The Engagement Game (Engaged to a Billionaire) (26 page)

"Let's say I agree to this nonsense."
 
I lean closer, tossing a strand of hair over my shoulder.
 
I couldn't afford to say no, but I didn't want to seem desperate.
 
I was already hiding a lifetime of embarrassment behind my perfectly lined eyes.
 
How the hell did Rex know about LeRoux?
 
"Please tell me Warren isn't a hairy forty-year-old with a foot fetish."
 
Rex quietly laughs.

"See you're perfect for this," he answers.
 
"Warren was raised in New York and he's twenty-nine."
 
My heart leaps.
 
The icing on the cupcake would be knowing that Warren looked just like Rex, maybe even hotter.

"And you want me to bump into him?
 
Buy him a drink?
 
Get
him
to buy me a drink?
 
What?"

"Alright," Rex says in a lower voice.
 
"Here are the specifics.
 
I will give you all the information you need - everything there is to know about him.
 
I want you to play hard to get.
 
Let him fall for you.
 
And when he's smitten there are two important meetings he
must
be late for."

"So you want to pay me to keep your rich cousin out of a conference room?"

"Essentially . . . yes."

"Um . . ."

"It's not like I'm paying you to sleep with him," he adds.
 
My eyes go wide.
 
I try to avoid blushing.
 
"I just want the two of you to date for a while."
 
He takes another sip of coffee and stares at the frown on my face.
 
"Leah, be honest with yourself for a minute.
 
You don't have much of a choice here."
 
I sigh, glancing down at my worn sneakers.
 
Rex was right, but I'd always had a hard time doing anything if it was something I was being
told
to do.
 
Even if it was a decision I was about to make on my own anyway.

I
didn't
have the option to say no.
 
Not if I wanted to live to my twenty-second birthday.

"Fine," I nod.
 
"I'll do it.
 
But no one can know about this.
 
I mean
no one.
"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."
 
Rex pulls out a silver money clip and sets down a wad of hundred dollar bills.
 
"Here.
 
Buy yourself a sexy cocktail dress."

"Thanks," I mutter.
 
It feels weird to take the money but Rex had a point.
 
I couldn't meet an up-and-coming billionaire looking like this.
 
Jeans and half a t-shirt.
 
I needed something designer.
 
Rex grins and stands up to leave.

"Oh," he says, slightly twisting his mouth.
 
"One more thing."
 
Here it comes.
 
The "but".
 
"You might have a bit of competition."

"What do you mean
competition
?"

"I mean Warren has been seeing someone.
 
A girl called Brooklyn."

I roll my eyes, dumping the ball of cash back on the table.

"I may be a serial dater," I respond, standing up too.
 
"But I'm not a homewrecker."

"They're not exclusive," Rex says.
 
"They've just been seeing each other off and on."

"And
you're
scared he'll propose once he realizes what could happen if he marries her," I finish.
 
I shake my head and bolt for the door.
 
"I'm out!"

"Stop," Rex calmly commands.
 
"You know what will happen if you walk out that door?"
 
I freeze.
 
"Since your little incident at the casino, your every move has been watched.
 
They will find you, and they will make you pay somehow.
 
Do you understand that?"
 
It was all I could do not to burst into tears.
 
I thought about Leron pinning me against the wall.
 
The hate in his eyes and the fire behind his sinister laugh.
 
This was the only way I could escape a repeat.
 
You have to.
 
It's the opportunity you've been hoping for.
 
Don't throw it away!
 
I slowly turn to face him, eyeing the cash on the table.
 
My ticket to a hot night of clubbing, all expenses paid.
 
Not to mention . . . freedom.

"You can help me?" I whisper.
 
Rex nods with surety.
 
"I'll never have to . . . face those bastards again?"

"You made a mistake," he answers.
 
"And I'll make sure it stays in the past where it belongs.
 
You have my word."

"Okay," I say quietly.
 
"It's a deal. . .
 
Warren better be hot or I'll charge you extra."