‘Where the hell did he hear that?’ Remy barked.
‘Not sure,’ Brad said. ‘Maybe someone in Dharbiri spoke to the press. All I know is this is like winning the lottery for you right now.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Remy said.
‘Have you forgotten? You’ve been trying to win this guy over for months. The Bob Mappleton of Mappleton Hotels?’
‘That crusty old bastard who refused to even discuss a takeover bid, even though the shareholders are threatening to call in the administrators?’ Remy curled his lip. All because of that inflammatory email Henri Marchand had circulated. ‘Yeah, how could I forget? He’d rather face total bankruptcy than strike a deal with me.’
‘Well, here’s the thing,’ Brad said. ‘He just called and said he’s changed his mind. He wasn’t prepared to do business with a hard-partying playboy, but now you’re married to Henri Marchand’s daughter he figures that stuff Marchand said about you last year can’t have been true. He wants to set up a meeting. He’s as old-school and conservative as they come but this marriage of yours couldn’t have come at a better time.’
Remy felt his scalp start to tingle. The biggest takeover bid of his career: a chain of run-down hotels he knew he could make into the most luxurious and popular in the world. The Ibiza development was child’s play compared to this.
The catch?
He had to stay married in order to nail it.
He looked at Angelique who was giving him the evil eye. He could see the storm brewing in her grey-blue eyes. He could feel the air tightening along with her body. Every muscle in her face had turned to stone. ‘Call him and set up a meeting for the end of next week,’ he said to Brad.
‘Why next week? Why not this week? Why not today?’ Brad asked.
Remy grinned. ‘Because I’m going on my honeymoon.’ And then he closed his phone and started counting.
One.
Two...
‘What?’ Angelique spluttered. ‘I’m not staying married to you!’
‘Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you’re angry?’
Her eyes iced and narrowed, her voice coming out through clenched teeth. ‘Don’t try your charm on me, Remy Caffarelli. It won’t work. I’m not staying married to you, so you can just call your lawyer right back and tell him we’ll be up there in a less than a minute to sign on the dotted—’
‘What if you were to get something out of it?’
Her head slanted at a suspicious angle. ‘Such as?’
‘I’ll back your label,’ Remy said. ‘With my connections and guaranteed finance you could really take your designs places. You’ll become a global brand overnight.’
She wavered like a wary dog being offered a treat from someone it didn’t quite trust. ‘How long would we have to stay married?’
He gave a shrug. ‘A couple of months tops. We can get the wheels rolling on our business ventures and then call it quits. Easy.’
‘It’s still going to be a paper marriage, right?’
Remy found himself wondering if he could tweak the rules a tad. Just a tad, mind. A couple of months with Angelique in his bed could certainly make the temporary sacrifice of his freedom worthwhile.
Besides, it wasn’t as if he could sleep with anyone else while he was officially married to her. It went against everything he believed in.
‘That would depend.’
‘On what?’
‘On whether you wanted to be celibate for two months or whether you wanted a paper marriage with benefits,’ he said.
An insolent spark lit her gaze. ‘Is that the only choice I have? Celibacy or you?’
Remy gave her a winning smile. ‘I know; it’s a tough one. But wait. There’s more. I’ll set up a business plan and employ accounting staff to see to the details while you get on with designing and sourcing fabrics.’ It was like reeling a fish on the line. He could practically see her mouth watering. He was going to win this.
‘It’s not enough.’
He frowned. ‘What do you mean, it’s not enough? I’m the one taking a risk here. I haven’t even seen one of your designs. You could be rubbish at designing for all I know.’
Her small chin came up. ‘I want more.’
More what? Money? Sex? He could tick both those boxes several times over. ‘I won’t sleep around on you, if that’s what’s worrying you,’ Remy said. ‘I’m a one-at-a-time man and I’d expect the same commitment from you. I won’t settle for anything else.’
Her eyes held his a challenging little lockdown that made the base of his spine shift like sand moving in an hourglass. ‘I’m not going to sleep with you, Remy.’