Page 8 of The Temptation (Executive Suite Secrets #4)
Pierce sighed and slumped in his chair a little.
“I’ve tried some, but I haven’t pushed the issue because I don’t really know what I want.
My dad’s side of the family has been this long line of lawyers.
My great-grandfather started the firm, and growing up, I always wanted to be the next to head it up after my father retired.
But I also never envisioned moving permanently out of Boston and finding a new place that I loved more.
I’m dragging my feet because I haven’t decided what I want yet. ”
“Whether to give up the life you love here or give up the dream you’ve had since you were a kid,” I supplied.
He blinked at me as if he were surprised that I’d managed to get to the heart of his dilemma. “Yeah.”
“Look, it’s obvious to both of us which way I’d vote, but I can try to be a neutral party for a few seconds.
There’s no saying that you don’t learn to love living and working in Boston.
It’s where you grew up, and you’ll be close to family again.
You’ll get your dream.” Pierce shrugged.
“But…it’s also important to remember that dreams can fade and change.
What looks good when you’re young can dull when viewed through the eyes of an adult.
Maybe it’s time to let go of a childhood dream and replace it with an adult one. ”
Pierce tilted his head to the side and arched one eyebrow at me, as if silently asking if I was willing to follow my own advice.
“Screw you. I traded my childhood dream for a much filthier adult dream. They both just happen to center on the same person. Aren’t you lucky?”
“So lucky,” he groaned.
“But I’m not the one with the problem right now. You are. I’m assuming you’ve got some kind of plan since you’ve asked to meet me here today.”
“A stupid one,” he muttered. “But it might buy me some time, which is all I really want. Time to figure out my shit before I destroy a bridge that I can’t possibly fix later.”
“Okay…”
“My parents are focused on using my lack of dating as a reason to drag me to Boston. However, if I suddenly find myself a boyfriend who keeps me in town, they will back off for at least a while. I figure it will buy me a year. That’s plenty of time to get my life in order.”
I immediately perked up at the mention of a boyfriend. He couldn’t possibly mean what it sounded like, and yet I couldn’t stop from hoping.
“So, you need a boyfriend, huh?”
Pierce leaned forward, almost meeting me halfway, and lowered his voice to near a whisper.
“A fake boyfriend. Someone who understands that this charade would go no further than a couple of dinners with my parents. Someone who can act the part and then walk away when it’s over. No expectations for actual dating.”
Oh yeah, he was just stomping on all my hopes for the fun of it now, but I got it. All fake. No real emotions. Yada yada.
“When I discussed my options with Rome and the others last night, Liam immediately suggested you since we’re both single, gay, and you’ve known me for years. You would be more convincing than a stranger.”
Liam, you sweet fucking genius.
I owed him so big for this. The man had lined up the perfect chance for me to get close to Pierce, to sneak inside his defenses. The window of opportunity was going to be tiny, but it was a hell of a lot bigger than anything I had going right now. I couldn’t let this pass me by or screw it up.
Never in my life had I struggled so much to keep an enormous grin off my face.
I was practically busting at the seams to leap to my feet and begin belting out “Don’t Rain on My Parade” with enough sass and style to do Babs proud.
But I kept it all buried deep in my chest, not letting any of my excitement leak out.
“You need me to play the part of your adoring boyfriend. Fake boyfriend.”
“Adoring would be a stretch.” He reclined in his chair again. “I told them that I’d just started talking to someone. I tried to make it sound like I wasn’t willing to leave now when I could be turning my back on something that could develop into a true relationship.”
I made a few noises of agreement while giggling like a loon in my head. “And you would need this fake boyfriend to…?”
“My parents want to have dinner tomorrow night with me and my so-called boyfriend.”
My eyes widened. “So you need someone quickly.”
“Yes. Assuming the performance is convincing enough, I would imagine that we’d need to get together at least one more time before my parents leave town.”
“And they’re in town for how long?”
Pierce shrugged. “A week. Possibly two.”
One week was frighteningly short. I would need to convince his parents to stay for two weeks. That would give me a better shot at winning him.
“Two dinner dates is a good start, but I don’t think you’re going to convince anyone that we’re dating with so little evidence.”
Pierce instantly lost his easygoing look. His eyes narrowed on me and his lips shifted into a frown. “What do you mean?”
What the fuck do I mean? My brain scrambled to cook up the rest of my insane plan on the fly.
“Well…you want them to think we’re on the way to being a serious couple, right? They’re going to need picture proof. Social media?—”
“I don’t maintain any social media accounts.”
“Then just photographic proof for your mother. I do have social media accounts. You think she wouldn’t look me up once she found out about me?
We’ll need to pepper my accounts with cute-couple pics to convince her.
Tasteful things. Fun things. She needs to know that I make you happy.
Oh! Do you think your parents would like to see one of my performances?
They could visit the stage afterward. Meet the conductor. That would be fun, right?”
Pierce’s glare melted bit by bit as he listened to me. “That might not be a bad idea. But we would need to draw up some ground rules. Nothing too over the top. We’re supposed to be new to dating each other, not actively fucking in front of my parents.”
I rolled my eyes. “I do know how to act in public. Don’t be a dick.”
“You’re willing to help me with this?”
“For a price,” I replied with a broad, smug smile.
“You can’t trade this for real dating. The whole reason you’re the best option is because you know this won’t lead to actual dating.”
A huff escaped me. “I’m not stupid. I’m not trading this for some shot at you. Give me a little credit.”
Please, I’m much craftier than he’s giving me credit for.
“What do you want, then?”
“I want you to handle all the legal mumbo jumbo for setting up my business. All the paper work and filing the paper work with the government. All that stuff.”
His beautiful brown eyes fell shut and he looked pained, as though I’d kicked him in the shin with my words. “Legal mumbo jumbo,” he whispered.
“Come on. You know what I mean.”
He opened his eyes again and stared at me. “No, I don’t. What business are you starting?”
“Music. My music.”
“I’m still confused. Don’t you have an agent?”
“I do, but she handles mostly booking me and the contracts for those bookings. I’ve recently started writing original pieces.
Nothing that I’ve played in public yet, but I want to, eventually.
I want to make sure that all my work is thoroughly protected.
Copyrighted. If I end up making an album, I want to retain all the rights to the originals.
No one is allowed to access my music or replicate it without my approval.
And all that intellectual property plus the earnings need to be placed in a legal entity, right? ”
“I see.”
“And I want you to handle it. Only you. No one else. You don’t accept this job and then hand it off to one of your juniors or paralegals.”
His blistering glare returned with a vengeance. “I get it. The problem is that I’m not fully versed in music copyright law. I would need to consult some experts.”
“Consulting is fine. I just don’t want to call you about it or stop by your office and immediately get shuffled off to someone else.”
“Got it. I can handle this if you help me by acting as my fake boyfriend.” He extended his hand to me and I stared at it for a heartbeat, savoring this moment. One step closer to making him mine. After fighting me for so long, it almost felt as if he were handing himself over.
I took his hand and shook it, suppressing every urge to flirt with him. “I’ll be the perfect fake boyfriend.”
This was going to be so much fun.