Billionaire's Contract Engagement(15)

Evan nodded. "I'm interested. Definitely interested. When can you have a  presentation put together for me? As I said before, I'm ready to move  on this. I don't mind taking a little extra time if I can be guaranteed  better results."

"You tell me when you can meet with us at Maddox and I'll arrange it," she said evenly.

"And Noah Hart?"

"I'll arrange it as soon as we get back."

"Then I'd say you've got your pitch appointment, Celia. I'm very  impressed with what you've had to say. If your presentation delivers on  the promise of your ideas, it's something my company will be very  excited about."

Though she had every confidence in her ability to win him over, his  enthusiasm gave her a wicked thrill. She was forced to play it cool and  smile politely as she thanked him, but on the inside she was doing an  insane victory dance.

She had phone calls to make. Brock would need to know so they could  start preparing. They'd want to do mock-ups of the advertising and have  it prominently displayed on the television monitors in the Maddox  reception area. On the day she'd give Evan her presentation, Maddox  Communications would be all about Reese Enterprises. No one else would  exist in the timeframe Evan was present in their offices.

"You have to tell me how you managed to get Noah Hart to agree to talk to me," Evan said as he pushed his plate aside.

A small smile flirted at the edges of her mouth and she suppressed the urge to grin broadly.

"I can't reveal all my secrets."

"You pull this off and you'll be legendary," Evan said. "The man has never so much as been tempted to take a deal."

Okay, now she felt a little like a fraud. Legendary indeed. While she  did love having an ace up her sleeve, she felt a little squeamish over  Evan's praise. Noah Hart was her big brother, and the truth was, there  wasn't much he wouldn't do for his little sister. Never mind that she'd  never asked him for any such favor before. She was this time, and it was  the only reason Noah was contemplating breaking his long-held policy.         

     



 

"Don't fawn yet," she murmured. "He might prove to be too expensive for you."

Evan's eyes glinted with a predatory gleam. He had the look of a man sure of himself and all things.

"I've not found many things in life that proved to be too expensive. I  may not always want to pay the price, but rarely have I found them out  of my range."

She smiled. "I sensed that about you, which is why I thought you might  be the one Noah would come to terms with. I think the two of you are  probably a lot alike."

Evan cocked his head to the side. "Just how well do you know him?"

Her lips lifted again, but she didn't answer. Evan's BlackBerry rang and  provided much needed distraction. She wasn't ready to tell Evan about  her relationship with Noah. Not yet.

She tuned into Evan's conversation when he said her name. He was obviously talking to his mom.

"We'll be there this afternoon. Four o'clock. Yes, I know. I won't miss  it. Dinner afterward. Celia and I are having lunch together down by the  marina. We'll meet you back at the hotel in time for rehearsal. You have  my word."

He hung up and let out a sigh as he tucked the phone back into his pocket.

"The woman is convinced I'll flake on the wedding. I wonder how on earth she got that idea?"

It was said so innocently that Celia burst into laughter. Evan joined  her and business was effectively put back out of the way once more.





Nine


The nice lunch by the harbor never happened. As Evan and Celia were  leaving the hotel, they ran into Evan's parents and Mitchell and  Bettina.

Lucy was thrilled, since they were on their way to lunch, as well, and  she suggested they eat together before they gathered on the terrace for  the very informal rehearsal.

It amused Celia that there would even be an actual rehearsal of the  ceremony since it wasn't a big affair and the bride and groom only had  two attendants each. Still, it was evidently important to keep up  appearances because they were going all out with a full-blown rehearsal  and a dinner and party afterward.

Bettina acted less than thrilled that Celia and Evan would be joining  them for lunch. Mitchell was visibly uncomfortable. When they were  seated, as luck would have it, Evan and Celia were placed across the  table from Bettina and Mitchell while Lucy and Marshall sat on the ends.

As a result, Celia was treated to Bettina's malevolent stare. The woman  wasn't even subtle about it. She picked Celia apart like a bug under a  microscope.

Evan reached for her hand under the table and gave her a squeeze. She  couldn't figure out if it was a gesture of support, sympathy or a  thank-you.

She turned and gave him a smile. For a long moment their gazes locked and he smiled back.

"Tell me, Celia, what is it that you do? Evan tells me you live in San  Francisco. Will you be moving once you and Evan are married?"

Celia turned to Lucy in surprise. The questions were natural for a  mother to ask, but Celia hadn't been prepared for them. Who was she  kidding? She hadn't been prepared for any of this.

"Celia is a crack advertising executive," Evan smoothly inserted. "We  haven't discussed where we'll live after we're married. Her career is  very important to her. I'd never expect her to give it up."

Oh, the man was good. If she was getting married, she'd want the guy she  was marrying to say exactly what Evan had said, and she'd want him to  mean every word.

Bettina sniffed. "But don't you feel a woman's place is at home with the children? You do plan on having children don't you?"

Celia frowned as she stared at the other woman. Was she for real?  Granted she was young. Celia guessed she was in her early twenties. What  the hell had Evan been thinking when he'd hooked up with her in the  first place? She was practically an infant and Evan had to be pushing  forty.

"I don't see that it's any of your concern whether I want children or  not and as for where my place is, it's wherever I'm the happiest," Celia  said. "I fail to see how I could possibly be the best wife and mother  by staying at home and being miserable."

Bettina looked genuinely confused. "I feel it's important for a woman  not to overshadow her husband. A husband's job is to provide for his  family. I'd never take that away from him."

Celia snorted. "You keep telling yourself that, honey. Call me up when  your provider husband has decided he no longer wants that job and is  going to leave you and the children to go find himself. Then tell me how  important it was for you to depend solely on him for your support, and  then tell me how easy it is to go find a job making enough money to  support yourself and your children when the sole job experience on your  resume is changing diapers and cooking dinner."         

     



 

Evan choked on his laughter while Lucy's eyes widened in shock. Mitchell  looked a little green while Bettina's mouth hung open. Marshall cleared  his throat and actually looked at Celia with something akin to respect.

"Well said, young lady. A woman should never put the welfare of herself  and her children solely in her husband's hands no matter how solid the  relationship."

"Marshall!"

Lucy sounded positively scandalized.

Evan sat back and looked at his dad. "You see why I'm so determined to  marry her. If my company ever goes bankrupt, I can stay at home and let  her support me."

The two men burst into laughter and Evan squeezed her hand harder.

"Have you two set a date yet?" Mitchell asked, entering the conversation for the first time.

He'd been strangely silent, and he'd studied her and Evan until Celia squirmed under his scrutiny.

Not wanting Evan to do all the talking, even if this was his charade and not hers, she smiled and looked back at Mitchell.

"He's only just convinced me to marry him. I did make him wait, and he had to ask me several times."

Evan squeezed again only this time it was a definite retaliation squeeze. She grinned and plunged ahead.

"I finally put him out of his misery and said yes. He wants a short  engagement." Some little evil imp made her poke Bettina a little with  that statement since Evan had kept prolonging their engagement. "He  wanted to elope to Las Vegas, but I want to take our time and really get  to know each other before we tie the knot."

Evan made a strangled noise and promptly took a long drink of his wine.  Celia kept a perfectly straight face as she took in the reactions of  Evan's family.

Lucy looked wary. Bettina looked murderous. Mitchell had a strange look  that could only be interpreted as a cross between regret and sadness  while Marshall nodded approvingly. He reached over to slap his son on  the back.

"You've got yourself a winner here, son. I heartily approve. This one  will keep you on your toes well into your old age. I like her."

Greaaat. She had the approval of her fake father-in-law to be. She  looked over at Evan as guilt swamped her. She'd gotten carried away and  hadn't been able to resist the opportunity to needle Evan a bit. Though  he deserved it, she still felt bad about carrying things so far.