“I
don’t really like dogs.”
“Too
bad. I don’t really like being pushed into marrying a man I don’t know. So if
you want to reconsider...”
Mason
shrugged. “You make a fair point. OK. You can bring the dog. He stays in your
room with you at night. And he gets crated during parties. And if he breaks
anything, you replace it. And if…”
“Oh
for the love of God. Relax. He’s a dog, not an elephant. You may even like him.
Eventually.”
“Now
I’m worried about your other two conditions,” Mason said dryly.
“Was
that a joke?” Emma asked, looking at him with suspicion.
“God
no. I have no sense of humor. Or so I’m told.”
Emma
just stared at him. He waved his hand to gesture that she should continue.
“I’m
keeping my job.”
“Fine
with me. You’d be bored sitting around here all day. You’d probably
redecorate.”
Narrowing
her eyes at him doubtfully, she continued. “And my life.”
He
shrugged. “I’d expect you to do that.” He paused then, as if reconsidering. “As
long as your life doesn’t include a man,” he added. Looking her directly in the
eyes, he asked, “You’re not seeing anyone, are you Emma?”
“That’s
none of your business,” she stated firmly, even as she blushed.
But
Mason just looked at her steadily. “It is. Now.”
“It’s
not. Not if I’m discreet.”
“No.
If you’re seeing someone, you break up with him.”
“And
if I’m in love with him?”
His
eyes narrowed. “You’re not. If you were, he would have been your immediate
concern, not an afterthought. So no, it’s not serious. Break it off, Emma,” he
added mildly.
Her
hands on her hips, Emma just stared at Mason. “You’re a little more socially
well-adapted than I expected,” she said reluctantly. When he just looked at her
with disbelief, she added, “I figured you’d have to be a complete recluse to be
hiring a woman to marry you.”
He
just looked at her. “Jen didn’t really tell you anything about me, did she?”
Emma
shook her head, then thought of another question. “What will your friends and
colleagues say when you show up married to the wrong woman?”
“You’re
not the wrong woman, Emma. Just a different woman. And I’ve told nobody about
the wedding. You may be a surprise, but that’s all. I never mentioned the
wedding to anyone.”
Emma
looked surprised. “What? But…. Why not? You were going to get married this
weekend. Surely your family…”
He
shook his head.
“Your
friends?”
He
shrugged.
“Wow,”
Emma said softly.
“I
imagine Jen did the same with her family and friends. And I imagine you will as
well,” he pointed out.
Emma
just sighed, looking over at Mason. He was still standing against his desk,
leaning back on it with his arms crossed. Physically, the man was magnificent.
Even though he was dressed in his work clothes, Emma could see how fit he was.
Everything about him screamed sexy. But cold. The man put distance in place
between himself and others. That was clear. She felt it from the moment she
walked through his door. He did not want to connect. Not with her, and not with
others.
“You’re
a hard man,” she said softly.
He
nodded once. “Yes.”
“You
know nothing about me. But you’re prepared to bring me into your home, and to
legally tie yourself to me for three years. Granted, that doesn’t mean a damn
thing in terms of a personal relationship,” she added. “But…”
He
shrugged. “You came here on your sister’s behalf. You show a great deal more
love and concern for her than she showed for you. Seems to me that if I were
willing to tie myself to Jen for three years, I’m getting a better deal with
you.”
“You’re
expecting love and concern?” she asked with disbelief.
“Not
in the least. But you’ll probably be liked in my social circles, and that’s
important. You’ll be an asset.”
“And
your family?” Emma wasn’t sure why she persisted, but she needed to know what
she was up against.
“What
about them?”
“Jen
said they hated her.”
“They
didn’t know her. But she’s right. They weren’t impressed.”
“Why
not?”
“They
thought she was with me for my money. They weren’t wrong.”
“No.
I guess not.” Emma took a deep breath. She needed to get out of this house.
Needed to get alone and think. Surely if she had a few moments to herself, she
could think of a way out of this. Turning to Mason, she said simply, “I need to
go. I want a copy of the contract to take with me.”
He
looked at her in amusement. “Looking for loopholes, Emma?”
“Of
course.”
“You
won’t find any,” he assured her, moving back around his desk to locate and hand
her the file he’d given her previously. The original was locked in a safe at
his lawyer’s office.
“I’m
not optimistic, but I’ll try.”
“Fair
enough. I’ll see you on Friday. And Emma, if you don’t show up, I’ll file the
lawsuit that afternoon. And I’ll notify the authorities to pick up your
sister.”
She
tried one last appeal. “Look, you’re a nice-looking guy. Surely you know some
nice young woman who would love to marry you.”
He
shook his head firmly. “I want no strings attached, Emma. I don’t want emotion
involved. That’s why I did it this way.”
“Why?”
“Why
what?”
“Why
no emotion?”
“That’s
not your concern.”
Sighing,
Emma tucked the file folder into her purse, and then turned back and looked up
at Mason. “I’m going to want my own contract,” she said to him.
“There’s
no additional financial gain here, Emma.”
“Screw
you. And your $450,000. I want safety nets.”
She
felt a glimmer of vicious humor at his surprised look. “Safety nets? What do
you mean?”
“First,
if you ever physically hurt me, the contract is null and void. No trial, no
nothing. I go to my lawyer, who goes to your lawyer, and I’m out. Second, if
you compel me to do anything I do not want to do, including forcing any
physical advances on me, the contract is null and void.”
“You
have formed quite a high opinion of me, haven’t you?” One eyebrow went up as he
looked over at Emma. “First, why in God’s name would I ever hurt you? And do
you honestly think that I would need to force myself on a woman?”
She
blushed. Actually, she imagined that most women would eagerly accept any
advances this man made, but she had no illusions here - if she got sexually
involved with this man, she would be left cold. He might marry her, he might
sleep with her, but that would be the extent of it. The end of the road would
be the same - divorce.
“What
else?” he asked in amusement.
She
didn’t hesitate. “I want a prenup.”
He
looked at her with an impatient expression, as if she were a few steps behind
him and he was waiting for her to catch up. “I already told you that there is
no financial gain – that’s already been drawn up.”
Shaking
her head, Emma was quick to correct him. “No. It’s to protect me. I want to
protect my own assets from you.”
She
had surprised him again, but he recovered well. “You’re an interesting woman,
Emma Jameson. OK. Draw it up. I’ll sign.”
“Good.
One last thing. You cheat, I’m gone. I may not be interested in sleeping with
you, but if this is going to look like a real marriage, you can’t be out
sleeping with other women on the side. You may have a reputation, but I have
one too. Marrying you will shock the hell out of my friends and family... Oh
dear God, what is Gran going to say?” she interrupted herself. “Anyway, the
point is, that’s already going to do some damage. So if you cheat, I’m gone.
And there will be no repercussions to me.”
“Very
well. I agree. Draw up the necessary documents and I’ll have my lawyer look
them over tomorrow. But if you cheat on me, it adds two years to your
commitment to me.”
“What?
Why would you want that?”
“I
wouldn’t. But neither would you. So that will keep you from running away with
the first guy you meet who offers to take you away from all of this.”
“Fine,”
she said shortly.
“Good.
Now that that’s all settled, we can make plans to move you in over the
weekend.”
Emma
shook her head vehemently. “No way. I’m away on a business trip next week. I
won’t have time to pack.”
“Emma...”
But
Emma’s patience was about at the breaking point. She was done, and she needed
to make that clear. Her voice almost shaking with tension, she said quietly,
“Do not push me. This is not my doing, and it’s not anything I want.”
Mason
just nodded, seeming to understand that she was at the end of her rope. “I was
going to say that next week is fine, Emma. I can help you pack up this weekend
if you want.”
Emma
looked incredulously at him.
“What?”
he asked, seeing her expression.
“
You
are going to help me pack?”
He
looked puzzled. That’s what he’d offered, so what was the misunderstanding? But
Emma shook her head. “No. Thank you, but no. I’m not giving up my house, so I’m
just packing my personal things. And I don’t need help with that.”
“Very
well. When you have what you need boxed up, let me know and I’ll hire some men
to help move your things.”
“You
should meet Chaos before I move him in here,” Emma said, almost reluctantly as
she stood.
“Chaos?”
“My
dog?” she reminded him, rolling her eyes. Honestly, she thought again, what man
didn’t like dogs?
“You
named your dog Chaos?”
For
the first time that evening, Emma smiled. “He’s earned the name. You’ll love
him. And I’m sure he’ll love you. Good night, Mr. Parker.”
“Mason,”
he corrected. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
Sitting
in her car, Emma leaned her head back against the headrest and sighed. This was
a mess. A god-awful mess. And unless she’d missed something in that damn
contract, it was iron-clad. Which meant that this was a god-awful mess that she
was not going to be able to get out of.
Digging
her cell out of her bag, she tried calling her sister. No response - the phone
went straight to voice mail. Hanging up in frustration, she tossed the phone
back onto the seat next to her and closed her eyes.
Let’s
examine the facts, she thought. A) - I do not want to marry that cold reptile
of a man. B) - that cold reptile is probably the sexiest man I have ever laid
eyes on, and in any other situation, if he showed a speck of warmth, I’d
probably be tackling him to the ground. But warm is
not
a word I’d use
to describe him, so no, absolutely no interest there. Well, apart from the fact
that he’s sexy as hell. C) - I still want to murder my sister, so it may be
better to
not
try to reach her for a while until I am over this, because
D) -
she’s not coming back
. That was the hardest one to accept, but Emma
knew her sister. She had made up her mind, and decided that she did not want to
marry Mason Parker. So she had bolted. And now Emma had a choice to make. Agree
to marry the hot (physically) but cold (emotionally) man, or be prepared to
lose an awful lot of money. And to scramble to keep her sister from doing jail
time, because even if she bought Jen out of the house, and thus kept her house
separate from Jen’s assets, she would not be able to just sit by and let her
get skewered by Mason's lawyers. And damn, but that contract was pretty fool
proof. Unless she were willing to sell out her sister, she might have to go
through with this. Funny how her sister was so willing to sell
her
out,
but Emma was the one who was hesitating. She sighed. Sometimes she wished she
had more of a cold streak of her own.
And
finally, she was going to need to tell her family. But how was she going to
tell them, and what was she going to say? She was back at the beginning of her
thought process. This was a mess.
Starting
the car, she drove carefully out of the neighborhood with the well-manicured
lawns, wondering how quickly she would become the scourge of the community.
Chaos would certainly make his presence known, and that means that she’d become
a pariah quickly. Could she live like that for three years? Maybe, she thought.
If she spent a lot of time at Gran Jameson’s house. Martinis and pie might help
her to pass the days.
And
if she buried herself in her work.
And
if she and Chaos spent a lot of time at the dog park.
Oh
hell, she thought. Turning onto the highway, Emma headed home.
Mason
watched her for a while as she sat in her car and collected her thoughts. After
she left the house, he had poured himself a double scotch, and now stood at the
window of one of his guest rooms, looking out onto the street. Emma was in the
driver’s seat of her car, her head back against the headrest and her eyes
closed. He could almost see her thought process. It would be a lot to take in,
he knew.