Billionaire's Fake Fiancee Page 2

“If I’d known he had lost someone I would have been nicer about it,” Greyson said.

  “And he would have given you trouble because he hates sympathy,” I said.

  Greyson nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  I shrugged. Caden was a dark horse. He was tough to figure out even on his good days—he joked, smiled, and looked for trouble. He either did it to put up a front, or he did it because he was actually in a good mood.

  “So, you’re in charge, huh?” Greyson asked. “Imagine, me having to answer to you, kid.”

  Greyson was only a year older than me. I laughed. “Yeah, imagine me being able to fire you if I feel like it.”

  “Caden didn’t give you that much power,” he said. “He’s not insane.”

  “Lucky for you.”

  After we finished up for the day, I collected my coat and handbag and walked to the front to make sure everything was locked up for the night. Caden was at the hostess station, tallying up the receipts for the day.

  “I’m off,” I said to him.

  “Let me walk you out,” Caden offered, and I accepted. It wasn’t every day Caden was a gentleman. He grabbed his helmet.

  We walked to my car together.

  “Could you order a few new plates,” Caden said. One of our waiters had an accident and dropped four plates at once. “And we need cleaning products as well. Seems like it costs me more to keep this place clean than to provide the food.”

  “I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” I said.

  Caden nodded and ran through a few other things with me, checking up on stock while we walked. His motorbike was parked two spaces down from my car. Caden put on his helmet and fastened the strap beneath his chin.

  “You’re playing with your life driving that thing,” I pointed out.

  “The danger is a thrill,” I said.

  “Until it’s not.”

  Caden grinned at me, a twinkle in his eye. “Maybe I should take you out for a spin, show you just how exciting it can be.”

  I smiled, blushing unexpectedly. Caden was flirting. He wasn’t usually like this with me.

  “I doubt any ride you could give me would reach the level of an actual thrill,” I teased.

  Caden chuckled. “Now I’ll just have to prove you wrong—take you out and show you what a thrill it would be to break the rules with me.”

  We were definitely flirting. My cheeks were flushed and I turned around to open my car door. I didn’t want Caden to see the reaction his words had. He was charming, funny and arrogant enough to expect any woman to fall for him. I hated to admit that I could see why. He wasn’t only handsome, with his sandy colored hair and icy blue eyes, but whenever he gave any woman his attention, he made it seem like she was the only one. Since I knew for a fact that he had a lot of ‘only ones’ in his life, I wasn’t about to be added to that list.

  I had to admit though, it was flattering for him to turn his charm on me. I liked it. I shouldn’t have liked it because I knew what he was like, but I did.

  “Goodnight, Harper,” Caden said, before getting onto his bike. I climbed into my car and pulled it shut behind me, watching Caden drive off. I didn’t agree with motorbikes, they were deathtraps on wheels. But God, he sure looked good on it.

  On the way home I stopped at Tina’s house. The lights were still on despite the late hour, and Tina quickly opened the front door.

  “I had a feeling you would stop by tonight,” she said. “Charlie and the kids are already sleeping.”

  “I’m imposing on your me-time then,” I said.

  Tina shook her head and hugged me when I reached her. “You know I always have time for you.” I walked into the house and followed Tina to the kitchen where she put the kettle on for tea.

  Tina and I had been friends since high school. She was my polar opposite in so many ways. I was daring where she was careful, I was free-spirited where she had always wanted to settle down. Tina had gotten married to Charlie, her high school sweetheart, straight out of school, and they had Mitchell and Kelsey, now three and one, only a few years later. She had built the happy home life, while I was chasing a career.

  “How are things at the restaurant?” Tina asked.

  “They’re going well. Caden is going away next week and has put me in charge while he’s gone.”

  “That’s a big deal,” Tina said, pulling two cups out of the cabinet.

  “It is. Maybe I can shoot for a manager’s position eventually.”

  “He would be a fool not to bump you up. You’re great at what you do. But if you’re that busy with work you can’t think about having kids. Running a restaurant is more than full time job. It’s double time.”

  “Yeah, I know. But it’s not like I’m planning on dating, never mind marriage and kids.”

  “I think you deserve a man,” Tina said.

  I laughed. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m happy where I am right now. I don’t need a man.”

  Tina was always telling me I needed a man. I was happy with my life, and being alone meant I could make my own choices, pursue my own dreams and live a life where I didn’t have to answer to anyone. I respected that she had married Charlie—he had a heart of gold—but the white picket fence and two kids wasn’t my thing. I was happy with my life.

  “I know you’re happy,” Tina said. “But it’s so fulfilling to be a part of something bigger. Think about it, at least.

  I knew she meant well, so I agreed to think about it. I knew what conclusion I would come to, but I could agree to that at least. Tina was satisfied when I said I would think about it. The kettle boiled and Tina took it off the burner, pouring hot water into the two mugs.

  Chapter 3

  Caden

  I didn’t travel a lot. With starting the restaurant and seeing it doing as well as it was, I preferred to stick around. It was my baby and I wanted to put as much time and money into it as I could.

  Being away was not what I would have chosen, but traveling to Southern California for the reading of the will wasn’t a horrible trip. It was hot in Cali and the weather was beautiful. Seattle was overcast most of the time and I loved getting a peek at the sun.

  The address Danbury sent me to seemed typical of a law office, a dull gray building with the name in oversized letters to the right of the door and glass doors leading into a stiff lobby. The receptionist sent me to a conference room. When I walked in, Camden was already sitting on a chair with his feet kicked up on the table. When he saw me, he stood up.

  “Caden?” he asked. “Is that you?”

  “In the flesh,” I said, and walked to my cousin, shaking his hand.

  “God, how long has it been?” he asked.

  “Years,” I said. I had been trying to work it out on the plane and I didn’t know the exact number. Camden looked a lot like he had when he was a kid. He had the same light hair I had but his eyes were a dark brown and he still wore that arrogant-as-fuck smirk.

  “How are you doing, man?” he asked. “Still chopping wood for a living?”

  I rolled my eyes. Being a lumber jack wasn’t exactly chopping wood, but I wasn’t going to take the bait.

  “I own a restaurant, actually,” I said. “The doors have been open for a year, now.”

  “Oh, that’s something new,” Camden said. “I would never have taken you for a restaurant owner. “

  I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but I was willing to bet it was an insult. I let it slide again, bigger man and all that shit.

  “What about you?” I asked. “What are you doing with yourself these days?”

  Camden pulled up his shoulders. “I can’t say I’m doing much.”

  “Don’t you work?” I asked.

  Camden laughed. “Who needs work? I’m partying and fucking. All the good stuff.”

  I nodded. The logic was fine for a college kid but not exactly for a thirty-one year old, if I had calculated his age right. I wasn’t sure, but he was definitely not fresh out of school. Being une
mployed now only made him a lazy fuck. When I had come here, I had hoped Camden and I would hit it off, that we would have something in common. He was the only family I had left, after all. That little fantasy had been short-lived.

  The door to the conference room opened and Danbury walked in.

  “Gentleman,” he said, “thank you for coming.” He walked around the large table and sat down at the head of it, shuffling the papers he had brought with him. “Please, sit down.”

  I walked to a chair close to Danbury and sat down. Camden walked around the table and sat down opposite me. I wondered if it had been on purpose.

  “Josephine asked me to draw up her will a few years ago and she made it very clear what she wanted to happen to her estate when she passed away. As you know, she had a lot of investments that she had ordered to pay out in the event of her death, as well as the mansion in California. She stipulated that it be sold off as is, should you decide to sell it.” Danbury looked down at his papers when he spoke so I had no idea who he was talking to.

  “Where did she get all this cash?” Camden asked. “I visited her often and she didn’t have a lot at all. She lived in a two-bedroom house in San Francisco and she used food coupons.”

  Danbury pulled up his shoulders. “Her lifestyle choices have nothing to do with me,” he said. “But her ex-husband was an oil tycoon and she retained a lot of money in the divorce. The mansion was a product of the marriage as well.”

  I hadn’t known any of this about Grandma Josie.

  “What?” Camden asked, who apparently hadn’t known much about anything, either. “She never told me any of this.”

  I wondered if it would have made a difference if Cam had known about it, but I didn’t ask. My cousin already looked agitated and he looked like he had a temper on him.

  “Be that as it may,” Danbury said, neatly detaching himself from Camden’s obvious irritation, “Mrs. Griffin stipulated in her will that her mansion estate in the entirety—including furniture, appliances, machinery, and servants, be left to Camden Griffin.”

  Camden grinned. “Thanks, Grams,” he said, satisfied. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair.

  “And the money will go in full to Caden Griffin and his wife.”

  “How much are we talking?” Camden asked, before I could say anything.

  Danbury glanced down. “One point two billion.”

  My ears started ringing.

  “What?” Camden asked. I didn’t follow the conversation. Through the ringing in my ears and the strange hollow feeling in my chest, the word ‘wife’ bounced around in my mind.

  I focused on Camden who demanded to see where the amount was mentioned in the will. He didn’t believe Danbury. I had to admit I felt a little disbelieving myself. It was a hell of a lot of money.

  Danbury pointed out where the will stipulated the amounts and I watched as Camden fussed. I was starting to think he wasn’t nearly as nice as I’d remembered him. He was selfish and he had a short fuse. He badgered Danbury when the poor lawyer had no control over the will.

  “This is bullshit,” Camden said, in a raised voice when he realized there was nothing he could argue in the will. “Why should he get all the cash?”

  “You’re getting a mansion,” I pointed out. “You can live in it or sell it or whatever you want.”

  “That’s not the point,” Camden said. “I was there for Grams all the way to the end. I visited her often; I actually had a relationship with her. It’s more than you ever had.”

  I couldn’t argue with him. He was right, I hadn’t had a relationship with her at all.

  “Mr. Griffin,” Danbury said to Camden. “The will has made it clear. Josephine wanted her assets to be divided up accordingly and it’s my job as her lawyer to fulfill the wishes of the deceased.

  “He’s not even wearing a ring,” Camden said, pointing at me.

  I hid my hands instinctively under the table.

  “He’s probably not even married. So why should he get anything?”

  Danbury frowned and looked at me. “Are you married?”

  I searched for words. I didn’t want to lie, but God, that was a lot of money.

  “I’m engaged,” I said. It would be a reason not to have a ring.

  Camden looked like he thought I was talking shit. And I was.

  “We’re getting married, soon,” I added. “Before the year is out.”

  Camden snorted. “This is such bullshit,” he said. “It’s unfair. I was there from the start and you were nowhere to be found until after she died. And now you get to take home all that cash? Mark my words, Caden, I’ll fight you on this. I’ll get every lawyer I know involved to ensure I get the money I deserve.”

  Danbury sighed. “Mr. Griffin, you understand I can’t release this money to you until you’re married, don’t you?”

  It was a damn shame but I understood what he was saying. The will did say that the cash was being left to me and my wife.

  “Don’t celebrate just yet,” Camden said, and he glared at me as if I had personally persuaded Grandma Josie to give me the cash. “You’re not going to see a penny of it.”

  “I have an idea,” I said. “Why don’t we split it?”

  Danbury gasped. “That’s a lot of money to give away,” he said.

  “It’s a lot of money still to keep,” I countered. I looked at Camden but my cousin was shaking his head.

  “I’m not sharing,” he said. “Maybe if you cared about Grams at all it would be a different story, but where were you when she needed family to look after her? Fucking around in Seattle, doing whatever the hell you wanted without a second thought to the family that was still alive.”

  “You’re making it sound like you weren’t living your life at all,” I said, and I was getting irritated. Camden was being a little shit. He was right, I hadn’t been there for Grandma Josie. I had lived my life detached from my family. But I hadn’t put a gun to her head and forced her to put me in her will, either. So none of this was my fault.

  And if Grandma Josie had wanted to give me money, who was I to say no?

  “You’ll hear from me,” Camden said. “Both of you.” He spun on his heel and left the conference room. Danbury cleared his throat.

  “That went a little differently than I’d expected,” he said.

  I shook my head. “I’m not surprised. Camden has always been spoiled.” I leaned forward, elbows on the table. “What now?”

  “I need you to bring your fiancée down here next week so we can have you sign a declaration that you are indeed engaged. Once that’s done, I can get the litigation process moving so Mr. Griffin will have a harder time going to court with this. There’s very little he can do, anyway. Can you do that?”

  I nodded. “Of course. I’ll be here.”

  “You have to bring her with you.”

  Right. “Sure, we’ll be here, I mean.”

  Danbury nodded, satisfied.

  “Until we meet again there’s nothing else than can be done. Have a safe trip back to Seattle, Mr. Griffin. I’ll see you in a week’s time.”

  Danbury shook my hand and I had to confess I was starting to like the guy. When he had come to my restaurant he had looked like someone had taken a dump on his lawn but I was starting to realize he had good intentions and he was professional and serious about getting the job done right. He left the conference room and I was left alone.

  Turning to the window, I ran my hand down my face. How the hell had I gotten myself into this mess? I shouldn’t have said I was engaged. Now, I’d dug myself a hole I wouldn’t be able to claw my way out of unless I was willing to give up the cash. I didn’t want to do that. It wasn’t only about the money, although it was a huge number. It was about Camden and how rotten the little shit had been about it. I wanted the money to piss him off. I wanted to win. So, I would fight for it.

  I only had one problem. I didn’t have a fiancée. I didn’t even have a girlfriend. And finding a woman in
less than a week and convincing her to be my fiancée was damn near impossible. Unless I found one of those women who needed a green card and needed me as their ticket into the country.

  God, how I could stoop so low? I reprimanded myself for entertaining the idea even just for a moment before I called a cab to take me back to my hotel. I had said to Harper and Greyson I would be away for a week but now that I was gone, all I wanted was to be back at the restaurant.

  One week to find a woman. Fuck.

  Chapter 4

  Harper

  With Caden gone I had my hands full. He left on Monday morning and it took me a while to get into the swing of things, but as soon as I found my stride, being in charge was hard work but fun. After our lunch rush on Monday, the restaurant died down enough for me to spend time in the kitchen with Greyson. I was getting bored and lonely at the hostess station.

  “Are you back here to check up on me?” Greyson asked.

  I hopped up onto a counter and shook my head. “Just taking a breather.”

  “How are things going out there?” Greyson asked. I wasn’t sure if he really thought I could do it or if his joking with Caden about my abilities hadn’t been jokes at all.

  “It’s going good, I expected to struggle more, but I’m not.”

  “You have what it takes to manage this place,” Greyson said, and I felt warm.

  Greyson and I had easy friendship—we joked and teased a lot and saw each other every day, but we barely knew each other more than what we got to know at the workplace.

  “How was your trip this weekend?” I asked.

  “It was great,” Greyson said. He was rolling out filo pastry for the Apple Pie we offered as dessert. “I love being out there, in touch with ‘mother nature’ and all, but it was damn cold. Easy to forget the wrath of nature when we’re all warm, tucked into our little beds.”

  I nodded, but I couldn’t relate. I loved being outside, the outdoors had a certain appeal, but I wasn’t the kind of woman to rough it and connect with my roots as a scavenger and hunter.