Bay, and well known to the Messena family, since her aunt had been the housekeeper who was supposed to have had the affair with Gabriel’s father. Although Elena swore black and blue that the affair was nothing more than supposition and media hype.
Gabriel lifted his shoulders. “Maybe she did, but Constantine approved the appointment on my recommendation.”
Gemma firmly suppressed a surge of pleasure that Gabriel hadn’t forgotten about her altogether, that he’d cared enough about her to ensure she obtained a good job. “In that case, thank you, but I still don’t understand why you thought you had to intervene then or now. I’m well used to looking after myself.”
Gabriel was silent for a beat. “I’m sure you are. But what about the father you need for your child?”
Gemma froze. Her first thought was that he knew Sanchia was his, but then the way he had referred to her registered.
He had said “your child,” not his child. Which meant he had probably read one of the gossipy snippets of information the tabloids had recently printed. Snippets which had implied that Zane was the father and thankfully hadn’t included any real details about Sanchia, such as her age. The reporters had been more interested in repeating known facts about Zane rather than far less interesting facts about either herself or her daughter.
For a few taut seconds, the urge to confess to Gabriel that Sanchia was his was strong enough that she actually opened her mouth to speak, but the caution that had gripped her ever since the last nanny had accused her of being an unfit mother reasserted itself.
The custody situation was difficult enough without introducing the complication of Sanchia’s biological father. “That’s why you intervened? Because you thought Zane wouldn’t be interested in fatherhood?”
Gabriel frowned. “I intervened because I was the one who put you in a situation where you came into Zane’s sphere of influence in the first place.”
Gemma gripped the lapels of Gabriel’s jacket, hugging it more closely against the wind, although that was a mistake, because the movement released more of his clean, masculine scent.
She went back to the issue of just how she had gotten her job. “What makes you so sure I wouldn’t have gotten the job purely on merit?”
“Constantine wanted someone who could be trusted with confidentiality. I told him you could.”
If Gemma had felt chilled before, she was warming up fast. Gabriel probably thought he was pouring oil on troubled waters, but as far as she was concerned it was more like pouring gasoline on a smoldering fire. “You mean I got the job because I kept quiet about sleeping with you?”
Her throat had automatically locked against the phrase one-night stand. Maybe it hadn’t been special for him, but she had been caught up in the fairy-tale magic of the night, the indefinable feeling that the gorgeous man who had come to her rescue was special.
He shrugged. “A lot of people are affected by wealth. They have an agenda. That didn’t seem to be the case with you.”
She frowned at his summation of her character, even though it was on the positive side. Maybe it was simply that his view of her was so objective. She couldn’t help thinking that if he had ever been even the tiniest bit in love with her, he wouldn’t have seen her in such a cold, impersonal light.
Like an employee.
It highlighted an aspect of Gabriel’s character that she had suspected had always been there. That in his heart of hearts, Gabriel valued control and slotting people into neat boxes more than he valued spontaneous love and affection.
It explained why his mother had thought he would accept a marriage to a well-connected, suitably rich and beautiful girl.
Suddenly, the idea that Gabriel could judge her for possibly wanting to make a good marriage, when it was obviously standard practice within the Messena family, made her bristle. “So you thought I had an agenda, as in trying to marry the boss.”
His gaze narrowed warily. “It happens.”
“And sometimes the agenda works the other way. There are plenty of employees who get sexually harassed.”
“Point taken.”
The piercing look Gabriel gave her made her feel distinctly uncomfortable and she hastily decided that it was time to drop this subject. He was referring to the relationship he thought she’d had with Zane, but the last thing she wanted him to do was remember back to what had happened six years ago and figure out that he could be the father. “Why should you care, anyway?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, and she had the distinct sense that she had been neatly maneuvered. “Because I have a proposition for you. You need a fiancé to get Sanchia back, and as it happens, I need one to short-circuit a clause in my father’s will.”
In clipped phrases he explained the glitch with the will that his uncle was presently exploiting in order to pressure Gabriel into a marriage he didn’t want.
An absurd sense of relief gripped her at the explanation that Gabriel wasn’t in love with some beautiful, perfect woman, but was trying to avoid an arranged marriage. It also cast a new light on his pursuit of her tonight that made a depressing kind of sense. He wasn’t after her because of passion, but business.
Gabriel shrugged. “To cut a long story short, if you’ll agree to be my fiancée for the period of time it takes me to gain full control of the bank, in exchange I can offer you an apartment, a job and whatever else you need to get your daughter back.”
The offer was riveting, but tempted as she was to grab it, she couldn’t ignore the danger of getting too close to Gabriel. “How long would you need me to pose as your fiancée?”
“A week at most. That should be enough time to convince the legal firm that handles the trust provision of the will.”
Her mind was racing. She could do it. She could be Gabriel’s fake fiancée for a week. After all, she was trained to act. How hard could it be? She drew a swift breath. “What kind of job?”
“The same thing you did for the Atraeus Group. The reason I came to Medinos was to meet with Constantine. He’s starting up a new branch of Ambrosi Pearls in Auckland. I’ll be taking care of the launch phase. We start advertising for staff next week.”
Still feeling skittish and cautious, despite Gabriel offering her everything on her current wish list, Gemma took a deep breath and let the idea settle in. It was a new venture with an old established firm like Ambrosi, and the kind of opening she would have wanted to apply for anyway. The fact that Gabriel was only involved in the start-up phase meant that she could keep the job after their charade ended, which would be perfect.
With a new job and an apartment. It would mean that she could get Sanchia back immediately.
Before she could change her mind, Gemma said, ‘Yes.”
The momentary flash of surprise in Gabriel’s gaze startled her. “You thought I was going to refuse.”
“It crossed my mind, since the job combines
