Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Her shoulders sank. “Yeah. You’re right. I need someone I can trust.”
“Okay, and what else? You’ll have a big wedding? Buy a house together? A dog?” I asked, genuinely intrigued about her plan.
“We’d have to have a wedding. It’s got to look legit for at least ninety days. But there’s no point in buying a house for three months. Maybe he could move in with me?” She shook her head. “Not that it matters. I’ve not got anyone in mind now I know you’re not interested.”
I wasn’t interested. Not that I had a problem marrying someone who needed access to their trust fund. It wasn’t like I believed in the sanctity of marriage or anything like that. I just liked and respected Arthur too much to lie to him.
“What about sex?” I asked. I leaned back in my chair and enjoyed the blush that swept up her cheeks.
“No sex required.”
“And here I was just thinking I might be changing my mind.”
She picked out a chocolate-covered raisin and launched it at me. “No you weren’t.”
I chuckled. “No, I wasn’t. You wouldn’t tell anyone it’s all fake?”
She winced. “I wouldn’t be able to. I couldn’t risk my father finding out.” She paused. “You’d know. And my best friend. But apart from that, I’d keep it a secret.”
I liked the idea of us having a secret.
“I guess that means there’s no second date,” I said. “Given I’ve turned down your marriage proposal.”
She laughed. “I guess not. Unless I get a ring at the end of a first date, I never say yes to a second.”
That was a shame. Parker was the first woman in a long time who had genuinely intrigued me. Maybe it was the cow-print pajamas; maybe it was the marriage proposal. Maybe it was her sea-green eyes and semi-permanent half-scowl. Whatever it was, I would have liked to see her again. And if she hadn’t been Arthur’s daughter, I might just have married her.
Seven
Tristan
There was rarely a need for me to go to my clients’ offices. I got more done when I was working at home, and I liked the anonymity I got from doing things across email and telephone. I tried to avoid video calls as much as possible for the same reason.
I could admit to myself that my presence at Arthur’s offices had more to do with Saturday night than Arthur’s bank’s security. Though she hadn’t done it deliberately, Parker had put me in a difficult position. Now she had told me of her plan to get her hands on her trust fund, I was keeping something from Arthur. And if I told Arthur, I’d be betraying Parker’s confidence. Rock. Hard place. And the sound of my bones being crushed as I got caught between the two.
I was shown into Arthur’s office by his assistant. Arthur had a desktop computer that was joined to the bank’s network, and an entirely separate, independent laptop. Today was as good a time as any to do my regular checks to make sure everything was in order. Checks I ordinarily did remotely and automatically.
Today, I’d decided to do them manually and in person.
I slipped into Arthur’s chair and switched on his laptop. A silver photo frame by the side of his desk caught my eye. Parker smiled back at me. She looked like she was on holiday, glowing in the sunshine, her bob slightly less sleek than I’d seen it before. Beautiful.
“Tristan! Maureen told me you were here.” Arthur strode into his office.
I shot up from his seat. “I thought you were in meetings, Arthur. I was just passing and thought I’d drop in and do your regular checks in person. A site check is sometimes helpful.”
He indicated that I should sit back down as he slipped into one of the chairs opposite his own desk. “You carry on. My meeting went unexpectedly short, which doesn’t happen very often.”
“You’re going to watch me work?”
“No, you’re going to work while I ask you questions about your date with my daughter.”
Internally, I sighed. We were edging toward dangerous territory. But that was why I was here, wasn’t it? I’d wanted a way to tell him without telling him what Parker was planning to do to get her hands on her trust fund.
“We had a lovely evening. She’s very charming,” I said, my fingers working on the keyboard, wanting to get these checks done so at least that didn’t turn out to be a lie.
“So you’ll see each other again? It’s been a while since Parker had a boyfriend. She needs something or somebody to distract her from working every minute of every day for that charity.”
Boyfriend?
“You must be very proud that she’s so passionate about something that’s so . . . important.”
Arthur exhaled and gripped the arms of the chair. “Of course, I’m proud. So many offspring of my peers spend their entire lives hopping from party to party, spending their trust funds on meaningless designer clothes. Parker has never been like that. I just wish . . . I wish she was better at balance. She needs to have more fun.”