Bought: His Temporary Fiancée

Confusion clouded her features and for a moment Will almost felt sorry for her. He knew that what he had to say next would probably rip the rug right out from under her.

“Just how close to your brother’s work habits are you?”

“Jason? What? Why?”

Understanding slowly dawned on her and all the color in her face slowly drained away. If she hadn’t already been seated, Will had no doubt she’d be dropping into the nearest chair by now.

“Jason is the one you’re investigating?”

“He is.” Will leaned back against his desk again and caught her gaze with a rock-hard stare. “How much do you know about what he’s been up to?”

“Nothing! No! He couldn’t, wouldn’t do such a thing. He loves his work. There’s no way he’s capable of doing something like this. Seriously, I …”

“So you have had nothing to do with it?”

Her features froze. “Me? No, of course not! Why would you even think such a thing?”

Will shrugged. “Stranger things have happened, and you know the saying. Blood is thicker than water.”

A fact he knew all too well. It was that very fact that had him in this situation with Margaret Cole in the first place. Rather than take his time, relishing her pursuit and letting it play out to its natural conclusion, his father’s latest edict forced him to speed things along somewhat. If Will didn’t show some sign of settling down soon, his father would sell the family sheep station back in New Zealand rather than transfer it into Will’s ownership as he was supposed to have done over a year ago when Will had turned thirty.

Each of the Tanner sons had received a massive financial settlement on their thirtieth birthday, but Will had said that rather than money he wanted the farm. His father had agreed, but that agreement seemed to now be laden with conditions Will wasn’t prepared to meet. Not in truth, anyway.

It wasn’t the fact that he wanted or needed the land—goodness only knew he had little enough time to travel back to his home country these days. But the farm was such a vital part of his family heritage that he couldn’t bear to see it carved up into multiple parcels of “lifestyle” farms, or worse, fall into corporate or foreign ownership. The very thought that his father could so cavalierly cast off something that had been a part of all their lives was no laughing matter. That Albert Tanner was using the farm as a bargaining chip showed how very determined he was to see his youngest son settle down.

And, above everything else, it was the knowledge that his father was deeply disappointed in him that rankled. That and the fact that both his parents and his brothers couldn’t seem to understand that while love and marriage were at the forefront of their minds, it wasn’t at the forefront of his. Not now, maybe not ever.

“Blood might be thicker than water but there’s no way I’d ever condone such a thing. Jason can’t be behind this. It’s just not like him. Besides, he only holds a minor position in accounting and he wouldn’t have access to be able to do this.”

He had to admire her loyalty to her brother. Will’s digging had discovered that Jason had a none-too-smooth history, going back to when he was just a teen. While his records had been sealed by the courts because of his age at the time, money had a convenient way of finding people with a truth to tell. Jason Cole’s habit of petty theft as a teenager could easily have escalated over the years into something far more sophisticated. And yet, despite everything, Margaret still believed he wasn’t involved with this current situation. Well, he hated to shatter her illusions, but the truth was there in the report. The numbers didn’t lie. He pressed home his advantage.

“But you have higher clearances, don’t you?”

“Not for this kind of thing and even if I did, I would never share that information with anyone. Not even my brother.”

She was so puffed up with righteous indignation and outrage he was tempted to tell her he believed her. But any softness would remove the leverage he needed right now.

“I’m very glad to hear it. The fact remains, however, that your brother is most definitely involved. All our evidence points to him. However, there is a chance he may not be prosecuted over this.”

“A chance? What chance?”

Will took a deep breath. This had to go right so he needed to choose his words very carefully, indeed.

“I have a proposition that will protect your brother’s position here and ensure news of his activity won’t get out, nor will it be permanently recorded on his file should he leave to work for another company.”

He saw the hope flare in her eyes and felt a momentary pang of regret that he had to manipulate her in this way. A pang he rapidly quashed.

“What is it? What do we need to do? Seriously, we’ll do anything to protect Jason’s position here.”

“It’s not so much what the two of you can do, although he’ll definitely have to clean up his act. It’s more to do with what you can do.”

“Me? I don’t understand.”

“Your appointment as my executive assistant is a two-pronged affair. On the one hand, I need someone with your acumen and your experience to be my right hand while I’m here.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “On the other, I need someone—you, specifically—to pose as my fiancée.”

“Your what?” she gasped, shooting to her feet, her shock clearly visible on her mobile features.

“You heard me.”

“Your fiancée? Are you crazy? That’s just ridiculous. We don’t even know one another.”

“Ah, but we do.”

He crossed the room in a few long strides, coming to halt directly in front of her. The light scent she wore, something floral and innocent and totally at odds with the sensual creature he knew lingered under her proper exterior, wafted on the air between them. Will lifted his hand and traced one finger along the enticing fullness of her lower lip.

“Let me enlighten you.”

He didn’t give her so much as a split second to react. He closed the short distance between her lips and his. The instant his mouth touched hers he knew he’d been right to pursue this course of action. A powerful thrill pulled through him as her lips opened beneath the coaxing pressure of his, as her taste invaded his senses and held him in her thrall. It was all he could do not to lift his hands to her hair and free it from that appalling knot and drive his fingers through its silky length.

Reason fought for supremacy and he wrenched his lips from hers in a force of will that surprised even him.

“See? We do know each other, and I believe we could be quite—” he paused again for effect “—convincing together.”

Margaret took a couple of steps back from him. She shook from head to toe. Desire? Fear? Perhaps a combination of both he decided, watching the play of emotions across her face.

“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “No, I will not do it. It’s just wrong.”

“Then you leave me no choice.” “No choice? In what?”

“In ensuring that a recommendation is made that formal charges be laid against your brother.”

Two

“That’s blackmail!”

Her heart hammered in her chest as the finality of William Tanner’s words sank in. Surely he couldn’t be serious?

“I prefer to call it a basis for negotiation,” he said smoothly, as if he did this sort of thing every day.

Who knew? Maybe he did. All Maggie knew was that her usually well-ordered world had suddenly been tilted off its axis. Jason had been on the straight and narrow for years. The trouble he’d gotten into as a teen now well and truly behind him. Surely he can’t have been so stupid as to dip into company funds?

She went on the attack. “You’re mad. You can’t do this to me—to us!”

“If by ‘us,’ you’re referring to your brother and yourself, rest assured, I can and I am. Margaret, your brother took a risk when he started playing in the big boy’s league. Embezzlement is never a good look on a résumé. Sure, this is only a beginning, but who is to say he wouldn’t get more daring if I hadn’t picked this up in our audit?”

Maggie watched William in horror. She processed his words as quickly as she’d processed the information in the damning report on her brother’s activities. Whether Jason was guilty or not, it was doubtful that he’d escape from this without some serious scars. The last judge he’d stood before in court had made it quite clear that he was being given one final opportunity to clean up his act—and he had. She didn’t want to even consider what might happen if he went before the courts again.

If what William said was true, then it was just as well that Jason be stopped now. But, in her heart of hearts, she didn’t want to believe a word of it.