Chapter One
~ Gia ~
“Fook!”
My head shot up as I heard my boss swear loudly in his Scottish accent, letting loose a curse that definitely wasn’t safe for work. The expletive was followed by a loud bang then another, a crash of glass then yet another yell probably heard on the other end of the complex. That was saying something, considering his walls were supposedly soundproofed for privacy. Apparently not.
Locking my screen, I slipped my feet back into the shoes I’d slipped off since my lower body was hidden from view and the new pumps hurt like hell. Standing, I smoothed my clothes then crossed to his office door and knocked hesitantly.
He growled rather than actually answering, and as always a little shiver went through me. It wasn’t his growl, though. It was all of him in general.
Keeping my features schooled, I turned the knob and stepped into his plush office, with its wall of windows, multiple work spaces that included a huge steel and glass desk, and a C-shaped seating area. My boss, Finnigan Gray, was leaned back in his executive chair, his head tipped toward the ceiling and his hand over his face.
“Is everything okay?” I studied him, pretty sure of the answer. His hair looked as if he’d been shoving his hands through it and his normally placid features appeared drawn.
“Nay,” came his muffled response.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Marry me.”
“Um…I’m sorry. What was that?” Because I knew he didn’t just ask me to marry him. Hot boss fantasies aside, that wouldn’t happen.
His hand dropped, and he righted himself. His piercing blue eyes stared into me, looking speculative. “You’re single, right?”
That felt a little judgy and none of his business. “Yes,” I answered anyway.
“And no boyfriend or other attachments I should know about?”
“I don’t think you really need to know about anything about me.”
“So that would be nay.” He smirked, so sure of himself. The man’s powers of deduction were stellar, which made him an excellent vice president of assholery—correction, vice president of distribution for the movie studio.
“Is there a point to this?” For the first time ever, I didn’t feel compelled to hang on every panty-melting word to drop from his mouth. Dear heaven, Scotsmen should come with a warning label. But no, right now, I wanted to run away—well, walk rapidly, anyway—away from this interrogation.
“Actually, aye, there is. I need a wife, and ya being attached in some way would be a problem.”
I stared at him. My mouth opened. Closed. I blinked. “Um. Excuse me?”
“I would like ya to marry me,” he said, slowly enunciating every syllable as if I hadn’t grown accustomed to his accent over the past six months.
Dropping the thin facade of professionalism I’d still held around me, which in truth wasn’t much since he’d shocked me the moment I’d walked in here, I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?”
“Why not?” he countered.
My head cocked. “I can think of a dozen or more reasons right off the top of my head. But you answer me first. Why do you suddenly need a wife? Is your green card expiring?”
He chuckled. “I’m an American, lass. My mother met my father and moved there when I was but a wee bairn. But I am a US citizen.”
That wasn’t what I expected, but it explained why his speaking and language patterns seemed down right Midwest colloquial, at times. Colloquial with a large dose of Scottish slang, anyway.
“Then why?”
He looked beyond me then nodded. “Shut the door.”
I raised an eyebrow but did as he bid. As crazy as he was being right now, I still trusted him. After closing the office door, I took one of the comfortable leather-upholstered chairs in front of his desk.
“Ya know we’re in the midst of a merger.”
“Yes.”
“Management,” he said through his teeth, “thinks it would be better if I were a married man. They strongly suggested I make that happen if I want to retain employment. Utter tosh!”
“But…why?” I asked again then held up my hand. “I know I keep asking that, but now, I’m really confused. Why are they saying that? What difference does it make whether or not you’re married.”
He ran a hand through his hair, confirming my observation that he’d been doing that before I entered. “Because I’m young.” True, he was only a few years older than me. “And they were reluctant to hire me because of that. They didn’t believe I was settled enough, which, pardon me, is a load of bollocks. I’m completely qualified. So…I…” His face took on a pained expression. “I led them to believe I was…with someone.”
I didn’t even try to stop myself. I gave him the same look I gave my brother Anders when he did something asinine.
“I know.” He sighed and lifted a hand in surrender. “It was stupid. I didn’t think they’d take more than a wee look at my personal life, ya ken? But the new company wants a married executive, a family man. For their family company.”
“Sounds like you’re screwed.”
“Aye,” he groaned. “Unless I pull a wife out of my pocket.”
“I understand your problem,” I sighed, remembering my phone call with my mom this morning. Every conversation we had, she asked if I’d found a boyfriend yet. You’re not getting any younger. There must be some available men in Chicago.
As if any old guy would do.
I studied Finnigan. “And what if you don’t produce a wife?”
“The boot.”
That seemed extreme. Finn had garnered them millions already this year, and the fourth quarter—the industry’s biggest quarter—wasn’t finished and fully tabulated.
“Then perhaps, it’ll be back to Scotland to work for the family brewery.” He signed again, looking beyond me and tapping his pen.
My heart lurched at the idea of not seeing him every day, of never seeing him again because we would no longer work together and worse, he’d left the country. The kick in the gut startled me.
I could ensure he stayed. Did I really have anything to lose?
A hundred things, actually. The least of which would be my crushed pride if I was stupid enough to fall for him. At best, it would be a temporary arrangement. I knew that without him even saying it.
Still, I shrugged. It wasn’t as if we’d be doing something illegal. We could have a win-win. He kept his job. My mom and all my aunts and cousins would shut up about my single status. I got to listen to his voice every morning and every night.
There were worse things.
I took a deep breath and flexed my fingers before clasping them in my lap. My eyes met his. “How long?”
He paused, looking as if he were about to say one thing but decided on something else. “Until the acquisition is complete. April at most.”
Less than five months. Tops. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Chapter Two
~ Gia ~
I was crazy. Yet, here I was, on my way to the courthouse to marry my boss. On paper. No, that wouldn’t be difficult at all. Because I didn’t practically drool over myself whenever I saw him.