Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal) (11 page)

On a second
thought, he probably
was
a crook,
considering…

“Law,” he
said casually, interrupting my thoughts.

My breath
hitched, and suddenly I had the terrible vision of me choking on a shrimp and
that he’d have to perform the Heimlich while everyone was watching, maybe even
cheering for him. And then he’d save my life, and I’d owe him for all eternity.

For real.

“What did
you say?” I had never felt so faint in my life.

He wiped
his fingers on his napkin, then fished out his wallet to retrieve a business
card, which he slid across the table toward me.

“I’m a
lawyer, Laurie,” he said matter-of-factly.

“You’re a
fucking lawyer?” I asked agog, staring at his card.

Of course,
that made sense. If someone knew how to pull a stunt like he had while playing
within the constraints of the law, then definitely someone who
knew
the law.

“
Your
lawyer.”

My heart
skidded to a halt. He leaned forward, whispering, “Or how else do you think I
was able to bail you out, all without a trial?”

He had a
good point. All of a sudden, I could imagine him in there, asking for evidence,
talking about my rights. Oh my god, he probably
was
really good at it.

Sexy as
hell in his tailored suit and with those burning eyes.

A lawyer!

Who would
have thought?

A man of
the law. Someone to fight for justice. And he tricked me into marrying him.

For selfish
reasons.

Without meaning
to, I started to laugh, the onset of hysteria bubbling at the back of my
throat.

“What’s so
funny?” His voice was still calm, but carried the slightest hint of irritation.

“You, my
fake, lying, husband, reading my rights as my lawyer and talking about the law
and justice.”

“It also
helped when I stated that we were newlyweds,” he said with a frown on his
beautiful face as he watched me. “I also told them you got so wasted you didn’t
know what you were doing.”

“Are you
fucking kidding me, Chase?” I shook my head, my laugh dying in my throat. “Did
you not hear a word I said? I don’t give a shit how you got me out.” Anger
started to pour out of me in long, thick waves. “I can’t believe you’re a
lawyer. A man of the law. Out of all professions, this one is about the most
unsuitable you could have picked.”

I took a
sip of my wine. Then a few more as a tear ran down my face. I wiped it away
angrily.

“Laurie?”
he said taken aback. “I know how this looks,” he said again for the umpteenth
time of the day.

“No. Let’s
not go there again.” I put the empty glass down, and then looked up to his
face. “Let me sum it up, Chase. You planned all this?”

“Yes.” He
nodded.

“And you
learned all about sticking to the truth with an oath and all that shit?”

He closed
his eyes and whispered, “Yes.”

“And you
married me for real?”

“I think
we’ve established that already.”

“For your
own selfish reasons.”

He took his
time with a reply. “Yes.”

“How do you
lawyers call it?” I asked a little too forcefully. “It’s called fraud, Chase.
It’s fucking against the law to marry someone based on ulterior motivations.”

He said
nothing.

“You’ve
just corrupted the law you should be believing in,” I said flatly. “It would
make so much sense if you told me you were an assassin.”

He cocked
an eyebrow. “Seriously, Laurie? You’re being dramatic.”

“Am I?” I
prompted. “The whole situation is dramatic. It’s fucking ridiculous.” I threw
the napkin on the table, fighting the urge to walk away and never see him
again. “I’m leaving.”

His fingers
curled around mine with enough pressure to keep me frozen in place. “Don’t.” I
watched his grip on me. He followed my line of vision and loosened his grip a
little. “Please,” he said softly.

“Okay.”

“It’s not
as a bad as you make it out to be,” Chase said.

“It’s not?”
I smiled bitterly. “You were there on that day the floor crashed.” My voice
broke. “You hurt all those people. And you’re saying it’s not a big deal? How
could you do that?”

His eyes
widened as shock flashed across his face.

“Come on,
Laurie. You know me.” He sounded genuinely upset. “I didn’t hurt anyone.”

“Chase, I
saw the folder. I saw the evidence that you were involved.”

“I wasn’t
responsible for it,” he said again, this time his tone was harsh and
brisk—like a whiplash. “Look, I might be a liar, and I most certainly
broke a few laws by marrying you for a reason, but I’m not a killer.”

“I saw the
folder,” I repeated. “You knew when to meet me.”

“Yes.” He
nodded.

“So,” I cut
him off, the words evading me. “You were responsible for the fire.”

His eyes narrowed.
“I see what would make you think that, but honestly, you’re way off the radar.”

“Am I?”

“Very.” He
closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again as he inhaled deeply. “I’d
never do something like that.”

“How do I
know you’re telling me the truth?”

“Because
that’s my work. I know those people.”

“How’s that
your work?” I asked, confused.

“LiveInvent
is a client. I come in at least once a week. I have business lunches with those
people. We go out for drinks.”

My mouth
went dry.

“You
represent LiveInvent?” My voice came out too loud, and a few people turned
their heads toward us. “Sorry,” I mouthed and cleared my throat.

“Yes,”
Chase said, composed as usual.

“So…” I
shook my head to make sense of it all. “You didn’t know I was coming in that
day?”

“Actually,
I did. That’s the thing, Laurie,” he said quietly. “In fact, I made sure you
got that interview, and if that floor hadn’t collapsed, you would have been
invited to attend a second interview, after which you would have gotten the
job. But after what happened, you ignored all calls and invitations to attend
another interview. What was I supposed to do to get to meet you, except
befriend Jude on Facebook?”

He was
right.

After the
whole floor crashed, LiveInvent followed up with an email, another invitation
to an interview, but I didn’t respond. They even called to tell me how much
they wanted to meet me because they really believed I’d be suited for the job.

I ignored
everything because I was scared.

Shock did
that to someone.

“Why didn’t
you come?” Chase asked, interested.

“The whole
thing was too much,” I said honestly. “Being stuck in an elevator, with no hope
of getting out, I was sure it was going to be my last day. I couldn’t go back
to that place, not when I thought you were dead.” I shook my head grimly. “I
thought I’d never see you again. I didn’t want to be reminded of you.”

“You
thought I was dead?” he asked quietly.

I nodded
silently.

“Remember
that I told you everything would be okay?” I nodded again and he continued, “I
promised myself that I’d do whatever it took to save you. Well, you’re alive.”

I don’t
know why, but my eyes suddenly felt moist again. My throat choked up, and a
tear trickled down my cheek.

I looked
away, strangely emotional.

There were
at least thirty people around us.

Why
couldn’t Chase choose a less public place? To distract me, to calm myself, I
grabbed a shrimp and bit into it. The salty flavor reached my taste buds, but
it didn’t quite register in my brain.

“So, what
are you? A chevalier? A hero?” I asked carefully, unsure what he wanted me to
say.

“I would
love to say that, but I’m not…as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now.” He began to
pile food onto his plate, the motion easing some of the tension between us.
“I’m really proud of myself that I once saved a woman’s life in an elevator.
That’s about the grandest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

He was
talking about me, no doubt about that. “You cannot make me feel guilty,” I said
coldly. “It won’t change anything between us.”

“That
wasn’t my intention,” Chase said just as coldly.

For a while
we sat there in silence. Eventually, Chase began to eat. My stomach rumbled
again, reminding me that it would be a pity to waste all that good food. I
filled up my own plate and busied myself with my meal. At some point, a
waitress appeared with our dessert consisting of two trays with ice cream and
tantalizing pastries.

But I
couldn’t touch them. And neither did Chase.

“Are you
finished?” he asked.

I glanced
up and met his gaze. His eyes were burning, and I realized with a shock, that
it was sadness that I saw in them.

“Yes,” I
mumbled.

“Then let’s
go.”

We’d been
back in the limousine for only a few minutes, with neither of us speaking, and
it already felt like a whole eternity had passed. I was sitting next to the
fish tank, my head leaned back against the leather, Chase at the other end, a
glass of bourbon in his hand. Neither of us dared to look at each other.
Neither of us dared to talk. And I would be damned if I was the first one.

Finally,
Chase moved to the bar. At first, I thought it was to refill his glass.
Instead, he sat down next to me—far enough to give me privacy, close
enough to make my heart race.

“Look,
Laurie,” he started, rolling the glass between his hands. “I get you are pissed.”

I let out a
laugh.

“I’m not
pissed. I’m hurt. There’s a huge difference.” I paused as I prepared my words.
“I thought you were different, Chase. When I married you and let you fuck me, I
thought I knew you. I would never have guessed that all that time you were
working on your little folder about me. You didn’t even tell me that we had
already met a few months ago.”

“Fair
enough.” He took a deep breath. “I’d been watching you for some time.
Obviously, I couldn’t disclose that fact. Nor the fact that we met the day the
floor crashed.”

I looked up
and met his blue eyes. The way he said it, I was sure he didn’t even feel
sorry. Heck, I wasn’t even sure he had any regrets.

Anger rose
inside me.

“You hurt
all those people.” My voice shook. I didn’t try to hide the disgust in my
voice.

He shook
his head. “No, I didn’t do that. That was pure coincidence.”

“Coincidence?”
I let out another short laugh and leaned forward, eyeing him carefully. I had a
hard time believing that one. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Only in
patterns and habits.”

“How would
you know that?” His question was cold, just like his gaze. “Do you know what
fate has in store for you? Maybe it was destiny for me to meet you. I don’t see
a pattern in anything about us.”

“What are
you saying, Chase?”

“The
answer’s simple,” he said. “I wanted to meet you. We arranged for you to attend
an interview. On the day we were supposed to meet for the first time, I wanted
to make sure that’d you nail the interview, so I got into that elevator with
you. That day the floor crashed, and that was a coincidence.” He took a sip
from his glass, taking his time before he continued. “I didn’t mean for that to
happen, just like I didn’t plan to like you. There are no fixed patterns. Only
plans and hope and coincidences, and a whole lot of mistakes that indicate
something bigger than us is out here.”

Was I the
mistake?

I had no
idea, but a more important question hovered at the back of my mind.

“Who is
‘we’?” I asked.

He frowned.
“What?”

“You said ‘
we
arranged it.’ Who’s that, Chase?”

“My brother
and I.”

“That would
be Kade?” My question sounded more like a statement. He nodded. “I thought you
were an only child.”

“Well, you
thought wrong.”

“Are you
sure you’re related?” I replied. “You don’t look alike at all. Could be another
one of your lies.”

“Not
everything I told you is a lie, Laurie. I think I made myself clear on that
one,” Chase reminded me softly. His hand moved toward me, and for a moment I
thought he might touch me. That he didn’t sent a jolt of disappointment through
me. “What I’m telling you right now is the truth.”

“I wouldn’t
have it any other way,” I mumbled.

“My parents
adopted Kade after I was born,” Chase said, ignoring my remark. “When they found
out they couldn’t conceive, but wanted me to grow up with a brother.” He raised
his eyebrows at my expression. “What? Is that really so hard to believe? You of
all people should understand it. Clint adopted you when he married your mom.”

I frowned.
“You know?”

“I did my
research, Laurie,” he said dryly. “Obviously, I know.”

“It’s not
the same thing.”

“Adopted is
adopted. The circumstances don’t matter much.”

I stared at
him in thought, undecided whether to believe him. “Talking about truth and all,
did you send your brother to Acapulco to follow me?”

“No.” He shook
his head. “I told you already that I had absolutely no idea he was here. He
didn’t tell me.”

He looked
so earnest, I had no doubt he was telling the truth—for a change. He also
looked pissed, but I didn’t care. I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded
him to see if his anger would manifest itself in some way. He didn’t vent, but
then Chase never did, and that was scary.

It would
have been easier to believe that he was a good actor rather than a lawyer.
Mystery and fantasy were easier pills to swallow than reality. The thought that
I might be falling for another one of his tricks turned my stomach to ice.

“I find it
very hard to believe you,” I said at last. “There’s no way you can prove you’re
not responsible for the fire.”

People did
all sorts of things for money. He had already added deceit to his résumé, so
why not arson?

His lips
tightened, and the frown on his forehead deepened. He gave an exasperated,
annoyed sigh. “My brother owns LiveInvent. You think he would have let me do
that? Is that proof enough for you?”

My heart
thudded in my chest. It shouldn’t really have been a surprise, and yet it was.

“Look,
Laurie.” He leaned forward, misinterpreting my expression. “The building had
some minor construction problems from the beginning. We were working with an
engineer to solve the issues, and the renovation plans were awaiting approval.
Everyone thought we had time. The whole thing was a ticking bomb.” He shook his
head, his eyes dark and gloomy. “Trust me, no one wanted or anticipated that to
happen. It just did. It cost Kade a lot of money, and it sure made things
difficult for us to get close to you. It also pushed back our plans because we
had more pressing issues to deal with.”

“What do
you mean?”

“It kept
the legal department busy for a while. That’s when I came up with the idea of
befriending Jude.” He grabbed the bottle from the bar, filled another glass,
then moved back to his seat. The space behind him was black, and I realized it
was a partition that could be rolled down to speak to the driver.

For a few
seconds, he sat here, the lights above us changing from violet to blue. When he
spoke again, his voice was low and wary—as if every word spoken was well
prepared. “The original plan was to interview, hire you, then work with you to
build up trust,” he said. “You had all the qualifications anyway, so it would
have worked out.”

“After
which you wanted me to fall in love with you, and you would have proposed,
right?” I asked.

He
hesitated, the tip of his tongue flicking across his lips. “That was the plan,
yes. Falling in love would have been a necessity.”

I let out a
sarcastic laugh as another flash of pain rose inside me.

His words
hurt, but what wounded me the most was that he was right. It was such a good
plan. I had to give him that.

I would
have fallen in love with him, just like any other woman out there. Given that
I’d obsessed over a guy in a dark elevator, I would have probably jumped at the
idea of dating him.

The truth
was, it wasn’t hard to fall for Chase. He was sexy, confident, always knew what
to say, available.

Too good to be true.

I knew that
right from the beginning. I just didn’t listen to my intuition and the alarm
bells ringing at the back of my mind.

If Chase
were the light, I would be his moth, drawn to him even though I know I’ll get
burned.

Even though
I was already burning.

“So, it
wouldn’t have made a difference if you met me then; the outcome would be the
same,” I whispered.

“If you put
it like that, yes,” he replied.

“You didn’t
need months to make me trust you.” My voice quivered. “It took you what? Three
weeks? You really did a fantastic job. Well done.” I clapped my hands to
applaud him. “You should be proud of yourself.”

“Please
don’t do that,” he said through gritted teeth.

I threw my
hands up in the air. “What? I’m praising your talents. Or are you ashamed? Are
you having regrets?” His mouth tightened again, and the nerve under his right
eye began to twitch again. Nope. No regrets there. “Thought so,” I muttered.

My
self-control surprised me, not least because inside I was breaking in places I
didn’t know I existed.

I would
leave Chase with my dignity intact.

That was
the plan.

I lifted
Chase’s half-full glass to my lips and, kicking off my shoes, I leaned back
against the leather seat and took a generous sip.

The liquid
burned its way down my throat.

If we had
to have this conversation, I’d better get some alcohol in me. And fast.

“Why did
you really marry me?” I asked casually as I took another sip. “I know it’s
about money, but you don’t look like you need it. Besides, you know I don’t
have any. And don’t tell me it’s because you want to help me. We both know
that’s bullshit.”

“I thought
you might ask that at some point,” he said again, avoiding my eyes. “It does
involve your inheritance.”

“You said
that already,” I said, infusing confidence I didn’t feel into my voice. “But
you also said you weren’t interested in my money, and you know damn well I own
nothing. So forgive me that I’m confused.”

“That’s
right. I’m not interested in
your
money,” he explained. “It’s not money
per
se
I’m after, but the inheritance Clint gets.”

I frowned
as my brain began to struggle to put the pieces together.

“Clint?” I
asked slowly and leaned forward. Chase nodded. “Why are we talking about him?”

“Because
Clint
is
the reason I married you.”

Oh, God.

My stomach
dropped and my head began to spin.

Suddenly, I
felt weak. My grip tightened around the glass, and for a moment I feared it
might snap. I stared at Chase shell-shocked. “Did Clint make you do it?”

Sighing, he
leaned forward to lift the bottle from the bar, poured himself another glass,
then shifted in his seat, his eyes still avoiding me. For the first time
something flashed across his face. Judging from the way his expression hardened
and his shoulders tensed, he was fuming mad.

“You
couldn’t be more wrong,” he said, his tone dripping with disdain that I thought
was addressed at me. “Your stepfather destroyed everything we had. Our home. My
family’s business. Everything my parents had built in thirty years—all
lost in the span of a few weeks.” His voice was quiet but firm, every word
spoken with so much hatred, it made me flinch. “He ruined us, so it’s only fair
that I destroy and ruin what is his.”

“I don’t
understand,” I said, struggling to find the words as confusion wreaked havoc in
my head. “What you’re talking about is a personal issue. It’s…my God,
it’s—”

“Revenge.”
He looked up. I shrank back at the intensity in his glance. “Revenge, Laurie.
You were the only way to get close to him, I guess.”

My heart
started to hammer—fast and hard, just like his words.

I held my
breath as I took him in—the way he let the golden liquid swirl in his
glass, his face drawn in concentration, as if it took great effort to do so.

He downed
his glass before he continued, “When we first heard of you, we thought you had
a close relationship with him. I mean, he adopted you.”

“I don’t
have any relationship with him.”

“We didn’t
know that back then,” Chase said and shook his head. “He sent you checks every
month.”

“Which I
always sent back,” I interrupted.

He shook
his head again, as though it didn’t matter. “Anyway, we dug deep. We found out
that his business is tied to your mom’s money, your inheritance, so the plan
was to marry you and ruin him.” He put the glass away, and slowly turned his
whole body to me. He eyed me as if I was an object, not a human
being—with cold, calculating eyes that scared the crap out of me.

I had never
seen him so detached. So—

Different.

“So what I
am to you?” My voice sounded awfully thin. “A pawn in your play? Collateral damage?”

He didn’t
reply.

Worse yet,
he started to bite his lower lip. In the short time I had known Chase, I had
learned that it meant whatever I’d just said was true, though he wouldn’t admit
it.

Piece by
piece of me began to crumble to bits. My throat closed up. The confined space
felt devoid of air.