The Mate Mistake(The Woolven Secret 3)(6)
He hung up.
“So what is it I have a choice about?”
“Staying married to me.” Parker looked so nonplussed.
“Excuse me?” For a second, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.
“You know, just for a few years. Maybe less. Enough to get the board to self-soothe and settle down.” He wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d go for it. Will you at least listen to my pitch over breakfast?”
She looked at the clock on the wall. It was eight in the morning. She had a little bit of time. She could at least eat.
The liver would tide her over, give her the nutrients she needed without taking human blood. It couldn’t hurt to listen to what he had to say. Could it?
“Okay. Order the liver and the bloody mary. Your treat.”
“Of course.” He called the hotel desk and first, complained about the violation of his privacy, which the staff obviously took very seriously and then proceeded to give them the room service order. He paused to turn to her. “Would you like a change of clothes or anything? All things Woolven are at your disposal.”
“Really? Actually, I’d like someone to go to my apartment and retrieve my bug out bag. Can you make that happen?”
“I can.” Parker hung up the hotel phone and pulled out his cell again and started texting. “Address?”
She took the phone from him and typed in the address of the apartment building and added “under the floorboard in the maintenance shed.”
“They must be some bad motherfuckers you’re running from.” He pursed his lips. “What if I told you that Woolven could shield you from whoever you’re running from? We could fix it so they never bother you again.”
It would be so easy to believe him. To lean on him and let him take care of her, but that certainly wasn’t fair. He didn’t know who she was, not really. So he didn’t know what he was promising.
He must’ve seen the doubt on her face. “You may think I’m a soft, little rich boy who can just throw money at a problem. My family is—well, let’s just say we can be bad motherfuckers, too. We didn’t get to be where we are by eating someone else’s shit sundae with a spoon.”
Her heart twisted on itself just a bit. “What if I told you I recognized the name you spoke earlier and the people after me are just as bad. That they’re…” She struggled to find the right description. “…the same.”
Belle should’ve just come out said she was a vampire, but she needed to know how he was going to react. He didn’t seem like the type to sell her out, but he didn’t know her. Why should he put his whole family at risk for someone he barely knew? She didn’t expect him to be a saint. After all, she’d do what she had to do to protect herself and anyone she loved.
Even sell him out. She’d feel bad about it, and it would keep her up nights—days—whatever. The point being, she’d do it.
“I don’t know, Parker. We barely know each other and—”
He held up his hand. “Look, I know all of that. But necessity makes for strange bedfellows. I know I’m totally fucking up this negotiation by showing you all my cards, but I prefer honesty. It’s easier.”
His words made her feel like the lowest piece of slime. Like she’d already been obliterated and she was just what was left on the bottom of someone’s shoe. She tried not to shrink in her chair.
Parker continued, “I need you. My family needs you. We can’t afford the scandal. Or to insult the DeVaughns. If we present this like some kind of whirlwind romance, it keeps our board happy. It keeps the DeVaughns…” He held his hands out like they were the mighty scales of justice weighing their sins. “…Maybe not happy, but understanding. And maybe this can do something for you, too.”
“Well, you already put neon on the target on my back.” She sighed. “Not you, specifically. I mean, you did tell me who you were. I just didn’t believe you.”
He peered at her. “Whyever not?”
“Come on. Really? Feature the headline. Billionaire Dines At Greasy Lamb. Marries Waitress.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s like some stupid rom-com.”
“Well, it did happen. And here we are. Also, what’s wrong with rom-coms? People have to fall in love somehow.”
She squinted at him and looked around for more cameras. This had to be an episode of Punk’d. She was sure of it.
“What? Not every billionaire is a jaded bastard. Anyway, back to the task at hand. You’ve been revealed. I’m sorry about that, but what about hiding in plain sight? The people who are after you probably don’t want the attention it would garner them to target the public figure you’ve become.”