One Foolish Night
Page 22
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“I said, I agree to the price.” His lips curved up slightly, as if he was finding pleasure in her shock.
Why was Paul agreeing to this? For that price he could hire any woman he wanted and have her pretend her name was Holly and she was his girlfriend.
No, she couldn’t go through with this, not even for a quarter of a million dollars. She had to get him to reject her offer. “But I won’t sleep with you.” Surely, now he would retract the deal and tell her to go to hell.
She watched his face, noticing how an array of emotions played on it. She tried to pull from his grip, only now realizing that he was still holding her wrist.
“Fine, Holly. You win.”
She let out a sigh of relief when he released her wrist. He reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulled out a small leather-encased booklet, and flipped it open.
It was a checkbook. Shock catapulted her back in her chair.
“No sex. However, when we’re around my family and their friends, all I request is that we be affectionate toward each other, so that it will look like we’re intimate. And no worries—you’ll get your own room in my parents’ house. In that respect they’re old-fashioned.” He wrote the check and held it out to her. “And I will never enter your room. I promise.”
Holly stared at the check and read the amount. He’d issued it for the exact amount that she’d requested. Could she really afford to refuse this kind of money when it meant that she would be able to buy the matchmaking business and build a future for herself and her child? What would it cost her in return? Only one week with Paul: no sex, no emotions. A simple business arrangement.
And one week would be short enough so that there’d be no danger of his finding out that she was pregnant. She wasn’t showing yet, and she wouldn’t for at least another two or three months. By the time her pregnancy was obvious, she would be back in San Francisco running her own business.
Call it child support, her inner voice told her. After all, since she would never name him as the father, she would never receive child support from him. Wasn’t it only fair that Paul should pay his share for the child he’d fathered?
She reached for the check before she knew she’d made a decision. “Agreed.”
10
He’d picked Holly up at the airport himself rather than sending a car, and now Paul opened the door to his condo and motioned her inside, while he wheeled her suitcase in behind her.
“Make yourself at home.”
He couldn’t believe Holly was actually here. In his town. In his condo. Though not in his bed. And by the looks of it, she wouldn’t be in his bed ever again. She’d made that abundantly clear during their negotiations. As though she found him disgusting and couldn’t stand the thought of touching him.
What the hell had he done? It wasn’t the amount of money he’d spent on her, but the fact that he’d had to spend any money at all to be with a woman—a woman who wasn’t even going to sleep with him. Had he gone completely insane in agreeing to her terms? He could have hired any woman—an actress, a model, whoever—to play his girlfriend and pretend her name was Holly. There had been no reason to go to such lengths to bring her to New York and parade her in front of his parents and their friends.
No reason other than that he needed an excuse to see her. There, he was admitting it. He’d come up with an elaborate scheme just to see her again. How screwed up was that?
And what if someone in the Hamptons recognized her as a call girl? After all, he was sure she had out-of-town clients, men with money who’d hired her. What if one of those men ran into them while they were in the Hamptons? He clearly hadn’t thought this through. No, all he’d thought about was how to spend time with Holly. He hadn’t thought about the consequences. If anybody recognized her, this entire charade would blow up in his face.
The odds are miniscule. His inner voice tried to calm him. Right! Holly had already spent a considerable amount of time in the Hamptons when she’d visited Sabrina and Daniel before their wedding. And the Sinclairs had practically the same circle of friends and acquaintances as the Gilberts. Holly had already met most of the people she was likely to see when staying with Paul and his parents. There was really no risk. Besides, even if a former client showed up, most likely he would be a married man, and it wouldn’t be in his best interests to make it known that he recognized Holly and in what capacity. Any smart man would keep his mouth shut so as not to endanger his own reputation.
“You have a nice place,” Holly said, and turned to him.
Why was Paul agreeing to this? For that price he could hire any woman he wanted and have her pretend her name was Holly and she was his girlfriend.
No, she couldn’t go through with this, not even for a quarter of a million dollars. She had to get him to reject her offer. “But I won’t sleep with you.” Surely, now he would retract the deal and tell her to go to hell.
She watched his face, noticing how an array of emotions played on it. She tried to pull from his grip, only now realizing that he was still holding her wrist.
“Fine, Holly. You win.”
She let out a sigh of relief when he released her wrist. He reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulled out a small leather-encased booklet, and flipped it open.
It was a checkbook. Shock catapulted her back in her chair.
“No sex. However, when we’re around my family and their friends, all I request is that we be affectionate toward each other, so that it will look like we’re intimate. And no worries—you’ll get your own room in my parents’ house. In that respect they’re old-fashioned.” He wrote the check and held it out to her. “And I will never enter your room. I promise.”
Holly stared at the check and read the amount. He’d issued it for the exact amount that she’d requested. Could she really afford to refuse this kind of money when it meant that she would be able to buy the matchmaking business and build a future for herself and her child? What would it cost her in return? Only one week with Paul: no sex, no emotions. A simple business arrangement.
And one week would be short enough so that there’d be no danger of his finding out that she was pregnant. She wasn’t showing yet, and she wouldn’t for at least another two or three months. By the time her pregnancy was obvious, she would be back in San Francisco running her own business.
Call it child support, her inner voice told her. After all, since she would never name him as the father, she would never receive child support from him. Wasn’t it only fair that Paul should pay his share for the child he’d fathered?
She reached for the check before she knew she’d made a decision. “Agreed.”
10
He’d picked Holly up at the airport himself rather than sending a car, and now Paul opened the door to his condo and motioned her inside, while he wheeled her suitcase in behind her.
“Make yourself at home.”
He couldn’t believe Holly was actually here. In his town. In his condo. Though not in his bed. And by the looks of it, she wouldn’t be in his bed ever again. She’d made that abundantly clear during their negotiations. As though she found him disgusting and couldn’t stand the thought of touching him.
What the hell had he done? It wasn’t the amount of money he’d spent on her, but the fact that he’d had to spend any money at all to be with a woman—a woman who wasn’t even going to sleep with him. Had he gone completely insane in agreeing to her terms? He could have hired any woman—an actress, a model, whoever—to play his girlfriend and pretend her name was Holly. There had been no reason to go to such lengths to bring her to New York and parade her in front of his parents and their friends.
No reason other than that he needed an excuse to see her. There, he was admitting it. He’d come up with an elaborate scheme just to see her again. How screwed up was that?
And what if someone in the Hamptons recognized her as a call girl? After all, he was sure she had out-of-town clients, men with money who’d hired her. What if one of those men ran into them while they were in the Hamptons? He clearly hadn’t thought this through. No, all he’d thought about was how to spend time with Holly. He hadn’t thought about the consequences. If anybody recognized her, this entire charade would blow up in his face.
The odds are miniscule. His inner voice tried to calm him. Right! Holly had already spent a considerable amount of time in the Hamptons when she’d visited Sabrina and Daniel before their wedding. And the Sinclairs had practically the same circle of friends and acquaintances as the Gilberts. Holly had already met most of the people she was likely to see when staying with Paul and his parents. There was really no risk. Besides, even if a former client showed up, most likely he would be a married man, and it wouldn’t be in his best interests to make it known that he recognized Holly and in what capacity. Any smart man would keep his mouth shut so as not to endanger his own reputation.
“You have a nice place,” Holly said, and turned to him.
