CHAPTER FOUR: THE PERFECT PLAN

On the verge of entering the kitchen for a glass of water, Ashton almost did a double take at the sight of the forlorn figure at the dining table. Selena Rose McKenzie was crying?! Not crying but pouring? He would be damned! All thoughts of thirst disappearing at the opportunity in front of him For all the fourteen years he had known her, he had never seen her have a moment of weakness. Her job must mean a lot to her for her to break down like that.

He couldn’t help himself. He grinned. Wickedly. Who was he to contest fate anyway? He would take pleasure in torturing her and knew he would win this battle since she was not in her tigress mood. Then suddenly, he remembered what Jake had asked of him and faltered for several minutes before starting in her direction.

As soon as she saw him, she turned her head in the opposite direction to hide her tears most probably. He grinned again. Someone was going to have a hell of a good time here.

“Are you pouring? Can you believe I’ve seen you crying during our last two meetings? Are you getting mushy?”

Selena faced him all trace of tears gone and averted her eyes. “I think it’s time to call the new parents back. Adam will wake up anytime now,” she prevaricated trying to change the subject.

Ashton was having none of it. “So how much were you prepared to offer your boss?” he queried and thoroughly enjoyed the amalgam of emotions flashing in her almost sky blue eyes.

“What?!!” she exclaimed as shock finally won over and became predominant.

Ash grinned popping a grape in his mouth and sneered at her lecherously. “I mean what was he offering you in return of your .. favors?”

Selena sighed heavily in an attempt to move away but Ashton blocked her exit. He watched as she tried to decide whether to ditch his question or relent. She finally slouched her shoulders and looked at him with a defeated expression.

“He had promised me the job of a project leader in his company.”

Ashton cocked his eyebrows in disbelief. Project leader? From what he had gathered, Selena was damned good at her job and five years was enough for her to be in a high-level management position. Especially in the Information Technology industry.

“Which was quite plausible in case you’re wondering anything at all,” she added in a warning undertone upon seeing his expression and completely misinterpreting his silence.

Shrugging casually in an attempt to show her that he couldn’t care less about what deal she had with her ancient boss, he leaned against the kitchen table wearing a frown on his face. His mind was working at the same time trying to assess Jake’s initial proposal before the dinner.

Just before leaving his office, Jake had told him if he wanted to outrun Devin’s matchmaking tactics, he had to marry Selena McKenzie. It would of course be a marriage of convenience; of a duration not exceeding approximately one year. Since Uncle Devin was so hell-bent on pairing him up with that Kyra Hart, he had to think of another alternative to deter his plan and who better than the feisty Miss McKenzie?

Since they hated each other passionately, there was never going to be a probability that she might fall in love with him. Not that he was pompous but he had the problem of women falling willingly at his feet. That was why nobody else would be appropriate for the task apart from the woman facing him with open disgust.

A contract marriage with his best enemy which would last one year would definitely mean no fallouts from the whole event. And it was the optimal time to strike this deal. Since Selena had lost her job, she would need money and he was ready to propose some to many to make sure she was as willing and committed as she should be; he needed complete cooperation. It had been the perfect suggestion from his best buddy Jake.

However, there was some loopholes to his original suggestion and Ash had some amendments to make in the particular deal which would better suit his purpose. He popped another grape in his mouth looking at her pensively analyzing his options while she stared back at him with indecision.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said finally looking at her with hooded eyes.

“Heaven help me!” she muttered under her breath but loud enough for him to catch on.

He grinned despite himself at her expression. She was cute. “It’s a decent proposal,” he quickly added in case she had other ideas. She crossed her arms and finally seeing his serious expression, she looked at him attentively. Ashton had her undivided attention.

“Right, “ he said perching his body on the marble table. “You come to work for me. In a permanent basis.”

Surprise flitted across her features and she gaped at him open-mouthed. “What the hell? You want me to work for you?!”

He nodded.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I have some benefits in that as well.”

Selena tensed. “What do you want in return of the favor?” she quickly snapped already knowing that he would not offer her something without an ulterior motive. That was what he liked about her; she was witty and came straight to the point. Hell, this was going to work out perfectly fine.

Satisfied, he popped another grape in his mouth and said. “You have to pose as my girlfriend for the next few months.”

“What?!!!” she shrieked. “Are you out of your freaking mind?”

“Of course not! As you know, Uncle Devin is trying to fix me up with that Kyra and I really don’t want to get married. To her or anyone else,” he added for good measure in order to clear any misunderstandings or wrong assumptions she might have.

She nodded not able to work out anything by the look of it.

“Well, Jake has given me an idea. He has asked me to marry you and…”

“Uggggh!! What are you saying?”

He sighed. “At least hear me out. Then you can go hysterical if you want.” He paused making sure she was still with him and went on. “Yah so I was saying he asked me to marry you on a contract basis and we should end the marriage after a year or so. In that way, the attention of Uncle Devin would be diverted and I will be left in peace.”

“Why me?” she asked in a shrilly voice and Ash smiled inwardly. She was in such a shock the poor soul.

“Because we would never fall in love. You hate me as much as I hate you or even more I guess. So there’s no probability that you would ever fall for me or vice versa of course.”

“And in return, you would give me a job?” she asked in a voice he could barely recognize as hers.

“Yah as my executive assistant.”

She gulped. “What’s the catch?”

Again, he could not help smiling inwardly at her astuteness. She knew him so well!

“Well, I don’t want to get married even for a short time. And besides what if one year later, Uncle Devin starts to work on my case again? I have a better idea than Jake.’

Selena nodded warily and stood near the window expecting something explosive. And well she wasn’t going to be disappointed; he had a shocker coming up.

“You pretend to be my girlfriend for say…four to five months and then just before the wedding, I break up with you. Make up whatever sob story you want and paint me blacker than the devil himself. Adultery, negligence, you name it.”

He heard her sharp intake of breath and knew she was going to refuse him before a word came out of her mouth. Okay, he knew he was coming on a bit too strong but he had no choice. If he wanted to get married, he wanted it to be his choice. Not because of some bloody ultimatum. He would never accept someone Uncle Devin had chosen for him and would never allow his parents to meddle in his private affairs. He was a grown-up man who handled a multi-national enterprise and considered himself eligible to make his own decisions.  

“Ash..” she began.

“You’re jobless, remember?” he cut in trying to put his best argument forward. When Jake had asked him to marry Selena, he had been stunned. But as he was driving on the way to the Crighton penthouse, it made perfect sense. He wanted to marry Selena even lesser than he wanted to marry Kyra. But with the latter, there was a risk of her falling in love with him and Selena eliminated that risk right away.

And besides, if he ended up being married to Kyra, he would have to stick to his promise not really having the heart to break his mother’s heart. But marriage had been too far-fetched in Jake’s plan. He did not want to take it as far as marriage; an engagement would be fine. Some obvious romance maybe. And then he would execute his plan of action.

Whatever reason Selena picked for his deceit, he did not mind. He cared a damn about what people think of him anyway. Of course, he would have to pacify his mother for some time but he knew she would forgive him eventually. The more ruthless he proved to be, the lesser the probability that they would try to fix him up with someone else after that. It was the perfect plan.

Damn! He was so good. Maybe he could try planning a murder next!

Selena closed her mouth at the reminder and swallowed down her protest as he mentioned the amount of her salary. He wasn’t playing fair.

“You don’t play fair.”

He smiled this time unable to stop himself from admiring her. She was on the same wavelength as he as always. “I never said I did. Think over it. I give you three days.”

“Three days?! I’m not…”

He suddenly jumped off the table and approached her slowly giving her time to back out. “It’s either going to be a yes or no. I don’t think you need more than three days to ponder over my proposal. My terms are non-negotiable.”

“Right then, you can have my answer now. It’s a clear-cut no. Hell, I cannot even stand the sight of you and you’re asking me to pretend to be your girlfriend?! I would never be able to play the part, we wouldn’t even be credible!”

Ash remained silent trying to keep his optimism. She was already thinking about considering his offer and it had to be a good sign, right?

“You leave that to me. I promise I will stop fighting with you no matter what. And…”

“No, Ashton. This is really crazy. I will never be able to pull this off. And besides, I’m not really that desperate, you know.”

Damn! What could he offer her more than that? He had assumed that since she was ambitious, her career would be a great offer. Ashton had to think of something quickly before the deal went out of his hand. Usually, his business strategy was to offer more money. Which he applied here also.

“Oh yeah? What if I offer you half a million dollars?”

“H..h..half a million dollars?” she croaked nearly choking.

It had to be a colossal amount for her as she was not very rich. And Ashton knew money meant a lot to her as she wanted to prove to the world that she was successful and bright too. Why she felt the need to do that, Ashton never knew. He was one who cared a damn about what the world thought of him.

“I give you half of the amount as soon as you join my company. And half of the amount on the day you break up with me. So what say?” he said moving closer to her and felt the usual chemistry between them. He was not even angry with her this time and was trying hard to fight it back. She gave no indication whatsoever of being aware of him and showing her that he was attracted to her would be a big dent to his ego.

“Let me think about it. But you have to promise not to torture me anymore. In any way and by that I mean no foul words, no insults, no taunts, no disgusted looks…”

 “And no side benefits,” she added as an afterthought.

Ashton was puzzled. “What do you mean by that?”

“No sex. No kissing. No touching,” she delivered promptly counting the element on her finger one by one as she stated each.

“Oh come on! How are we going to be a couple if we can’t touch? Don’t be silly. Okay for the first two. Don’t worry I have plenty of my share of kissing and sex.”

“Not while you’re engaged to me, you won’t!” she exclaimed indignantly.

“What?!! No way! I..”

“Okay then, I’m out of it!” Her expression said it all; she would not compromise on that bit and he was damned if he had a choice.

“Okay, Okay. Whatever you say. What if I’m discreet?” he asked trying to push his luck as he always did in his business dealings.

Selena shook her head and he felt frustrated. No sex for the following five months?! He would be starved! Well, not really. Not that he was over active in that area; he had not bedded a woman for the past six months but he had a reputation to keep! Everyone around him seemed to think he was a sexual machine and he loved living to the expectations of others; especially when it didn’t bother him at all.

“Okay, applies to you as well. No boyfriend or lover for the next five to six months.”

 “Done! Let me call you in three days and get back to you when I think it over. I don’t want to hasten in this deal and suffer from any fallouts after that.”

Ashton agreed. Giving her time to think was okay with him too because he wanted to think it over as well. He did not want to rush in this deal and find himself cornered or trapped later on. Maybe he should draw a contract. He suggested the idea to Selena but she was reluctant.

“Ashton, I have known you for more than ten years. If anything I know about you is that you wouldn’t cheat on our deal. Even if I hate you, I trust you on that. And I would request you to do so as well because if we’re going to pretend to be lovers, things are going to change between us.”

Even as she said those words, he felt his heart swell with something he could not define. She trusted him? Now that was a novelty to him. Well, for the record he trusted her too. She was not one who would go back on her words or promise; she was someone with high morals and principles. Of that he was sure.

“I will be making a list of my conditions however just to make sure that we’re clear.”

“Conditions?” he repeated not enjoying the fact that she had added that particular clause. Hell, he should be the one on his guard. Miss McKenzie was supposed to be at his feet begging him to reconsider his proposal and to make it on a more permanent basis.

“I need to think it over and hand you over my conditions. If you agree, I will go through the deal else I may have to reconsider. So I will meet you Saturday afternoon to confirm whether we have a deal or not.”

“Sure,” he finally conceded. “If we agree on going forward with the deal, you will have to drop in the office Monday. I will ask my secretary to draw your contract and you can start as from Monday itself. I assume that you have no conditions for the job?”

He assumed correct as Selena shook her head in negative answer. “I was thinking more about the engagement part.”

“Fair enough. Ah and before I forget, if we come to a mutual understanding on Saturday, we have to go shopping for your engagement ring.”

“Right! We would need that to make the story more gullible.”

Ashton was glad that they had found a ground of understanding and he felt an uneasy feeling swamp over him. The fight was gone out of their relationship and he was having new sensations coursing through him at standing so close to her. She always had an effect on him but he had always tampered it down due to the incessant fights between the two of them.

With the fight element out of the picture, the sensations seemed to have magnified and he was having a hard time cooling off his libido. Suddenly, he was noticing how her lips looked lush and kissable. How her body was well-toned from exercise and how the dress she was wearing clung to her body. How her skin glowed under the kitchen light which made him want to touch it just to feel the texture.

Without warning, he felt himself growing hard and the temptation of touching her became so powerful that it nearly consumed him. Hell! That was not part of the plan. But he would have to manage his damn attraction and made sure that she did not even get a whiff of it. It would be his downfall. Needless to say, if she got to know how he was feeling, she would relish the power she would have on him and would make him dance to her tunes most probably. Something he would never ever allow himself to do. He had to get the hell out of there before he did something he would regret and humiliate himself in front of the high and mighty princess.

“Well, I’m outta here. Jake would be coming any time and I need to get back to my office to finish some work. See you Saturday then.”

“Deal!”

As Ashton shook on it, he had a feeling that nothing was ever going to be the same again but his maverick nature shrugged it off excited for his coming new role playing game adventure.