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

Five

The car that Evan had sent to collect Celia pulled up to the plane parked on the paved landing area that led to the single runway and stopped just a few feet from where the door to the jet lay open.

Celia looked out the window to see Evan standing a short distance away. He was waiting for her.

The driver opened her door, and she stepped into the afternoon sun. She blinked a few times then pulled her shades from her head over her eyes. Maybe then it wouldn’t be so obvious how she ate Evan up with her gaze.

He was dressed casually. Jeans, polo shirt and loafers. She’d only ever seen him in suits, and she hadn’t imagined he could look better. She was wrong. So, so wrong.

The jeans cupped him in all the right places. They clung to his thighs, rounded his butt and molded to his groin. They weren’t new, starchy-looking jeans, either. They were faded and worn, just like a good pair of jeans should be.

“Celia,” he said with a nod as she approached. “If you’re ready, we can be on our way.”

“I just need to get my luggage …”

She turned to see that the driver was handing her luggage to a uniformed man.

“Okay then, I’m ready,” she said cheerfully.

He smiled and motioned for her to precede him onto the plane. She mounted the steps and ducked inside.

Her eyes widened at the luxurious interior. It was simple and understated, but she recognized it for what it was. Very expensive comfort. She shoved her shades up so she could get a better look.

There was nothing gaudy about any of the furnishings. It looked very masculine. It even smelled masculine. Leather and suede. Earth tones.

Beyond the three rows of seats, there was a small sitting area with a couch and one chair with a coffee table and a television. To her left between the seats and the cockpit was a small galley area complete with a steward.

The older man smiled at her and welcomed her on board.

As she and Evan took their seats, the steward introduced himself as William and asked her if she wanted a drink.

She glanced at Evan then back at William. “Do you have wine?”

William smiled. “But of course. Mr. Reese keeps the airplane stocked with all the necessities.”

She’d agree that wine was very necessary.

A few moments later, William returned with two glasses of wine.

“The pilot wished me to tell you he is ready for takeoff at your convenience.”

Evan took the glasses and offered one to Celia.

“Tell him I’m ready.”

“Very good, sir. I’ll close the doors and we’ll take off shortly.”

“Comfortable?” Evan asked Celia.

She settled back into her seat and sipped at her wine. “Mmm, very. Nice jet.”

She should have sat across the aisle from him, but that would be rude since he’d chosen the seat next to her. His nearness was killing her, though. His scent drifted enticingly across her nostrils and she could feel his heat. When he moved, his arm brushed against hers, and short of shifting in her seat—which would be terribly obvious—there was no escaping him. Furthermore, she didn’t really want to.

It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest they use the time on the flight to go over her ideas, but she couldn’t bring herself to have business intrude.

She mentally shook herself. Intrude on what? This wasn’t some romantic getaway. It was business. Only business and nothing else.

It was unfair that she should be attracted to someone who was a solid no in her rule book. She’d never broken that unspoken rule. She had never been tempted to get involved with someone she worked with, or worse—a client. It didn’t matter, though, because she’d carry the stigma of someone who advanced her career by bestowing sexual favors.

The memory sent rage curdling through her veins. She had to work at keeping her fingers relaxed. She’d worked damn hard to go beyond her family’s expectations. And to have it all taken away by someone in a position of power over her made her head explode.

The advertising community was small, and gossip was rampant. She was under no illusion that fleeing New York made it possible for her to leave what happened behind. It hadn’t been private. It had been very, very public.

She knew speculation ran wide. She knew people talked. Knew her coworkers probably whispered behind her back and pondered the possibility that she’d slept with Brock or Flynn Maddox to secure her position in the agency and to be granted the opportunity to land Evan Reese’s account. They probably thought she’d do whatever it took to persuade Evan.

The only person she’d bothered to defend herself to was Brock, and she figured she owed him that much if he was going to hire her. Only he knew the truth about what really happened at her former agency. And when he’d assured her that she’d suffer no such situation here, she’d believed him. It might make her unbelievably naive after her last run-in with her boss, but Brock struck her as a deeply honorable man, and more importantly, someone who kept his word.

“Is everything all right?”

Evan’s softly spoken question jarred her from her thoughts. His hand had gone to hers, and he carefully uncurled her fingers that were wound so tightly that the tips were white.

“Do you have a fear of flying?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. I was thinking about something else.”

He studied her intently, his gaze stroking her cheeks and then her mouth.

“Seems a shame to waste time on such unpleasant thoughts.”

The urge to deny that her thoughts had been unpleasant lasted all of about two seconds. She wrinkled her nose and grinned ruefully.

“Busted.”

He chuckled. “I like an honest woman.”

It was then she realized that they were already in the air. Wow, she really must have been intensely lost in thought to have missed the takeoff.

“Relax. There’ll be plenty of time to discuss business during our stay. Let’s begin the trip by enjoying the short flight.”

Either she was exceedingly transparent or he’d just anticipated her jumping into things right away. Either way, she was perfectly willing to delay their discussion until she felt a little more on equal footing. Sitting here in such close proximity on his jet, drinking his wine … it was more than a little overwhelming.

His hand remained on hers, his thumb sliding idly over her knuckles in a soothing pattern. She liked it. She liked it too much.

Survive, Celia. Survive this weekend. Be a professional. After this weekend you’ll only have to see him in a business environment.

She swallowed and let calm descend. There was no way she’d screw this opportunity up just because she couldn’t get all her girly hormones in check.

The flight went quickly, and oddly, after the first awkward moments, Celia sat back and enjoyed the casual conversation with Evan. William had kept a steady presence to refill their wineglasses and offer a variety of finger foods. By the time they landed at the Airport in the Sky, Celia was limber and completely relaxed. Probably due to the wine.

They were met by a hotel representative and were quickly whisked into a waiting shuttle. It only took a few minutes to arrive at the gorgeous beachfront resort. It was so beautiful, it took her breath away.

The sunset over the water gave the place a decidedly romantic feel, but then they were here for a wedding, so Celia supposed it was only appropriate that romance positively danced on the air.

Evan escorted Celia through the glass doors into the lobby. A bellhop followed behind with a rolling cart that held their luggage.

“Wait right here,” Evan murmured. “Take a seat if you like. I’ll get our room keys so we can go up.”

Before he could go, a feminine voice rent the air.

“Evan! Oh, Evan, you’re here!”

Evan stiffened against Celia. He went positively rigid, and Celia could swear she heard him curse under his breath. Celia turned in the direction of the call and saw a regally dressed older woman hurrying across the lobby, her heels tapping delicately on the polished floor.

Behind her, a grim faced older gentleman flanked by a younger woman and a man who looked slightly younger than Evan, walked slower but with no less purpose in Evan’s direction.

To her surprise, Evan took her left hand in his and held it close to his side. He fumbled with her fingers even as he looked up with a welcoming smile. It looked completely forced to Celia, but the woman didn’t seem put off.

The woman threw her arms around Evan, and still, he didn’t let go of Celia’s hand. He returned her embrace with his free arm and said, “Hello, Mom. I told you I was coming.”

“I know, but after Bettina told me she’d been to see you and when she told me that …”

She broke off and looked curiously at Celia, whose hand was still securely held in Evan’s.

Then his mom looked back at Bettina, confusion clear in her eyes.

“But my dear, you told me that Evan wasn’t seeing anyone, that he just told me that to ease my concern.”

“Did she?” Evan asked in an even tone. He pinned Bettina with a stare that would have had Celia fidgeting.

His mom nudged him impatiently. “Well, introduce us, Evan.”

“Yes, do introduce us,” Bettina said in a chilly voice.

About the time she felt Evan’s grip on her hand tighten and the cool metal slide over her finger, Celia regretted having agreed to come. She tried to look down, wondering what Evan had done to her finger, but he kept his hand over hers. Awkward didn’t begin to cover it. She felt as if she’d just entered a minefield.

“Mom. Dad. Bettina. Mitchell.” His lips curled when he said the last and Celia zeroed in on the man in question. He had to be Evan’s brother. The similarity was striking. “I’d like you to meet—” His entire body tensed and he gripped her hand almost painfully. It was like he was sending her a silent message. “I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Celia Taylor.”

Six

Celia froze. There was a horrible buzz in her ears, and she stared in horror at Evan. She hadn’t heard him right. What kind of idiotic thing had he just done?

She wasn’t sure who was more stunned. Her or his family. Bettina looked as if she just swallowed a lemon. Mitchell looked annoyed, while Evan’s father simply frowned. His mom was the only person who actually seemed happy about the bomb.

“Oh, Evan, that’s wonderful!”

Celia found herself in the older woman’s arms and was hugged so tight that she was in danger of passing out.

“I’m so glad to meet you, my dear.”

She held Celia out at arm’s length and beamed at her. Then she proceeded to kiss her on both cheeks and if that wasn’t enough, she yanked her into another long hug.

This was insane. Evan was insane. His entire family was nuts. She opened her mouth to blast Evan with both barrels and ask him what the hell kind of stunt he was trying to pull when Evan’s father put his hand on Evan’s shoulder to steer him away from the women.

“Come with me and we’ll get you checked in and get your keys. Then you can take Celia up to the room.”

Evan looked a little reluctant to leave her. She could well imagine why.

It was then that she remembered her finger. He’d put something on her finger.

She looked down. Holy cow! He’d slipped a huge diamond engagement ring on her finger while he’d held her hand. Fury simmered in her veins. She mentally counted to ten just so she didn’t explode on the spot. The bastard had planned this all along. No one carried around a rock like this for the hell of it.

“You two go on ahead and be seated. Order our drinks. Marshall and I will be along in just a moment. I want the chance to speak to Celia for a moment.”

Celia regarded Evan’s mom warily as she shooed Mitchell and Bettina on toward the hotel restaurant.

When they’d disappeared, only after Bettina had glared enough holes in Celia to rival a hunk of Swiss cheese, Evan’s mom seized Celia’s hands and squeezed affectionately.

“Oh, my dear, I’m so thrilled to meet you. I can’t tell you how fantastic your news is. I was so worried about Evan. He didn’t take Bettina’s defection very well, but look at you! Even more gorgeous than Bettina. I can see why Evan was so taken with you.”

Celia opened her mouth and halted. What on earth could she say? With every word that poured out of the other woman’s mouth, the more furious Celia became and the more sickened she was by Evan’s deception.

This was some huge soap opera. Things like this didn’t happen in real life. Even in really wealthy people’s lives, surely.

“By the way, I don’t think I introduced myself … well, other than as Evan’s mother. I’m Lucy. Please do call me Lucy. Mrs. Reese just sounds so formal and we’re going to be family after all.”

Celia’s heart sank. Lucy obviously was a really wonderful lady and super kindhearted, which only made her angrier that Evan had just lied to her. What the hell had he been thinking?

But then Lucy’s other statement came back to her. The part about Bettina’s defection, and suddenly it all made sense.

“Bettina and Evan were involved?” Celia asked.

Lucy colored slightly and looked abashed. “Oh, heavens, I’ve said too much. I always do have a problem with just prattling on. Do forgive me.”

Celia smiled. “It’s all right. Truly. It is one of those things women like to know. Men are so thick when it comes to these things, but if any awkwardness can be avoided, I would like to know.”

And she could go straight to hell for lying, too. She’d just make sure Evan got there first for his role in this debacle.

“It’s all in the past. Rest assured.”

“Naturally,” Celia said drily.

“Evan and Bettina were engaged. It was a long engagement. The truth of the matter is, I’m just not sure how much of Evan’s affections were engaged. Bettina and Mitchell fell in love, and well, it’s obvious to anyone that those two were meant for each other. Evan didn’t take it well, though, and if I hadn’t begged him to come to the wedding, I have no doubt he wouldn’t be here.”

Lucy smiled and reached out to touch Celia’s arm. “Bettina led me to believe that Evan was just going on about being involved because he wasn’t over her yet and didn’t want to worry me, but I can see that isn’t the case. You’re even more beautiful than Bettina. I can tell by the way he looks at you that he’s besotted. He never looked at Bettina that way.”

You are such a sucker, Celia. There should be a law about being so stupid when it came to men. But then she’d spend a lot of time behind bars if that were the case.

She felt Evan’s approach. It was hard to miss all that tension. Celia glanced up and met his gaze, and she didn’t at all try to disguise her fury. Let him stew. He was damn lucky she liked his mom so much or she would have denounced him in front of the entire hotel lobby.

The poor woman didn’t deserve to be humiliated just because her son was a first-rate ass.

Evan regarded her warily even as he turned to his mom. “We’ll catch up tomorrow, Mom, okay? Celia and I have had a long day and we’d like to go up and have dinner in the room.”

Lucy patted Evan on the cheek and then leaned up on tiptoe to kiss him. “Of course, dear. I’ll see you both tomorrow for rehearsal.”

She reached back and squeezed Celia’s hand. “It was so nice meeting you, Celia.”

She walked toward Evan’s father and the two went in the direction of the restaurant, leaving Celia and Evan standing in the middle of the lobby.

“We’re on the top level,” Evan said evenly. He gestured toward the elevator and Celia strode in that direction.

They rode up in silence, the tension so thick Celia felt like the entire elevator would explode before it stopped. It was all she could not to tap her foot in agitation as she waited for the doors to open.

When they finally did, Celia stepped out, glanced down the hall and then back at Evan.

“My key,” she said pointedly. “What room am I in?”

Evan sighed and pointed at the end. “We’re in the two-bedroom suite on the end.”

Her mouth fell open. She reached forward and snatched the key card from his grasp. Then she spun on her heel and stalked down the hall. The hell she’d share a room with him. He could go find other accommodations or he could bunk with his brother. They’d probably have a lot to talk about. Maybe they could compare notes on Bettina.

She jammed the card into the lock, listened for the snick and then shoved it open. She stepped inside and slammed the door in Evan’s face.

Her feet were killing her, she was angry as hell and she was hungry. And she needed to figure out how to get off this damn island.

She kicked off her shoes and then sat on the edge of the couch next to the table with the hotel directory and a telephone. Surely the front desk could make arrangements for her departure.

The sound of the door opening had her on her feet again, and she glared indignantly as Evan walked in and shut the door behind him. He held up another key card in explanation.

He looked tired and resigned.

“Look, I know you’re angry.”

She held up a hand. “Don’t you dare patronize me. You have no idea how furious I am. Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

He blew out his breath and ran a hand through his hair. He tossed his suit coat onto the arm of the couch.

She pointed to the door with a shaking finger. “Out. I won’t share a suite with you. I don’t care how many bedrooms it has.”

“I need a drink,” Evan muttered.

The man wouldn’t even fight with her, and by God she wanted a fight.

“You never had any intention of listening to my ideas, did you?”

He stopped on his way over to the liquor cabinet and turned back around to stare at her. He had the audacity to look puzzled.

“I’ve been such an idiot. I can’t believe I fell for this crap. How this was the only time you could fit me in. Blah, blah, blah. How naive does that make me? How stupid does it make me?”

He held up a hand and took a step in her direction. “Celia …”

“Don’t Celia me,” she whispered furiously. It galled her that she could feel the prick of tears. He would not make her cry. She was through letting men make her cry.

She needed to pull it together and be professional. A really nasty, vivid curse word, one that she’d learned from her brothers burst into her mind. It was certainly appropriate under the circumstances.

Screw professional.

“I have had it with men who manipulate me because of my looks. Here’s a clue. I can’t help the way I look and it doesn’t give you the license to use me or make assumptions about my character. And it damn sure doesn’t give you the right to use me to lie to your mother because your fiancée humiliated you by dumping you for your brother. Here’s another clue. Crap happens. It happens all the time. Get over it.”

Evan’s hands closed over her shoulders. She tried to flinch away, but he held tight. There was honest regret in his eyes, but there was also determination. Stubborn determination.

“Sit down, Celia,” he ordered in a low voice.

She gaped at him.

“Please.”

It was the please that did it. Or maybe it was how tired and resigned he sounded. Or maybe it was the bleak light that entered his eyes. Or maybe she was just a flaming idiot who deserved everything she got for being sucked into this in the first place.

She sank onto the sofa, her entire body trembling as he took a seat beside her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t expect you to believe I didn’t do this maliciously or to hurt you. I swear, I didn’t.”

She cast a sideways glance at him.

He sighed. “Someone really did a number on you, didn’t they?”

She turned away, refusing to give him confirmation.

“Celia, look at me.”

He waited, and she stared ahead. Still, he waited. Finally, she gave in and turned to look at him.

“I completely and utterly messed this up. I freely admit it. I expected to have time to discuss this with you before we ran into my family.”

She struggled to control her temper. He obviously wanted a reasonable discussion when she was feeling anything but reasonable. What she really wanted was to crack his skull on the coffee table and leave, but then she’d be without a room, and if anyone was sleeping in the hallway, it wasn’t going to be her.

“First, this has nothing—and I mean nothing—to do with you landing my account. You’re going to have to do that on your business and advertising savvy. I’m not putting my entire company in the hands of a woman based on her looks or anything else. Can we at least be clear on that?”

She swallowed. “That’s not how it looks to me, Evan. It looks to me like I got played for the fool and that you led me here on the premise of listening to my pitch when you never had any intention of this being about business. Tell me this much, have you already signed with Golden Gate? You owe me that much honesty at least.”

Evan gripped a handful of his hair and closed his eyes. “You’re pissed. I get it. You have every right to be, but will you please listen to my explanation. If afterward you want me to take a flying leap, I’ll be more than happy to accommodate you. You’ll never hear from me again.”

“I think you know I don’t have any other choice,” she said helplessly.

“I’ll try to make this as short and as concise as possible.”

She nodded.

“I didn’t have any intention of coming to this damn wedding. I couldn’t care less if they live happily ever after and I have even less interest in being here to wish them well along that path to happily ever after.