The Billionaire's Counterfeit Girlfriend (2 page)

“Of course not.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

He grinned, and her heart thundered boom-boom-boom at being the sole focus of his smile. She could only imagine what it would be like if he decided to point all his formidable charm her way.

Thankfully, the elevator stopped with a gentle lurch, and they walked out together. As they crossed the first-floor lobby, the back of her neck prickled, and she shivered and looked around. There was nothing except polished marble, glass and chrome…plus uniformed security guards…a few sharply dressed people leaving work…and Mark.

For the past several days, Hilary had felt like she was being watched, which was ridiculous. Who would stalk her? She was too boring to stalk, and she’d cleared all the deviants out of her life more than ten years ago.

A twenty-something woman stood up from a backless leather seat and started walking toward them. She had pretty golden hair that curled around her soft, fair face. A pair of widely set blue eyes sat over a small nose and Cupid’s bow mouth that you normally only found on dolls. The pastel pink of her sundress further emphasized her youth and delicate beauty. Her gaze zeroed in on Hilary, and she snarled, “You bitch! You think you can steal my fiancé?”

“I’m sorry?” Hilary said.

“You should be! I was wondering about all those ‘emergencies’ Walt’s been having recently, but guess what? When I called the hospital, they said he wasn’t there!”

Hilary’s mind blanked for a moment as she tried to process the situation, but her usually sharp brain refused to cooperate. She felt light-headed, like she was watching the scene happen in some faraway place to someone else who looked like her.

“Walt’s your…fiancé?” This couldn’t be real. It had to be some kind of sick joke.

The weight of several gazes pressed upon her, and she breathed deeply to clear her head. This was no time to panic.

“I found his texts and emails,” the other woman was saying, looking Hilary up and down. “I can’t believe it. What does he see in
you?
”

Hilary flinched. “Look I had no idea… I didn’t know he was two-timing.”

“Oh come on! He’s a surgeon. Why wouldn’t some overpriced coffeemaker like you want him?”

That snapped Hilary out of the mental fog. “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m a victim here too.” Walt had talked about proposing. Of course he’d never mentioned he already had a fiancée!

“Lying bitch! Why would he want somebody as fat as you? It’s obvious what happened.” She launched herself, and Hilary jumped back. She hadn’t been in a fist-fight since her wild teenage years, and she certainly wasn’t getting into one now in the lobby of her workplace.

The other woman shrieked when a pair of strong hands gripped her arms from behind. “Miss, calm down,” Mark said.

“Let. Me. Go!” the other woman screeched, trying to twist around to face Mark. “This has nothing to do with you!”

“Yes, it does,” he said. “The woman you’re about to attack couldn’t possibly have stolen your fiancé.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she’s my girlfriend.”

The blonde stopped wriggling. “What?”

“I said, she’s my girlfriend.” Mark carefully let the woman go. “And let’s face it; why would she want your fiancé when she has me?”

Hilary watched the blonde study him and the trappings of his wealth. Every item Mark was wearing cost more than what most people made in a week. Then there were his irresistible good looks. Walt was a nice enough looking guy, but nothing compared to Mark. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but I saw emails,” the blonde said, her voice considerably smaller and with less heat now. “They were meeting behind my back.”

“You’re making a scene. Walk away now unless you want me to have you thrown out.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Sure I can. This building is private property. And you’re trespassing.” He gave her a blinding smile, then gestured to the security guards, who had been watching the show with their mouths open. They moved forward.

“If you or your thugs lay another finger on me, I’ll sue!”

Hilary cringed. She didn’t want Mark to get into trouble because of her. It was already bad enough he’d lied for her, and the situation was beyond hellish as it was. She stepped forward to stop the blonde, but he pulled her to his side for a tight hug. Hilary didn’t even get a chance to react before he turned to the other woman. “Whatever you like. Leave your name with security so my lawyer can get in touch.”

“I work for a law firm, you know!”

“Marvelous. Then you’ve heard of Rosenbaum, McCracken, Wagner and Associates. I’ll have one of the partners call.”

She paled at the mention of one of the top law firms in the state and finally turned and left, one of the security men following closely behind. Hilary winced at the name dropping, but if it ended the show…

Mark turned to Hilary, and his gaze softened. He tucked a wayward tendril behind her ear. “You all right?”

Unable to speak, she nodded and pulled away from him. Thankfully, he released her. She smoothed her hair with trembling fingers as she tried to process what had just happened. Had she just been confronted by her boyfriend’s
fiancée?
Oh god. It was so obvious why Walt had promised to propose to Hilary.

She was an idiot with the worst judgment when it came to men, and they could tell by just looking at her. She was so naïve, she’d believe anything they said.

Just like her mom had gotten into trouble. Was it genetic?

There had to be something about her that broadcast how stupidly gullible she was. She’d chosen Walt with such careful consideration and thought. He was supposed to have been
the one
, her perfect man.

How could she have been so wrong?

“Hey, you look really pale. You need to sit down?” Mark said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Aware of the audience, she forced a neutral tone and took a step back. Her mistake with Walt had blown up at work, but she wouldn’t let it affect her career. “Thank you for your help. It probably would’ve gotten a lot uglier without you.”

He smiled. “No problem. Sorry how it turned out.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” It was all hers.

“So…about my family party—”

“What?” She clutched her stuff in front of her like a shield. “No!”

Then she ran out as fast as she could.

Dumbfounded, Mark stared after Hilary, who had somehow managed to sprint across the lobby in those shoes and vanished. What the hell was that about? Women never said no to Mark…especially after he’d heroically saved them. And getting rid of that psycho fiancée definitely counted as heroic. He’d even threatened to unleash the lawyers. Should he have threatened to do the same against Walt as well?

“Hello? Anybody home?”

Mark looked over to see his older brother walking toward him. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw you standing in here, staring at nothing like a fool. Since you didn’t see me wave at you from the outside, I figured I’d come in and get you.” Iain looked a lot like Mark—the height and the build were exactly the same—and they both shared the dark good looks of their parents. The only real difference was their eyes.

They walked out of the steel, glass and marble monument to power and money that was the Omega Wealth Management building. The sidewalks were thick with people striding purposefully by. Probably they all had somewhere to be, someone to be with…unlike Mark and his empty penthouse.

“You forgot about the party tonight, didn’t you?” Iain said suddenly.

“No…”

“Good. It’s gonna be a blast.”

“…but I’m not going.”

That brought Iain up short. “Why not?”

Mark shrugged. “What’s the point? It’s not like I’m going to find somebody who can keep my interest for more than a few weeks.”

“Well if you don’t go, for sure you never will.”

“‘Full of young, loose women and great booze’ does not describe a setting conducive for finding that woman,” Mark said, recalling their conversation that morning and tossing the two selling points for the party back at Iain. “If you want to go, go. You’re old enough to not need a chaperon.”

“Don’t be a dick. I’m just trying to watch out for you and get you a date for the family party since your best friend won’t.”

Gavin Lloyd would never go out partying when he had the love of his life to go home to. Mark felt a slight ache at that. Jealousy? No. He was happy for his best friend. But he wished he could have the kind of relationship Gavin had.

Maybe it was
longing
…

“Okay, you need to stop with that look,” Iain said.

“What look?”

“That weird look you’ve been getting ever since Gavin reconciled with his wife and his brother got married.”

“It has nothing to do with them.”

“Then is it Shane?” Iain said, referring to their youngest brother, newly set to marry his high school sweetheart.

Mark didn’t respond. The snack he’d had earlier was sitting uncomfortably in his belly, but he was happy for all three of them. He was.

“Forget them,” Iain said. “You have the kind of female companionship every man would kill for, going from one stunner to the next. Sure, the grass always looks greener on the other side, but it’s not that green once you cross over. So what do you say to that party? Let’s go!”

Mark shook his head.

“You can’t go to the family picnic solo.”

“Don’t worry about that. I already found somebody.”

Iain raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You did?”

“Yup.”

“Who? Anybody I know?”

“Hilary Rosenberg.”

Iain burst out laughing. “Get outta here.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Hilary Rosenberg, as in Gavin’s secretary Hilary Rosenberg?”

“She’s his executive administrative assistant,” Mark snapped. Didn’t anybody know Gavin would rather fire half his analysts than Hilary?

Iain snorted. “Whatever. Stop joking around.”

“Iain, read my lips. She and I are going together.”

“But she’s so…not your type.”

Mark scowled. Hilary had said the same thing. “Okay, smart guy. What
is
my type?”

“Young blondes in their early twenties with tight asses and huge tits.” Iain cupped his hands in front of his chest. “Fake or natural not an issue.”

Mark’s scowl deepened. He was pretty sure he’d dated some brunettes and redheads along the way.

“Mom’s not going to believe you’re dating her. She’s going to set you up with that girl she wants you to marry. What was her name again? Katarina Luther or some such?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard she’s great marriage material,” Iain said. “Just the kind of woman Grandmother would approve of. Mom’s trying to marry all of us off, you know. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a list of candidates with my name written on them.”

“Why is it so hard to believe that Hilary and I are an item?”

“If you are, then you’ll pass the Inquisition, but you know how Mom is.” Iain checked out a particularly leggy brunette walking past them. “She’s going to grill both of you on things that all genuine couples would have done because she won’t believe it’s real. First date. First kiss. Presents. Likes and dislikes. It’ll be worse than dealing with immigration.”

“Immigration?”

“Yeah. A friend of mine married a girl from Vietnam, and to get the spouse visa they had to answer some really detailed questions to prove they didn’t marry just to get her the visa.”

Mark narrowed his eyes. Iain was probably right. He knew their mom better than anybody else.

“Hey, if you guys are really dating, fine. But I’m warning you if you’re doing this to get out of her setting you up with Katarina.”

Iain was right. Mark would have to do something to pass the motherly inquisition. No big deal. He would date Hilary for real for a month. She was a stunner, and she was single now. And most importantly, he liked her.

She’d probably said no because she was confused and hurt and angry at the male half of the population. Totally understandable, given the circumstances. She’d feel differently after a little wining and dining.

If not, he’d simply remind her she’d already said yes in the elevator. Given his experience with women and several months’ worth of watching Hilary… How hard could it be to win her over?

* * *

Hilary stumbled along the city blocks, past office buildings and the alleys that separated them. Some people turned away at the sight of her; others openly stared. The thick exhaust from cars filled her nose and mouth with grit and tears blurred her vision, but her feet moved forward like they knew exactly where she needed to go.

A Lexus pulled up next to her and honked. She turned toward it almost violently, thinking it might be Walt. Instead, it was her best friend Josephine Martinez. “Hey, girlie! Want a ride to Z?” Her voice was cheery as she lowered the window. Successful freelance personal shopper to the rich and famous, Jo was a stunner who dressed like a goddess. She took one look at Hilary’s face, and the easy grin vanished. “Whoa. Okay, get in.”

Hilary climbed into the luxury car. Jo placed a hand with purple-tipped fingers on her shoulder. “Are you all right? What happened?”

Hilary’s lower lip trembled. “He’s engaged.”

“Who?”

“Walt.”

“
What?
” Jo opened and closed her mouth a few times, then finally said, “Okay, start from the beginning. I’m totally lost.” A car behind her honked, and she pulled into the traffic, rolling her eyes at the driver behind her.

Hilary drew in a shaky breath for courage, then told her friend a condensed version of the nightmarish scene in the lobby. Her stomach knotted so hard, it felt like her lunch would come back up. “How could I have not known that he’s already engaged? It should’ve been obvious. I should’ve been able to see it.”

“Nobody saw it. He was slick. I mean,
I
didn’t even think he was a scumbag, and you know me.”

“But—”

“He was always bailing on you, saying he needed to save a baby. Who could’ve known it was something else?” Jo plucked a tissue from a box she always kept in her car and offered it.