скачать книгу бесплатно
Secrets of the Tycoon's Bride / The Executive's Surprise Baby: Secrets of the Tycoon's Bride
Catherine Mann
Emilie Rose
Be swept away by passion… with intense drama and compelling plots, these emotionally powerful reads will keep you captivated from beginning to end.Secrets of the Tycoon’s Bride Emilie Rose He needed a wife – a perfect, respectable wife – fast! And Lauryn Lowes was the ideal candidate. A natural beauty with brains, Lauryn already worked for Adam. Only Lauryn turned his “proposal” down flat and the bachelor billionaire suddenly became even more determined to capture her!The Executive’s Surprise Baby Catherine Mann Telling her high-society family she was about to be an unwed mother had been tough. Brooke planned to keep the paternity secret…then millionaire hotel mogul Jordan Jefferies learned the truth. Nothing would stop him from claiming his child. Or from making Brooke his wife.THE GARRISONS Unlimited power…unforeseen pleasure
Secrets of the Tycoon’s Brideby Emilie Rose
ANOTHER GARRISONOFF THE MARKET?
Ladies, brace yourselves! Our sources report that consummate bachelor Adam Garrison, the youngest male Garrison, is all but engaged. He was spotted at an upscale bistro with what our witness called “a rather plain blonde who appears to have stolen his heart.” She wasn’t sporting a ring, but our insider says it’s only a matter of time. The source overheard an exchange between Adam and an elder socialite where he almost confirmed as much.
The Executive’s Surprise Babyby Catherine Mann
AND THE FATHER IS…
There’s been speculation for months surrounding the unnamed father of Brooke Garrison’s love child. Well, a source close to the Garrison family revealed exclusively to us that the father is none other than (drum roll, please…) Jordan Jefferies. That’s right! The multi-millionaire investor and, more importantly, Garrison family rival, got cosy with the high-society brunette last summer. Our insider reveals that the pair have not seen each other intimately since that one-time romp and that Brooke has repeatedly declined Jordan’s marriage offers.
No word yet on Parker’s reaction – Brooke’s big brother – when he heard the news. Looks like another scandal is about to erupt for the Garrisons.
EMILIE ROSE
lives in North Carolina with her college sweetheart husband and four sons. Writing is Emilie’s third (and hopefully her last) career. She’s managed a medical office and run a home day-care, neither of which offers half as much satisfaction as plotting happy endings. Her hobbies include quilting, gardening and cooking (especially cheesecake). Her favourite TV shows include ER, CSI and Discovery Channel’s medical programmes. Emilie’s a country music fan, because she can find an entire book in almost any song.
Letters can be mailed to:
Emilie Rose
PO Box 20145
Raleigh, NC 27619, USA
E-mail: EmilieRoseC@aol.com
Dear Reader,
This book was extra special for me because it gave hubby and me the perfect excuse to take our first real adults-only vacation in years. Research! We left our four sons and the dog behind – the boys didn’t miss us but the dog did :) – and travelled to South Beach. We even took a short cruise – our first – to the Bahamas.
South Beach was nothing like the laid-back North Carolina beaches I usually visit, but I did my best to give you a slice of the atmosphere. So when you get to the part about South Beach coffee shops selling condoms, they do!
I hope you can kick back, imagine the sand beneath your toes and palm fronds stirring above your head in a brisk ocean breeze and enjoy Lauryn and Adam’s story.
Best,
Emilie
Secrets of the Tycoon’s Bride
EMILIE ROSE
The Executive’s Surprise Baby
CATHERINE MANN
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
SECRETS OF THE TYCOON’S BRIDE
by
Emilie Rose
To my husband for never saying no.
Heaven knows I’ve given you plenty of reasons
and opportunities to do so.
You spoil me rotten.
Don’t think I haven’t noticed.
One
Lauryn Lowes would make him a perfect wife because he didn’t love her and wasn’t attracted to her.
Hell, Adam Garrison realized, he barely knew her.
Their bi-weekly meetings since she’d started working for him seven months ago had never allowed time for get-to-know-you chatter. She worked days when the club was closed, and he worked nights when Estate was open. He knew little about her except what he’d read on her job application.
A tap on his open door revealed the woman in question. “You wanted to see me?”
“Come in, Lauryn. Close the door. Have a seat.”
She did as he instructed and perched on the edge of the visitor chair in front of his desk.
According to his lawyer, who happened to be Adam’s best friend and someone whose judgment Adam trusted, Lauryn was the perfect wife candidate.
Adam’s leather chair creaked as he leaned back to make his own assessment. Lauryn wasn’t bad-looking. Bland. No makeup. Pale-blond hair which she always kept pinned up. An intelligent and independent worker. Otherwise he never would have hired her to handle his nightclub’s multimillion-dollar books.
“Is something wrong? This isn’t our usual meeting day.” Lauryn pushed the narrow rectangles of her tortoiseshell glasses up her straight nose, and then with slender, ringless fingers adjusted the longish skirt of her boring navy suit.
He’d never noticed her hands before. But then he’d never considered those hands touching him. Intimately. Her short, unpainted nails were a far cry from the lacquered claws the majority of women in his life preferred.
Besides a manicure, she’d need new clothing to carry off this charade. Maybe contacts. Better shoot for a complete makeover. Otherwise no one would believe he’d chosen her out of all the fashion models and celebrities who frequented Estate and/or his bed.
He had his pick of women. Just not the type he needed for this assignment. The council already considered him a playboy. His female equivalent would not help his cause. Lauryn was far from a party girl. If she’d dated at all in the past months no one on the staff knew it. He’d asked. Discreetly, of course.
She shifted in her chair, reminding him he hadn’t answered her question. That was something else he’d always admired about her. She knew how to be quiet instead of chattering endlessly.
“Nothing’s wrong, Lauryn. In fact, I’d like to offer you a raise and a…promotion of sorts.” He punctuated that with what he hoped would be a reassuring smile. Whether for her or for himself, he couldn’t say.
God knows he had reservations about this plan. He was only thirty and he liked being single. Between witnessing his parents’ far-from-perfect union and his front-row seat to the nightly dating safaris at the club, he’d never planned to marry for any reason, but he couldn’t see any other way to achieve his goals.
He wanted a bigger stake in the family business and there was only one way short of murdering his two older brothers to get it. He had to gain their respect. His father had died unexpectedly in June, and here it was the first of November, and Parker and Stephen still hadn’t given Adam more responsibility in Garrison, Inc., because they didn’t take him seriously. Frustration burned Adam’s stomach.
Lauryn’s smooth brow furrowed. “I’m confused. I’m Estate’s only accountant. How can I get a promotion? Are you planning to hire an assistant for me? Because I assure you, Mr. Garrison, I can handle the workload. I don’t need help.”
“Adam,” he corrected not for the first time. She never relaxed around him. In fact, she always seemed on edge, and he didn’t know why. People—women in particular—liked him. More than one reviewer had attributed Estate’s popularity to Adam’s charm. He knew how to work a crowd, how to make guests feel welcome and want to return.
Of course, he’d never tried to charm Lauryn Lowes. She was an employee and that was a line he’d never crossed. But he would today.
“The president of the Miami Business Council is retiring next year. As you may have heard, it’s a pretty conservative group.”
She nodded.
“I’ve been an active member for years, but the council’s not willing to entertain the idea of a single guy—especially one who runs a scandalous South Beach nightclub—being in charge no matter how qualified he might be.”
“You mean you want to run for president?”
The surprise in her voice stung like salt in a fresh wound. “Yes. And the only way for me to have a chance at that nomination is to become the stable, settled guy they require. I won’t give up Estate. That means I need to acquire a wife.”
Her look of confusion grew. “What does that have to do with me?”
“You’re the perfect candidate.”
She blinked once, twice, a third time. “To be your wife?”
“Yes.”
She sat back in the chair, her posture stiffer than usual. After a few moments an uncertain smile wobbled on her lips. “I—I—You’re joking. Right?”
Nice lips, he noted. Pale pink. No lipstick. Not collagen enhanced.
Natural. That’s it. Lauryn’s a natural.
Too bad that would have to change.
“No.” He leaned forward and pulled the file pertaining to this merger from the stack on the side of his desk. “Brandon Washington—you’ve met my attorney—has drawn up the necessary paperwork. I’ll pay you five hundred thousand per year for two years plus reasonable living expenses. After that we’ll quietly divorce. We’ll have a contract and a prenuptial agreement. What’s yours stays yours including any gifts I buy you. What’s mine stays mine.”
Extracting the relevant documents, he pushed the pages across the polished wood surface toward her. She didn’t take them. “You’re welcome to have your attorney look over the agreement.”
Tightening her grip on the arms of the chair, she eyed the papers like she would a hungry gator. “You actually expect me to agree to this…proposition?”
“You’ll be paid a million dollars to do nothing for two years. Why wouldn’t you accept?”
“Because I don’t love you?”
A little surprised by her reluctance, he shrugged. He could think of several dozen women who’d jump at this chance, but they weren’t the type he needed.
“I don’t love you, either, but it’s an advantageous match for each of us and a sound business decision. You’ll move into my loft and I’ll buy you a new car. Maybe a Mercedes or a Volvo wagon. We need to give the impression we’d like to start a family soon.”
Eyes wide with shock, she made a choking sound. “A family?”
“We won’t of course, but we need to play the part.”
“Part?” she echoed.
Lauryn’s quick grasp of details was one of the things he’d liked about her at that first interview and in subsequent meetings. But she wasn’t picking up quickly now. He stifled his impatience. “The picture of domestic bliss. Stable. Settled. Rooted in the community.”
She shook her head as if bewildered. “I’m sorry. I just can’t wrap my brain around this. You’re seriously asking me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Garrison—Adam—” Her lips stretched in a fleeting and clearly forced smile. “I’m not the woman for this…position.”
“I think you are. You’re poised, articulate and conservative. You’re exactly what—who—I need, Lauryn.”
Although she flushed at his compliments, the words didn’t ease the starch from her spine. Biting her bottom lip between straight white teeth, she rose. Her fingers knotted so tightly at her waist that her knuckles gleamed white in the overhead fluorescent light.
“I am extremely flattered by your, um…proposal, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”
“Lauryn—”
She gasped and worry pleated her brow. “My refusal isn’t going to cost me my job, is it?”
“Of course not. What kind of jerk do you think I am? But if you marry me you’ll be too busy doing whatever it is South Beach socialites do to put in a forty-hour workweek here.”
He came around the desk and stopped just inches from her. For the first time he noticed her scent. She smelled like the night-blooming vines growing on his condo neighbor’s patio with an additional kick of something spicy and alluring mixed in. “Consider it a two-year paid vacation. Pampering, shopping—”
“But I enjoy my job. And I like working. I’m sorry, but no thank you. I’m sure you can find someone else who—”
“I don’t want anyone else. I want you.”
She snapped to attention at his adamant tone and lifted a trembling hand to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Adam intercepted, curling his fingers around hers. A spark ignited on contact. He blamed it on the knowledge he was crossing the employee/employer line by touching her and invading her space. Always a risky proposition in this litigious age.
He removed her glasses with his other hand. She had extraordinary eyes. Brighter than olives. Darker than grass. The exact shade of the waters off Miami’s coast.
His pulse quickened and his mouth moistened.
Because of what’s at stake, he told himself.
He sure as hell wasn’t attracted to his mousy bookkeeper. But not being repelled by her was good. Considering…
“I’d be a good husband.” His voice came out huskier than intended. He cleared his throat and continued. “I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”
A beat later her eyes widened. “You’re saying we’d sleep together?”
“Maybe not sleep. I like my space. I have a study we can convert into a bedroom for you. You’ll have privacy when you need it. But for appearances’ sake this must appear to be a normal marriage in every way.”
