The Tycoon's Rebel Bride / The Billionaire's Unexpected Heir: The Tycoon's Rebel Bride. Kathie DeNosky

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      They left the conference room, and Isabella quickly signed the rental agreement before handing it over to Madeline. “Let him read over it and if he has no objections, fax it back for me, please.”

      “And your shopping trip? When would you like to schedule that?”

      Isabella shook her head. “I’ll go by myself. When is the cocktail party again?”

      “Thursday night. Seven.”

      Isabella slowly nodded. “Okay, I’ll be there.” She turned to walk out of the office, her mind reeling from the unexpected shock of Theron’s upcoming proposal. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed Sadie’s number.

      “Sadie? It’s me, Isabella,” she said when Sadie answered the phone. “Are you busy? I need to come over. It’s urgent.”

      Chapter Six

      “This is a disaster,” Isabella groaned as she flopped onto Sadie’s couch.

      Sadie sat next to her, concern creasing her pretty features. “Surely you aren’t giving up. He hasn’t even proposed to her yet.”

      “Yet. That’s the problem,” Isabella said glumly. “Yet means he fully intends to, so for all practical purposes, he’s engaged.”

      “She might not say yes,” Sadie pointed out.

      Isabella gazed balefully at her. “Would you say no to Theron Anetakis?”

      “Well, no…”

      “Neither will she,” Isabella said with a sigh. She stared up at the ceiling as she raced to come up with a plan. “She’s no doubt a good Greek girl from a good Greek family. She’ll have impeccable breeding, of course. Her father probably has loads of money, and she would probably drink battery acid before ever going against her parents’ wishes.”

      “That exciting of a girl, huh?”

      Isabella laughed as she looked back at Sadie. “I’m not being very charitable. I’m sure she’s lovely.”

      “Now you make her sound like a poodle,” Sadie said in amusement.

      Isabella covered her face with her hands and tried not to let panic overtake her. Or despair.

      “Oh, honey,” Sadie said as she wrapped her arms around Isabella. “This doesn’t change anything. Truly. You still have to do the same thing as always. Get him to see you. The real you. He won’t be able to resist you once he spends time with you.”

      Isabella let herself be embraced by her friend. At the moment she’d take what comfort she could get. Being alone had never really bothered her, but now she was faced with the possibility of not being with the one person she wanted.

      “We kissed last night,” she said when Sadie finally drew away.

      “See? I told you,” Sadie exclaimed.

      “Don’t celebrate yet,” Isabella said glumly. “He gave me the lecture this morning, or at least he tried.”

      Sadie’s eyebrow went up. “The lecture?”

      “Oh, you know, the whole this can never happen again, it was a mistake lecture.”

      “Ah, that one.”

      “At least now I know why.”

      “Okay, so it won’t be as easy as you thought it might be,” Sadie said. “That doesn’t mean you won’t be successful. From what you’ve said, it hardly sounds like a love match.”

      Isabella sighed again. “So what do I do, Sadie?”

      Sadie squeezed her hand and smiled. “You make him fall in love with you.”

      “Which requires me to make him see past this whole guardian-ward thing. The kiss was…” She took a deep breath and smiled dreamily. “It was hot. I need him to see me like he did in that moment.”

      “If I can make this all about me for a moment, I might have a somewhat devious method for getting him to see you sorta naked.”

      Isabella reared her head back in surprise. “You certainly have my attention now.”

      Sadie grimaced. “I’d planned to ask you this anyway, and it sounds awfully self-serving, but it could work. Maybe.”

      “So, tell me,” Isabella said impatiently.

      “I have an audition Saturday night. Well, it’s not exactly an audition but it could turn into one if I play my cards right.”

      “Will you just get on with it?” Isabella said. “The suspense is killing me.”

      Sadie grinned. “I have to work this Saturday. It’s a pretty big deal. A group of rich out-of-towners who only come through once a year. Well this weekend is it and they’ve rented out the entire club for the night. All of the dancers are expected to be there, no excuses. Only I have this party I was invited to. Howard Griffin is going to be there and Leslie is going to introduce me.”

      “Who is Howard? And who is Leslie?” Isabella asked.

      “Howard is producing a new Broadway musical. And, he’s opening auditions next week. They’re by invitation only. People would kill to get an invite from him. Including me. Leslie has an invite but then she’s all over Broadway right now. Everyone wants her. I met her a couple of weeks ago, and we became friendly. She’s doing me such a huge favor by basically recommending me to Howard. I can’t miss that party.”

      “Okay, so what does that have to do with me?”

      Sadie gave her an imploring look. “If I don’t show up for work, I’ll lose my job, and until I land enough steady roles—big roles—I can’t afford to lose the kind of money I make at the club. So I thought you could fill in for me just for a few hours Saturday night.”

      Isabella burst into laughter. “You want me to pose as you in a strip club? Sadie, we look nothing alike. I’m a terrible dancer. I’d get you fired in two seconds.”

      Sadie shook her head vigorously. “First of all, I wear a blond wig. We’re of similar height and with the right makeup, no one would be able to tell the difference if you wear the same clothes. No one looks at your face in that place anyway,” she added dryly.

      “And how does this have anything to do with Theron? He’d have heart failure if he knew I even went into a strip club, much less worked there for a night.”

      Sadie’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Just think about it. If he knew where you were, he’d blow a gasket, and he’d no doubt go haul you out by your hair which would of course force him to see you half naked.”

      “How does this not get you fired?” Isabella asked pointedly.

      A frown creased Sadie’s forehead. “Damn,” she muttered. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

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