taking the company back from his father and repairing all the damage that had been done.
“How much do you want for your stock?”
Violet had been watching him closely, grinning at his reaction to her news, but now delight drained from her expression. “That’s where things get a little tricky.”
Suspicion flared before JT remembered that this was Violet he was dealing with. She was loyal and a team player. She wasn’t here to get something from him. She honestly wanted to help. But none of his trust reflected in his tone as he asked, “Tricky how?”
“The terms of Tiberius’s will don’t allow me to sell, trade or donate the shares in any way.” She looked as if she expected him to explode in frustration. “Otherwise you have to know, I’d let you have them.”
Although disappointed by his uncle’s unorthodox terms, JT knew there was a way he could work this to his advantage. “But you can give me your proxy vote.” Of course, he only had eighteen percent, but if Tiberius had convinced several of their family members to part with the stock, surely that meant JT could do the same. He only needed three percent more.
“That’s the other problem,” she said, apology in her tone. “The way your grandfather set up the stock, only family members by blood or by marriage can vote. Since, I’m not family, my votes can’t count.”
JT exhaled in exasperation. “So we’re back to square one. With your votes voided, my father remains in control of the majority of the stock.”
But Tiberius’s plan was still a viable option. JT and his father each had thirty percent of the shares. With Violet’s eighteen percent excluded, that left twenty-two percent up for grabs. If he could buy twelve percent of the shares belonging to the rest of the family or failing that, convince them to swing their votes his way, he could take the company back.
“Not back to square one,” Violet said, interrupting his train of thought. “If I was family, I could vote the shares.”
“If you were family, yes,” JT agreed, his gaze fixed on the lights racing around above the bar. “But you’re not.”
“I could be.”
Something in her tone caught his attention. A tentative smile trembled at the corners of her lips. She was trying to tell him something, but his mind was darting in too many directions to grasp the nuances of her meaning.
“How?”
“We could get married.”
If she’d nailed him with a cattle prod he couldn’t have been more stunned. “Married?”
“In name only, of course.” She offered him a cheeky grin that didn’t reach her eyes. “There’s nothing in my uncle’s will that prevents me from marrying the shares away.”
“Since he knew we’d never get married, it probably never crossed his mind.”
She cocked her head and regarded him solemnly. “And how did he know something like that?”
“I told him I had no intention of starting anything up with you.”
Violet sat up very straight. Her eyes narrowed. “You two talked about me?”
JT nodded. “When I first arrived in town. Tiberius had heard about my activities in Miami and was worried that if I pursued you, you might get hurt. I agreed to keep my distance.”
“How noble.” Her tone dripped with scorn.
“Not that noble,” he retorted, deciding if they were going to consider her wild scheme, she might as well hear the whole truth. “It was an easy promise to make. You really aren’t my type.”
Mouth tight, she stared at him for several seconds. But then her hand stole across his leg, mid-thigh, and lingered.
“You aren’t my type either.” But her husky tone and the come-get-me-big-boy look in her eyes said the exact opposite. “So that should make a marriage in-name-only a snap.”
JT kept his expression bland. No need for her to learn the truth. He’d promised himself that nothing would happen between them. He needed her in his corner far more than he needed her naked in his bed. He wasn’t about to ruin their fledgling connection over something as fleeting as lust.
“It should.” But he didn’t feel as confident as he sounded. “And it isn’t forever.”
“Right. We only need to be married long enough for me to vote my shares at the annual meeting. It’s at the end of August, right?”
“August twenty-fifth.”
“That’s only six weeks away.”
JT had another thought. “Your family isn’t going to be happy if you marry me without some sort of a prenup.”
“At the moment I’m not worth more than the stock I inherited from Tiberius and what I’ve saved towards retirement. We can sign a simple agreement that states we leave the marriage with what we arrived with.”
She made everything sound so reasonable. So why was he resisting?
Sure, marriage wasn’t on his to-do list. He enjoyed playing the part of confirmed bachelor. Las Vegas was the perfect place to find attractive, single women looking for a little fun. They came in for a weekend and he gave them the royal treatment. Then they were gone. No fuss. No muss.
Violet was a whole different package. She was in Vegas to stay. Getting involved with her would be complicated and undoubtedly end in heartbreak. His.
But it wasn’t as if they were getting married for real. He just needed to remember that.
“So are we going to do this?” She’d plucked her palm from his thigh, leaving behind a distracting tingle.
“You’re sure you want to marry me?” His heart thumped hard against his ribs as he reminded himself this was a business deal.
“Want to marry you? Absolutely not.” Her lighthearted laugh had a slightly wicked edge. “But I feel like I owe it to Tiberius to finish what he started. And I’d like to see you take back your family’s company.”
He scrutinized her lovely features, finding only altruism in her expression. Her self-sacrifice made him uncomfortable.
“I get that you feel an obligation to Tiberius, but I’m not sure this is the best idea.”
“I don’t feel obligated.”
From her earnest expression he could tell she didn’t. And that’s what worried JT the most.
“Okay, but you’re also looking for a way to make your shares pay off too, right?”
She cocked her head and regarded him in silence for several seconds. “You yourself said the company isn’t doing well with your father at the helm. If he continues, the shares will lose value. Maybe even become worthless. I know you’ll make a much better CEO. I’m protecting myself the best way I can.”
Her
