From Fake To Forever. Kat Cantrell

detailed the restructuring of Lyn Couture and Hurst House Fashion back into one company, and set the document on the wooden tabletop. This had been his contribution, while Avery had managed the branding and design aspects, as they hoped to launch the re-formed company with a new spring line. The publicity would be great for all their labels. She also planned to give notice at Hurst House and take a job at Lyn in an effort to make a merger more attractive.

      Avery glanced at the sheaf of papers he’d slaved over for weeks. Then she did a double take and raised her brows. “This says you’re going to be the CEO. Except you aren’t. I am.”

      “Are you insane? Why do you think I’ve been so passionate about this—so I can work for you instead of Mom?” Avery was delusional. She couldn’t handle a CEO position and besides, it was his. He’d gone to Harvard to get a business degree in anticipation of it. “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”

      She tossed her long blond hair. “Why do you think I’ve been working on this? Lynhurst Enterprises is mine.”

      “Like hell.” Avery had come to hate the split and wanted Lynhurst reunited as much as he did or he’d never have agreed to work with her. Why hadn’t he seen that she’d also developed an appetite for power?

      “I’m the oldest—it’s a given that I’ll take over the company once we get it back the way it was.”

      “It’s not a given,” Jason countered fiercely and lowered his voice. “I’ve worked harder and longer than anyone, including you.”

      His entire life had been groomed toward the concept of stepping into his father’s shoes as the head of Lynhurst. Avery and Bettina had critical roles on the design and marketing side, of course, but they weren’t visionaries. They couldn’t keep a huge ship like Lynhurst afloat and steer it in the right direction, especially not after merging the two halves. It took more than a good eye for color to manage a business.

      “That’s a complete lie.” She flicked manicured fingers at Jason’s face, a crafty smile playing about her thin lips. “Whose idea was it to tackle this puppy together? Not yours. It has more punch if we’re united and take this proposal to Mom and Dad as fait accompli. Without that, you’d have nothing. Tell me you didn’t think I was going to hand over the top spot to you, little brother.”

      A deliberate jab, like birth order meant something in the grand scheme of things.

      “There’s no ‘handing over’ of anything. I’ve earned that position with these merger plans, not to mention what I’ve accomplished as COO of Lyn Couture.” Hell, he’d earned the CEO position with his coup of an engagement to Meiling Lim alone.

      His fiancée’s father owned the largest textile business in Asia, and Jason’s marriage to Meiling would solidify the partnership between Lyn Couture and overseas manufacturing houses. It was a match negotiated over the boardroom table and made excellent business sense.

      Meiling’s delicate features and proper demeanor represented exactly the kind of wife an up-and-coming CEO needed. They liked each other and had similar goals for their union, namely, that it would benefit their families. Neither of them expected a love match and, in fact, they both preferred this sort of arrangement. He would gladly include her in his life and they’d have a calm, advantageous marriage…unlike the tumultuous, frenzied, crazy-making one he’d have with someone like Meredith.

      The last thing he needed was a woman in his life who goaded him into making bad decisions. He’d leave that kind of woman to his father.

      Jason was incredibly fortunate Meiling’s traditional family seemed forward-thinking enough to overlook his Western heritage. He was a man navigating a world largely populated by women. He needed an edge. Meiling was it. Nothing could stop his careful plans.

      Except for Avery’s misguided notion of slipping CEO out from under him. Which would happen when camels learned to swim.

      “Why don’t we worry about who will be the boss when the merger is done?” Jason suggested smoothly.

      They needed to focus on more important things or there wouldn’t be a CEO position to fill. Bettina and Paul were very comfortable in their current roles as CEOs of their halves, especially Bettina since she largely depended on Jason to advise her, but the winds of change were upon his parents whether they liked it or not.

      Avery scowled but nodded. “Fine. For now. But don’t think you’re getting away with something. I’m not going to back off. Let’s get to work.”

      They hashed out details for the next twenty minutes until his sister had to jet to her Project Runway meeting. In the cab back to Lyn, Jason dialed Meiling. It was only appropriate she hear about the marriage-license snafu from him. Hopefully she would appreciate the expedience of already having divorce papers in hand. Once his lawyer looked over them, it would be a done deal and he’d never have to see Meredith again…except in his mind where her luminous eyes beckoned him into an upside-down world where pleasure and understanding and connection didn’t seem like such foreign concepts.

      He had to stop thinking about her. It was disrespectful to Meiling, if nothing else. There was no scenario in which Meredith being in his life—even briefly—made a bit of sense.

       Two

      It was past seven o’clock, but Meredith’s stomach seemed stuck on Central Standard Time and dinner had about the same appeal as a tetanus shot. Nerves. Everything rode on this very quiet, very quick divorce.

      Lars, her father’s lawyer, had been so patient when he’d explained that he’d found the marriage record during a thorough investigation of her father’s beneficiaries. If her father hadn’t decided to update his will, she might never have known the marriage to Jason existed and thankfully, it had come out before she approached her father about the loan.

      Without a prenuptial agreement, Jason could claim to be a beneficiary to her father’s billions if he chose to fight for them in court. Thank God Lars had been her father’s lawyer since before she was born and was sweet on her. He’d agreed to keep her stupidity a secret until she took care of the divorce and then he’d advised her to come clean to her father or he would be forced to mention it on her behalf.

      A legal marriage she didn’t know about smacked of carelessness, and she couldn’t stand the thought of asking her father for a loan in the same breath as admitting a mistake she hadn’t yet fixed. Her sister, Cara, would never do something rash like a quickie Vegas wedding to a man she’d just met, let alone mess up the undoing of it. Meredith wanted to prove she could be as responsible as Cara. Once Meredith had Jason’s signature, she could present the marriage and divorce as a package deal, and hopefully everyone would agree she’d handled it like an adult who deserved a loan and a partnership opportunity in a successful business.

      Good thing Meredith wasn’t hungry. If one of the trendy restaurants around her hotel tried to swipe her credit card to pay for the exorbitant menu prices, the plastic would probably catch fire and disintegrate. The credit limit on her Visa was laughable, but she’d qualified for it all by herself. No one could take away the satisfaction of paying her own way—that was what the Grown-Up Pact should have helped her realize, but it had taken a lot longer for the epiphany than she’d expected.

      She hadn’t counted on sticking around this expensive Manhattan hotel over the weekend, but she recognized Jason’s wisdom in being available, just in case.

      No biggie. She probably didn’t need to eat anyway. Better to get used to lean times now because once she bought into Cara’s business, she’d have a loan to repay on top of a paltry savings account.

      Listlessly, she ran through the TV channels a fourth time. When her cell phone beeped, she greedily grabbed it in hopes of taking her mind off Jason.

      Except it was a text from the man himself: I’m in the lobby. Text me your room number.

      A