Page 21 of The Fake Husband Deal

“You’re right about that,” Tanner said, dropping a basket with steaming clean glasses on the counter behind the bar and aiming his usual teasing smile at Jax.

Jax was stunned into silence. A blush crept up from under his shirt collar.

I stood and tapped his back. “Sorry to leave you, bud. I just remembered I have somewhere to be.”In my living room, infront of the window with my dick out while I exorcise Lior Van Stern out of my system before dumping him on my brother.

Jax gave me a pleading look, but judging by Tanner’s expression, I’d made the right decision.

Lior

“Lior, where are you? I just stopped by the museum, and Charlie said you were out of town.”

“Hi, Mom. I’m in Atlanta for a business conference. I just landed and have a bunch of work to do. Can I call you when I’m back?”

“No, you cannot. Lior Van Stern, you’ve been avoiding me for the best part of a month, and enough is enough.”

I sighed. The driver looked in the rearview mirror but quickly looked away when our eyes met.

“I’ve been working. Believe it or not, stepping into Dad’s shoes at the company isn’t easily done. Not to mention, I still have my work at the museum.”

Charlie had fulfilled more than his personal assistant role since my dad had gotten ill, but I couldn’t just dump everything on him and expect him to take it. There were only so many hours in the day.

“I know it’s not easy, honey, but we have to talk about our plan to keep the company from being sold off to the highest bidder. I don’t know what was going through your father’s head when he wrote that goddam will.”

That made two of us. I thought I’d get more clarity after reading the letter he’d addressed to me, but that hadn’t helped. Well, other than him mentioning how a partnership with Pierce would benefit the business as well as gain the respect of the more conservative partners.

“I’m not marrying Pierce, no matter what Dad may have thought about him. I wish I’d told him Pierce and I had broken things off because maybe he wouldn’t have put this ridiculous plan in motion. Do you know how old I am?”

She laughed on the other side of the line. “I believe I was there the day you were born, so yes, Lior, I know how old you are. I also know that however ridiculous this stipulation from your father is, we can’t just let the company go. You know what that means.”

“I know, Mom.”

“You’ve lost one month already. Don’t waste more time. Maybe you could reconnect with Pierce? Were things that bad?”

No, he only cheated on me with one guy that I know of, but don’t worry, it was all my fault because I neglected our relationship by working too much.

“I’ll see.”

It would never happen, but I’d say anything to get her off the call. I loved her for having my back, and I knew that if my dad had run this idea by her, it would never have made it into his will. Maybe that’s why he kept it a secret.

Like my grandparents’, my parents’ love story was beautiful. As they had so often recounted, it had been love at first sight. They met when walking into a restaurant for dates with other people.

Neither date was successful, but my father persuaded the maître d’ to give him my mother’s name. In the days of phone books, it had taken him a while to find Mathilda Branson, who still lived with her parents at the time.

I could only imagine how many angry dads he must have called to find the right house.

His determination had paid off, even if Granddad Branson hadn’t been impressed with his daughter’s wannabe stalker.

“We’ll be at your destination in ten minutes, sir.”

“Thank you.”

I scrolled through some emails and replied to a couple of messages from Charlie. He was definitely in line for a bonus this year for all his support. There was no way I’d be standing on my own two feet right now if it hadn’t been for him.

The man should have retired already, but I didn’t want to think about it too much. I’d already lost one father. Losing Charlie, now the closest thing I had to a father figure, was incomprehensible.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the car’s headrest. The face I’d been unsuccessfully trying to forget for the last month filled my mind.

The man had given me exactly what I’d needed on one of the worst days of my life. He deserved flowers, an award, or at least more orgasms.