From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games 2)

He shot her a grimace. “We have a problem. Come eat and I’ll tell you about it.”

Oh. Of course that was the reason for his appearance so soon after the disaster of last night. She tossed the laptop onto the bed.

Meredith took the take-out box from Jason’s hand and opened it. Pad Thai shrimp. It was her favorite, but far be it from her to read into the selection. There was no way Jason remembered that. Lots of people loved pad Thai. Jason had used his finely honed observation skills to make a good guess, that was all.

Listlessly, she picked at the food, washing down what little she could stomach with a beer Jason had retrieved from the minibar.

“What’s the problem?” she asked.

“Avery put the first part of what must be her plan in motion today.” Jason forked up a mouthful of his red curry beef and took his sweet time chewing. “Several reporters were tipped off to investigate potential labor violations against Lyn’s factory workers. The press ambushed Bettina as she was leaving the office today, shouting for comments about how she was running a sweatshop right here in Manhattan.”

Meredith scowled. “That’s ridiculous. I hope Bettina put them in their place.”

It wasn’t like she really knew it wasn’t true, but Jason was the chief operating officer and there was no way he’d abuse his factory workers. Nor would he let someone else force workers to endure difficult conditions.

Jason flashed a brief, grateful smile and sobered almost immediately. “I wish she had. But she’s not a spokesperson. Put her in a room with reams of fabric and she’s good for hours. Talking to the press, not so much. The whole thing upset her.”

“And you think Avery was behind this?”

“I’d put money on it.”

He dropped his fork and took a long pull from his beer, massaging the back of his neck as he swallowed. Tension put fine lines around his mouth and eyes, sullying his classically handsome face, and she could do without that.

Dropping her own fork, she stood and scooted around behind him to replace his hand with hers, kneading his taut neck muscles for him. He groaned appreciatively and his head tipped back.

“You don’t have to do that,” he murmured. “Don’t you dare stop.”

She laughed. “I wasn’t going to. Your muscles are like concrete. Relax for a minute.”

She wouldn’t have realized how tense he was if she hadn’t felt it with her own two hands. He’d been hiding it well, at least until these past couple of minutes.

Which of course led her down the path of wondering what else he was hiding under that gorgeous suit. He was a man of contrasts. Frustrating to be sure, but oh, so intriguing. She wanted to dig into his core in the worst way and expose all his secrets...like, why was he so resistant to being open and passionate as he’d been in Vegas? It wasn’t her—his body’s reaction anytime they got within two feet of each other gave her all the assurance she needed.

If only he’d bridge that gap and take what he so clearly wanted. What she’d so readily asked for. If only the heat between them could be allowed to explode, she’d show him he could be that man again in an instant.

She shook her head and chastised herself silently. Was she never going to learn? This was a business relationship only. Time to get back to that...

“Why would Avery do something so mean? Especially to her own mother.”

Jason’s head rested against her stomach and his eyes fluttered closed. It was oddly the most intimate moment they’d experienced, as if they were a normal couple helping each other decompress at the end of a long day. It snagged a tender place inside.

For an eternity, she thought he’d fallen into the moment, too, and didn’t hear her question.

“Bettina and Avery are like oil and water,” he finally said. “Mom says black, Avery says white. Honestly, they were happy to go off to their respective corners when Lynhurst Enterprises split.”

“Still.” Meredith couldn’t quite let go of Jason’s broad, strong shoulders and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry for her to stop touching him, so she kept up the pressure. “What’s a tip-off that turns out to be a lie going to accomplish?”

A ghost of a smile lifted his lips briefly. “It’s twofold. Keeps me busy combating the negative press so I’m distracted. And she knows they’re not going to uncover anything, but the implications are enough to put Lyn in a bad light. So when she throws in her bid for CEO, she can play up how new management will smooth everything over. Out with the old and in with the new.”

“That’s...” Kind of brilliant. But Meredith didn’t dare say it out loud.