She sips her iced tea through a straw, and my eyes go to her lips. I imagine them covering my cock.
“I would bet you didn’t pop any of their cherries, but then again, given your dating record, that may not be the case.”
“Do you think I do the favors because we were lovers when we were fifteen?” I ask.
Anger flashes over Marcella’s eyes as she sits up straight. This surprises me. That was half a lifetime ago.
“No, I think you do these favors because you hurt me so deeply that even today I’m upset by what you did.”
She’s still upset? We were kids. “Hurt you? I didn’t hurt you.”
“You broke up with me because you were worried I was going to cramp your style with the other ladies at your posh private school.”
“That’s not true in the least. I broke up with you because I didn’t believe in monogamy. I still don’t.”
“Isn’t that what I just said?” she fumes.
“It’s different. You weren’t cramping my style. I didn’t want you to fall in love with me and then be let down.”
“Well, it was too late. I would never have given you my virginity if I wasn’t in love with you.”
I sit back hard in my chair. In the back of my mind, I’d known she was in love with me, and I did it anyway. I’ve spent a long time pretending that wasn’t true. “I’m sorry. It was never my intention to hurt you.”
“You did hurt me, and I couldn’t talk to anyone about it because I was worried my brothers would do something that would get my mom fired.”
“I was a teenage ass. But now you can pay me back for all the favors I’ve done you and take advantage of my generosity. I need help, and I think I can help you with the issue with your firm. We can look at this as a mutual benefit.”
The lips are a straight line, and she rubs her fingers over her brow. “What do you want, Walker?”
“In the research Fiona and her team did for me, they determined my biggest liability is that I’m not married,” I begin, trying to ease into this.
“Is that why you had that folder of women on Sunday night? You know those women will set you up in a minute.”
I guess there’s no easing in. “Well, that file came from Linc Mitchell. The governor is requiring that I get married if I want to be appointed to replace him. But I agree that those women have zero loyalty to me and would set me up in a heartbeat. Therein lies my problem.” I pause to look at her. “I know you wouldn’t, though.”
“Me?” She shakes her head. “No way. No fucking way am I going to marry you.”
I hold up my hand. “Just hear me out. This can be beneficial to both of us. We’ll go out on some high-profile dates. I’m heading up to Whistler soon with a group of friends—several of whom are your former clients—and you can come as my date. We’ll only pose as a couple. You’ll have your own room, and you can drum up business for your new law firm. There’s a poker tournament, but we’ll have plenty of down time, and you can explore the village and enjoy the spa—maybe even ski. We get engaged. I get my appointment. We marry—which will thrill your family and my constituents—and you’ll remain here to open your firm while I’ll be in Sacramento. You’ll come to various events, but we’ll have a commuter marriage that after a few years we’ll decide isn’t right and we’ll divorce.”
She’s shaking her head. “What planet do you live on?”
Of course, she’s going to make this harder than it needs to be. Everything is so difficult with her.
“Do you think my mother isn’t going to go all crazy over this? She believes marriage is forever. She hasn’t looked at another man since my father died. My brothers are faithful to their wives. No way. I can’t lie to them. I’m sorry. I know you think I owe you, but I can’t do this as repayment. I can’t give you years of my life for eight favors, which also benefited you.”
She stands, but I’m not done making my case.
“Please don’t leave. I need your help, and I think I can help you.”
She sits down. “We don’t even like each other.”
I can see she’s thinking about this. Please let her be smart about it. She wants her clients to follow her to her new firm. With my endorsement, she’ll have more work than she knows what to do with.
“I like you just fine,” I assure her. “It’s you who doesn’t like me, because I was honest.”
“Okay, say we do this,” she says. “How are you going to manage a monogamous fake relationship with me, for the press’s sake?”
“I’ve never cheated on the women I date. I just break up with them when I’m ready to sleep with someone else. We can do this.”
“Even if you’re discreet, you’re a fool if you don’t think some woman, with enough of an incentive, won’t go to the tabloids and ruin your carefully curated life. You’re being naïve.”
She’s right, and she doesn’t even know what the opposition research didn’t turn up.
“We’ll figure it out. I’m leaving for Whistler on Friday afternoon, and I’ll be up there a little over a week. Why don’t you join me? Mason Sullivan, Nate Lancaster, and Landon Walsh are just a few of those who will be there, and they’re all bringing someone you can hang out with. You can go skiing, shopping—just enjoy everything on me and try out how this could work.”
She sighs. I can tell she’s going to agree. I need to spend more time with her, so she sees we can do this.
“I have to think about it,” she finally says.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“All those people who walked out of the firm today are meeting me for drinks in the Haight. I plan on showering them with alcohol and food in appreciation.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“These aren’t Union Club or Olympic Club members. These are great people who work hard and are dedicated to the law.”
“They can’t be too dedicated if they’re plaintiff attorneys.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m good.”
“I’m only teasing. Please, you know people are going to report back to the partners everything that’s said and done. If you were to show up with me after they’ve gotten notification from Fiona, they’d be really nervous.”
“This is all fake. I’m never going to have sex with you,” she warns.
“It might be fun. It was the last time.” Despite us both being virgins, we’d had incredible chemistry. The foreplay had been months of hot and heavy kisses, hands exploring during stolen moments.
“If I want sex, I’ll use a toy. I don’t need anyone for an orgasm.”
Is she talking about a vibrator? Damn. “I wouldn’t mind watching.”
She gives me a look most men would shrivel under, but it makes me hard. “What time can I pick you up?”
She hasn’t said yes, but with a tiny push, she’s going to let me go tonight, and we’ll have a great time. Then I can make sure she goes with me to Whistler.
“We’re meeting at DeadHead at five, so maybe about twenty minutes before that.”