Chapter Four #2
“No, they would not have because neither of us was headline fodder.” Implying that her “boyfriend” was and therefore their relationship would be in the press.
It was all she could do not to tell him that was the point.
In fact, if things went according to plan, the two of them would be all over the paper.
Her brother looked at her with the cool intensity he usually reserved for business meetings.
“Two years,” he said. “Two years, it took for me to get this company stable again after Dad ran it into the ground. Doing so very nearly cost me my marriage. The last thing I want is for it to be dragged down now by a scandal.”
“For the last time, there won’t be a scandal.” The only way that could happen was if news of their fake relationship leaked out, and she and Lewis weren’t planning to talk.
“We just want you to keep your wits about you.” As he so often did, Linus moved in as the voice of reason and distraction. “Guys like Lewis Matolo know how to play women to get what they want.”
“You don’t know anything,” she told him. “You’ve never even met Lewis.” And, so what if he was using her? Lewis had never been anything but honest regarding his intentions.
“I don’t have to. Trust me, I know. We’re cut from a similar cloth.”
No, they weren’t. The defense sprang to her lips despite her having zero evidence beyond a couple conversations, one of which centered around him using her to get what he wanted.
Linus leaned forward so his face was level with hers. “Look,” he said. “We’re not trying to be jerks here. We’re simply looking out for our baby sister. We just don’t want to see you get involved with something that might come back to haunt you.”
Because God forbid her relationship have some kind of future.
That, she realized, was what really hurt. Not Thomas’s worries about gossip, but their automatic assumption that her relationship was doomed. Was it so unbelievable to them that a man like Lewis could be attracted to her?
Granted it was a business arrangement but her brothers didn’t know that. You’d think they would have a higher opinion of her choices.
But then why should they venture off script, right?
“I don’t really care what you want,” she snapped.
Or what they thought of her either. “It’s my life and who I date is my business.
Now, if you don’t mind, it’s the end of the month.
I have a whole bunch of work to do and you’re sitting on my reports.
” Plus she needed to call Lewis so they could discuss their next step.
“Do what you want,” Thomas said as Linus rose to his feet. “But you better be right about his being a different person. First negative article I see with the name Collier attached and I’ll have your boyfriend’s head on a platter.” The toughness would have worked better if Linus hadn’t snorted.
“He means his legal team will,” her middle brother said. “Still, be careful, okay? Players are called players for a reason.”
“Are we done with the lecture?” Susan asked. She really wanted to talk with Lewis now. Hoping they’d take the hint, she reached for her desk phone. It worked. They shut the door and left her in peace. Although Thomas did manage one last stern look through the glass wall.
Susan immediately picked up the paper to study the pictures again. Just who did they think they were, poking their noses in her love life? And Thomas calling Lewis a degenerate. Wait until the Collier’s Christmas Party. She and Lewis would show everyone exactly how wrong their opinion was.
Even if they had to pretend to do so.
Has Champagne Lewis given up his wild ways? The former goaltender was seen canoodling with a brunette mystery woman at the O2 arena last night.
Sources say this isn’t the first time the couple has been seen together. The two were spotted at Esprit last weekend enjoying a romantic Sunday brunch.
Lewis slapped the tabloid on the table with a grin. “Not bad,” he said. “Not bad at all.” There were two things the press loved: a good celebrity romance and a good redemption story. He should have thought of this plan months ago.
His eyes dropped to the photograph of him and Susan.
Thankfully she wasn’t too annoyed about the “Mistletoe Cam” incident.
Yes, keeping it a surprise was a dirty trick, but it also kept her reactions natural.
The way her eyes widened in surprise, the way her lips parted.
You couldn’t fake those kinds of things.
She wasn’t the only one caught by surprise though. The original plan was to share a quick peck on the cheek. Lewis hadn’t counted on her mouth looking so alluring, nor had he anticipated how good her kiss would taste. Licking his lips, he swore he could still taste her sweetness.
Kisses didn’t usually linger with him. In his mind, women were more or less interchangeable.
Warm bodies that kept him from noticing he was alone.
He wondered if the fact that this was his first sober kiss in a long time was the reason he found it so memorable.
He’d been tempted to test the theory by kissing her again at the end of the night.
But then, when they reached her doorstep and Susan looked up at him with those marvelous green-and-brown eyes…
he’d backed away. Susan wasn’t interchangeable.
She deserved more respect than to be kissed simply for the sake of kissing.
But damn, he’d wanted to kiss her again. Wanted to so badly.
On the kitchen counter, his phone began buzzing an SOS signal, the vibration pattern he’d assigned Susan. He answered and hit Speaker while at the same time opening his refrigerator. “What can I do for you, Miss Collier?” he asked as he scanned the contents.
“Did your teammates really dislike you?”
“That’s an odd way of starting a conversation,” he replied. It appeared his housekeeper had done some grocery shopping for him. There was a fresh gallon of orange juice next to the milk.
“Did they?”
“I never spent enough time with them to know one way or another. Hung to myself mostly. Unless there was a party.” He paused to take a swig of juice. “What’s this about?”
“I’m sorry. Something my brother mentioned. He said you bounced from team to team because no one liked you.”
“More like management disliked paying my heavy contract fees.” Although he wasn’t surprised to hear his bad-boy reputation had fueled different stories. Once again, his partying ways left their mark. “I take it your brother saw the paper.”
“He did. He called you a degenerate.”
“I’ve heard worse.”
The pause on the other end of the line made him uneasy. “He’s worried about scandal,” Susan said. “I hadn’t considered how this might affect the company. Collier’s has only recently gotten back on solid footing. If people discover…”
“They won’t. I promise. I’m going to be on my best behavior.” He had too much to lose.
“I know you will,” she replied.
Her faith surprised him. She was the first person he’d met who really believed he’d changed. “I don’t want to put you in a bad spot. If you want to back out, I’ll understand.”
“I don’t want to back out—I gave my word and I intend to keep it. Besides… I had a good time last night.”
Lewis smiled at the shyness in her voice. “We’re famous you know,” he said.
“Everyone in my office is whispering and giving me looks. They probably don’t think I’ve been kissed before.”
“You have been, right?”
“Yes. Although never quite so publicly.”
“You’re not still sore about my keeping the Mistletoe Camera thing a secret, are you?”
The soft sigh on the other end of the line sounded playfully exasperated. “I’ve recovered. But I want a promise that next time I’ll get a little advance warning.”
The memory of her glazed eyes popped into his head. “No worries there. I doubt there’ll be a Mistletoe Cam at our next outing.” Meaning he wouldn’t have an excuse—that is, a reason—to kiss her.
“I suppose there wouldn’t be, unless we were attending another basketball game. That’s…good.”
Was the clipped tone in her voice disappointment or relief? “I think so,” he said. “I mean, it being a good thing. Can’t go heavy on the PDA if I’m supposed to be changing my ways, right?”
“Right. Absolutely.” He still couldn’t tell. There was noise in the background. Maybe she was guarding her end of the conversation.
His ego took a little kick. A little disappointment would have been nice. It’d been a pretty decent kiss in his book. Heck, women were known to pull off their tops just to get his attention.
Those were women who wanted him though. Susan was with him as quid pro quo. She didn’t really want him…
“Lewis?”
He shook his head. How long had he been staring into the neck of the orange juice bottle? “Did you say something?”
“I asked about the next step. Now that people know we’re…that is, you know…”
“A couple,” Lewis supplied. The word felt oddly normal.
“Exactly. What do we do now?”
Good question. According to his list, step two was to be seen at a few more formal events. Fundraisers with the proper people to establish his new social circle.
And he knew exactly the event. “How do you feel about the Kew Gardens?”
“In general? They’re lovely. What does that have to do with us?”
“We’re going to make our first official appearance there,” Lewis told her. “This Saturday night. I hope you have a formal cocktail dress in your closet.”
“I think I can rustle one up,” she replied.
He had no doubt. “In the meantime, I’ll talk to Michael about keeping up the momentum.”
There was a pause on Susan’s end of the line. He imagined her pretty pink lips drawing into a frown. “What does that mean?”
“Keeping us in the public eye, luv, of course,” he said. “If all goes right, it’ll be a fun week.”
The next few days were unlike anything Susan had ever experienced. It was like she’d changed identities overnight.
“What’s he like?” became a common question.
Along with “Is he as wild as they say?”