The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal by Margaret Mayo Read Free Book Online Page A

that’s your opinion then let’s forget the whole deal. I can assure you, Elena, that I’m not doing this for any selfish reasons. We don’t have to go through with it. The choice is yours. Feel free to let your parents down if that’s what you want to do.’
    The air in the car had thickened and Elena wished that she had held her tongue. It wouldn’t be herself or Vidal who suffered if she backed out now; it would be her parents. Especially her mother. Could she do this to them? Of course not. But it took every ounce of pride to admit that she was in the wrong.
    ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Of course we must go through with it.’
    Vidal nodded, his eyes studying hers for several long seconds until finally his shoulders relaxed. ‘I am not a greedy person, Elena, despite what you might think. I am a businessman and the merger makes sound business sense. And now that I’ve discovered you have a good business brain on that pretty head of yours, I have a suggestion to make.’
    Elena widened her eyes suspiciously. Any suggestions from Vidal could only spell more trouble.
    ‘How do you feel about coming to work for me after the wedding? Purely for the duration of our marriage, of course. You’ll naturally want to get back to your own business as soon as the twelve months is up, but it will give you something to do in the meantime. I’m impressed with your organisational skills. I could do with someone like you. And you’ll be keeping an eye on your own business, of course?’
    ‘If I’m given the time,’ she retorted, her eyes meeting his head-on. How she managed not to look away she had no idea, but somehow she did it. She was well aware that she had given Vidal a shock and his offer of a job was as a result of it. Up till then he hadn’t had a very good opinion of her.
    Vidal’s eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘How about my offer?’
    ‘I’ll let you know.’ He had shocked her by suggesting she work with him, but there were too many other things on her mind at this moment to give it any real thought. It could be a good thing, as he said it would give her something to do; on the other hand it could be sheer hell. It would mean she would never escape him.
    During the next few days and weeks Vidal couldn’t help but be impressed with the amount of work Elena put in. No one would have guessed that their marriage wasn’t for real. She really was pulling out all the stops.
    ‘You’re doing an amazing job,’ he told her one evening when he had again taken her out to dinner. ‘Anyone would think this was a real marriage with the attention you’re paying to detail. No one will ever guess that it’s all make-believe, that this isn’t your lifelong dream. Thank you, Elena.’
    Elena didn’t need thanks. In fact, she was hardly listening. It was bizarre to think that she had been planning her own wedding—to a man she did not love and to whom she had no intention of staying married!
    And it had been even harder fending off the paparazzi. How they knew about the wedding she didn’t know, but they were followed wherever they went, their photographs appeared in all the newspapers, the story of Vidal turning from one sister to another was discussed and explored and laid bare for everyone to read.
    It was hell.
    Vidal’s younger brother, Fernan, who knew about the deal and had arrived for the wedding, thought the whole thing was farcical. ‘I think my brother needs his head examined,’ he said to Elena. ‘If I were marrying you I’d want it to be for ever.’
    ‘He’s a gentleman and he’s helping my family.’ Elena lifted her chin and fastened cold eyes on his face. Fernan was equally as good-looking as Vidal, equally tall, and looked after the overseas interests of the bank. He had been a good companion to her when they were younger, but there had been no contact between them over the years.
    ‘And no doubt helping himself to an affair with you in the bargain?’ came the cynical reply.