The Billionaire Boyfriend Bargain

Chapter 1-2

Ash returned to the bar every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night for the next month, as long as he didn't have something else to go to. He asked me along as his date to a function, something about launching a new phone, but I had to work. My regret was a palpable thing. I'd wanted to go out with him, but work had to come first. I got paid by the hour and needed the tips so I couldn't afford not to turn up unless I was dying. Besides, a corporate function like that seemed too much for a first date. I would be way out of my depth in my one and only little black dress and high heels. I liked Ash and wanted to be with him, but somewhere more intimate, where it was just the two of us. Like his bed.

He didn't ask me out again. I guess I blew my chance. Nothing seemed to have changed, however. He was still friendly and still walked me to my car in the lane at the end of my shift. Even if I was too busy to talk much and Liam wasn't there to keep him company, he waited patiently, nursing his beer, until I was free again.

Yet still he seemed hesitant somehow, like he wasn't sure whether to ask me out again. Maybe. I couldn't be sure. I was pretty good at reading guys, but Ash was more of a mystery than I was used to. His signals weren't overt. Or maybe they weren't even signals at all and I'd completely misread him. Maybe he was just killing time at The Saloon.

"Is something wrong with Ash?" I asked Liam one night when he was there and Ash wasn't.

"How the hell should I know?" he snapped.

"Everything okay?"

He sighed and dragged his hand through his hair. "Yes. No. I don't know. Just a work problem."

"Want to talk about it?"

"She's not an it."

"Oh. A female colleague problem." I leaned both elbows on the bar, all ears. "Tell me about her."

He did and I wasn't jealous at all. It only proved that I was completely over him. I couldn't have felt freer and I had Ash to thank for that. He'd managed to occupy my thoughts morning and night lately. There was no room for Liam anymore, or anyone else.

Damn. I'd done it again. Fallen for a nice guy. Ash was totally unsuitable, totally out of my league, except for in the bedroom. But it was looking like he didn't even want me there.

He was at The Saloon again the following night and I could tell straight away he was going to ask me out again. He fidgeted with his glass, twisting it between both hands yet hardly drinking. Nor did he meet my gaze. The only time he looked at me was when he thought I wasn't watching him. My nerves clanged all night and I spilled a few drinks. Waiting was damned hard on my stress levels.

Finally, after Liam and most of the other drinkers left, he worked up enough courage. He cleared his throat. I tried not to smile, but I admit I was enjoying being the reason for his nervousness. It was flattering as all hell to be the object of such a hot guy's desire.

"Soph, there's something I want to ask you."

"Go ahead." I picked up a glass from the dish rack and dried it. I needed to do something with my hands or I'd grab his face and force him to kiss me.

He cleared his throat again. "It's kind of a strange request."

I stopped drying. Uh oh. He was going to tell me he was a dominant alpha looking for a submissive. Or worse, a submissive in search of a dominant female to tie him up with his gray tie and paddle his ass.

"I need a fiancée."

I lowered the glass. "Huh?" Real sophisticated, Soph.

He held up his hands. "I didn't explain that right. I need a woman to act as my fiancée for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks. I'm trying to seal a deal with a client who's a little conservative about working with guys my age who aren't married."

"Oh. Right. I see." His words went in one ear and out the other. I was still stuck on the idea of being his fiancée, even if it was only for a few weeks. The idea thrilled me—and plunged my heart to my toes at the same time. He must be mad to think I could pull it off in public. "Thanks for thinking of me, but I'm not sure it's a good idea."

"Don't say no yet," he said quickly. "Please, give it some thought." He fished in his back pocket and pulled out a business card. He flipped it over and wrote a phone number on the back. "That's my private cell number. I don't give it out to many people, but I want you to call me when you've given it some thought. You'll probably have some questions and I'll answer anything."

He handed the card to me and our fingers touched. Our gazes connected. A small pulse rippled along my arm and through my entire body, waking up parts of me that I didn't know were asleep. "Okay," I finally said. "I'll call you tomorrow when I've had a chance to think it through. But I still don't think it's a good idea."

He flinched and let go of the card. "I really hope you'll change your mind." He fiddled with his tie. "The client is really important to my business and…" He cleared his throat. "And I'd like to spend some time with you away from here."

I swallowed. I wanted to yell at him to invite me back to his place if he wanted to spend time with me, not ask me to do something that made me feel so uncomfortable that I would probably throw up my lunch as soon as I walked into any social gathering with his client. But I said none of those things. I flipped the business card over to slide it into my jeans pocket, but the corporate logo caught my attention.

And the name beneath it. Ash Kavanagh, CEO of Kavanagh Corporation.