April Fool Bride (3 page)

Resolutely, she shoved the memory away. "I
heard you lost your job. I want to offer you an employment
opportunity. It's a bit unorthodox but very lucrative."

Jake yawned and stretched lazily as if bored.
"Employment opportunity? That sounds like every job scam on the
internet." He sipped his coffee. "I think I'll pass."

"But you haven't heard what it is. I can
offer a salary commensurate with what you earned in the past."

Jake frowned. "Really. You know how much I
earned in the past?"

"Well, not exactly, but your mom gave me a
ballpark idea so I don't think you'll be insulted by the
salary."

"You discussed this with my mom?" Jake
studied her over the rim of his mug.

The intensity of his gaze disconcerted her.
"Well, not exactly. Not in so many details." A year or so ago,
Graciella had joked about getting Jake to rescue her in exactly
this way. With that seed planted, Maddie hadn't been able to think
about anything else. "We talked in the most general terms. You know
she has always kept me posted on what you're doing."

She could tell that surprised him.

"I had no idea you and Mom were still close.
She never mentions you now."

Once, she and Jake had been close too. He'd
been her best friend, rescuing her from countless scrapes, and
keeping her beneath Constance's radar. That rainy day she'd been
weeping in his arms, she hadn't been able to see past a bleak,
lonely future. Jake's arms made her feel safe. Then, in the next
instant, everything had changed. At least for her. She'd looked
into his eyes and realized that what she felt for Graciella's son
went beyond friendship. Even though she was only fourteen,
intuition told her she was in love with Jake Becker. Somehow she
knew, even then, that the love she felt was one she'd carry to the
grave. Just as she knew that seventeen-year-old Jake did not feel
the same way. She knew that he would go off to college and forget
all about her.

"Okay, I'll admit I'm curious. Tell me about
this opportunity."

Maddie wouldn't make the mistake she'd made
that long-ago night, proclaiming her love to him. She couldn't
afford to be stupid this time. She pulled her coat tighter, chilled
by the thought that he might be in love with that woman in the
photo.

"Cold?"

"No. I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out
how to begin."

"Well, Red, the best way is usually at the
beginning."

A tide of color rose to stain her cheeks.
"Right. At the beginning."

"Why are you so nervous?" Jake suddenly
asked.

"I'm not nervous." Her voice was barely more
than a whisper.

That soft husky sound cut through his
resistance. He waited patiently while she gathered her nerve. He
was good at waiting. Snipers had to be. Guys like him did a lot of
waiting. Waiting on a roof top with the long gun for an insurgent
to come out of hiding. Always waiting. Waiting taught a man a lot.
How to be patient. How to analyze a situation with detachment. How
to weigh the risk versus the reward in taking a shot and revealing
his hiding place. That same watchful waiting paid off when he began
trading. Then his ability to analyze served him well when he'd
started buying companies on the verge of bankruptcy and turning
them around. He and his two remaining buddies made a good team.

"Your Mom told me you lost your job. That's
why I'm here."

That surprised him. Why had his mom said
that? And why had that lie brought Maddie to his doorstep?

"I hope you'll listen to my proposition. No."
She waved her hands in dismissal. "Not a proposition. Definitely
not. This is a job, and it will pay well. As well as your annual
salary at your last job. Plus a bonus when the year is over."

This was bizarre. He didn't know what was
going on, but he was intrigued. Jake waited for Maddie's green gaze
to come back to him. She seemed fixated on the photo of him and
Danny's wife. "A year, huh? You're offering me a job that lasts
only a year?"

"Well, it's not really a job as one usually
thinks of a job. It's more of a special project. But, it pays well.
Very well." Hurriedly, she added, "With an expense account of
course."

Jake decided to play along. "How about a
signing bonus?''

"Oh. A signing bonus. I guess that can be
arranged."

What the hell was going on and what did his
mother have to do with it? He watched as Maddie picked up the
coffee mug. Her hands shook. She set the mug down. He realized she
hadn't taken a single sip of the strong black coffee.

"Jake, just tell me yes or no."

Jake smiled. He didn't understand why Maddie
would seek him out after nine years, but he sure as hell was
interested. Not in some bogus job, but in why she was offering it
to him. "What about health and dental?"

Maddie's green eyes jerked to meet his gaze.
"What about it?"

"Well, does the job offer health and dental
insurance? Dental checkups are very important. And vision. I
probably need to get my eyes checked. And let's not forget the
importance of a retirement savings account."

Maddie blushed. For a moment when she met his
eyes, he saw a flash of irritation in her green gaze. Then it was
gone.

Maddie drew herself up. Quietly, she said, "I
promise that you'll receive a full benefit package equal to what
you'd get with corporate employment. Since the employment will last
only a year, and you won't be able to look for another job until
this project is brought to a close, I'll make it worth your while.
Really I will."

Jake had no idea what was going on in that
rich girl brain of hers, but whatever it was, it was definitely
intriguing. And so was Maddie. He'd thought she would be easy to
read, but she wasn't. She had secrets. He could see that in her
carefully blank eyes. She wasn't conventionally pretty, but her
face was arresting. Striking. He studied her mouth, and his pulse
quickened. Wow. That mouth gave him ideas. The wrong kind of ideas.
Was that why he was prolonging their encounter?

His eyes met Maddie's and held her gaze.
"Okay. Tell me more. Who do I have to kill for this great financial
opportunity?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that," Maddie answered
in a rush. "You just have to marry me."

Chapter 4

Jake nearly choked on his coffee. He coughed
repeatedly, hoping he wouldn't cough up a lung. Finally, in a
strangled voice, he managed to speak. "Don't say something like
that to a man when he's having his morning coffee."

Maddie rose and slapped him on his back.
Harder than necessary. The jerk. He'd been sticking it to her for
the entire conversation until she'd finally caught on. "I'm
offering you a great opportunity. Money enough to tide you over and
make you comfortable when you do go job hunting in a year."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Hell. I didn't realize
this was a
real
job interview."

"It's not an interview," she said tightly.
"Since you're the only candidate for the job, this is an
offer."

"Then we need to negotiate salary and
benefits some more."

Maddie pursed her lips. He was really
beginning to annoy her. "Why? What I offered is more than
fair."

"I don't know. It takes a lot of guts for a
man to marry Mad Maddie."

She felt as if he'd slapped her. In a quiet,
deadly voice, she said, "Don't call me that. Ever."

Jake's smile mocked her. "Not so fond of your
nickname, huh?"

When she just stared, stone-faced, he
chuckled. "Look, Red, I may be, uh, unemployed, but I'm not so
desperate that I'll marry a woman for money. Especially not
you."

Maddie flinched. "What's wrong with me?"

Jake rose and returned to the coffeemaker and
refilled his mug. In an offhand voice, he said, "What's right with
you?"

Maddie lifted her chin. She refused to let
him see how his softly uttered words cut her to the quick. She was
accustomed to the rest of the world believing the garbage that had
been written about her and regurgitated every time it was a slow
news day. She'd thought Jake would be different. She pulled herself
together as she'd done so many times in the past. "My twenty-fifth
birthday is the first of April. I have to be married by midnight of
that day so I can receive my trust fund. If I'm not married before
April first ends, my trust continues to be managed by the trustee.
I'll have to wait another ten years for it."

"Ah, now I see why you're so interested in
buying a husband. But, you're the Quinn heiress. I figured you had
already banked those millions. Or is it billions?"

When she didn't reply, Jake pointedly asked,
"What's your trust fund worth, Red?"

After a brief hesitation, Maddie shrugged.
"Currently, somewhere in the neighborhood of eighty million."

Jake whistled. "Now that's a very nice
neighborhood. But why rush to get married? I'd bet my last nickel
that you still get to live the same affluent lifestyle you've
always lived. Right? You probably have your own little McMansion
until you get that monstrous pile of gray stone in River Oaks.
You've probably never worked for anything in your entire life."

"Don't you mean my entire
useless
life?" Maddie plastered a bright smile on her face that told the
world she didn't give a damn what anyone thought about her. But the
sad truth was that Jake's opinion did matter. She took a deep
breath. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let it matter. Jake was the
only man she could trust not to try to fleece her for every dollar.
If nothing else, his mother would guarantee his good behavior. "You
don't have to like me, Jake. I don't think I particularly like you.
You just have to marry me, and I'll damn well make it worth your
while."

Let him think whatever the hell he wanted to
think. She forced her voice to be light and faintly mocking. "To
answer your question, yes, I receive an allowance from the trustee,
and it's enough to keep me in thousand-dollar shoes and the
occasional designer dress not to mention the odd bauble or two from
a jewelry store." As if she actually spent it on useless things
like that.

Jake's expression told her that he'd bought
it hook, line, and sinker. "So who's the trustee?"

"I'm surprised you have to ask. Of course,
it's my wonderful stepmother."

Jake smacked his forehead. "Old Connie, the
ice queen? I can see the problem. I wouldn't want to be under that
woman's thumb either."

So Maddie wanted to stick it to Constance
Quinn? Now that was an idea he could support. He studied Maddie,
his gaze probing for the secrets that simmered beneath the calm
depths of her green eyes. She didn't fidget beneath his scrutiny.
Heat built inside him. What would she be like if she lost that
reserve? What would it take to turn that frost into steam heat?
What would her mouth feel like beneath his? For a moment, he almost
forgot that she was nothing but a spoiled rich bimbo. He turned a
lazy smile designed to irritate on her. "What are you willing to
pay me to be your kept man?"

Her stern frown was almost reward enough. "I
am not paying for you to be my kept man. I'm paying you to marry me
and make my stepmother think it's a real marriage. For that, I'll
pay a base salary of one hundred seventy-five thousand, payable
when I collect the trust in a year. With a signing bonus of fifteen
thousand plus the other benefits we talked about. At the end of the
year, if you have abided by the contracts and nondisclosure
agreements, you'll get another fifteen thousand as a termination
bonus."

"So you really can't pay me anything other
than the signing bonus until you get your full inheritance a year
from now?" For just a moment, Jake thought about telling her to
take a hike, but he was simply having too much fun on this cold
March morning. Plus, he did relish a good negotiation.

"I can pay the signing bonus and your
expenses every month," Maddie said diffidently.

Jake enjoyed the scarlet color that stained
her fair skin. She wasn't as cool and collected as she tried to
appear. That small break in her control excited him. What would she
be like in the sack if she lost all control? His gaze dropped to
her coat that she clutched so tightly. What did she look like
beneath that coat now that she was all grown up? He felt a dull
throb in his groin.

He'd planned to take off a few months and go
rock climbing in Germany. Not to mention indulge in a lot of
recreational sex. It had been a while. He hadn't been interested
enough to make the effort. All the women were like clones of each
other, and they all had subtle, and not so subtle, plans for
becoming Mrs. Jake Becker. So he was wary of any kind of long-term
relationship.

Maddie was different. He could play with her
and not worry that she had designs on his fortune. Even without her
trust, she probably had way more money than he. Then there was the
added bonus that she was a playgirl with a lot of recreational sex
experience so she knew the score. He wouldn't have to worry about
breaking her heart. "I must admit I'm a little flattered. The
keyword in that sentence is little. See if you can make me feel a
lot flattered."

Maddie's eyebrows snapped together in a
frown. "What do you mean?"

"I mean money talks, and bullshit walks, Red.
I'm interested enough to talk further, but if that's your final
offer, sweet cheeks, then don't let the door hit you in your skinny
little behind on your way out."

That made her face flame. "I don't recall
your being quite so obnoxious when we were kids."

Jake liked that when he pushed, she lost more
of that cool control. He dumped more fuel on the fire of her
indignation. "Speaking of your behind, I need to have a look at
it."

"What?" Her green eyes shot sparks at
him.

"I have a certain reputation with the ladies.
If you don't look like the kind of woman I'd marry, your plan won't
work. That's assuming you want everyone from your stepmother to
those trashy tabloids to believe this is a real marriage. That's
the image you want to portray, right? A real marriage. So before we
go any farther, let me take a look at you because the Maddie I
remember was a skinny little thing. If you don't pass muster,
there's no point in further negotiations."