His stomach sank. “No?”
“You’re delusional if you think I’d agree to marry you.”
“It’s not a real marriage. Nothing about our lives would change, except legally you’d be a Schultz.”
“I’m not changing my name when I get married.”
“I didn’t ask you to. But think of all the doors the Schultz name could open for you.”
She seemed to pause then shook her head. “Not happening.”
“Don’t you want the money for your business?”
“I’ll find another way.” She walked toward the sidewalk.
He was disappointed, but then he hadn’t been sure of how she would react when he came up with this plan. He and Merritt definitely weren’t a good match. They had nothing in common. They didn’t get along. He wasn’t attracted to her. Well … she was a beautiful woman, and he liked women, but her sarcasm and harsh personality were enough to douse even the tiniest spark of attraction. And that’s why she was perfect. There would be no pesky feelings involved. Strictly business.
So, before he let her walk away from this idea for good, he gave it one more shot.
“I’ll buy you a car.” She needed something other than that worthless piece of crap she drove.
She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at him again.
“Any car you want.” His eyes pleaded with her.
“You’ll buy me a car if I marry you?” Her eyebrows raised.
“Yes. I know you need one.”
“I happen to like my car.”
“Your car will soon be going the way of the dinosaur and you know it.”
“You’re so full of yourself. You think you can just toss money and a car at a girl and get her to do whatever you want. Well, you can’t. You can’t get me that way, Augustus Schultz. I won’t be bought.” She spun on her heel and marched out of the alley.
He slipped the ring onto his index finger and spun it around in circles as he watched her round the corner and walk away. He kicked a loose stone across the cement.
So much for his brilliant plan.
EIGHT
Merritt was annoyed and bewildered as she drove toward her apartment in Santa Monica that evening. The nerve. How in the world could Gus possibly think she would marry him? Marry him! The idea was insane. He had to know that. In this day and age, there was no way people actually faked a marriage. Did they?
She was so consumed by the confusing thoughts and questions whirling around in her mind, that she barely remembered parking, letting herself into her place, or pouring herself a glass of wine. But somehow she was now standing on her balcony, overlooking the beach and Santa Monica pier.
She took a seat on the chaise and lay back, staring up at the few stars that were beginning to twinkle in the sky, listening to the waves rolling against the sand. The ocean calmed her, brought her back to herself when the pressures of everyday life and running her own business got to her.
Starting Merritt Cosmetics hadn’t been easy. Not by a long shot. She had worked for years, finding just the right combination of safe ingredients, going through all the necessary steps to make sure they were FDA approved before releasing her products. Then she spent years selling from her apartment, building up a following, growing through word-of-mouth before the business started to take off a few years ago.
As popularity increased, the demand had become great. And that was part of the problem because she had found no one willing to stand behind her and loan her the kind of money she needed to take her business to the next level. She had built her tiny company into a thriving business, but the expenses were growing, and she knew it could be so much more with a little help.
She thought about Gus’s proposal and groaned as she closed her eyes and pictured him slipping that giant rock onto her finger. It was beautiful, and if she’d actually been in love with the person who gave her that ring, she would’ve been proud to wear it and profess their love to everyone who saw it. But it was Augustus Schultz. Her feelings for him were on the opposite end of the love/hate scale.
The sound of her phone ringing inside her apartment made her groan again. She had just gotten comfortable, letting the wine do its thing to relax her. But then, it could be about work. That thought made her set her glass down and walk quickly to where she’d left her purse.
She didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Is this Merritt Christianson?” a man asked.
“Yes.”
“It’s me.”
“Me who?”
“You don’t recognize my voice?”
“Should I?” He hadn’t said enough words for her to recognize him.
“Well, I would hope you’d know your future husband’s voice.”
She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her. “Gus? I should’ve known you wouldn’t take no for an answer. How did you get this number?”
“Adelia.”
“You told her about this crazy scheme of yours?”
“Not exactly. She thinks I’m calling to apologize for being rude to you.”
“I don’t think she would’ve given you my number if she knew why you were actually calling.”
“She’ll be on board with this,” he replied.
“I highly doubt that.”
“You’ll see.” He sounded awfully confident.
“No, I won’t, because this is not happening. I already told you. There is no way I’m marrying you.”
“I think you’ll change your mind.”
She laughed. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“When you look at your life a year from now, what do you see?” he asked.
“Why do you care?”
“Humor me and think about where you want to be in a year. Would you rather be where you are right now, trying to move forward in your business, stuck at a standstill because of the money, or do you want your products reaching every corner of the world, exploding in every market? Are you content with a company grossing a couple million rather than on your way to some serious money?”
She was quiet. He had clearly done his research on her company.
“I can help you. I’m tired of wasting my wealth, and I’ve been wanting to find a worthy investment. Let me invest in you.”
Her mind raced as she found herself seriously considering his ridiculous plan.
“I know a year seems like a long time, but Merritt, you’ll be so busy, it will fly by.”
“This is crazy.”
“You want to say yes. I know you do.”
“I don’t want to say yes at all. I want to find another way to expand my company without having to marry you.”
It was his turn to be quiet.
“You don’t think we’ll spend the year ripping each other’s heads off?” she asked. “We don’t exactly get along, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I know, but maybe we can call a truce.”
She laughed loudly at that. “That doesn’t seem likely.”
“It’s the only way to get to the end the year with exactly what we want—me with a place in my family’s company and you with the hottest products out there.”