The Billionaire's Fake Fiancee - Lauren Wood Page 0,42

know that we failed. Or rather, I failed.

I fired off my final text to him and slowly gathered my things. Short of just bolting from the building and never coming back, there wasn’t much I could do to avoid the inevitable. I took a deep breath and went into the boardroom to start setting up, even though I knew it was useless.

When everything was done, I sat in there alone and waited. It felt like I was waiting for my own funeral. That wasn’t too far off actually. It was just the funeral for my career.

Finally, the clients came in. I pulled myself together and put on a big smile, greeting them like everything was perfectly normal. Greg introduced us and then showed everyone to their seats. Chuck looked like a kid on Christmas morning the whole time.

Jim Harper, the founder of the company, sat at the head of the table opposite from me. He looked kind and honest, which only made me feel more sick. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would be sympathetic to someone lying and scheming just to get ahead at work.

“Kate, it’s nice to finally meet you in person. Greg has said so many wonderful things about you,” he smiled.

No one’s going to be thinking anything wonderful about me by the time Chuck’s through.

“Nice to meet you too,” I replied. “I’ve really enjoyed learning about your company and your new line of toys. What your company is doing is really refreshing.”

Chuck looked at me like I was just sucking up, but I honestly meant every word of it.

“I’m eager to hear how you think we can get our name out there … and let everyone else know that what we’re doing is refreshing, as you say.”

Greg nodded, looking pleased. “Yes, Kate. Why don’t you go ahead and get started?”

“Happily,” I said, standing to my feet in front of the projector screen.

“Wait,” Chuck blurted, also standing. “Before Kate goes on, there’s something you all should know.”

I stood my ground, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop him without making things worse. All I could do was stand there and let him say what he was going to say.

“Jim, when Greg first told us about your company and what you were looking for in a marketing firm to represent your new line, he emphasized how important it was for you to work with someone who understood the value and tradition of family,” Chuck continued, as I cringed. “As a family man myself, I’m extremely sympathetic to that. But you see, Kate here is a single woman. She has no kids of her own and no interest in getting married any time soon.”

“Now, wait just a minute, Chuck,” Greg laughed awkwardly.

“She lied to us, Greg. She knew she needed a family to stand a chance at presenting here today...and to get promoted. For money and getting ahead, she lied to all of us. She made up a fake fiancé and even went so far as to borrow their friend’s kid to parade her around in front of us, passing her off as their own.”

Greg’s face wrinkled up before he turned to me in shock. “Is this true?”

I hung my head, nodding slowly. “Yes,” I admitted. “Yes, I did lie to you. I didn’t want to be excluded because of my personal life, so … I thought I could even the playing field. I pretended to be engaged to a single dad so I could work on this project. But the truth is … I don’t have kids of my own. And while I would like some one day … I don’t even have a boyfriend. So … no, that won’t be happening any time soon. And … I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied.”

I looked back up to Jim. “I know this isn’t the kind of values you run your company by. It’s not the kind of values your grandfather, Mr. Nesters, lived by. I can understand if you don’t want to work with me anymore in light of this information, but … I do hope you’ll still consider my pitch because I do think it would work for you. Even if Chuck oversees it, I just want to see your company succeed.”

The room fell silent as I finished talking. I looked around, waiting for someone to say or do something … anything at all. I was half-expecting for it to turn into an old-fashioned stoning where they made me lay in the middle of the table while they threw rocks at me.

But before anyone else could say a word,