Authors: Linda Francis Lee
Tags: #Romance, #Sex in the workplace, #Fiction
Sinfully Sexy (24 page)
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EIGHTEEN
Sterling still found it hard to believe.He stood in his makeshift office at KTEX and smiled. He shook his head
in the pure joy at this unexpected turn in his life. He wanted to spend
every second with Chloe. But first they had to finish
The Catch
. At the end of the
week, they would begin taping and airing the grand finale, which they
planned to show over two days. They were showing dinner with each of
the finalists and their families
on Friday, then the final rose ceremony on Saturday. Sterling was
impatient to be done. He was ready
to move on. He was ready to start a new life with Chloe.
On his way out of the office, he stopped in to see Julia. "I have a
favor to ask," he stated without preamble.
Julia looked up from her paperwork and tapped her bright pink
fingernails on the desk. "You? Asking?
It must be important."
"It is. It's for Chloe. I have an idea for the final show."
"For the rose ceremony?"
"No, the first part. The dinner show."
"What do you need?"
Sterling told Julia his plan. And when he left her office, she stared
after him, a tear of amazement in
her eye.
Because of logistics and timing, the family segment would have to be
taped entirely at Julia's house.
There would be no ability to travel all over the city to go from one
Rose's home to the next. Both
Mindy and Chloe would have to bring their families to the Rose house.
Sterling would meet them there.
Sterling couldn't believe how concerned he was over the family dinner
show. Chloe looked nervous, which didn't help matters. Even after his
confession and they had made love, she had begged him to
let her off the show.
Which both of them knew was impossible.
But still, in a panic, she had blurted out, "I can't do a family show,"
confirming what he had suspected. She was worried about having no one
there for her.
"It's going to be fine, I promise."
He had kissed her and added that there was no way he would let her go.
As Trey, he wanted to win her. Then afterward, as Sterling, he planned
to ask her to be his wife.
They just needed to get
The Catch
over
with.
They started taping Friday morning.
"Hi, Trey," Mindy said when he entered the front door, the camera
rolling. She looked as sweet as he knew her to be, and when he smiled
at her and extended flowers, she all but melted in front of him.
"Trey, this is my mom, Elizabeth, and my dad, Bill."
Mindy had gotten used to the cameras, but her parents weren't. They
glanced awkwardly between their daughter, the camera, and the Catch.
Sterling shook hands with both of her parents. "It's a pleasure to meet
you," he said, trying to put them
at ease. "Your daughter is a wonderful woman."
With eyes wide with joy and pleasure, Mindy turned to two teenage boys.
"And these are my brothers, Billy and Tom."
The teenagers shook his hand. "Cool," Billy said, glancing between
Sterling and the camera. "Neat," the younger Tom added, smiling, his
braces flashing in the lights.
Despite their cools and neats and obvious excitement to be on
television, they were also protective of
their sister.
"It's nice to meet you," Sterling said.
The family and the Catch moved to the dining room with the camera
following. When they sat, Mindy shyly took Sterling's hand. He
flinched, then cursed himself when she immediately dropped it and
blushed.
He felt badly that he had embarrassed her. Hell, he felt badly that he
wasn't going to choose her. Not because he had any desire for the
nurseâhe didn'tâbut because he didn't want to hurt her. Yet
another new emotion Chloe had brought out in him. If he hadn't been so
thrilled at finding his love, he would have been alarmed that he was
going soft.
At noon, the meal was done and the crew was ready to move on.
"Chloe," Pete called out. "You're up."
Chloe jumped from her place in the dark recesses of the set. Her throat
was tight at the memory of
Mindy and her family, the concern they showed for their daughter and
sister. The love that Mindy
would have regardless of what happened on this show.
Determined not to be embarrassed by her own lack of family, she walked
onto the set. But when she raised her chin, she had to blink back her
tears as her heart swelled when she found Julia and Kate and even Jesse
sitting around the table as the crew worked quickly to spread out a
second meal.
She gasped and pressed her hands to her heart. "You guys!" she squealed
excitedly.
"Get in here, sugar," Julia called out. "When it was a show with your
family, who else did you think would be here?"
Kate came over to hug her. "We're your family, as you well know."
Tears tightened in Chloe's throat, then she thought she would outright
cry when Julia leaned close and whispered, "As much as I hate to admit
it, it was Trey's idea."
Chloe pushed back and looked at her.
"Yep, the guy's got it bad. He wants you like I've never seen a man
want a woman. He's going to do whatever it takes to get you to accept
his rose."
Chloe stared at her, hardly able to trust the joy she felt. Was it
possible that even though he had lied
about his identity, she could trust him? That he really never had any
intention of hurting her?
"Come on, people," Pete called out. "We don't have all day. Take your
places!"
Sterling appeared then, looking amazing and confident. She hurried
across the dining room and threw
her arms around his shoulders.
"Did we catch that on tape?" Pete called out. "That will be perfect for
the opening."
"Got it, boss!" the cameraman replied.
Chloe hardly thought of the program. She was filled with nothing but
excitement about how her life was changing.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"If you liked that surprise, just wait."
"Whatâ"
"We're rolling, people!"
Sterling kissed her forehead, tucked her hand in the crook of his arm,
then guided her into the dining room. Jesse stood, and the two men
shook hands. The women said hello. But before anyone could
say another word, the swinging door from the kitchen swung open.
"Hello, princess!"
Chloe whirled around. "Dad," she breathed. "You're here!"
"I'm family, aren't I?" he said, beaming.
"Yes!"
She raced over and hugged him. When she looked up, her gaze caught on
Sterling. He looked happy
and pleased for her. And she could only smile and mouth more thanks.
"Let's sit down," she said, noticing the extra chair for the first time.
But before they could move, someone else called out. "Richard! Richard,
where are you?"
Her father blanched, then looked nervous.
When the door swung open again, a woman entered, walked up to Richard,
preened for the camera,
then said, "Silly, aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Bitsy, I told you to wait for me in the kitchen."
Bitsy?
Chloe couldn't imagine who this woman was. Though woman was being kind.
Teenager, schoolgirl,
perky cheerleader all seemed more appropriate. Bitsy was most any man's
dream.
Blond, naturally, darn it all.
Tall, even without heels.
Thin, though with generous breasts that she was displaying prominently.
It would only be fair if they
were fake.
Chloe gaped, then turned to look at her father. "Yes, Dad, aren't you
going to introduce us?"
"Ah, well, princess, this is Bitsy Young."
A more appropriate name, she couldn't imagine.
Chloe could only stare, not understanding what she felt.
"His girlfriend," Bitsy clarified, taking Richard's arm.
Whatever she was feeling just got worse.
"Isn't he a doll?" Bitsy cooed.
Richard blushed. Chloe's mouth closed, then opened again. Kate rushed
over and took her by the arm. "It's nice to meet you, Bitsy. Isn't that
right, Chloe?"
Chloe still only stared until Kate surreptitiously elbowed her in the
ribs.
"Yes," she managed. "Isn't it time to eat?"
Chloe walked stiffly to the table, where another chair was hastily
added. She hated that she was mad,
but she was. She refused to consider why she felt so upset by this
development.
At the table, with the camera rolling, conversation was strained. At
least it was strained for everyone
but Bitsy, who smiled and preened and plastered herself to Chloe's dad.
"So, where did you two meet?" Chloe asked, trying to find it in herself
to be kind.
Her father looked like he didn't want to answer.
Bitsy wasn't as reluctant. "We met three months ago at the grocery
store. You know, the one at the Crossroads. We've been dating ever
since. In fact he just surprised me with the most romantic trip to
Ruidoso."
No wonder he had been so eager to go.
"And what made you return?" Chloe asked.
"Well, your friend here," her dad said. "Trey. He said it was a
surprise."
She turned a baleful eye on Sterling. She might have been thankful
minutes ago, but her "thanks"
quotient was suddenly running decidedly low. He had the good grace to
grimace. "Surprise," he said,
then added to Richard, "You didn't mention that you had your own
surprise."
The meal was an eternity. But they somehow managed to muck through an
hour's worth of eating and talking. Every word Chloe uttered was
perfectly polite.
"Cut," Pete called out. "That was great! Tension, intrigue, the kind of
family dynamic that contrasts beautifully with Mindy's happy,
uncomplicated family. This is really fabulous, Chloe. Good job!"
Like she had planned it.
Richard stood. "Princess, I'll let you finish up here." He leaned down
and kissed her on the cheek.
"I hope I was okay ... I didn't want to embarrass you."
She smiled wanly and watched him and Bitsy leave.
Silence reigned.
"Well," Julia said, "that was some woman."
"Woman?" Chloe bleated, then instantly cut herself off. She was mature
and not about to make a scene.
"Chloe," Sterling said, commanding her attention. When she looked at
him, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I wanted this to be perfect
for you. I never meant to upset you."
"Upset?" she asked. "Me? I'm not upset," she lied. "I'm fine," she
added. "I just need some fresh air."
She pushed up from the table and was out the back door before anyone
could stop her. Afraid to go
home and not wanting to go back inside, she decided to take a walk.
Halfway down Julia's driveway,
she stopped at the sight of an unfamiliar woman coming up the drive.
"Hello, there," the woman called out.
She was dressed impeccably, if outrageously. A bit like Julia,
actually. Her hair was the same color as Sterling's and Ben's. She had
the same eyes, even the same mouth.
"I'm Diana," the woman stated.
She was a tall woman, beautiful, with a smile that was both confident
and knowing.
"You must be Chloe, from the show. I'm Sterling's sister."
She emphasized her brother's name, and Chloe instantly realized that
Diana knew of her brother's subterfuge.
"It's nice to meet you," Chloe responded. "Sterling mentioned he had a
sister."
A flicker of surprise showed on the other woman's face before she
recovered. "So you know. And
I thought I was going to get a little revenge."
"Yes, I know. Actually, I've known for some time."
"Ah, well . . . Good. Glad to hear it. Though if it were me, I'd be
furious about Sterling and Ben's bet.
I guess you're just much nicer than me. Personally, I don't think I
would ever speak to either of them again after what they've done."
It felt like the blood in her veins froze. "Bet? There was a bet?"
Instantly, Diana's eyes glittered and her smile turned wickedly
triumphant. "You said you knew."
"That he's Sterling Prescott, yes."
"Oh, dear," Diana said, though she didn't bother to hide her smile. "I
guess he didn't tell you everything, then." She started to step past
her. "He doesn't know I'm in town yet, but Grandmere told me where I
could find him. I'd better go in and say hello."
"Wait! Tell me what you're talking about."
"Shouldn't you ask Sterling about that?" Diana asked slyly.
"Please, just tell me."
"All right, if you insist." Clearly she was dying to spill what she
knew. "Sterling made a bet that he could save this KTEX TV and win your
heart or approval, or something. Whatever, but Sterling had to do it
without using his name or his money. The deal was if Sterling won, Ben
would have to return to the family business in St. Louis. You can't
imagine how hard we've been trying for years to get the black sheep to
come home. The setup is inspired, actually. You knowing who Sterling is
no doubt is a glitch. But I know my brother. One way or another,
Sterling always gets what he wants."
Chloe stared, her mind reeling. Not only had Sterling lied to her, he
had turned her into some sort of a bet. If the bet worked or not,
didn't matter. She had been some man's pawn.
When Diana started to say something else, Chloe turned on her heel and
headed down the drive. She needed to walk; she needed space to gather
her thoughts.
She felt like she was breaking in two as the whole manipulative plan
finally fell into place. No wonder
she had never been able to understand why he had lied about who he was.
It wasn't a simple misunderstanding, as he had claimed. It wasn't
something he hadn't been able to control. He had controlled and
manipulated the whole thing for a reasonâa specific reason. She hadn't
been wrong
about Sterling Prescott after all. He was a callous, cutthroat
corporate raider who would do whatever
it took to get what he wanted. The fact that he had finally admitted
who he was didn't take away the reality that he would make such a bet
in the first place.
It was bad enough that she had fallen for a man's lieâ she who had been
on guard against them her whole lifeâ but then to have forgiven him so
quickly, so willingly, because he had made it sound so innocent, so
unplanned. Forgiving him so easily made her doubt her judgment, and
that was the hardest part of all.
Questions and doubts circled in her head as she strode down Meadowlark
Drive, the golf course stretching out beside her. If Sterling won her,
if he gained whatever it was he actually wanted, would
he tire of her just as that guy Sid had said? Could she ever let her
guard down around him if he was the kind of man who would do something
like this? Would she have to play games her whole life to keep
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