4. Liz
Chapter Four
LIZ
“There you are.” A deep and familiar voice calls my attention.
It’s Kent, looking as dapper as ever. But maybe slightly out of breath.
Did he rush to get back to me? After twenty minutes, I started to wonder if he was coming back.
Between his running off and Jacqueline still not answering my messages, I was beginning to feel abandoned.
Something I’m all too familiar with between my mother leaving my brother and me behind at the whim of every new love, and most recently, my fiancé having a change of heart.
My older brother Leo’s never abandoned me though. He’s the only person who’s been an example that there are still good men out there. Perhaps Kent is one of them. Or perhaps, he’s just like the rest of them. Lying, scheming, good-for-nothing heartbreaker.
My bitterness is beginning to make even my wine taste terrible.
“How was your meeting with the CEO?” I ask, sparking my most charming smile.
“It was interesting,” he says, and I get the sense it didn’t go so well.
“How so?” I ask.
“Well, that’s what I’d like to talk to you about.” Kent places his hand on the small of my back, and I feel a tingle shoot up my spine.
“Okay,” I say, and we head off. I follow him to a quiet corner of the lobby.
Once we’re tucked away from the corporate Christmas crowd, he steps closer.
His gaze falls from my eyes to my lips like he wants a sip of me.
I’ll happily pour him a glass. But then, he darts glances around us as if he doesn’t want anyone to know we’re together. So close. Like it’s a secret.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Why am I suddenly not in the mood to talk at all? Probably because he’s the only guy I’ve even remotely thought about kissing in months.
He raises one dark eyebrow. “You’re a businesswoman, right?”
“Yes,” I reply, almost cautiously.
“Well, I have a business proposition for you.”
I lean back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. Where is this going? “What kind of business proposition?”
“The kind that only two people enter into when everything’s on the line. I need your help. If we can pull this off, it will be equally advantageous.”
Okay, now I really have no clue what he’s talking about. “Kent, what’s going on? Why are you being so cryptic?”
He takes a breath and glances around one more time. Then, his blue eyes lock onto mine, and I know whatever he’s proposing is serious. So much so it equally scares and excites me.
“Before the new year, the board of directors is supposed to vote me in as the new head of Bonnaire Capital.”
“Congratulations,” I say.
“Congratulations isn’t in order yet. I just found out that they’re having second thoughts.
” Ugh, second thoughts are the worst. When you say you’re going to do something.
Do it! If it’s promised, then just give it to me!
“Apparently, they’d prefer to give the job to someone more mature.
A married man. And now they have someone else in mind. ”
“Who?” I ask as if I have any idea who any of these people are.
He clenches his jaw. “Someone who doesn’t deserve it. I’ve earned this job. It belongs to me. It’s my name on the building. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to get it. You can understand that, right?”
“Absolutely. That’s why I’m here.” Because I’m desperate to save my company. “But what does any of this have to do with me?”
“Well, this is where it gets interesting.”
“Interesting?” I raise an eyebrow.
“To show him and the rest of the board that I’m not only the best man to take over the firm but I’m a mature family man too, I told him that I’m recently engaged.”
The lovely red wine turns to sour grapes in my gut. Kent Bonnaire is engaged? Then why would he ask me on a date? I’m so confused. “Hold on. You’re engaged?”
“No. But that’s where you come in.”
Uh, what?
“Liz, I know this is a big favor to ask, but I need you to come upstairs to meet my father and pretend that we’re engaged to be married.
Just until the new year when I’m named President of Bonnaire Capital.
” He can’t be serious. Me? Lie to the CEO of Bonnaire Enterprises, who also happens to be his father? Is Kent drunk?
He continues, “And in exchange, I will make sure that your company gets everything that it needs. Better resources. Done. Lower fees. Done. You can have whatever you want. I just need you to spend the rest of the month here in London under the guise that we’re, you know, in love or whatever.
” His stare intensifies with a mix of desperation and confidence.
Who knew such a combination could exist?
“Umm.” I’m blinking so fast that I feel like I’m about to black out.
Pretend to be engaged? To Kent? Until New Year’s?
That sounds totally nutso. Especially after my recently failed engagement.
No, I can’t do that. But instead of saying that, my curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask, “What happens after New Year’s? ”
“We stage a breakup. You go back to San Francisco to run your company however you want. And I’ll be here running mine.”
Two ended engagements in one year? That’s not a great look for me. Even if one is a ruse. Besides, I’m supposed to spend Christmas with my mom and brother this year for the first time in nearly a decade. I can’t miss that. My mom’s never around for holidays.
“Kent, I would love to help you but this isn’t a good time.”
“Why not?”
“I’m spending the holidays with family.”
“Then, you can invite them here. We can all spend it together.”
“No, I wouldn’t want them to know about this little hoax. Besides, I’m sure there are a million women in London alone who would be happy to play this role.”
“Perhaps, but none on such short notice. I told him I’d bring you up to meet him. Now.”
“Kent, I’m in the middle of signing a deal with this firm. I can’t go upstairs and lie to the CEO’s face about something this big. What if he finds out? What happens to my deal then?”
“He’s not involved in the venture capital side. He’ll never find out about your deal.”
If Kent wants to put on a fa?ade in hopes of getting his big-boy boss job, then more power to him. Under these circumstances, there’s zero reason I should get involved. So I’ll have to pass. “Look, I consider myself a risk taker. I thrive on it. But this? I don’t see how it’s worth the risk.”
“What if I double the capital investment?” he blurts.
“Double? Did you say double?” Does he know how much money that is? SOLIDS would skyrocket with that kind of money. It’s the kind of money that would make everyone forget about my last venture capitalist fiasco.
“Yes, double. And pay your debts free and clear.”
Double the money and be debt-free? Talk about a jackpot win. A Christmas miracle. But wait . . . I knit my brow. “How do you know about my company’s debts?”
“After I called you to come back to London, I did some digging on your business. I read all the documentation. Every last word. That disaster in Silicon Valley gutted your finances. If the numbers are accurate, you’re on your last leg.
Your company could go under in what? Six months?
Ten if you’re lucky.” He’s right. He’s seen it all.
My heart is pounding at the prospect. I could lose it all.
And soon. “This could be a fresh start. For both of us.”
A fresh start is all I’ve been asking for. When he called me a few weeks ago, I thought that’s what I was getting. I just didn’t think it would come with any strings attached. But like he said, I’m a businesswoman, and this is the business deal of a lifetime.
“And all you want me to do is hang around until the end of the year and pretend to be your fiancée.”
“That’s it. A simple transaction. What do you say?”
I say it’s going to be another Christmas without my mom.
But what else is new? Next Christmas, I’ll be on top of the world.
Besides, as fake fiancés go, he’s not half bad.
I can hold his hand. Bat my lashes. Indulge in a public kiss from time to time.
A private kiss would be fun too. So yeah, I’d say this is a strategic risk worth taking. The reward is huge.
“I say, can I get that in writing?”
Kent’s eyes light up as his wide grin reveals those perfectly straight teeth. “Thank you,” he says, grabbing my shoulders as if he’s about to pull me in for a hug, making this deal even sweeter. But then his expression goes all business again. “Just one question.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“How are you at faking it?”