Between Marriage And Merger. Karen Booth

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       Two

      Lily mustered the strength to hold her smile, but only because she was fairly certain her face was frozen. She managed to blink, so her eyes were working. That was good. Her mind, meanwhile, was frantically running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Had Charlotte Locke just said those words? Pretend to be Noah’s fiancée? At a wedding, no less?

      Lily’s worst nightmare and her most closely held fantasy had decided to make sweet love to each other.

      “Are you serious?” She realized how terrible the question must sound to Noah, but she needed clarification and she needed it now. This felt an awful lot like the moment her biggest high school crush asked her out in front of his friends, only to burst into peals of laughter. That was the day Lily learned how apt the word crush was when it came to love.

      “I know it seems a little strange, but there’s a reason behind it and you would be helping the company immensely.”

      Noah stepped closer and sat on the edge of Sawyer’s desk, crossing his long legs, facing her with a look that could only be described as raw embarrassment. His expression was difficult to endure, which spoke volumes about how real it was. Noah was ridiculously easy on the eyes.

      “You don’t have to do this,” Noah said. “This is not part of your job.”

      Lily couldn’t decide if he was saying that because he desperately wanted his own out, or if he was simply being kind. She hoped for the latter, if only to save her pride.

      “We would pay you, of course,” Sawyer said. “We’ll have to come up with a number. Maybe you should sit down and think about what you would need for three days away from home.”

      “Acting as Noah’s fiancée.” Lily wanted to be sure she’d heard that part right.

      “Yes. There was a very unflattering video of Noah that turned up on a gossip website and we’re trying to curb its effects. Mr. Hannafort wants to know that the Lockes aren’t a liability when it comes to publicity.”

      “Unflattering video?” Lily could only imagine what Noah’s sister was referring to.

      “Do you want to see it?” Charlotte asked.

      Noah grumbled. His straight shoulders dropped. “Don’t show her the video. It’s demeaning. Lily and I need to work together. I don’t want her to think of me that way.”

      Charlotte leaned over the arm of her chair. “It’s about the stable of women he’s been dating lately.”

      Lily could feel her lips mold into a thin line. Oh, she knew plenty about Noah and his dates. A few women had come by the office, all intimidatingly beautiful. And she’d heard him talk to them, as smooth as could be. Lily would’ve done anything to have a man say one-tenth of what Noah regularly said to women he apparently hardly cared about. “I see.”

      “So as I said,” Sawyer interjected. “We would need to come up with a number, but I promise we’ll make it worth your while. This isn’t normally something I’d consider, but desperate times call for creative measures.”

      Lily crossed her legs, her mind mired in the business of deciding whether or not this was a good idea. She loved working for Sawyer and Noah, so it would be next to impossible to say no. It wasn’t in her DNA to let them down. But one downside of being employed by Locke and Locke was the limited opportunities for advancement. Lily had already worked her way well beyond the parameters of her title of Executive Admin. Sawyer and Noah had given her more and more responsibility, they’d even given her a few raises, but she was capable of even more. If the payoff was there. She was a hard worker, but she wasn’t an idiot. She wasn’t going to kill herself if they were just going to take advantage of her.

      “If I do this, I don’t want to be compensated with cash. I want a piece of the company.” Lily was impressed with herself. She’d come out with it, no hemming or hawing. She sat straighter, fighting back any concern over how her proposal might be met. “A small piece, but a piece. I believe I’ve demonstrated that I’m a valuable asset to the company, but I want to do more.”

      Sawyer nodded slowly, as if he was still taking it all in.

      “This isn’t my call. I’m in on this Hannafort deal and that’s it.” Charlotte looked at her phone. “I’m also going to be late for my doctor’s appointment if I don’t leave now.” She got up from her seat and shot both of her brothers a very pointed glance. “Don’t screw this up. And Lily, don’t let them screw this up.”

      Lily grinned as Charlotte excused herself and left. She did love the way Charlotte put her brothers on notice.

      “What do you think?” Sawyer asked Noah.

      “You’ve said it yourself a thousand times. Lily is by far СКАЧАТЬ