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‘I hope I haven’t worn him out too much for you,’ she purred suggestively. ‘He’s quite something when he’s all fired up.’
The woman’s dark brows snapped together irritably. ‘That low-down bastard’s been having it off with you?’ she shrieked.
Maddison smoothed down her skirt before straightening her crumpled blouse.
‘He’s insatiable, but then I expect you already know that.’ She batted her eyelashes and then, leaning towards the spitting other woman, murmured conspiratorially, ‘I’ve heard a rumour he’s getting married. I’d be careful if I were you—jealous wives are the pits, aren’t they?’
The woman’s eyes narrowed in anger and she spun away to click-clack down the hall towards Demetrius’s office on heels that Maddison was sure were going to end up in his back at some point if the woman’s expression was anything to go by.
She smiled a little cat’s smile and continued on her way towards the exit. It felt good to have the upper hand just for once, and she was going to enjoy every single delicious minute.
On Wednesday morning a courier arrived at her apartment with a sheaf of papers and an envelope containing a credit card with her name on it.
She sat on her old sofa and went over the papers in detail. They were fairly straightforward, citing the date and time of their intended marriage and the conditions were laid out in simple terms. By signing, she was immediately relinquishing any financial rights normally afforded a marital partner on the dissolution of their marriage. She signed it with considerable relish; she didn’t want his stinking money anyway.
She wasn’t sure what to do about the credit card however. She had no savings left after Kyle’s airfare and traffic infringement, and although Hugo had given her severance pay she still had to finalise the electricity and phone bills before the end of the week, but even so she felt distinctly uncomfortable spending Demetrius’s money. In the end she decided to mail it back to him, not even bothering to write a covering note to accompany it.
As much as it galled her to have to do so she knew she couldn’t leave it too many more days without contacting him. She had one or two questions to ask regarding their living arrangements once they were married; somehow she didn’t think he’d agree to move into her tiny apartment with the peeling paint and constantly flickering light bulbs.
He wasn’t available to speak to her when she called his office, which instantly annoyed her. She didn’t want to wait around holding her breath for him to return her calls, but neither did she want to be left in a state of indecision and uncertainty over whatever arrangements he’d made.
Her hand hovered over the telephone later that evening as she fought with herself over whether to call his private number or not. Before her finger had pressed the first digit, however, the doorbell of her apartment pealed and she put the handset down with a clatter as she got to her feet to answer it.
Demetrius was standing there with a small smile lurking about the corners of his mouth. ‘Hello, Maddison.’ His dark eyes swept over her fluffy tracksuit before returning to her face. ‘Pleased to see me?’
She stepped aside for him to come in.
‘So nice of you to return my calls in person,’ she said. ‘I’m surprised you can afford the time. Haven’t you got a hot date tonight?’
‘I wonder you can ask that,’ he said with a tiny glimmer of amusement in his eyes. ‘Especially when you deliberately sabotaged my relationship with Elena Tsoulis.’
‘If she was so easily put off by me you’re definitely underselling yourself,’ she returned.
‘Perhaps you’re right.’ He shrugged himself out of his suit jacket and hung it over the back of the sofa. ‘She was close to her use by date anyway.’
She inwardly seethed at his callous attitude.
He turned to face her, his hand going to his tie to loosen it. ‘What did you want to see me about?’
‘I want to know what to do about my apartment.’
He swept the room with an ironic glance. ‘You call this an apartment?’
‘No,’ she said, stung by his disdain. ‘I call it home.’
‘Well then, to borrow your own words, you’re definitely underselling yourself.’
‘It’s all I can afford.’
‘No doubt because you’ve been so busy bailing your brother out of trouble all the time. You should be a little more selective in how you rescue him. He’ll never learn to take responsibility with you stepping into the breach all the time.’
‘It’s none of your business what I do for my brother.’
‘I beg to differ. I now have a vested interest in how you help your brother. One could argue, in fact, that it will be my money that will be used to support him if the need should arise.’
‘I’m going to get another job as soon as I can.’
‘There’s no need for you to do so immediately,’ he said. ‘I quite fancy the idea of a kept woman.’
‘I’d rather die.’
‘Such strong words,’ he chided. ‘No, I definitely like the idea of you at my beck and call every hour of the day.’
‘You will soon tire of it.’
He grinned at her disarmingly. ‘I wonder.’
She turned away from the contemplative look in his eye.
‘I wanted to talk to you about living arrangements,’ she said.
‘Ah, yes—’ he sat on the sofa and stretched out his long legs in front of him ‘—the living arrangements. I was wondering when we’d come to that.’
‘I’m assuming you want me to live with you?’
‘Of course.’
‘But what about my apartment?’
‘Get rid of it.’
She took a turn about the room in agitation.
‘What’s the problem, Maddison?’ he asked her. ‘Surely you’re not balking at the idea of sharing my penthouse?’
She turned back to face him. ‘Where do you live?’
‘In the Papasakis Park View Tower Hotel.’
‘You live in a hotel?’ She looked at him incredulously.
‘Why not?’ He crossed his ankles. ‘The beds are comfortable, the food edible, and the showers hot. Why wouldn’t I live there?’
‘I would’ve thought a man of your means would have a castle of his own,’ she said. ‘It must be very impersonal living in a hotel all the time.’
‘I’m used to it. Anyway, I’m in and out of the country such a lot I haven’t got time to manage a private residence.’
‘How much travelling do you do?’
He gave her a knowing look. ‘I can see where your mind is headed. If you think you can get away with anything while my back is turned you can think again. I might be out of the country rather regularly but I keep a steady eye on what’s happening when I’m away.’
‘I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort,’ she lied. ‘I was just wondering what I should do when you’re away, that’s all.’
He propped his hands behind his head and surveyed her casually. ‘You’ll be too busy pretending to be the devoted wife in my absence and if you behave yourself I might even allow you to come with me occasionally.’
‘I can’t wait.’
He laughed at the insincerity of her tone. ‘Come on, Maddison, you do your sex a disservice to insist your motives are all above board. What young woman wouldn’t want an all expenses paid trip overseas?’
‘I would prefer to have more choice over my travelling partner.’
‘Be that as it may, I still think you should be grateful I’ve been so obliging in all this. Another man might have asked you to pay back every cent.’
‘I would rather work an eighteen hour day for the rest of my life than spend an hour with you.’
His expression closed over and she wondered if she’d pressed one too many of his buttons.
‘You have a lamentable lack of grace in your choice of words,’ he said. ‘One would hope that tendency will abate as time goes on.’
‘You expect me to be grateful to you for blackmailing me into this arrangement?’
‘No.’ He got to his feet with languid ease. ‘I don’t expect you to be grateful; I expect you to be realistic. Your brother is a prison statistic waiting to happen. I’m giving you a chance to redeem his future prospects.’
‘What do you want from me?’
‘I thought I’d made that clear. I want you to pretend to be a wife in love for a short period of time.’
‘I’m not sure I’m up to the task.’
‘Then you’d better brush up on your skills,’ he said. ‘If you don’t, the weight of the law will fall about your brother’s shoulders.’
‘That threat is going to wear out if you brandish it about too much.’
‘It’s not a threat, Maddison, it’s a promise, and if you don’t fulfil your side of the bargain, neither will I.’
‘I don’t know why you’ve targeted me as your victim in all this,’ she said. ‘I have absolutely nothing to offer you.’
‘You have everything to offer me,’ he countered. ‘You love your brother and are prepared to do anything to save him. That sort of loyalty is not to be disregarded.’
‘You’re exploiting it for your own ends.’
‘Maybe, but at the end of the day you’re the one who wins in all this.’
‘How so?’
‘Your brother will be released from all retribution from me, and you’ll be adequately compensated for your time and efforts in portraying yourself as a devoted wife. I can’t do any more than that.’
‘I still think there’s a loophole in all of this.’
‘It’s understandable you’d see it that way, but let me reassure you I have no such motive. I wish only for a quick solution to my own problems, and as it turns out you are a very convenient alibi.’
‘It’s been all too convenient for you, though, hasn’t it?’ she asked. ‘My brother has played right into your hands.’
‘Your brother was foolish enough to leave a footprint. If he hadn’t done so I would still be scouring the streets for the culprit.’
‘I only wish my brother had thought to torch your car and your hotel as well,’ she said bitterly.
His mouth thinned as he took in her enraged features. ‘That would have been most inadvisable. If he had done so you would not be marrying me next week, and your useless brother would be facing me in court.’
Maddison didn’t have an answer at the ready.
‘I would advise you, Maddison, to see things as they are. You stand in front of your brother’s freedom; don’t throw it away on a whim of petulance directed at me.’
‘I hate you.’
‘I’m very glad you do,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t like to think you harboured any other emotion considering the terms I’ve laid down.’
‘How can you sleep at night?’ she asked.
‘I can sleep with ease,’ he said. ‘Knowing that I did all I could to secure my own interests.’
‘At the expense of someone else’s?’
‘Yes,’ he said without apology. ‘At the expense of someone else’s.’
She turned away from his arrogant features and sucked in a steadying breath. ‘How soon do you wish to activate this fake marriage?’
‘Next week.’
She swung back to face him, her expression full of alarm. ‘Next week?’ She had forgotten it would be so soon.
He gave a casual lift of one shoulder as if they were merely discussing the date of a picnic, not a legally binding agreement such as marriage.
‘I thought it best to get the deed over with as quickly as possible. A whirlwind affair will attract exactly the sort of press attention I need to divert attention away from my other activities.’
‘How can anyone possibly organise a wedding in a week?’
He gave her an imperious smile as he tapped his inside pocket. ‘That over-stuffed wallet you referred to before comes in rather handy when I want something done in a hurry.’
‘I just bet it does.’ She gave him a caustic glance.
‘I also thought we should spend some time together this week,’ he added. ‘It will give credibility to our relationship if we’re seen in public a few times.’
‘I’m busy this week.’
‘Cancel.’
‘I don’t want to.’
