Between Marriage And Merger. Karen Booth

had said before they’d come into his office. “Hold on. Hannafort has seen this? How in the hell did that happen?”

      “It’s the internet, Noah. This stuff spreads like wildfire. He’s not happy about it, either.” The deal they were working on with Lyle Hannafort, founder and CEO of Hannafort Hotels, was massive. A real game changer. There was a mountain of money to be made. “He’s a straight shooter. He doesn’t mince words. And he’s already predisposed to thinking badly of anyone named Locke. You know how hard we’ve worked to convince him we’re not like Dad.” Lyle Hannafort hated Sawyer and Noah’s father and the feeling was mutual. They were bitter competitors. As much as that might have been one of Lyle’s reasons for doing this deal, it was also a reason for calling it off.

      “I’m very aware of how hard we’ve worked.”

      “He said he’s not sure he can do business with a man who doesn’t treat women as they should be treated,” Sawyer said.

      Noah sprang from his seat and jabbed his finger into the top of his brother’s desk. “Now, hold on a second. Taking a woman out to dinner does not equal treating her badly. I’m always a gentleman. Always.”

      “You’re just a gentleman a lot.” Charlotte cocked a judgmental eyebrow at him, bobbing her foot. Noah could’ve easily fought back—Charlotte had once dated half of the men in Manhattan—but he couldn’t be mean to her. Plus, she was expecting, and if he was worried about being seen as an ass, lashing out at his pregnant sister would not be a good move.

      “I know that you’re a good guy, Noah,” Sawyer said. “Charlotte knows that, too. But Hannafort has built an empire on being a family man. He has five grown daughters, so I’m sure he’s seen his fair share of men behaving badly. He totally owns up to being old-fashioned. He and his wife were high school sweethearts.”

      Noah had been impressed to learn that little factoid about the Hannaforts. That was a long time with one person. How did they make it work? In Noah’s family, they didn’t. Their dad had burned through each of his marriages, and there had been many serious girlfriends in between. There was a difference between Noah and his dad, though, and it was plain as day—one man a serial monogamist, carrying relationships to a cherished place only to destroy them. The other man, Noah, knew his limitations. He never led a woman on. Never. He was always clear about where and when things were ending.

      “So what is Hannafort saying?”

      “Let’s say that we’ve gone from a place where both parties were head over heels to a place where one side is thinking about leaving the dance.”

      This deal had been in serious discussion for only a month, so things were still fragile. After months of convincing Lyle to talk to them, they were just starting to get comfortable with each other. This was supposed to be the honeymoon phase, but that seemed to be over. “Seriously? It’s that bad?”

      “As he put it, he has no patience for negative publicity that could have been easily avoided.” Sawyer rocked back in his seat.

      “How was I supposed to avoid this? No one could’ve predicted this.” Noah had been looking forward to a quiet day in the office. He had no meetings, only a few phone calls, and he and Lily were supposed to have a discussion about some new projects. He’d been looking forward to that, however hard he’d have to try to concentrate on work.

      “I think his point was that it never would’ve happened if you weren’t the guy who dates dozens of women.”

      “What he really means is that if I wasn’t like Dad.” Which I’m not. Noah grumbled under his breath, frustrated beyond belief. He would never admit it to anyone, but part of the reason he’d been going out so much was because of Lily. The nights when he went home alone were awful. He couldn’t watch TV, he couldn’t read a book. His mind kept drifting to Lily, everything she’d done or said at work that day, replaying in his head like a never-ending movie. There was something about her that stopped Noah dead in his tracks.

      But Sawyer had been crystal clear about it—all of that was too bad. Lily is the best employee we have ever had. She is perfect. Don’t mess this up. We need her and all you do is break hearts.

      Noah got it. Lily was forbidden fruit.

      “How do we convince Mr. Hannafort that Noah’s not that kind of guy?” Charlotte asked.

      Sawyer snickered. “By finding him a wife. Or a fiancée.”

      Charlotte stifled a grin. “But it would have to be right away. Preferably before we go to Hannafort’s daughter’s wedding.”

      “Ideally, yes.” Sawyer stared off into space like he was brainstorming. Charlotte was doing the same. Noah wasn’t about to contribute to their ludicrous meeting of the minds. There was no woman in his life he’d consider asking to marry him. No one was even close.

      A knock came at the door. Noah turned as Lily walked in with four black binders in her arms. “I have the revenue projections from Mr. Hannafort’s team. I cross-referenced them with our own, which are considerably more conservative.”

      “Great. Thank you,” Sawyer said.

      Lily doled out the presentations while Noah remained standing.

      “Lily, you can take my seat. I’m happy right here.”

      She settled in, rocking her hips from side to side. “You got it all warmed up for me.”

      He sucked in a sharp breath. Good God, she was going to be the death of him.

      Noah opened his binder. There was no time to absorb all of the information in this report, but one quick glance at a few spreadsheets told him one thing—they were going to make a lot of money if this deal went through. And his actions, which had been perfectly innocent at the time, could end up taking it all away. Charlotte, and Sawyer in particular, would never forgive him. Or if they did, it would take a very long time. There was already enough acrimony in his family from their dad. Noah refused to be the cause for this blowing up in their faces.

      “Wow.” Sawyer flipped through the pages. “These numbers are impressive.”

      “They are.” Charlotte closed her folder and chewed on her nail. “Can’t let this get out from under us.”

      “No, we can’t.” Noah racked his brain for a way to make himself seem less like a Lothario.

      Charlotte narrowed her vision on him, then her sights drifted to Lily. She sat a little straighter and turned in her chair. “Lily, can I ask you a question?”

      “Of course.”

      “Would you have any interest in going to a wedding with all of us? This weekend. I don’t know what sort of personal obligations you have, and I know it’s short notice.”

      As the words out of Charlotte’s mouth found his ears, Noah quickly realized what she was doing. She was setting him up. With Lily. The woman who he’d been fighting to keep in the friend zone. Noah bugged his eyes at Charlotte, but she shot him a steely look right back.

      “A wedding? Do you mean Annie Hannafort’s wedding?”

      Charlotte smiled effortlessly, like this all made perfect sense and would not cause a single problem. Noah already had a dozen reasons not to do what Charlotte was about to suggest. The reasons were already stacked up and waiting, and he’d only been living with this realization for less than a minute. “Exactly. It’s just that we would need you to be Noah’s date. Well, more than his date. We would need you to pretend to be his fiancée.”

       Two

      Lily mustered the strength to hold her smile, but only because she was fairly certain her face was frozen. She managed to blink, so her eyes were working. That was good. Her mind, meanwhile, was frantically running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Had Charlotte Locke just said those words? Pretend to be Noah’s fiancée?