Chapter Four

Cole’s first attempt at approaching Kathryn Wellington had not gone well. First, she’d laughed at him; then she’d pointed out that all single men were the same. To make matters worse, after she’d walked away, he’d been accosted by a certain redhead with a fiery temper and an apparent problem with cussing.

Jack ship? What adult talks like that?

He should have been furious after what she’d said to him, but he only found her fascinating. Tapping his finger on the wood of his desk, he thought briefly about calling Paula in and asking her if Dana had been telling the truth, but he had a feeling that Paula would just lie about it. His best bet was to ask the other staff members what they’d seen or heard. Cole was used to people thinking that he was cold, but this was the first time that someone had actually called him out on it, and it didn’t sit well with him.

Opening the email on his phone, he scrolled down through the information that he’d bought from Kathryn’s personal assistant. Everyone had a price, and it hadn’t been hard to get the details that he needed about his target. He’d discovered that his usual coffee cart was one of her favorites, and he’d planned his schedule so that he’d run into her.

His usual charm hadn’t worked, and he idly scrolled through the rest of the information. Most of it he already knew. Kathryn was turning down men left and right. She spent most of her time shopping, and Cole wasn’t about to try and seduce her in the middle of a women’s boutique. There was a list of restaurants on her schedule, but she was meeting friends, and Cole wasn’t stupid enough to approach her when she was surrounded by support.

At the end of the month, she was taking a weeklong vacation on a cruise.

Alone.

The personal assistant noted that Kathryn wanted to get away from things and sort through her own thoughts. Cole knew that this was the perfect time to ensnare the woman, but there were a few problems. If he showed up on the cruise alone, she’d be suspicious, and she’d already made it clear that she didn’t trust single men.

So, what if he wasn’t single?

Having another woman on his arm would make him appear harmless, and she might open up to him on the cruise. If he had his heart broken by the end of the cruise, he’d naturally turn to the one friend that he had, and Kathryn would probably open her arms to him.

It was devious, but Cole wanted this deal enough to be ruthless. Since this was her father’s idea, he couldn’t really shoulder the blame, right?

It wouldn’t be hard to find a woman to go on a cruise with him. He could probably ask the first single woman he saw and she’d jump at the chance. The issue was that he wanted someone who would understand the relationship would be fake.

He needed someone desperate enough to do everything that he asked with no desire for a happy ending.

I’m going to be homeless, and it’s all your fault!

A slow smile crossed his face. He’d be killing two birds with one stone. Right an apparent wrong and use the beautiful woman to his advantage. How perfect was that?

Reaching for the phone, he pressed the line for his secretary. “Jeanine? Get me the address of that girl who was fired from the event planning department. The redhead.”

He should probably learn her name before he approached her.

Dana froze when she heard the knock on her door. She’d circled the building for an hour until finally seeing her landlord leave before she snuck back up to her apartment. Had he returned so soon?

“It’s Cole Parker.”

Son of a biscuit. She’d almost rather face her landlord than face him. Carefully creeping toward the door, she peered through the peephole. Sure enough, the handsome man stood just outside wearing an expensive suit and an impatient look. It was a tough neighborhood. If she waited long enough, someone would probably mug and kill him, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“To not have a conversation through the closed door. Open up,” he growled.

“This is my home, and you have no right to be here.”

“From what I hear, it’s not going to be your home for much longer. Let me in, and maybe I can fix that for you.”

Her eyes widened. Was he going to offer her the job back? Hurriedly, she slipped the two chains out of their slide and unlocked the three dead bolts. As she opened the door, he shook his head. “Three locks? Really?”

“This isn’t the safest neighborhood. You didn’t drive a car here, did you? If you did, you need to tell me so I can tell my neighbor to leave it alone.”

His mouth dropped open. “Your neighbor is a car thief?”

“Sometimes, but we’re friendly, so it should be fine.”

“You don’t think that’s something you should report to the police?”

Dana shrugged and stepped back to let him in. “I’m a single woman living alone. I’m not going to turn in the one scary person who’s willing to go to bat for me.”

“I had my driver drop me off,” he said after shaking his head. “I am aware of this neighborhood’s reputation. I’m not entirely sure why you want to fight so hard to keep your apartment.”

“It’s better than living on the street. Besides,” she protested, “I like it. It has character. Have you come to grovel and ask for me to come back and work for you?” Inwardly, she winced. That was probably not the best way to approach the subject.

He appraised her coldly. “No.”

“Oh. Which part are you saying no to? The groveling part or asking me to come back?”

“Both.”

“Because I’d accept a small apology. I know you’re probably not the apologizing type—wait, what?” She balled her fist up. “You’re not here to give me my job back?”

An amused smile played on his lips as he shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s a case of your word against hers. There’s not much that I can do.”

Great. That was just great. “So, what the hello dolly are you doing here?”

“I came to offer you a job.”

Was the man mental? “You just said—”

“I said that I wasn’t asking you to come back,” he interrupted. “And I’m not. You would not be working for Parker Industries. You’d be working for me.”

That sounded… strange. “Like, you need a personal assistant? Or someone to clean your house?”

“I need a girlfriend.”

Dana blinked. He said it like something he’d put on his grocery list. I need bread. I need milk. I need a head of lettuce, and I need a girlfriend. Clearing her throat, she tried to figure out just what he was asking. “You want me to set you up with someone? I don’t have a ton of friends in the city, but there are some great girls at work.”

“You misunderstand. I don't want you to find me a girlfriend. I want you to be my girlfriend. I’ll reimburse you for your time, of course. I’m sure you’ll find what I’m offering satisfactory. In addition, when the job is over, I’ll be more than happy to use my contacts to find you another job.”

For some reason, the information wasn’t processing. Dana was sure that there was a perfectly good explanation for why he wanted to pay her to be his girlfriend, but she couldn’t come up with one. He took one look at her blank face and sighed. “I don’t want you to actually be my girlfriend. I simply need you to pose as one for the next three weeks. While Parker Industries is under this ridiculous stipulation that my father’s will laid out, we’re all scrutinized by the press. It would be helpful if my love life appeared stable so that the press will focus on my business ideas rather than my social life. We’ll need to work on you a bit. I can’t be dating someone living in the projects…” He stopped. “Why are you living here? Parker Industries pays their employees well.”

“I wasn’t working for Parker Industries when I moved here,” she pointed out. “And then my ex-boyfriend liberated my money from my savings account. None of that matters. Are you saying that there’s something wrong with me?”

He smiled patiently at her. “Of course not. You’re a stunning woman, but your background isn’t compatible with mine. When I do decide to look for a serious girlfriend, it will be someone who is wife material and could create a strong family alliance in the business world. What did your parents do?”

This had to be the most ridiculous conversation she’d ever had. “Um. My father was a truck driver, and my mom was a cocktail waitress. You just complimented and insulted me.”

“Did I? How does fifty grand sound?”

“Fifty grand?” Her mouth dropped open. “As in dollars? You’re offering me fifty thousand dollars to pretend to be your girlfriend for a few weeks?” Her heart thudded in her chest. There was so much that she could do with that money. Her inclination was to immediately say yes, but he hadn’t been clear on the details. “Do I have to sleep with you?”

His eyes moved slowly up and down her body, and she shivered under his heated gaze. “I’ll need you to spend some personal time with me, and you’ll be by my side in public. There may be some light affection and a few kisses, but I have never paid for sex, and I do not intend to start now.”

Of course. Cole Parker had women throwing themselves at him. He certainly didn’t need to pay her for sex.

“Why me?” she asked bluntly. “There are a thousand women who would jump at this gig. Well, except for the woman at the coffee cart, but you don’t even know me.”

“You need a job, and we don’t have an intimate background that might cause you to hold unrealistic fantasies about this business arrangement. It’s fairly perfect.”

“Unrealistic fantasies?”

His gaze turned suddenly cold. “There is not, nor will there ever be, any love between us. In a few weeks, we will publicly break up, and I will never see you again.”

She wasn’t good enough to be his real girlfriend. That much was clear to her, and if she had any sort of dignity, she’d slap him and tell him to burn in hello dolly, but Dana desperately needed the money, and she really wasn’t in the position to choose dignity over surviving.

“You have a deal.”

Just like that, she felt like she’d made a deal with the devil himself.