Billionaire's Contract Engagement / Money Man's Fiancée Negotiation: Billionaire's Contract Engagement / Money Man's Fiancée Negotiation

Two

When Celia pulled into her father’s driveway, she was relieved to see Noah’s Mercedes parked beside their father’s pickup. She pulled her black BMW on the other side of the truck and grinned at how the two expensive cars flanked the beat-up old piece of family history.

As she got out, she heard the roar of another engine and turned to see Dalton pull in behind her. To her utter shock, Adam climbed out of the passenger seat.

“Adam!” she exclaimed, and ran straight for him.

He grinned just before she launched herself into his arms. She hit his chest and as she’d known he would, he caught her and whirled her around. Just like he’d done when she’d been five years old and every year since.

“How come I never get greetings like that?” Dalton grumbled as he climbed from behind the wheel.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she whispered fiercely.

His big arms surrounded her in a hug that nearly squeezed the breath out of her. Adam always gave the best hugs.

“It’s good to see you too, Cece. I missed you. Took you long enough to come back home.”

She slid down until her feet met the ground again, and she briefly looked away.

“Hey,” he chided as he nudged her chin until she looked at him again. “None of that. It’s all in the past, and it’s a good damn thing it is otherwise your brothers would hop the first plane to New York and beat the crap out of your former boss.”

“Hey, hello, I’m here, too,” Dalton said, waving a hand between them.

She held Adam’s gaze for a moment longer and then smiled her thanks. Her brothers were overbearing. They were loud, protective and they certainly had their faults. Like not believing she needed to do anything more in life than look pretty and let them support her. But God love them, they were fierce in their loyalty to her, and she adored them for it.

Finally she turned to Dalton. “You I saw two weekends ago. Adam I haven’t seen in forever.” She glanced back at Adam. “Why is that anyway?”

He grimaced. “Sorry. Busy time of the year.”

She nodded. Adam, her oldest brother, owned a successful landscaping business and spring was always a hectic time. They rarely saw him until the fall when business started to slow.

Dalton slung an arm over Celia’s shoulders and planted an affectionate kiss on her cheek. “I see Mr. Baseball is here. Must have caught a break before the season starts.”

“You guys going to the season opener?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Adam said.

“I have a favor to ask then.”

Both brothers looked curiously at her.

“I’m bringing a client and I’d like to keep my relationship to Noah on the down low.”

Curiosity gleamed in their eyes. She knew they wanted to ask, but when she didn’t volunteer her reasons why, they didn’t pursue the matter.

“Okay. Not a problem,” Adam finally said.

“Are you three going to stand out there all day or are you coming in to eat?”

Her father’s voice boomed from the front porch, and they turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, impatience evident in his stance.

Celia grinned. “We better go in before he starts muttering threats.”

Adam ruffled her hair then tucked his arm over her neck so he had her in a headlock. He started toward the house, dragging her with him.

When they got to the porch, she laughingly stumbled from Adam’s hold and gave her dad a quick hug. He squeezed her and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

“Where’s Noah?” she asked.

“Where he always is. Parked in front of the big screen, watch ing baseball.”

She slipped past her father while he greeted his sons and entered the home she’d grown up in. When she got to the living room, she saw Noah sprawled in the recliner, remote in hand as he flipped through footage of past baseball games.

“Hey,” she called.

He looked up, his eyes warming in welcome. As he got up, he smiled broadly at her then held out his arms.

She hugged him then made a show of feeling his ribs.

“They don’t feed you in training camp?”

He laughed. “You know damn well that all I ever do is eat. I think my tapeworms have tapeworms.”

She glanced back to make sure they were still alone and then lowered her voice.

“Are you going to hang around later or do you have to be somewhere?”

His eyes narrowed, and he lost the smile.

“I don’t have to be anywhere today. Why do you ask?”

“I need to talk to you about something. I have a favor to ask, and I’d rather not get into it in front of everyone.”

He frowned now. “Is everything okay, Cece? You in some kind of trouble? Do I need to kill anyone?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re too valuable to go to prison. You’d have Dalton do it anyway.”

Noah smirked. “The pretty boy would be popular in prison.”

“You’re a sick puppy. And no, nothing’s wrong. Promise. Just want to run something by you that could be beneficial to us both.”

“Okay, if you’re going to be all mysterious on me. I guess I can wait until later. You want to go back to your place for a while? I’d invite you to mine but the maid quit on me last week and it’s not a pretty sight. You do have food, right?”

She shook her head. “Yes, I have food, and yes, we can go back to my place. For God’s sake, Noah, how hard is it to pick up after yourself? Or if you can’t do that, at least pick up the phone and get another maid service?”

“I’ve sort of been blackballed,” he mumbled. “I have to find an agency where my reputation hasn’t preceded me.”

“I feel so sorry for the woman you marry. She’ll be in ten kinds of hell.”

“You don’t have to worry because that’s not going to happen.”

“Sure. Okay. I believe you.”

They both looked up when the others spilled into the living room. Noah gave her arm a light squeeze and mouthed “later.”

“Food’ll be on the table in fifteen minutes,” her father announced.

Her mouth watered. She didn’t even know what her dad had cooked. It didn’t matter. The man was a culinary genius.

Lunch was a rambunctious affair. Her brothers bickered and joked endlessly while her father looked on indulgently. She’d missed all of this during her years in New York. Though she loathed the circumstances that brought her home, she was glad to be back in the comforting circle of her family. Even if they were all just a generation from knuckles-dragging-on-the-ground cavemen.

After the table had been cleared, the argument started over what channel the television landed on. Noah didn’t know anything but ESPN or the Food Network existed, Dalton liked anything that was mindless, particularly if explosions were involved, and Adam liked to torment his brothers by forcing them to watch gardening shows.

Celia settled back to enjoy the sights and sounds of home. Her father sat on the couch next to her and shook his head over his sons’ antics.

It was the truth, she’d fled the hovering overprotectiveness of her family. She’d been determined to make her mark on the world while they wanted her to stay home, where they could support her and look out for her.

She wasn’t a vain woman, but she knew men found her attractive. She was probably considered beautiful by most, but her looks had been the cause of a lot of problems in her life.

Because of her delicate looks, her brothers and even her father thought her job was just to look pretty and let them provide for her. She hadn’t been encouraged to go to college—she’d done all of that on her own—and they certainly hadn’t wanted her to have a career in something as demanding as advertising.

She’d ignored their objections. She’d gotten her degree and after graduation, she’d taken a job in New York City. After a couple of years, she’d taken a position with a large, prestigious firm. She was on her way up. A promotion had just cemented her triumph. And then it had all come crashing down like a bridge in an earthquake.

Adam rising from his chair shook her from her angry thoughts. She forced her fingers to relax and winced at the marks she’d left on her palms.

“Leaving already?” she asked.

Adam pulled her up into a bear hug. “Yeah. I need to check on a job. I’ll see you at the season opener, though.”

She kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder affectionately. “Of course.”

She turned to Dalton. “I guess you’ll be going, too, since you brought him over.”

“Yep. I have a date I’ve got to get ready for anyway.”

No one seemed surprised by that announcement.

“I’ll walk you guys out. I need to run, too. I have a pitch to prepare for.”

Her father grimaced, and she steeled herself for another gruff lecture about how she worked too hard. An interesting statement since Adam worked harder than all of them, and no one ever lectured him.

To her surprise, he remained silent. She regarded him with a raised eyebrow and wondered if he’d burst at the seams, but his lips remained in a firm line. He rose from the couch to hug her and then gruffly reminded her to be sure and get enough rest.

They all walked out together, and her father reminded them all of lunch next Sunday. Celia waved to Adam and Dalton before climbing into her car. Noah stood, saying his goodbyes to their father, and she drove down the driveway. Noah would be along shortly and she needed to make sure her pantry would survive the assault.

Celia had just done a cursory examination of her stock of food—cursing the fact she hadn’t been to the market in far too long—when the door buzzer sounded.

She strode across to the call box and mashed the button. “That you, Noah?”

“Yep, buzz me in?”

A few seconds later, Noah walked in, and she smiled her welcome.

“I know that smile,” he said suspiciously. “That’s a smile that says you lured me here under false pretenses. You don’t have any food, do you?”

“Weeeell, no. But I did just order pizza.”

“You’re forgiven, but I refuse to have a reasonable discussion until it gets here.”

She laughed and punched him on the arm when he flopped on the sofa next to her. “If I didn’t need a favor from you, I’d make you pay for it.”

His expression grew serious. “So what is this favor, anyway?”

“Oh, no. I’m not asking you for anything until you have a full stomach. Again, since you ate not even three hours ago.”

He grunted but didn’t offer any argument. His stomach was too important.

He reached for the remote and flipped on the TV. A few seconds later, the sports recap was on, and he settled back against the couch.

The pizza didn’t take long—thanks to the bistro right around the corner offering delivery service. Soon the decadent smells of a completely loaded pizza filled her apartment. Despite all she’d eaten at lunch, her stomach growled in anticipation. She eyed the gooey dripping cheese and grimaced. It might taste good, but it would go straight to her hips. Then again, that’s what the treadmill was for.

She dropped the box on the coffee table in front of Noah, not bothering with plates. He eyed the mountain of toppings with something akin to bliss.

She waited until he’d grabbed the first piece before she carefully took a slice and nibbled on the end. It was, in a word, sheer heaven. She leaned back and waited for Noah to down the first slice. When he was on his second, he turned and said around a mouthful of pizza, “So what’s this favor you need?”

She sat forward, putting half the slice down on a napkin.

“I have this client … well he’s a client I want to land. Evan Reese.”

Noah stopped chewing. “The guy who sells athletic wear?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He fired his last agency and has yet to sign with a new one. I want him. Maddox Communications wants him.”

“Okay. So where do I fit into the picture?”

For a moment her nerve deserted her, and then she mentally slapped herself upside the head. In her profession there was no room for the spineless. She hadn’t worked her way into the confidence of Brock Maddox acting like a jellyfish.

“I want you to agree to front his new line of athletic wear.”

Noah blinked then he frowned, and finally he put down his half-eaten slice. For a moment he was quiet. She waited, fully expecting him to say no or to launch into all the reasons why he didn’t take endorsement deals. She knew them all. But he did none of those things. Instead he studied her carefully, his gaze sliding over her features as though he was reaching right into her head and pulling out her every thought.

He wouldn’t ask why him. He was a huge name in baseball, and he was more sought after than any other professional athlete mainly because of his refusal to take endorsement deals. Instead of deterring companies, it made them all the more determined to be the first to lure Noah Hart to their brand.

She could beg. She could hurry through a prepared explanation as to why she needed him, but she wasn’t going to wheedle and cajole.

Noah was still frowning as he studied her. “This is important to you.”

She nodded. “Evan is a big client. My boss is trusting me to land the account. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll get him with or without you, but you’d be the nail in his coffin. Plus it would be huge for you. Reese will pay a lot to have you be the spokesman for his sportswear.”

Noah sighed. “I wish you’d just quit this job. You don’t have to work, and you know it. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, Cece. Certainly not to your family. Adam, Dalton and I make more than enough money to support you. It would make Dad happy if you didn’t have such a stressful job. He’s convinced you’ll have an ulcer before you’re thirty.”

She smiled faintly. “I am thirty.”

He shot her an impatient look.

“Look, Noah, would you quit baseball just because your brothers make enough money to support you? They do, you know.”

A derisive, strangling sound rose from his throat. He licked his lips as if to rid himself of a really bad taste.

“It’s different.”

“I know, I know. You’re a man, and I’m a woman.” Her lips curled in disgust. “Noah, I love you dearly. You’re the best brother a girl could ask for. But you’re a chauvinist to your toes.”

He huffed but didn’t dispute her accusation. Then his expression grew thoughtful again. “I assume you’ve done your research on this man and his company.”

Celia nodded before he’d even finished. On the surface, Noah looked and acted laissez-faire. He had all the appearances of a golden-boy jock whose only concern might be fast cars and faster women. But beneath that illusion lay a man who had a deep social conscience.

His refusal of endorsement deals had gained him a reputation of eccentricity from some. Others regarded him incredulously as a fool to pass on the opportunity to make millions by doing nothing more than lend his name to countless companies willing to part with their dollars for his endorsement. But the simple fact was that Noah did meticulous research on all the corporations that approached him, and so far none had passed muster with him.

“E-mail it all to me. I’ll take a look. If it checks out, I’m willing to listen to his offer.”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Noah. You’re the best.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll be so grateful that you’ll volunteer to clean my apartment?”

She snorted and picked up her slice of pizza again. “Put it this way. I’d rather quit my job and let you and Adam support me than clean your place.”

He winced. “Well, damn. No need to be so mean about it.”

“Poor baby. Oh, hey, I need one more favor.”

His eyes narrowed, and he glared at her. “You just turn down my request for you to play cleaning lady and you insult me in the process and then have the cheek to want another favor?”

“How about I find you a replacement cleaning service? Then both of us are happy.”

He got a hopeful puppy dog look that would probably make mush of most women. Thankfully she was his sister and completely immune to any adorableness on his part.

“Okay, you find me someone to clear a path in my apartment and whatever this other favor of yours is I’ll do it.”

“Wow—and you don’t even know what it is.”

“Should tell you how desperate I am,” he muttered.

She laughed and punched him in the arm. “All I need are two very cushy seats behind home plate for the season opener. I’ll be taking Evan. Hopefully.”

“Anyone ever tell you how expensive you are?”

“Hey, wait a second. A minute ago, you were trying to convince me to quit my job so you could support me.”

His expression went from teasing to serious with one blink. “I just worry about you, Cece. That’s all. What happened in New York would have never occurred if—”

She stiffened and held her hand, halting him in mid-sentence. “I don’t want to talk about New York.”

Regret flashed in his eyes. “Sorry. Consider it dropped.”

She waited for her pulse to settle and then she forced a smile. “So you’ll take a look at the research I’ve compiled? You’ll like Reese. He’s a veritable Boy Scout. His employees love him. He has a cracking health-insurance plan. He’s had no layoffs since his business started and he’s not shipping jobs or production overseas. Let’s see. What else? He’s a regular contributor to a half dozen pet charities—”

Noah held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, he’s a saint. I get it. How do other men ever measure up?”

“Cut the sarcasm.”

He checked his watch and let out a sigh. “Sorry to break this up so early, especially since I haven’t finished the pizza. Somebody talked too much. Very distracting. E-mail me the stuff. I’ll take a look. And the tickets will be waiting for you at the box office.”

“You always were my favorite sibling,” she said affectionately.

He dropped a kiss on top of her head then stood and stretched lazily.

“I’ll give you a call when I’m through reading everything.”

Three

Evan walked into the suite of offices he leased for the times he was in San Francisco. It wasn’t home, and though Union Square was a sumptuous neighborhood that catered to upscale businesses, he preferred the funky modern feel of Seattle.

He nodded a good morning to his receptionist but halted when she came out of her seat, a concerned expression on her face.

“You shouldn’t go in there,” Tanya said in a hushed whisper.

He raised an eyebrow when he realized she was gesturing toward his office.

“Why the devil not?” he demanded.

She put one hand up to shield her mouth and then she tapped her finger against her palm—in the direction of his office.

“Because she’s in there.”

Evan turned to stare down the hall toward his office, but the door was closed. Damn, but he didn’t have time for this. He looked back at Tanya and tried to stifle his growing impatience. The girl was highly efficient if a little eccentric. But he liked unconventional, and while she’d probably fit in better with his Seattle staff with her colored hair, multiple piercings and vintage 1930s clothing, he found she brought a sort of vibrancy to an otherwise stuffy office here.

“Okay, Tanya. First of all, who the hell is ’she’ and where is Vickie?”

It wasn’t like Vickie not to meet him as he got off the elevator. His longtime assistant traveled with him everywhere. She had an apartment here and in Seattle. She had an uncanny knack for knowing precisely when he’d show up, and as a result she was always there, ready to pelt him with the day’s obligations.

Tanya’s face fell. “Oh, sir, did you not get your message? I left you two. Vickie’s granddaughter was rushed to the hospital early this morning. They suspect appendicitis. She’s in surgery now.”

Evan frowned. “No, I didn’t get any such message. Keep me updated. I want to know the minute she’s out of surgery. Send flowers and make sure Vickie has everything she might need. On second thought, send over food for the family. Hospital food is terrible. And arrange for a hospitality suite. If there is a hotel close to the hospital, have a block of rooms set aside for any of the family members.”

Tanya blinked then hurriedly picked up a notepad and began scribbling.

Evan waited a moment then sighed. “Tanya?”

She looked up, blinking, as if surprised to still see him standing there.

“Who is the ’she’ waiting in my office?”

Tanya’s nose curled in distaste. “It’s Miss Hammond, sir. I couldn’t stop her. She was quite imperious. Told me she’d wait for you.”

It was all Evan could do not to look heavenward and ask “why me?” He glanced down the hall and briefly considered leaving. He had no patience for Bettina today, and after his mother had extracted his promise to attend this weekend’s debacle, he couldn’t imagine anything Bettina could have to say to him.

“Keep me posted on Vickie’s granddaughter,” he said as he turned to go down to his office.

He opened the door and swept in, his gaze immediately finding Bettina. She was sitting on one of the sofas lining the window that overlooked the outdoor cafés lining the sidewalk below.

“Bettina,” he said as he tossed his briefcase onto his desk. “What brings you here?”

Bettina rose, her hands going down to smooth her dress. The motion directed attention to her legs—her self-admitted favorite personal attribute. The dress stopped almost at mid-thigh, which meant quite a lot of those legs were on display.

Evan wouldn’t lie. He’d enjoyed those legs. It was just too bad they were attached to the rest of her.

Her expression creased into one of fake pain. She crossed the room, holding her hands dramatically in front of her to grasp his.

“I wanted to thank you for agreeing to come to the wedding. It means the world to Mitchell and your mom and dad. I know how painful it must be. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for you to agree to go after I broke your heart.”

Evan just stared at her. Part of him wanted to ask her what planet she existed on, but he already knew the answer to that. It was planet Bettina, where everything revolved around her. Did she honestly believe he was still pining for her?

“Cut the theatrics, Bettina. Why are you really here? You don’t care if I show up or not, so why pretend otherwise? In fact, I’d be willing to admit you hoped I wouldn’t.”

She blinked, and for a moment he saw bitterness in her eyes.

“Lucy said you were bringing a … date. It was clever of you, really. But you don’t fool me, Evan. Everyone knows you haven’t been serious about anyone since me. Who is she? Someone you’ve met socially? Do you know anything about her? Does she know she’s going as an accessory? God knows that’s all I ever was to you.”