn’t want to get married, that would be fine.
I don’t have a problem with that. But the issue is she’s given up.
Stopped trusting people.” There was a sadness in his eyes I’d not seen before.
“When it came to putting in place her trust fund, I wanted to make sure the idea of someone to share her life with was still a possibility. Getting married is one of the requirements for accessing her trust.” He glanced up at me.
I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know. “She mentioned that.”
Arthur held my gaze. “Mentioned it how?”
I was walking a tightrope. I’d known Arthur longer, owed him more than anyone could possibly imagine or repay, but Parker had done nothing to deserve my betrayal. “She said being married was one of the requirements of getting her trust fund.”
I’d half expected Arthur to be angry, but it was mirth I saw on his face. “That’s a funny subject to come up on a first date . . . unless—” He chuckled. “Did she propose?”
I sucked in a breath. Faced with a straightforward question, I wasn’t going to lie. “She said something about it.”
“That kid. She’s smart.” He shook his head. “She wants that money for Sunrise. Am I wrong?”
I didn’t respond, but that was an answer in itself.
“I hope you said yes,” Arthur continued, which threw me a little. He was clearly missing something. Or I was.
“Don’t worry. I’m not about to fake marry your daughter and lie to you about it.”
He paused before finally saying, “It wouldn’t be fake. If it were, she wouldn’t fulfil the criteria. And you’re not lying to me about it because now I know.”
I pushed the chair away from his desk. “You’re suggesting I marry Parker so she can get access to her trust fund?”
“Why not?” he asked. It was hardly the reaction I’d been expecting.
I’d assumed he’d be furious that Parker was going to try to trick him.
“Even a fake wedding would require Parker to put her trust in you to a certain extent. You’re a good guy.
You could show her that not all men are—” He stopped himself from going further and changed tack.
“She’d be forced to see life from a slightly different perspective.
You and she would have to spend time together—to come to our place for Sunday dinner.
And of course you’d have to live together after you’re married.
Maybe even after you’re engaged. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think it’s an excellent idea.
Might do you good too, Tristan. I’ve been thinking for some years that maybe you need some balance in your life. You work too hard.”
“I have plenty of balance, but I appreciate you looking out for me.”
Arthur continued like he hadn’t heard me. “At least I’d know she was with someone who could be trusted. There are some scoundrels about. And not just in banking.”
That was true. “Maybe you could have a word with her. I’m unlikely to be the last person she asks. It’s a lot of money and like you say, she’s passionate about what she does. It’s unlikely she’s going to give up finding a fake husband because I said no.”
He nodded but wasn’t listening. “Think about it, Tristan. You’d have my blessing,” he said. “In fact, you’d be doing me a favor.”
My aversion to deceiving Arthur had been my primary objection to a fake marriage. But if he was fully aware of what was going on and was fine with it, what was my problem? I would be helping out Parker, Arthur, and a very worthy cause. Wasn’t I an arsehole if I said no?
“The only thing I ask,” Arthur said, “is that you don’t tell Parker I know. If she finds out I’m okay with her sham marriage, she won’t put any effort in and the entire reason for that requirement in the trust will have been for nothing.”
So now he wanted me to lie to Parker? It didn’t sit well with me but at the same time, his motives weren’t bad. I’d always said I’d do anything for Arthur. Now I was going to have to figure out if that was true. Was I prepared to marry his daughter?