Society Bride. Elizabeth Bevarly

she pointed out unnecessarily. “His whole reason for existence is to take advantage of failing companies and consume them in one big bite.”

      Her father nodded disconsolately. “And now he’s going after Riley Communications because it’s one of those failing businesses. I know.”

      “So how can you ask me to marry a man who would snatch your livelihood right out from under you?”

      He sighed resolutely. “Because, Renee, it’s the only way to save the company.”

      She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

      Reginald inhaled deeply and took her hand in his, meeting her gaze levelly. “Look, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “Lyle has told me in no uncertain terms that he’ll make a deal with me that would insure I keep the company and receive all the funds necessary to bring it back into the black.”

      Oh, she wasn’t going to like this. Renee could tell already. In spite of that, she said, “Go on.”

      “Lyle has flat-out told me that if you’ll marry him, he’ll release his grip on Riley Communications, and instead of taking it away from me—from us—he’ll leave it in my hands and invest a substantial amount of money to turn things around. We’re talking millions of dollars, Renee, money that I simply do not have. To put it in mercenary terms, sweetheart, for the price of your hand in marriage, you and I get to keep Riley Communications. It’s that simple.”

      “What?” she demanded. “Daddy, this is like something out of the Middle Ages.”

      “Not necessarily,” he told her. But, deep down, he seemed no more convinced of that than she. “Marriages of convenience still take place in this day and age. Precisely for reasons like this—economics. It’s not so unusual.”

      “But…” She sighed heavily. “Daddy, how can I possibly marry him? I hardly know him, let alone love him. And marriage…that’s for life.”

      He hesitated as if struggling to phrase his next words. His gaze never faltered from hers as he told her, “Lyle Norton is a man who could have anything—anyone—he wants, Renee. But he’s also a busy man, one whose working schedule prohibits him from socializing much. He simply does not have many opportunities to meet women on other than a business level, and those he does meet don’t have the qualifications he requires in a wife.”

      Before Renee had a chance to comment, her father hurried on. “And on those few occasions when he’s met you, he’s been very taken with you. He thinks you would be the perfect wife for him. Then again,” he continued with a halfhearted smile, “why wouldn’t he want the best, right?”

      “But why does he think I’d be the perfect wife?” Renee asked, wondering why she was continuing this conversation when what her father had proposed was totally unthinkable. “He and I have engaged in maybe three conversations total.”

      Her father smiled. “Lyle told me that your presence by his side would be the perfect complement to his life-style and his plans for the future. You’re beautiful, educated, socially prominent…”

      “Thrifty, kind, obedient, trustworthy,” Renee muttered under her breath. In other words, she thought dryly, to Lyle Norton, she would be an accessory right up there with a solid gold money clip. “I think Mr. Norton might do better with a golden retriever,” she added softly.

      “What?” her father asked.

      “Nothing.”

      “He does seem to be genuinely taken with you, Renee,” Reginald continued, “even if the two of you aren’t well acquainted. And even I, on the receiving end of his—” he hesitated, then evidently decided to call a spade a spade “—his ruthless, blindly ambitious business practices…will concede that he’s what might be considered quite a catch. Any other girl in Minneapolis would probably be shopping for a wedding gown right now.”

      Renee smiled sadly. “Nice try, Daddy. But I still think this whole thing is crazy.”

      He nodded resolutely. “Look, I can’t force you to marry him,” her father said. “But with the way things stand right now, honey, we’re going to lose everything. Everything. Not just the company, but the house, the cars, your mother’s jewelry…”

      “Mama’s jewelry?” she echoed. “But—”

      But Mama’s jewelry wasn’t even worth that much, Renee thought. Except for its sentimental value, which, to her at least, made it priceless.

      “I’ve made a mess of things, sweetheart,” Reginald admitted. “While you were away at college, I took some chances, made some bad investments.” He shrugged sadly. “I’ve compromised everything I tried to build up for you and future generations of Rileys. It’ll be gone.” He snapped his fingers. “Like that. All those years of hard work and sacrifice for nothing. And, frankly, I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose it.”

      Something cold and sharp twisted deep inside Renee to see her father like this. He’d always stood so proud and tall, had always had so many plans for the future. He’d started off with nothing, driven to escape the poverty he’d grown up in, he’d dedicated his entire life to building Riley Communications into a rousing, enormous success.

      What had made his feat doubly impressive was that he’d done it as a single father after Renee’s mother died when she was two. Reginald had devoted every moment that wasn’t given to the company to making sure his daughter’s life was as happy and full as it could possibly be. And when he couldn’t spend time on her, he spent money, indulging her every whim, spoiling and pampering her, more, really, than was necessary.

      But he did so because he loved her. Because he wanted to be certain she never experienced the pain and hunger he’d known as a boy. And because of the time they’d spent together and the highs and lows they’d shared, the two of them had forged a stronger father-daughter bond than most families claimed.

      Her father would do anything for her, Renee knew. And he had made so many sacrifices over the years to insure her happiness. So how come she was balking at doing something that might repay him for all the things he’d done for her?

      Really, Lyle Norton wasn’t that bad, she had to admit. Everybody else in Minneapolis thought he was just about the best thing to come along since Belgian chocolate. He had come out of nowhere five years ago to become the talk—and the toast—of the local business community. Phrases like “boy wonder” and “golden boy” were frequently tossed about to describe him, and he was always the centerpiece of every event he attended.

      He seemed like a nice enough guy. And he was handsome. And charming. And articulate. Polite, too. All in all, Lyle Norton was pretty much perfect. In fact, when she got right down to it, she had to concede that Lyle Norton was so utterly lacking in flaws, so absolutely perfect that…

      Well, there were times when he gave Renee the creeps. He was, in her opinion, at least—she might as well just say it—plastic and smarmy and ingratiating. Worse than all those things, though, he seemed to have no sense of humor at all. The only time she’d seen the man smile was when he heard about a rise in the stock market or the failure of a business he wanted for his own. Nothing else in life seemed to bring Lyle Norton pleasure.

      Except, evidently, the prospect of marrying Reginald Riley’s only daughter.

      “I hate to ask you to even consider this, Renee,” her father said, jarring her from her musing. “But you’re our only chance to hang on to the company, to hang on to the very life-style that we have. If you don’t marry him, we’ll lose everything.”

      When she said nothing, he added, “At least consider it, sweetheart. Thinking you don’t know Lyle well enough is something that’s easily rectified. Just make it a long engagement. Take your time getting to know him. You might discover that you really like him. You could even fall in love with him—you never know. And he’d be a good provider. You’d never lack for anything.”

      No, she’d certainly never lack