Possessive Fake Husband

“Well now,” she says. “How’s the new bride?”

I sigh and sip the coffee. “She’s fine,” I say.

“Is she?” She frowns. “Shouldn’t be.”

I laugh. “Why not?”

“Because she just married her father’s rival in some high-stakes game.”

“True. That’s a good point.”

“So really, how is she?”

“I think she’s starting to realize what this all means, and it doesn’t feel good.”

“That sounds about right.” She tilts her head. “You’re being nice to her, right?”

“Of course I’m being nice to her.” I move my chair back and cross my legs. “Why would you think I’m not?”

“I know what you’re like with women.”

“Maeve.”

“I’m just saying, I’ve known you your whole life, hon. You’ve never had a girlfriend that lasted more than a few months.”

“That’s not because I’m mean to them,” I say. “That’s because I get bored.”

She gives me a look. “Same thing.”

I shake my head, grinning, and sip my coffee. “Honestly, Maggie’s interesting.”

“Pretty too,” Maeve says. “I saw her Facebook.”

“Very pretty,” I agree. “Lucked out there.”

“But you’re not going to mix things, are you?”

I raise an eyebrow. “That’s a new way of saying it.”

“Stop it,” she scolds. “You know what I mean.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I admit. “Right now, I just need to make sure she’s in this.”

“That makes sense.” Maeve sighs and stretches her legs. “Getting old stinks.”

“I bet.”

“You’ll get old too, you know.”

“So they tell me.”

“You need to show her that this is real,” Maeve says. “I don’t know how. But make sure she knows she’s not alone.”

“She’s not,” I say. “I’m in this with her.”

“But she doesn’t know you.”

I nod a little. “That’s true.”

“You have to let her know you’re not a total jerk.”

“That’ll be hard.”

“I know.” She grins at me. “But you’ll have to try anyway.” She glances away and out the window. “That board’s going to fight you on this. Your father used to complain about them all the time. There’s no way they’ll ever want to merge with Bushings, even if you are married to the girl.”

“But marrying her helps,” I say.

“Definitely helps.” Maeve shrugs a little. “Do you know who you’ll go to first?”

“I was thinking Elizabeth,” I say.

“That’s good. She’s your best bet. I suspect she’ll agree without much of a fuss.”

“Then Janet. Since she’ll be a bit harder.”

“Ease into it.” Maeve laughs. “How do you think your new wife will perform?”

“Who knows. She’s smart and capable. Negotiated a good deal out of me. So I think she’ll be an asset.”

“You just have to make sure she’s on your side first.”

“I need to make sure she knows I’m on her side.” I grin and sip my coffee. “Damn, this is more complicated than I thought it would be.”

“Oh, really? You’re just in a fake marriage to fool your board into agreeing to a merger they don’t want to do. Sounds simple enough to me.”

I shake my head and laugh. “It’s really insane. How did you talk me into this?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I guess we’ll both do anything to keep this company alive.”

“You know I will,” I say, my voice soft. “Maeve, I don’t want to be married. Never wanted it. Even though Maggie’s beautiful and smart, marriage was never on my list of things to do.”

“I know, hon.” She stands up with a sigh. “But you’re in it now, so you might as well make the best of things.”

“So pragmatic.”

“It’s why your father kept me around.”

“And why I pay you the big bucks.”

She laughs and waves me off. “Don’t be like that. You pay me the big bucks because I’m smart and capable, unlike half the idiots out there.”

“True.” I frown and shake my head. “A merger… you know that won’t be pretty.”

“No, it won’t. Lots of lost jobs. But better than all their jobs going away.”

“So pragmatic.”

She laughs and waves as she leaves my office.

I sit there for a long moment, staring out the window again. Maeve’s right, I need to make sure Maggie knows I’m on her side. I need something that’ll convince her that, no matter what, I’m not going to screw her over. We’re a team now, for better or for worse.

Slowly I come up with an idea, pick up my phone, and make a few calls.* * *I head home in the middle of the day, just after lunch. I unlock my door and step inside. I find Maggie sitting at the kitchen table, a book in her hand, a half-eaten salad from the deli around the corner in front of her. She looks at me and blinks before frowning.

“Isn’t it early for you to be home?” she asks.

“Yep,” I say. “I wanted to see you.” I walk over and sit down across from her.

“What’s up?” She puts her book down, concern in her eyes.

I read the book’s cover. “Interesting,” I say. “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”