“Avery,” Sean takes a hold of my shoulders and crouches in front of me. “I’m not marrying someone else. And if you say that you don’t need me…don’t say it. Not right now.” His voice picks up a quiver as he finishes speaking.
“You don’t have to sugar coat things for me.”
“I’m not. Listen to me. I was trying to tell you and I thought I had more time, but then Black showed up and blurted it out. I gave a ring to someone because my publicist said it would make people think I was more approachable. She has a rock on her finger and lives in one of my houses, but I’m never there. Things aren’t like that with her. Jamie is actually an employee. She’s on payroll, Avery.” I’m shaking my head as he’s speaking, but he keeps going. “Call her. Tell her who you are. Ask her if you should marry me.” Sean hands me his phone and before I can say no, it’s already dialing.
A high-pitched voice answer, “Good morning, Mr. Ferro. How can I help you today?” She sounds like a secretary.
Sean nods once, but I can’t form words, so he says, “Jamie, please tell Avery the status of our relationship. Don’t leave anything out and use as many details as you like. Don’t hold anything back.” Sean hands me the phone again.
I press it to my ear and listen to this woman repeat Sean’s story, but from her side of things. “I was so lucky. Mr. Ferro paid off my student loans and said I just needed to go to dinner with him when he was in town. People were mean to me at first, but money talks. Sean gave me a spending account and told me to walk around, shop, and dine, and tell people who I was. It was part of an attempt to sway the public opinion of him. You see, I do a lot of charity work. I love it and I always wanted to work for a non-profit, but there was no way to pay back my loans. Mr. Ferro made that possible and I don’t care what the papers say, he’s not a monster. The man’s been through a lot. So what if he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” My chest is so tight that I can hardly breathe. “So it’s a charade?”
“Exactly. Our relationship is one hundred percent business and always has been. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but he has a type—brunettes with brains. I tease him because I’m a redhead and occasionally act a little too blonde for his liking.” She laughs lightly. “There’s nothing between us, Avery. It’s all a show and always has been.”
I don’t know what else to say. She seems genuine, and what’s even more shocking is she seems to care about Sean, like they’re friends. Looking at the carpet, I say, “Thank you for talking to me.”
“Sure! Call any time.” The line goes dead and I hand Sean his phone.
For a second I feel horrible, but it fades. I’m still angry with him. “Come clean, here and now. Everything. Dump it on the table and let’s see if we can pick up the pieces.”
Sean nods solemnly. “All right, but not here.”
At that moment, Black walks in and takes in the scene. There’s a ton of tension and I’m standing in front of Sean, wearing his leather jacket, looking up into his beautiful face. She rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically. “Well, Avery, let’s have your answer.”
Miss Black smirks at Sean after she’s seated behind her desk. A dark eyebrow lifts when Black takes in Sean’s confusion, and her ruby lips spread into a smile. “Didn’t she tell you? I offered to make her a madam.”
CHAPTER 4
Sean just stares at me and then stares at Black. “We had an agreement.”
“This doesn’t violate our arrangement in the slightest. She’ll still live in New York, but her occupation will be somewhat different. If you two are no longer engaged, I don’t see how it concerns you anyway.” Miss Black thinks she’s won. The confidence in her gaze says as much. Tapping her fingertips together, she looks over at me.
As I stare at Black, things click into place. She’s been telling lies, but they’re always seeded with truth. Sean is engaged to someone else, and he is, but the woman is an employee. This entire time Black has been trying to get me to turn on Sean. For a second, I think about screaming at her, but it’s better if she underestimates me, so I play along. “What happens if I say no?”
Miss Black drops her hands and sits straight up. “That wouldn’t be a prudent move.”
I laugh. “Nothing about this job is prudent, and the one you’re offering is even worse on the moral scale of life.”
“You already broke the scale when you took money for fucking Mr. Ferro, so I doubt that’s a sincere concern. What you should be asking is, ‘what happens if I say yes?’”