Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
She laughed, as he’d secretly hoped she would at that last part of his statement. “Pain and suffering are apt descriptions considering your pessimist attitude.”
He tried again, this time opting for a bit of honesty. “Look, I’m the last man you want to spend a weekend with.”
“I’m sure you’re right about that,” she agreed, though her eyes still sparkled amicably. “But you’re not getting off that easy. I need a man for a particular weekend, and for a specific reason, and you’re going to have to do.”
Before she could elaborate—because he was curious as hell to know those details, even though they wouldn’t change his mind—he heard a slight buzzing sound. She pulled her cellphone from her pocket and frowned as she read whatever text message had come through.
She cursed beneath her breath, then lifted her gaze back to his. “I need to go. I’m the event coordinator here at the Meridian and I’m technically still on the clock. The bartender just broke a glass and cut his hand and I need to address the issue.”
He nodded in understanding and quickly withdrew a business card from the pocket inside his tuxedo jacket. “Here. Take this. Give my secretary a call next week and we’ll come up with a mutually satisfactory way to resolve this situation.”
A frown furrowed her brow at his choice of words as she took his business card. “Actually, here’s my information,” she said, quickly turning the tables on him as she pulled her own business card from the credit card holder attached to the back of her phone case and handed it to him. “Why don’t you give me a call and we’ll discuss the particulars of our weekend together?”
She was adorably persistent and determined, but yeah, hanging out with her for a weekend, for any reason, wasn’t going to happen.
Another message buzzed through on her phone, grabbing her attention once again. “I really do need to go. Have a nice rest of your evening, Chase.”
He gave her a curt nod. “You, too, Lauren.”
He watched her head back into the ballroom, surprised by the stab of regret he felt as she walked away.
Clearly, it was time for him to go, because he had a feeling if he stayed he’d spend that time watching her, and contemplating what he might be possibly letting go, and giving up, with a woman like her.
Ending things now was for the best. She was much too nice and sweet, even beneath that feisty exterior, and he was… well, he wasn’t anything she needed in her life.
Chapter Three
Lauren wondered how long it would take Chase to contact her. After their interesting interaction and conversation at the charity event, they’d left things at an impasse. He’d told her to call his assistant, and she’d told Chase to call her.
And what the hell did he mean by we’ll come up with a mutually satisfactory way to resolve this situation, anyway? In her mind, there was only one way to settle things, and that was by him stepping up to be her fake boyfriend for a weekend trip home for her sister’s wedding. There was no other reason for her to have bid on him.
She got the distinct impression that Chase was a man used to making demands and getting his way, and because of that she didn’t expect a call on Monday. She wasn’t even surprised when Tuesday went by without a word, either, which meant he was most likely waiting for Lauren to pick up the phone and ring his assistant so he wouldn’t have to talk to her.
It was now Wednesday afternoon, and as Lauren sat in her office at the Meridian and reviewed a vendor list for an upcoming wedding, she estimated she had a few more days that she could wait Chase out. She had every intention of forcing him to step up and follow through on the obligation he obviously had no desire to fulfill as a purchased bachelor—even though, for some reason, he’d agreed to step into Neil Pierson’s vacant spot, all for his half-sister, Billie.
From the little she’d gleaned about Chase in the short time she’d been in his presence, she’d learned the man was a paradox. Indulgent when it came to Billie, but a formidable, assertive opponent in other aspects of his life, like business. He clearly wasn’t used to anyone bucking his authority, but Lauren was equally strong-willed, and she refused to let Chase dictate how this “arrangement” would go.
The grumpy, cantankerous Chase Gossard was not Lauren’s first choice of a date. Not by a long shot, but since she’d been given a sourpuss lemon, she was going to do her damnedest to make sweetened lemonade out of Chase, and their situation. She’d always been a “look on the bright side of things” kind of girl, and this predicament was no different.