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Jesse was wearing a business suit, which made her nervous.
But her father was smiling. That was a good sign.
She walked past the men and went to stand behind the counter, tucking her bag onto one of the shelves. “Change your mind about a tattoo, Mr. Tyler?”
“No, I was hoping to take you out for coffee. There’s a business proposition I’d like to discuss with you.”
Were the rumors true that Yankee was looking into creating a line of clothing? Had he found out she was studying to be a designer?
Holly slammed on her mental brakes before her imagination could get carried away any further with the unlikely scenario.
But whatever did he mean by “a business proposition”? “Can we talk here? I’ve just come back from my lunch break.”
Red spoke up. “Things have been slow. Go ahead and take an extended lunch.”
“But—”
“I insist.”
Holly shrugged. “All right, then.”
They walked to the door. Jesse held it open for her.
“Where to?” she asked.
“How’s the Coffee Bean?”
The Coffee Bean was a trendy spot specializing in a variety of flavored coffees, espresso, cappuccino and desserts. It was about a mile from the shop. “That’s fine.”
Jesse looked toward where Holly had parked. “Is that your bike?”
“Yes.” She was proud of her purple and silver Harley-Davidson FXR Low Rider.
“That’s a lot of motorcycle for a woman.”
“I’m aware of that, but I can handle it.”
She thought he was going to say more. Instead he helped her into the front seat of the Cherokee, then went around and got into the driver’s seat.
Holly watched him as he drove, his movements controlled and precise. She wondered if he rode his motorcycle that way, too...or if he made love that way.
When the silence got to be too much, she asked, “What is it you wanted to discuss? Tiny’s tattoo?”
Jesse kept his eyes on the road. “I’m afraid I can’t discuss the tattoo or any pending lawsuit without my lawyer present. What I want to talk about is a job offer of sorts.”
She was tempted to point out that she had a job working for her father, but the slim chance that it might be a fashion design job he was talking about kept her quiet.
Their arrival at their destination cut the conversation short, and the subject didn’t come up again until they had been seated and had given their orders to the waitress.
“Now then, Ms. Bryant, how would you like a one-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Lake Wyndham? Plus salary.”
The mention of the exclusive south Florida community, second only to Palm Beach in its wealth and old money status, made Holly suspicious. “Just what would this job entail?”
“Essentially, it’s an acting job.”
“An acting job. Shouldn’t you call a talent agent?”
“Let’s say I’m typecasting.”
“Typecasting? Why would you be looking for someone to play a tattoo artist’s assistant?”
“I’m looking for a woman to play the part of my fiancée for a week.”
She tilted her head to one side. “You think I look like the kind of woman you would marry?” The article she’d glanced at to learn his identity had linked his name with a prominent performance artist, several supermodels and a politician’s daughter.
He paused. “You look like the type of woman my parents would expect me to marry.”
She wanted to ask what kind of parents he had.
Jesse had only seen her in her black leather biker outfits and the hot pink jumpsuit she was wearing today—her work costumes. Would she be dressing this way in Lake Wyndham?
Would her school wardrobe be appropriate, or would she have to dig out some of the clothes she wore on visits to her mother and stepfather? But he said he was typecasting... “If I look the part, I’m assuming I don’t need a new wardrobe for the trip?”
“Everything I’ve seen you in would be fine. If you’d like, though, I’ll throw in a clothing allowance on top of the salary. All I ask is that you don’t pick anything stuffy or conservative.”
Now she was really curious about his parents. She knew anything he’d seen her in would shock most of the Lake Wyndham crowd. “I don’t know. Can I think about this and get back to you?”
He took out a business card. “I’ll put the dates here on the back.” He held the card out to her.
She took it. The tips of her fingers brushed briefly against his. His skin was warm. She wondered what it would feel like to hold hands with him.
If they were pretending to be engaged, wouldn’t there be at least that much, and probably more, physical contact between them? She tucked the card into her pocket. “Just how far does this acting job go? I mean, you’re not expecting me to sleep with you or anything?”
A streak of color highlighted each cheekbone. “Ms. Bryant, I’m offering a legitimate business deal. What you’re suggesting would be illegal.”
And I’ll bet the implication that you might be trying to pay me to have sex with you really ties your boxers in a knot, too. Besides, if he’d just lighten up and smile once in a while he could probably charm his way into any bed he wanted. She was sure he had a killer smile.
The waitress arrived with their coffee. Holly thought she fussed too much over Jesse, making sure his cup was lined up just so. It was the sort of thing a fiancée would notice.
Maybe she could pull it off, even without formal acting experience.
Once the woman left, Jesse continued. “You’ll have your own bedroom and the place has so many servants, you’ll think you’re in a hotel. We’ll need to spend some time together. Engaged couples do that sort of thing, I believe. But I’ll be sure you have time off to pursue your own recreational interests. There are horses, a sailboat, and the beach is about an hour away.”
Holly sipped her coffee. “You make it sound very tempting.”
“Good.”
“Earlier you mentioned a salary?”
He named a figure much higher than what she normally made in a week. With tuition for the next term coming up, she could use the money. And the shop could use some remodeling.
Such a large sum for only a week’s work...if you could call a week of playing “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” work.
The life-style was not completely unknown to Holly. When she was eight, her mother had left her tattoo-artist father and married a successful Florida land developer. Holly had visited them and their four children several times a year. While there, she’d acted and dressed the part of dutiful stepdaughter.
Other than that, she had little to do with them. Although she was certain they would give her money for school and probably for the remodeling, too, if she asked. After high school they’d offered her money to continue her education instead of delaying until she’d saved enough on her own.
Then, as now, she knew her father would have a fit if she took their money. He might frequently be short of the green stuff, but he was long on pride.
“You do make it tempting. But I need to think about this.”
* * *
She looked like the kind of woman his parents would expect him to marry.
What exactly had he meant by that?
Holly’s best friend Ellen worked at the library. The two had been close since elementary school. Holly knew she could trust Ellen not to tell anyone about Jesse’s offer. So she called her and asked her to find information about Jesse, especially anything on his family.
Ellen had a whole stack of things for her when Holly stopped by the library after work. Two hours later, after reading through a number of magazine and newspaper articles, she had the story.
Ultrarich family. Millions made on railroads way back when by enterprising ancestors, now maintained by investments. The family was currently into breeding and training polo ponies.
Instead of blending into the family business and life-style, their eldest child, Jesse, became a motorcycle enthusiast in high school, then went on to study engineering in college. With Rorke O’Neil, he built a prototype motorcycle. They added a third partner, Alex Dalton, and founded Yankee Motorworks.
The family had had a fit. It was bad enough Jesse was working for a living, but to have the Tyler name associated with motorcycles was more than they could stand. It made no difference to them that many rich and famous people were now cruising the roads on two wheels—it was not appropriate for their son. When Jesse persisted, they cut off his trust funds and wrote him out of their wills. Since then they’d had little or no contact with him.
With her usual softhearted tendency to side with the underdog, Holly was immediately sympathetic to Jesse. She was willing to overlook the fact that the man was probably getting ready to sue her and that he was handsomer than any man had the right to be.
All she saw was his rich, powerful parents trying to control him and make him live their choices for his life and not his own.
“This is interesting,” Ellen said.
Holly looked at the newspaper Ellen was holding. It was an engagement announcement. Joanna Tyler and Douglas Wellington. The wedding was to be in December at the home of the bride’s parents in Lake Wyndham, Florida.
A smile tugged at the edges of her mouth. She didn’t like Jesse much, but although he’d missed the humor in Tiny’s tattoo, the guy did have a sense of humor about some things.
Ellen reached her arms above her head and stretched. “When did you say he wanted you to go with him?”
“The week before, through the day after this wedding.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I probably need my head examined, but I’m seriously thinking about going.”
Ellen held up a magazine with a picture of the three Yankee owners on the front. “There are worse guys to be stuck pretending to be in love with.”
They would be expected to act like they were in love. Holly hadn’t thought about that part of it. While she had considered there would be hand-holding, she hadn’t looked at the bigger picture.
Of course if she gazed into his gorgeous green eyes long enough, it would be easy to convince even herself that she was in love with him.
Ellen continued. “Is he as good-looking in person?”
“Better.”
“Impossible. Do you think you’ll get a chance to meet his partners?”
“He didn’t say. But you can stop drooling, the other two are already married.”
“So, are you going to do it?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I think you should. Besides getting paid, you’ll probably have fun. And maybe if you get on his good side, you can convince him not to file charges.”
She might also be able to get information on the rumored Yankee clothing line. If she were spending time with Jesse, maybe she could get the inside scoop and possibly a foot in the door for a job.
“Oh, I guess I’ll go.”
“You make it sound like a sacrifice. Most women would be willing to pay him for the chance you’re getting.”
Holly knew Ellen was right. Yet she couldn’t quite shake all her misgivings. She looked at one of the magazines on the table, opened to an article titled Billionaire’s Renegade Son Makes His First Million.
There was more to Jesse Tyler than met the eye, that was for sure. What would it be like to spend a week with him?
* * *
“Mr. Tyler, Mr. Dalton is on line one.”
“Thanks.” Jesse picked up the phone. “What can I do for you, Alex?”
They discussed Alex’s idea to offer public tours of the Daytona Beach facilities. The issue would be brought up at their next board meeting, but since Jesse was most familiar with the setup down there, Alex had called to verify some details.
“How’s Genie?” Jesse asked after the business was taken care of.
“Fine. We’ve got our first anniversary coming up in December.”
“That’s right. Congratulations.” Man, the last year had flown by. “Speaking of December, I’m planning to take a week off for my sister’s wedding.”
“You’re going to your sister’s wedding?” Both of his partners knew about his estrangement from his family.
“Joanna asked me to be in the wedding party.”
“Be sure to have a good time.”
“Hey, you know me. I always have a good time.”
Alex was quiet for a moment. “You used to always have a good time.”
