What Money Can Buy (5 page)

I
regained my composure. "And yet
, all the money in the world can't buy health and family and love."

"No," Jason replied, sitting at his coffee. "But money gives you choices. It's the difference between getting the best treatment and sometimes getting no treatment. It's the difference between being able to give loved ones things you know would make their life easier
or
more pleasurable and not. More than anything, it takes aw
ay so much of the
worry of day-to-day life. You may find this hard to believe, but I never get stressed. There is virtually nothing that money can't fix to some degree. So, in that regard,
it
even buys you
r
health. If there's something you really can't deal with, or need outside help with, you just pay for someone to do it. So it's not so much happiness, or health,
or
all those other things that money brings, Lauren. All those things are simply by
-
products of the choices that money affords."

I sighed, taking in his handsome features. The more he spoke, the more we talked, the more I felt myself falling for him.
God
, I thought.
Please don't let this be a sham. I hope he's not just using me. I couldn't handle that, not with everything else that's going on.

"Do
you
get jealous of people with money, Lauren? When you see how it could solve some of your problems, for example?"

I thought for a moment. "No, never. I don't begrudge success. It's not a crime to be rich
. I would never judge, because i
f something amazing happened to me then how would I feel if everyone I knew began to look at me differently?"

Jason took out his credit card and
beckoned
the waiter over. "Il conto, por favore."

***

We made love passionately that night. It was different, more considered
and slow than the outright sexuality of
earlier in the Palace. Jason was
generous and
meticulous in his desire to give me pleasure. He certainly did, in spades. When we had showered and
got back into bed
, he kissed my shoulders and brushed his fingers delicately against my cheek.

"I have a
favor
to ask you, Lauren."

"Uh-oh."

He sighed and
I turned
to him. "You're not going to like it."

I narrowed my eyebrows. "Is this why you brought me here, to tell me this? Am I about to find out the reason I'm in Italy with you? Because I don't think it was to take notes. I haven't taken any and you haven't provided me with
one
word of dictation."

He looked me
straight
in the eyes, a cheeky smile
forming on
his face. "Okay, full disclosure. I did bring you
here
to ask you to do something. But I didn't expect what happened between us
earlier
to have happened at all.
Well, maybe not so soon.
I don't want you to think
for a second that what I’m about to ask
diminishes it. I've loved every second
with you
on this trip, Lauren. Every second."

I took a deep breath. "Come on then, Mr
B
illionaire. Hit me with it."

"I have a very important meeting tomorrow, our last meeting before we leave. It's a little way from here, in
Ver
ona. The last six years I've been trying to get a contract wi
th a distributor out here. They are a
husband and wife team, and they have most of this northern region of Italy sewn up. This deal could potentially add over $
50
million in profits per year to the company. Plus, it gives me an excuse to come here more often."

"So what's the catch?"

He looked sheepish. "I want you to come with me. Charm the pants off them, which
won’t
be difficult for you. You are, after all, the most charming person I've ever met."

I sat up in the bed and stared at him. "Enough with the compliments," I said firmly. "This is leading to something. If all you want me to do is go there and be nice to people, then that's not a problem."

"There's just one
little detail. You'd be going… a
s my wife."

My
jaw dropped." Your wife? You…y
ou want us to get married?"

Jason sat up and shook his head, laughing. "No, no, no. I want you to pretend to be my wife. You see, one of the reasons I've never got this contract in the past is because they think I'm a bit of a child. A playboy, so to speak. I'm good friends with them, b
ut they think my lifestyle is…let's just call it
immature
. So…I told them I'd be stopping by to discuss things and I'd be bringing my new wife. You."

I was incredulous. Not only was he asking me to lie, he was asking me to pretend to be married to him. "You have
got
to be kidding me."

He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“Nope.”

"And what happens further down the line? In six months or
a
year
’
s time? Ar
e we still going to be married th
en?"

"Depends," he replied. "If things have gone well, we
might have children. If not, we’
ll be divorced. We'll have to see how it goes. Relationships are difficult things, you know."

I slapped him on the shoulder. "Stop kidding! This isn't funny! This is ridiculous. You can't pretend to have a relationship with someone – hell, to be married to someone – just to get a contract."

"Watch me."

I glared at him. "And if I say no?"

"You won't."

I narrowed my stare, my blood boiling. "What if I say no, Jason?"

"
Simple," he said with a smile. "
I'll fire you."

I sat looking at him
,
open
-
mouthed. "Please," I begged, starting to cry. "I need this job more than anything…"

He threw his arms around me and held me close. "Oh God, Lauren. I was only joking. I'm not going to fire you, I adore you." He took my face in his hands and kissed me gently. "I adore you."

I looked into his eyes, and something told me he was telling the truth. He was ruthless,
un
ethical at times, and had a terrible reputation. But he wasn't a liar. I was absolutely sure
of
that. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my eyes. "You really want me to do this?"

He nodded.

"Okay," I said reluctantly. "I'll do it. I'm not happy about this, not even remotely. But I'll do it."

"Thank you, Mrs King."

I
started to giggle, despite my anger
. "Don't call me that."

"You'd better get used to it. As of tomorrow, we've been married for three months. Oh, and don’t worry. I have the rings."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm doing this. What do I
get for my end of the bargain
, anyway?"

"This." He kissed me, slowly and softly, and we both sank back into the soft Egyptian cotton beneath us.

I was still furious with Jason by the time we had landed back in New York. The meeting at the
v
illa had gone well, at least as far as Jason was concerned, and it appeared he would get the contract that he had wanted. I still felt guilty about being so complicit with such a charming couple, but there had been no awkward questions – only a recurring theme that he had been incredibly lucky to find someone like me. On at least two occasions, I had been told that I had tamed Jason – something that neither of them believed was ever possible. I wondered what they meant by that. Was he even wilder than the
rumors
had suggested? So far, I hadn't seen it. But, then again, a few days ago I would never have imagined that I would have been having
sex up against the
wall of
a 15
th century building. I guess your perception of risk become
s
skewed when you're
in the company of
certain individuals.

I kept wondering what
Jason had in store for me. Had
I served my purpose now? Would I be sent
eight
floors down again to transcribe boring letters to suppliers and creditors? Or would I simply be dismissed, sent back to the temp agency for my next job, becaus
e I wasn't needed any
more? I had grown sick of hopping from job to job, from company to company. I was smart, talented and being discarded like gloves on a railing had got to me over the last couple of years. Maybe it was time for a change in my life. No
matter what plans Jason had
in store for me, this little adventure had made me
realize
th
at if you don't take risks, there
can never be any real rewards.

All of this
thought
of change was well and good, but I was more concerned about my father as I touched down in New York. I didn't have to be back at King Enterprises until the next day, so I made a point of going straight to the hospital. I was jetlagged as hell – we had
been delayed, and the flight had
ended up taking over 10 hours – but something pulled me to him.

Jason had arrived much earlier than me. He ha
d taken a private jet from the villa in Verona to check in on
a
nother
supplier in northern Italy. He was going to come straight back to New York after that, while I was left to
head back alone
. I didn't mind. It had given me time to think, to read, and to sleep.

My dad was weak when I arrived. He was coming to the end of his chemotherapy treatment and, although his cancer was dramatically in remission, it
had
literally
knocked the life out of him. I had been warned time and
time again that
the treatment was always far worse than the disease. If it hadn't been for a clumsy fall while digging in his backyard, and a routine checkup thereafter, we might never have even known how ill he was until it was too late. Now, his life had
been saved. But I knew we had
a long road – and an expensive one at that – ahead.

I brushed his hand delicately with my fingers. "Hi
D
ad. How are you?"

He smiled a faint smile, his gaunt face filling with
joy
at the knowledge I was there. "Like I've been run over."

We both laughed nervously. As awful as this had been, there was only one way to get through it – to be positive and to never stop smiling. I stayed for a while but
h
is
sleep
was more important than having a conversation with me. I could go back the next day, when he was a little bit more
rested
.

As I headed out of his room I stopped by the
administrative office
. "I'm just checking," I said to the deputy nurse who I now
knew
like a sister. "
Do
you have a receipt for my last payment? I just need
to hand it
in to the insurance company, that's all."

She looked at me with a wide smile. "Well, yes we have. Did you win the lottery or something?"

I looked at her, unsure what she meant. "The lottery? What
do
you mean?"

She pulled out a slip of paper and showed it to me. "No more bills,
Lauren
. All of your father's treatment has been paid for indefinitely.
We received an order this morning.
"

I looked down at the receipted invoice to see a familiar address.
1515 North
Avenue
. The headquarters of King Enterprises. I looked up and felt tears streaming down my face. "Oh my God," I said, my mind blank. "I don't believe it. Oh my God."

I rushed straight to King Enterprises, desperate to see Jason. When I arrived, the building was virtually empty. It was well past
10pm
and I
nervously pushed the elevator button to go to his executive office. My head was swimming, filled
in equal parts
with joy, anger, emotion and dread. As I neared his office door, I could see the lights were on. He was there.
He was in
.

I tapped nervously and pushed the handle. He looked up at me from his desk and a smile filled his face. I slowly walked towards him, my hands
s
haking. I felt them form fists at my side and I approached his desk, only to once again find all my
mixed
emotions
drop away, replaced only by an overwhelming desire to kiss him. His smile seemed to reach into my chest and caress my heart, and if I wasn't falling in love in such a crazy, ridiculously short amount of time, it sure as hell felt like it.