Page 20 of The Heiress Masquerade (Dollar Princess #2)

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aimee said, her heart pounding.

“Don’t lie to me anymore,” he ground out, his eyes pinning her with a directness she couldn’t escape. “Tell me the truth.”

She felt like a fox staring down the barrel of a gun. There was an accusation in his gaze along with a certainty, and she knew her masquerade really was up. At least with him. “Fine. If you must know the truth,” she began, dropping her English accent and speaking normally again as a huge sense of relief ran through her with finally being able to be honest with him. “You’re right. I am Aimee Thornton-Jones.”

“Of course you are. I should have damn well realized that earlier!” he swore, dragging a hand through his hair and then shaking his head. “I knew something was off about you. All the signs were there, and I was a damn fool not to have picked up on them. Your interest in the business. Your confidence and boldness. Your argumentative nature. All at complete odds with the description Thomas gave of you being a reserved and accommodating young woman. Ha! I should have known the instant you walked into my office with the stride of someone who knew her place in the world. How could I have been so stupid to believe your lies?”

“I’m sorry! Truly, I am, but I only lied to you about my identity. And I didn’t want to lie to you in the first place, but I had to.”

“Had to?” He scoffed. “Lady, you didn’t have to do anything. What you’ve chosen to do is deliberately lie to me since we met. Though I must commend you on your English accent. It certainly fooled me.”

“Well, I’m good with accents, probably on account of all the languages I speak…” Her voice trailed off, as she saw the full fury in the man’s eyes. She wasn’t scared, but she was worried he’d do something stupid like send her home.

“And what about your cousin? Let me guess, she’s pretending to be you, isn’t she?”

Aimee could only nod.

Harrison laughed, but there was little humor in the sound. “You sent her into the vulture’s nest of English high Society without any concern, all so that you could, what? Have fun slumming it with the rest of us? Fooling us into believing you were someone else? What a great laugh you must be having at our expense.”

“It’s not like that,” she replied, starting to get annoyed at his outrage. “I only did this because I wanted a chance to prove myself to my father. Evie is doing well pretending to be me and is enjoying herself for once.” And Evie was, even if she was having to put up with her own version of Harrison, with that duke of hers.

“This has all been one big game to you, hasn’t it? Not caring who you step on, or lie to, or hurt in the process. Was kissing me just for laughs, too? Something to entertain yourself with?”

“Harrison, it wasn’t like that—”

“How could I have been so stupid to not realize who you were?” he interrupted her, speaking more to himself than her. “The clues were so glaringly obvious, and if I hadn’t been so obsessed with you and thinking with my damn cock, I’d have realized it that very first day.”

“You’ve been obsessed with me?” The idea was intriguing as was the second part of his statement, but she didn’t have the nerve to repeat those particular words back to him.

“Damn it, Ev— Aimee , I should say, shouldn’t I? You’ve lied to me! Continually since we met…”

“I know. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“Didn’t mean to?” he exclaimed. “All your actions have been deliberate, not accidental.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You haven’t hurt me. You’ve pissed me off by lying to me, and there’s nothing more I loathe than a liar.”

“I didn’t want to lie. I only switched places for a specific purpose. I’ve been trying to convince my father to mentor me in his business since I was a little girl, and he’s refused to, time and time again.”

“And you thought switching places with your cousin would convince him to do so?”

“No. But I hoped by learning all I could of his business, I’d prove to him how serious I am about wanting to be a part of it all.”

“You should have gone along with living the life of a pampered heiress. Wanting for nothing, having your every whim catered for.”

“And would you have gotten to where you are in life by going along with the path set out for you?”

“Lady, I was orphaned at eight. The path set out for me was fending for myself on the streets. I’d have given everything I had to have my parents alive and be living on Fifth Avenue with them. I wouldn’t want to pretend to be anyone else if I had that.”

There was such pain in his eyes that Aimee didn’t know what to say. He’d been through so much she’d never had to, and she knew how blessed she was, but being blessed and being happy didn’t always align.

“I appreciate my childhood and that my situation in life is not to be taken for granted,” she replied. “And that my parents love me and only want the best for me. However, their idea of what my life should be is nothing like what I want for myself. If you hadn’t decided a life on the streets wasn’t for you, and you wanted to be more and have more, you wouldn’t have taken the step to approach my father when you were shining his shoes, would you?”

“He told you about that?”

“Yes. You’re the son he’s never had and he’s proud of all you’ve accomplished.” It had always been a hard pill to swallow when she’d wanted to accomplish so much in her father’s company, too.

She paused for a minute, thinking of all the times she’d pleaded, begged, and argued with her father to teach her about his business, only to be told no, every single time. “I might have had the benefit of never having had to want for anything material in my life, but I’d happily give up my inheritance to chase my dreams. That’s why I did what I did. This is my one and only chance to prove to them both that this is what I want in life, not what they have mapped out for me.”

“Do you think they’ll care about that after they find out what you’ve done?” He shook his head. “They’ll be enraged you’ve lied to them.”

“What would you have done in my position?”

“I don’t know, but I can confidently say I’ve never thought about switching identities with anyone.”

“That’s because you haven’t had to! You’re a man and your opportunities haven’t been limited by your gender.” It was so easy for men to succeed in the business arena, but for women it was practically impossible. “My dream in life is not to marry and be some Society wife, but to work with my father. To use the brain and gift for numbers God gave me, instead of pretending to care about who’s wearing what, or what the latest scandal is. Can’t you understand that?”

“I can,” he conceded. “But lying is still lying, Ev—Aimee.”

“The world is not so black and white, Harrison. There are many shades of gray, if only you and my father would open your eyes to them.” She stared at him, trying to make him see the truth of why she’d done what she had, but his face remained impassive, and she got the feeling he’d already made up his mind and wouldn’t be swayed. But she had to try. Otherwise, she was about to lose her only chance to do something with her life, apart from the path already chosen for her.

“I can’t stand the future that’s been laid out for me. My mother wants me to be the next Dollar Princess, which is why she sent me here. And my father is quite content to go along with her plans, despite my protests to the contrary that it’s the last thing I want.”

“Oh please,” he scoffed. “Are you really telling me you wouldn’t want to be a duchess, or perhaps a countess even, if someone asked you?” His stare was intense. “Any woman would.”

“If I’d wanted that, you obtuse man, I wouldn’t have swapped places with my cousin in the first place!” The man was utterly infuriating. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than living in England as a duchess or countess. The weather is atrocious, and everyone is so proper and dour as they swan around from ball to ball. Such a life would be torturous.”

“You’d be the only American heiress not to want that.”

“Do I strike you as a normal sort of heiress?”

“Not even close,” he agreed and then sighed. “But, damn it, you know I’m going to have to tell your parents.”

“Harrison, you can’t!” She reached over, and grabbed his hand with her own. “You mustn’t! If you do, they’ll insist I return to New York immediately, and then this whole endeavor would’ve been for nothing. Switching places with my cousin is my one chance to prove to my father that I should be his successor, not you!”

“Me?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know that’s what he’s been grooming you for.”

“He’s been grooming me to run a company, that’s true,” Harrison replied. “But to run my own company, not his. Now stop trying to distract me away from the topic of you lying to everyone.”

“I’m not trying to distract you,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is convince you that I can’t let this opportunity slip away.”

“And you thought lying would prove to your father you’re a worthy successor?”

“I know it’s not an ideal way to go about it.”

“You don’t say?”

“And I haven’t worked out the finer details yet of how I broach that subject with my father.” She dropped her hand from his, glaring at him in displeasure. “But I want to do so on my timeline, not yours.”

He shook his head and exhaled harshly. “I have to tell them, Aimee. I don’t have a choice. I respect your father too much to take part in deceiving him.”

“You have a choice.” She felt like grabbing his jacket and shaking some sense into him. Not that she’d be successful, given he was as movable as a mountain. “You’re just choosing the easy way out.”

“The easy way out?” He scoffed. “Nothing about you or this situation is easy! The whole thing is as messy as a dog’s breakfast, but I’m choosing to be honest with your father as I’ve always been.”

“Oh really? And once you tell him and he insists I return to New York, what will you do about the Wilheimer deal and his house party?” she asked. “Wilheimer specifically requested my attendance, and I assure you he will take offense if you attend with a different interpreter.”

“He’ll adapt.”

“He’s a stubborn old German, just like my grandmother was, so no, he won’t. Instead he’ll be offended, I guarantee it.” When her grandmother had decreed something, that was how it had to be, no questions or changes allowed. “You’ll kill this deal if you tell my father, but it mustn’t be that important to you if you’re willing to.”

“Not important?” His voice was tinged with mockery. “It’s the most important deal I’ve ever undertaken, and one I’ve been working on day and night for the past month.”

“Why is it so important to you?” It wasn’t the first time the Thornton-Jones Conglomerate was trying to buy out another company, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

He stared at her for a full minute, and she could tell he was weighing up how to answer her. “About seven years ago I approached your father with a plan. If I could start up a London arm of the company and increase our shipping routes to become the largest this side of the Atlantic, then your father would agree to sell me the majority share of stocks in the London company.”

“He agreed to that?” Her father always insisted that maintaining control of his companies was imperative to his overall success and wealth. “So, you don’t want to take over the American side of the business.”

“I want to run my own company, one I’ve created from the ground up, which is what this London venture is. And your father knew I’d move heaven and earth to achieve my vision.”

“But Father hates giving up control of anything.”

“True, but he’s pragmatic enough to know he can’t be in two places at once. With this deal, though he’d be giving up his majority shares for the London company, he’d still be the second largest shareholder this side of the Atlantic, which only bolsters his share value for the American arm of the company which he retains full control over. It’s a win-win for us both.”

“Then why would you dare jeopardize that by telling my father what I’ve done?”

He pressed his lips together and stared at her. “I wouldn’t be jeopardizing anything. I told you, I’ll simply hire another interpreter.”

“Yes, because that worked out well for Wilheimer and you last time.”

“That interpreter was obviously paid off.”

“And what makes you think another won’t be?” she asked. “Clearly, someone wants to sabotage this deal, and I’m the only one you can truly trust to correctly interpret for you.”

“Yes, my trust for you is at an all-time high, given your honesty thus far.”

She narrowed her eyes at his sarcasm. “Fair enough. However, surely you’d agree that my loyalty to the company isn’t in question.”

“Perhaps.”

“If you want this deal to succeed, you can’t tell my father the truth, at least not until your goal has been achieved.” He wasn’t looking convinced by her argument, and she realized she was going to have to up the ante. “Plus, I don’t think my father would appreciate finding out you’ve been kissing his daughter. He might even think you were trying to seduce me for my inheritance and fire you on the spot.”

Harrison’s eyes went stormy. “And how could I damn well do that when I thought you were your impoverished cousin this whole time?”

Aimee shrugged, knowing it wasn’t the case at all, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “For all my father and I know, you knew who I was all along and just pretended to go along with it so you could get close to me and seduce me.”

“You have one hell of a nerve to suggest that. I don’t need your money. I’ve made quite enough of my own and will make even more once this deal goes through.”

“Are you telling me you’d turn down a one-million-dollar dowry?” She had to admit to taking a little bit of pleasure using his own reasoning back at him. “No man would.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Just like you couldn’t stand being a countess, I couldn’t stand being a kept man! And, damn it, why the devil would you even tell your father about us kissing? He doesn’t need to know that.”

“True, I could simply say nothing, couldn’t I? It wouldn’t be lying to him, simply omitting some of the details of my trip.” She tapped her finger to her chin. “Much like you also don’t have to say anything to him either about my identity swap with Evie…you wouldn’t be lying to him, you’d be omitting some of the details, just as I would.”

“I don’t take well to blackmail.”

“It’s not blackmail.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s pointing out your double standards in expecting me to stay silent about our kisses yet at the same time suggesting you have to satisfy your conscience by telling my father about my swap, when all you have to do is stay silent, too! Is that not the height of double standards?”

“Damn it,” he swore, raking his fingers through his hair. “It is.”

Finally, some logic was prevailing with the stubborn man. “At the end of the day, if you tell him of my ruse, then you’re not only risking the Wilheimer deal, but you’re also potentially ruining the relationship you have with my father, because I will tell him we kissed.”

“You’d be too mortified to do that.”

She raised her brow and stared him straight in the eyes. “Try me.”

“You really would, wouldn’t you?”

“Like you keep saying how this deal is so important to you, that’s how I feel about this opportunity of switching places with my cousin,” she replied. “So, the question you have to ask yourself is are you willing to risk both of those things, when it would be much simpler for everyone if you stayed silent.”

“If Thomas ever finds out I knew about your deception and didn’t tell him, he’d never forgive me.”

“Of course he’d forgive you,” Aimee declared, throwing her hands up in the air, finding the man’s stubbornness beyond frustrating. “He thinks of you like a son. However, he won’t find out, provided you don’t say anything. It will be a win-win for us both.”

“Don’t throw my words back at me, Aimee Thornton-Jones.” He turned in his seat toward her, leaning down until he was mere inches away and his shoulder was lightly brushing against hers. “So that’s it then? I don’t say anything, and you continue pretending to be your cousin.”

“Is that really so hard, given you’re essentially asking me to do the same thing by not saying anything about you kissing me?”

“If I remember correctly, it was you who kissed me first on the last occasion.”

“Semantics.” She waved a hand in the air, trying not to blush thinking about their last kiss earlier in the day. A kiss her body was begging to be repeated.

“Is it? Tell me, was kissing me all part of the ruse?” he drawled, his mouth getting dangerously close to her own. “A bit of fun at my expense while you pretended to be your cousin. Or perhaps you meant to distract me from discovering the truth about you?”

Aimee gulped, her pulse skittering out of control at his nearness. “I distract you?” She was glad to hear it, given he’d been distracting her the entire time since she’d met him.

“Every goddamn moment,” he growled. “Even in my dreams.”

Then, before Aimee could blink, his lips were claiming hers, branding her with heat and fire, as a delicious flame of desire flickered to life deep inside her from his touch. She moaned, caring little that she’d told herself she wouldn’t kiss him again, when all she could think about right then at that moment was Harrison.

As his lips coaxed hers open, she didn’t hesitate to respond. This time, he was kissing her knowing exactly who she was, and it made it so much more enticing. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him even closer against her, reveling at the feel and taste of him as his tongue stroked against her own.

Kissing him was so wrong, but felt so right, and no matter how she tried to tell herself she shouldn’t, her body didn’t care. This whole trip was the one time when she wasn’t chaperoned or supervised or restricted by the tight constraints her life in New York held. The one time she could embrace passion with a man she’d hated for so long but craved with an intensity bordering on desperation.

The one time she could truly be free.