Accidentally Married to the Billionaire 1(24)
“Morning,” he said, evidently much less troubled by their unconventional situation and obvious nudity than Marj was.
“Who the hell are you?” she demanded.
“Is that any way to greet your husband, Mrs. Cates?” he said with a lazy smile, levering himself up onto the bed.
His persistent nakedness was very disconcerting. She wished he’d cover up but the damn sheet was still on the floor. She leaned over the other side of the bed, grabbed a pillow and placed it in front of herself. So, at least, one of them was covered modestly enough for the conversation that clearly needed to take place very quickly.
“I told your colleagues you were okay,” he said. “So they wouldn’t worry because you never came home.”
She ran a hand through her hair. “Thanks. So I guess, uh, we had a one night stand.”
“It’ll be more like a ‘one year’ stand when we’re done. Because that’s how long you signed on for.”
“We’re not married. This is a prank. You’re on some reality show where you play tricks on stupid, drunk women. Show me where the cameras are,” she said, her voice high and crazy, eyes darting around the room.
“No cameras unless you count my phone, and you were the last one to use that feature. You took a picture of the cake. The wedding cake.”
“Oh, quit it! There was no wedding. That’s stupid. That only happens in sitcoms and really bad chick flicks. I want my clothes and your name and—and your driver’s license number! So when I call my lawyer I know who to tell him we’re suing.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. My legal team—that is OUR legal team can take care of any litigation you need to pursue. Besides, I don’t have a driver’s license. I have a driver. You remember Rafael. He drove us to the jeweler and the chapel and back to the hotel last night.”
“Nope. No clue,” she insisted, “which is another reason I’m sure this is a set-up. I don’t get blackout drunk. I’m not sick enough with a hangover to have downed enough to get married and forget about it. I’m not that stupid.”
He smirked. “I hate to be the one to say this, my wife, but you are, in fact, that stupid.”
He vaulted off the bed, giving her a fantastic view of his fantastic ass, and went into another room. He returned brandishing a sheet of paper. A notarized sheet of paper with their signatures on it and a declaration from the great state of Nevada that two had become one in the eyes of the law.
“Well. Shit,” she said flatly.
She shut one eye, scrutinizing the document at a squint. It looked pretty damning.
Chapter 11
Marj stared at the marriage certificate. “Brandon Cates. Why does that sound familiar?”
“Uh, you married me.”
“No, not that! Who are you? I mean how would I know you besides obviously the shitfaced and stupid part?”
“CEO of Power Regions?”
“Double shit. You’re my new boss! I have GOT to call Britt!”
“What?”
“My best friend. She inadvertently screwed her boss a while back, and I gave her hell for being so dumb...and now I owe her a laugh at my expense,” she said, “I’ve screwed and married my new boss within, probably, a few hours of meeting him. Did I know you were my boss?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, then it’s even stupider. She, at least, had no idea. And it was technically her boss’s son. Well, our boss’s son at the time. The boss died—natural causes, don’t worry. But, I can’t even claim ignorance,” she shook her head, “what could I have been thinking? I mean obviously, you’re....”
“I’m what?”
“You know what you are.”
“What am I?” he asked disingenuously.
“You’re hot. Mega hot. However, I’ve never run down the aisle for a hot guy or any other. Looks wouldn’t be enough.”
“Your roommate moved out, and the rent is really expensive and so you can’t go to Starbucks. I remember that part.”
“No. This is impossible.”
“No, this is real.”
“Shit. Was the cake chocolate and espresso?”
“Yes.”
“I remember that! Dammit!”
“At least, you remember something about our wedding night, even if it is food,” he said with equanimity.
“It was really good. The cake, I mean. The rest, well, I’m sure that was fine, too. Oh my gosh! What have we done?”
“You don’t remember our first night together?”
She remembered his hot lips on hers, his sensual touch, the way he made her scream. She flushed. “Um, yeah. It’s all coming back.”