The Billionaire's Fake Fiancee - Lauren Wood Page 0,6

with work. After completing a slew of paperwork, e-mails, and calls, as well as a string of more missed calls and texts from crazy Kate, I was exhausted and getting ready to head home and change for going out to see Damon. My afternoon may have been wasted on someone who, judging by the way she was blowing up my phone, was apparently psychotic. But I couldn’t let that stand in the way of that evening’s potential for finding someone new and easier.

I shut everything down for the night and flung open my office door. But I immediately froze when I saw Kate waiting for me out in the lobby.

“I told her she’d have to wait,” my secretary explained. “She didn’t have an appointment.”

“Uh-huh, I see,” I watched her cautiously. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry, I tried to call. I found your office’s address on the internet, and … well … I couldn’t reach you by phone …”

I wondered if inviting her into my office would result in a big scene requiring me to call security. Her blowing up my phone and showing up out of the blue freaked me out, but I had to admit … the girl had tenacity and determination, if nothing else.

“Step into my office,” I motioned my arm across the door, hoping I didn’t regret not having her escorted from the building right off. “What’s going on?” I asked, closing the door behind us. “I had a great time over coffee and all, but … uh, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon … And so many times, at that.”

She sat in the chair in front of my desk, looking embarrassed as she wrung her hands together in her lap. “I know. I’m sorry. I swear I’m not crazy. I would have normally waited for you to call me, but … well, to be honest … I’m kind of in need of a date for this evening.”

“In need, huh?” I leaned against my desk in front of her. Even after she started showing her crazy side, I was still stunned by how good she looked. “I guess that explains your urgency to get a hold of me.”

“Yes, exactly. It’s for this work dinner, and … well, they’re expecting me to bring someone,” she explained. “It’s a really embarrassing story actually.”

I felt a little relieved that she had a reasonable explanation for her behavior. Or maybe I was just getting hypnotized all over again by her stunning features and prominent display of cleavage. “Well, Kate. You’re in luck. You took a risk by blowing my phone up and then just showing up here...and it just so turns out that I don’t have any concrete dinner plans.”

She perked up with hope. “Really? You’ll go with me?”

“Sure, why not?” I shrugged. “What time?”

“In about an hour,” she replied with earnest. “However … there’s just one little problem.” Her cheeks turned bright red. “I kind of … might have … well, okay. So I’m just going to spit this out. When you accompany me this evening … my boss and my co-worker along with their families … How do I put this … They … They think you’re my fiancé.”

“Come again?” I tilted one ear with my fingers. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“My fiancé,” she gulped.

“Oh, so I did hear you. And it really was the bat-shit crazy thing I thought you said,” I laughed in shock. “Why the hell would they think I’m your fiancé!?”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” she desperately assured me. “I went back to work after we had coffee and got sucked into this meeting where our boss presented us with this new client. They’re a toy company. And he wasn’t going to let me take a stab at the pitch because I’m not married with kids. There’s this big promotion on the line, you see. And without a chance at this client, I would be out of the running.” She stopped just long enough to catch her breath before jumping right back into talking a mile a minute.

“I panicked. I froze. And you were fresh on my mind because we just had coffee and because you have Olivia and all. I … well, I told my boss that I was engaged to a single dad so I could stand a chance at landing this client and the promotion. I know it sounds crazy. I’m sorry. I understand if you never want to see me again.”

I nodded, processing everything she had just said. It was crazy. But acting crazy for the sake of your career was something I understood all too well. It had been a pretty crazy move to drag us all down