base in New York—which would mean the loss of almost all their jobs. Several top-level executive heads had already rolled, or been ousted on the basis of early retirement. And then there was the steady stream of Cameron’s own people coming into those key roles, William Tanner being one of them. A shiver ran down her spine.
She swallowed back the words she longed to say. The words that would set William Tanner straight on exactly where she stood on matters of honesty and loyalty. Common sense held her back. Granted, it had been six years since Jason’s last run-in with the law. She’d lost track of the number of times she’d been called to the local police station to collect him after he’d been picked up for one misdemeanor or another, in the first couple of years after their parents died. But then the trouble had started to get worse—so much so that Officer Garcia could no longer let Jason go with a stern lecture and a promise of dire things to come.
The first—and last—time Jason had been locked up he was eighteen. The experience of being charged as an adult, with all its long-term ramifications, had finally opened his eyes to his behavior. He’d promised her that would be the only time, and that he’d learned his lesson, big-time. He even swore on their parents’ graves that he’d stay away from trouble for the rest of his life. She’d believed him—believed in him—so much so that she’d increased the mortgage over the home they’d grown up in so she could borrow the money necessary to send him to college out of state. Somewhere he could start afresh. Somewhere he could grow into the man she and their parents had always believed he would be.
Was it possible he’d thrown that all away?
“Look—” William butted in on her thoughts “—the way I see it, we’d be doing each other a favor.”
“A favor?” she repeated dully.
What kind of favor saw her lose everything she held dear? She’d fought long and hard to maintain her dignity through years of adversity and a lack of recognition. She had always aspired to do better—to be more. Now it appeared that everything she had ever done had been for nothing. Now she was expected to prostitute herself to save her brother.
“In return for you doing this for me, and believe me, you will be very well compensated, I will ensure that your brother receives nothing more than a reprimand. Obviously he’ll be under close supervision. If he keeps out of trouble, this transgression will be removed from his staff record and he’ll have a clean slate once more.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will both be escorted from the premises immediately and I imagine that we can arrange for the police to be waiting for you at the front door. It’d probably take some time to go to trial, but I can assure you that if it did, there would be no question of Jason being found guilty.”
William Tanner’s voice was adamant. Each word a cold steel nail in the coffin of what had been her dreams.
“How long?” she asked.
“How long what?”
“How long would I have to pretend?”
She injected enough distaste in her voice to make William’s eyes narrow as he appeared to consider his answer.
“Don’t think this would be a walk in the park, Margaret. If you take this on you will have to be convincing in your role.” When she didn’t reply, he continued. “My father has put some pressure upon me to follow in my brothers’ footsteps and find a good woman to settle down with. At this stage of my career that is the furthest thing from my mind. He’s withholding something that is rightfully mine over this issue, and the situation is distressing my mother. I would need you to be my fiancée until I’m assured that the transfer of ownership of property back in New Zealand takes place. Basically, until my family calms down again and continues to act reasonably.”
“So there’s no finite term on this?”
Margaret could feel the walls closing in on her now. With his open-ended proposal and the continued threat of Jason losing his job hanging overhead, this would be a total nightmare. One from which she was afraid she might never awake. And yet this morning had started so promisingly with the inter-office communication confirming that she’d been promoted to being Tanner’s EA. For Margaret, the only way from a position like this was up and her summons to report to his office this afternoon had been something she’d been looking forward to all day.
“Obviously this won’t go on forever. It’s not as if we’ll be getting married.”
He said the words as if the entire prospect of marriage was completely abhorrent to him.
“Let me get this clear. You want me to pretend to be your fiancée for an undetermined period of time. In exchange you’ll recompense me and you will ensure that Jason doesn’t lose his job.”
“That Jason doesn’t lose his job over this incident. Should he push his boundaries and try something a little more sophisticated there will be no more second chances.”
No more second chances. The words were exactly what the judge had said when Jason had been brought before the court. She’d never been certain if it was the judge’s words or the night he’d spent in the county jail’s holding cells that had been the catalyst he’d needed to finally want to break free from the creeps he’d been hanging out with. She hadn’t cared much at the time. All she’d been concerned with was getting her brother back on an even keel. It had cost her far more than money to do so and she wasn’t about to jeopardize things now.
Margaret knew she wasn’t in a position to argue, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be forced into something like this. It wasn’t enough that the man had infiltrated her private thoughts and fantasies in the six weeks since the Valentine’s Day ball. Now he would control her days as well.
“Why? Why me?” she whispered.
He reached out a finger to trace her lips.
“Because you intrigue me, Margaret Cole. You intrigue me very much.”
Despite her distress, she reacted to his caress as if it was a touch of lightning. Her lips parted on a sharply indrawn breath and deep to her core she felt the sizzling awareness of his touch.
“Margaret,” he continued, “if you truly believe your brother to be innocent in this, you owe it to him to allow him to prove it. He can’t do that if he’s suspended pending further investigation, can he?”
Blood pounded in her ears, almost drowning out his words. Her chest tightened with anxiety. What choice did she have? In her heart she knew that Jason could not have done what he was being accused of, but the evidence said differently. She did owe him the chance to prove his innocence. If she didn’t accede to Mr. Tanner’s demands, all the hard years of work she’d put into Jason, and all the effort he’d made to clean up his act and make something of himself would be in vain.
She drew in a shaky breath.
“I’ll do it,” she said, the words little more than a whisper. She stood up and raised her head to meet William Tanner square in the eye. “I’ll do it,” she repeated, more strongly this time.
Will could barely hold back the rush of excitement that spread with molten heat through his body. She’d agreed. For a few moments there he’d thought she’d refuse—that maybe she’d throw her brother to the wolves and to hell with the consequences. He should have
