Chapter 17

Mona

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted as he got ready to go out to dinner with the Masterson group. “I’ll come up with something. I’ll play it by ear, no big deal.”

“What did Neil tell you to do?” I asked, cocking my head and planting my hands on my hips.

I had to admit, this was a little funny, Oliver getting called out on his playboy ways by a company he was courting. I hadn’t realized how far that kind of news traveled, but then, I imagined a group as stringent as Masterson wouldn’t associate themselves with anyone who might jeopardize their impeccable reputation.

“He told me to make like I had a wife back home or something, but I don’t think they’d buy it,” he said. “I think they’d suspect I was playing them.”

“I’ll see if I can rustle you up a wife,” I joked. “Someone convincing.”

“They’re picking me up in ten minutes,” he said, glancing at his watch and frowning. “So you better be quick about it.”

“Do you think it would help?” I asked, positioning myself on the edge of the bed and crossing my legs. I glanced back at the covers and pillows and the memory of how natural it felt to wake up in his arms.

The hotel had organized another room for us, and I was doing my best to hide my disappointment every time I was reminded that I wouldn’t be sharing a bed with him for a second night.

“It wouldn’t hurt,” he shrugged.

Oliver looked incredibly handsome all dressed up to go out like that. He wore a dark gray suit with thin, white pinstripes, subtle but still undeniably there.

His hair was pushed back from his face, and he was freshly shaven, every bit the charming, successful businessman.

I had an idea of how he could handle his reputation with the Masterson people. I just had to get my nerve together to get the words out.

“I could come with you,” I blurted out.

He looked at me in the mirror, lifting his eyes as what I was suggesting dawned on him. I couldn’t believe I had just said that. I mean, we were talking about Oliver Paulson, here. God knew how many women he’d been with over the years, and here I was acting like he might consider taking me around on his arm and passing me off as his partner?

My heart flipped with excitement at the thought, and I did my best to ignore it. This was only business after all. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

“As my wife?” he asked to clarify.

“As your fiancee,” I suggested. “That way, if they ask about it again in the future, you can just say we called off the wedding.”

“Are you serious?”

He raised his eyebrows, a grin spreading across his face as he observed me with amusement.

“Feels like the premise of a sitcom episode.”

“Why not?” I shrugged, playing it cool but knowing my nervousness must have been visible on my face.

He was right, it did seem ridiculous, now that I thought of it. And that was the kind of thing that would have been in the news. If Masterson had been looking into Oliver’s private life, they would have heard about him getting engaged.

“I mean, it’d get all those tabloid stories out of their heads, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess you’re right,” he muttered, and I could see he was actually considering my idea. “You think you could do it? For the whole night? We’d need to get our story straight, make sure we were approaching it from the same angle and that we didn’t trip ourselves up in the details.”

“What, like I say we met at college and you say Neil introduced us, or something?” I teased. “I promise, I’ll keep my mouth shut. I won’t say anything that’s going to get in the way of the deal.”

“Sit still and look pretty?” he said, and he smiled at the thought. “Doesn’t seem like something you’d be good at.”

“I can pull it off for one night,” I assured him and I felt a little flutter at the knowledge that was how he saw me. Not as some ornament, but something more than that.

He paused for a moment, clearly considering the offer.

“You know, it might work.” he finally said, coming to terms with it. “It’s a crazy plan, but if we can pull it off, it might actually help land this deal, once and for all. I don’t want to fuck things up after we’ve come this far.”

“We should do this?” I asked, the uncertainty rife in my voice.

He looked up at me, his eyebrows raised.

“I need you confident,” he teased. “You’ll need to be the one to keep me grounded.”

“I’ll do my best.”

I grabbed my bag and ducked into the bathroom.

“Let me change – I’ll be out in five minutes.”

“Make it quick,” he ordered.

I closed the door behind me and looked at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I was going out tonight, sitting in on the Masterson meeting – one of the biggest meetings in Artemis’ history. It would be a huge boost for my career if I weren't going along as Oliver’s fiancée.

Oliver needed me to be elegant and charming tonight but also loyal and domestic. A perfect partner. My career could wait.

My stomach flipped back and forth at the thought of what I was about to do. How far would we go? Would we hold hands for show? Would he kiss me? Would he touch me, lay his hand on the small of my back to guide me through the restaurant?

The thought of it made my heart squirm, and I turned away from the mirror to unpack the dress I’d brought. It was a navy number, crisp and sleek – one of the first things I’d purchased when my very first pay check had come through.

I hadn’t thought to bring anything date appropriate, but hopefully, this would suffice. Not too sexy but not too old fashioned either.

I slid into the dress. It was just stylish enough to work with my hair down and my makeup done for evening. I slicked on some lipstick and fluffed my hair, raking my fingers through it so it fell down around my shoulders.

It would be the first time Oliver had really seen me in anything other than office wear. I hoped he would be pleased.

I rubbed a spot of dirt off my shoe, glanced at myself in the mirror one last time, and headed back out the door.

“They’re here,” Oliver announced as soon as he heard the bathroom door open. Then, he turned, and his eyes travelled up and down my body. “You look amazing…”

He trailed off, and the phone that sat on the table next to the bed sprang to life, making us both jump. I took a step toward him, as though silently prompting him to finish his sentence. My lips parted slightly and I looked up at him, not wanting the moment to end.

“Okay, I don’t think we can put them off any longer,” he said smiling and offered me his arm. “It’s show time.”

I stepped toward him and placed my hand on his outstretched arm. It felt good, natural, obvious, even. I wanted to lean my head against his shoulder and inhale the familiar scent of his aftershave, but I knew that would be going too far.

It seemed like the rest of the night was going to be an exercise in testing boundaries, of wondering if he was having the same feelings as I was, or if he was really just doing this to secure the account.

We stepped into the elevator and descended to the lobby. A driver stood waiting for us. He rolled his shoulders back as we approached and gestured to the door.

“We’re ready to go when you are,” he said.

Oliver and I exchanged mischievous looks and stepped outside into the lightly drizzling, London night.

I thought it was kind of odd, the way they were taking him out on the town to finalize the meeting, but maybe that was just the way things were done here. This was a way of getting to know Oliver the person and decide if he is a good fit for their company.

The car was fancy, just like everything else had been so far. We slid into the back seat, Oliver making room for me. I had to suppress the urge to giggle like a school girl.

“Hold yourself together,” Oliver said playfully, like the two of us were in a spy thriller, and the success of the mission relied on my ability to keep myself from bursting out laughing.

We sped through the city, and I peered outside at all the people getting ready to start their weekends. There were gangs of girls in short, bright dresses and heels, lifting their bags to shelter their hair, and guys in tight jeans clustering around the entrances of clubs, smoking cigarettes.

A few people tried to see in the window of our car as it edged by and I was proud to be there beside Oliver Paulson, his fiancee if only for one night.

We arrived at the restaurant, and Oliver helped me out of the car. His fingers grazed my waist and sent an flurry of tingles across my skin.

I had to fight the urge to lean into his touch, to silently beg for more, and then I realized I didn’t have to fight that urge. For tonight, I could go along with it. We were meant to do this. We needed to convince them that we were comfortable together. To sell the story I had convinced him to sell. I needed to lean into his touch as hard as I could.

Oliver looked down at me with softness in his eyes, and I smiled back, knowing we’d look like an adoring couple to anyone watching, and thoroughly enjoying the notion of it.

“Oliver Paulson?”

A voice came from beside us, and we turned to find a man a decade or so older than Oliver.

“Tom Masterson.” Oliver said, extending his hand to the man confidently. “Great to meet you.”

“You too,” the man said, smiling widely, and then his eyes moved over to me. “And this is?”

“This is Mona, my fiancée,” he replied, without even a hint of hesitation.

The words sounded so natural coming out of his mouth. It felt as though he’d been introducing me like that for years.

Tom extended his hand to me, and I shook it firmly but femininely.

“Nice to meet you,” I offered, bowing my head slightly in his direction. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Hilary and Nathan are waiting inside,” Tom said, motioning toward the restaurant. “Shall we?”

“Yes, please, lead the way.”

Oliver gestured for him to go ahead. We exchanged another playful look, and I could tell he was as surprised at how well things had gone so far.

The restaurant was one of those places that spend a lot of money on making things look as authentic as possible, clean lines, minimalist art, waiters and waitresses who seemed to have been created specifically to match the décor. I paused to look around,. I wanted to be sure to take everything in, but Oliver caught my hand and tugged me along gently.

I knew I should look as if I was used to this kind of evening, but I couldn’t quite manage it without a reminder. I lifted my chin and tried to arrange my features into an appropriately unaffected look, but I couldn’t get the smile off my face. Way to look natural, Mona.

We arrived at a table where a woman, Hilary, and a man about Tom’s age, Nathan, sat. Nathan got to his feet to shake our hands while Hilary simply nodded at us from her seat and smiled tightly, looking me up and down and glancing over at Oliver.

“I didn’t realize you were engaged,” she remarked, and I still had the ring on my finger from the day before.

He nodded without missing a beat.

“Yes, this is my fiancée Mona.”

He glanced over at me, smiling fondly and reaching out to lightly touch my waist. “It’s her first time in London.”

“I’m sorry you’ll have to spend at least some of your time in meetings with us,” Nathan joked, and I offered him a laugh that I hoped would display the perfect amount of charm.

“Not at all,” I assured him as I took my seat.

Oliver sat next to me and briefly reached under the table to squeeze my bare leg. I felt a zing of excitement shiver up my thigh and my pussy swelled.

He didn’t have to do that, but he did, and just like that, it felt as though the night had gotten a whole lot more promising.