The innocent and romantic Gemma Wakefield overhears Declan Starr, a notorious playboy and the CEO of the company where she works, saying some terrible sexist things about women to his friend. Tired of his way of behaving, Gemma is set out to teach him a lesson and unleashes a media storm against Declan. She announces to the newspapers that Mr. Starr is finally going to settle down and get married… to her. What is going to follow is a tornado with more fury than she’d ever expected, since Declan is not going to take the news calmly. He’s furious and decides to demand that she act as his real fiancée as payback. What follows is going to change both their lives forever.
View More“Has he arrived yet?”
Gemma approached slowly the reception desk. The girl working there looked at her a little puzzled.
“Come on, Adele! Don’t keep me hanging here! Is he already in the building?”
She sat down at the reception desk, turning to face Adele who sat behind her. The receptionist gave her another bemused look and replied in the most innocent tone.
“Who? Elvis? Nope, he left the building a long time ago!”
Adele tried not to laugh when Gemma started to shake her head and mimicked an amused expression.
“Oh, my God, you’re so funny! Your talent as a stand-up comedian is wasted at ‘Starr Computers’… You should save a spot at ‘Gotham Comedy Club’… They will appreciate your humor there.”
Sighing, Gemma gave her an impatient glance.
“Come on, Adele! Don't tease me this morning! I’m not in the mood to play around. So, please, answer my question, since you know very well who I’m referring to.”
Her friend quirked one eyebrow.
“Had one of those nights, did you, Gems?”
“Morning, actually. So, help me because I’m dying here. Has he arrived?”
“Okay, okay! I gather you mean Mr. Starr? Then yes, Declan Starr arrived about ten minutes ago.”
“Damn it!”
Gemma frowned her displeasure.
“Why do you ask? Why this slight desperation? Did you want to see him?”
“No… Not really.”
She pursed her lips.
“I'm… He… Oh, shoot! How was he? What did he look like? Did you see him?”
She watched the other girl closely. Adele gave her a strange look, dealing hurriedly with a call that came through on her switchboard. They weren't due to open until nine o'clock, and yet invariably there were calls coming through before then.
“How do you think he looked?” Adele replied finally. “How does he always look… Yummy, gorgeous, breathtaking… Just as tall, dark, and handsome as usual.”
“He didn't look… well… Erm… different?”
Adele gave a firm shake of her head.
“Girl, Declan Starr always looks the same. He always acts the same. He walks in here, gives me an arrogant nod like I don’t matter in this world, and then walks straight into his private elevator. He does the same thing in the evenings, only in reverse. The man's as impersonal to his employees as the machines his company produces. Three years I've worked here now, and he still wouldn't recognize me if he saw me out in the street.”
Their conversation was broken off as the office workers started to crowd into the building in preparation for starting work at nine. As the receptionist, Gemma found the next half an hour very busy, directing people up to the various offices and dealing with incoming calls and other mansions.
The morning rush over, Gemma relaxed in her chair for a few minutes. Adele was kept busy with her switchboard, which gave Gemma time to think. She was a fool, a huge idiot.
She was likely to lose her job for what she had done, and it was a good job, paying very high wages. She must have been temporarily insane, must have had a moment of pure madness in order to do what she had done.
When she had seen the announcement in the newspapers this morning, Gemma had felt sick, physically sick. This wasn’t her real self… She wasn’t like this, petty and revengeful. Besides, he didn’t even know her. Never, not once, had Declan Starr acknowledged her presence.
Well, up until that moment, no one else had seen it… at least, no one had commented on it. But someone had to see it soon, it was so noticeable. It had seemed larger than life to her. It had been there in the newspaper for all to see… An intended marriage between Gemma Wakefield and Declan Starr. Her own engagement to the CEO of this prosperous computer company!
And to make matters worse, he knew nothing about it… about her! She picked up the internal telephone on her desk as it began to ring.
“Gemma Wakefield speaking,” she said automatically.
“My office! NOW!” snapped a deep male voice.
Gemma almost dropped the telephone in her panic. It was Declan Starr… It had to be! She cleared her throat.
“I… I beg your pardon?”
“Trust me, you'll do more than that once I'm finished with you,” he growled. “Be in my office in exactly five minutes.”
The receiver was slammed down at the other end. Gemma didn't need to be told that Declan Starr knew about the announcement in the newspapers, the anger in his voice had been enough. Besides, he had hardly ever spoken to her before, and there could be only one reason he wanted to see her.
“Babe, you’re white as a sheet… Are you alright? Everything okay?” asked Adele, slightly touching her hand.
Gemma realized with a start that she was still holding the receiver in her hand. She put it hurriedly back on its cradle.
“I… Um… I have to go up… to one of the offices. Would you… Uh… Would you look after the desk for me for a while?”
“Of course,” Adele agreed readily.
She didn't quite know how she got into the private elevator for the tenth floor, but somehow, she seemed to have managed it. Gemma had only ever used this elevator once before in the six months she had worked for ‘Starr Computers’, and that had been two weeks ago when she had been induced to seek this terrible revenge on him.
It had all started when the model had arrived to take the advertising photographs. No one else had been available to take her up to Declan Starr's office and so she had offered to take her up herself. It had been a good excuse to see him.
As Adele had so rightly said, he walked in the mornings and out again at night, taking no notice of them in reception at all. As it had turned out Declan Starr's executive assistant had gone to lunch that day and the EA’s secretary was off sick.
Gemma had hardly been able to believe her luck when she had stepped out into the outer office. The place had been deserted, which meant she would actually get to speak to Declan Starr herself.
Since the day Gemma had begun work here, and Declan had walked into the building to begin his day's work, she had fallen for him, hard, madly, deeply. He was so gorgeous… like a film star or something.
He was tall, well over six feet, with a lithe athletic body that suggested he did not spend all of his time in an office, his skin tanned from much time spent in the sun. His dark hair was always perfect, his deep grey eyes narrowed and enigmatic.
But if she had been instantly attracted to him, he hadn't reacted at all. Those grey eyes looked right through her like she was made of glass or something. She knew she wasn't beautiful or anything, but she wasn't that plain either.
Her golden hair swung easily down her shoulders in gleaming waves, her deep blue eyes surrounded by long thick lashes, her small uptilted nose, curving mouth that was never far from a smile, and slight slender figure all added up to an attractive young girl.
And yet to Declan Starr, she might not even have been feminine. But she knew he wasn't always that reticent about noticing a woman's charms. He was reputed to have had many beautiful women in his life at one time or another. And his completely self-assured arrogance pointed to them not all being platonic relationships.
No, here was a man who had shared his bed with many women, and he had known how to satisfy every one of them. In a way, it had been his confirmation of these conquests that had sparked off her desire to hit out at him.
Leaving the model in the outer office, Gemma had passed through to the reception room. In here, she could hear the faint murmur of masculine voices and had realized Declan wasn't alone.
Gemma soon knew the reason she could hear their voices too. The office door was slightly ajar. She was just about to knock on the door when she stilled when she heard the obnoxious words being murmured in her boss's deep throaty voice, his amusement obvious.
“I don’t care, man… I'm afraid I only find women good for one thing,” he scoffed lightly. “And I don't mean… housework. More… house calls... if you catch my drift,” Declan added with a laugh.
She had stepped back with a gasp. What an arrogant ass! The nerve on this pompous prick! The meaning behind his words had been obvious and Gemma had waited open-mouthed for his companion's answer.
Gemma knew she should really knock on the door, make them aware of her presence before they said anything else, but she was held mesmerized by the arrogance of the words she had just overheard.
Pulling the card key for the room from his pocket, Declan looked at her and held it above the slot. Gemma slid the card from his fingers and inserted it. When the access light blinked green, she pushed open the door and stepped into the room ahead of him. The entire room was bathed in candlelight and flowers… She turned and reached toward him. As Declan took her hands in his, he met her gaze, losing himself in eyes that seemed both brazen and innocent. With a smile that matched her gaze, Gemma pulled him through the doorway and into her arms. For a moment, she stood pressed against his chest, fitting so perfectly. Her supple warmth flowed into him, heated Declan further still. He already held her, touched her before but somehow it felt like his first time doing it.&nbs
Gemma opened the bedroom door and walked into the sitting room of the hotel suite. The look in Declan’s eyes let her know she did the right choice. She'd chosen her dress because of its sensuous fabric and unusual design. The champagne-colored dress had a draped bodice front and back, which was barely tacked together at the shoulders, leaving most of her arms bare. The front dipped low but only hinted at what lay beneath the silky cloth. Declan took a few steps towards her then stilled.“Wow… You just took my breath away…” he murmured in front of such perfection. Gemma smiled at her future husband and felt a hot and cold shudder going up and down her spine.“You’re shivering…”
Before she could open the door entirely, someone swung it open, giving the lie to her statement. Declan was the only one arrogant enough to walk into her home uninvited like he was the master of the domain. He was dressed quite casually. Her heart jumped nervously at the sight of him.“Declan,” she said slowly. He smiled easily, completely unlike the cold front he had been showing to her all week. His eyes narrowed slightly as Jerry came to stand beside her.“Am I interrupting anything?” he asked softly.“Yes… No!” Gemma wanted him here, but she didn't want another argument. Before he had seen Jerry there had been a softness in his gaze that she had never seen before. Gemma looked at him sharply, a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The trauma of the last couple of days took its toll on her and Gemma fell asleep in the chair. The sleep was just as drugged as the night before and she felt sure that the person hammering loudly on her door must have been doing so for some time before they finally woke her. Gemma staggered as she stood up, pushing her wayward hair out of her eyes. A glance at her watch showed her it was almost seven o'clock in the evening, and the rumblings of her stomach told her that it was high time she ate. She hadn't eaten anything substantial for two days and now felt weak with hunger. Another argument with Declan was the last thing she felt able to handle. But it wasn't Declan standing nervously outside her door, it was William, his brother.“Finally… I was starting to worry…” he sai
Gemma looked into Declan’s eyes, trying to understand what the hell was going on…“What wedding, Declan? Since when are we supposed to get married next month?” Gemma demanded of him. They had arrived back at her flat five minutes earlier, after spending an hour with Declan's father. Declan would be returning to the hospital shortly, but he had made it obvious her presence wasn't needed. He looked back at her but didn’t answer.“Declan, would you, please answer me? I asked you what wedding was your father talking about?” Gemma repeated impatiently. He gave a taunting smile.“Ours, darling… Of course,” he finally replied.“Are you high? You know very well there isn't going to be a wedding! I already told you I have
“Gemma, please…”“I don’t want to be a baby about it… I just… I care about your family… I've met them… And I was… I am worried about all of them… about your father… about you...” His grey eyes flashed angrily.“Do you think I didn't realize that?” he snapped. “You had told me most definitely... you wanted to know, so I came around to your flat.” A terrible trembling started in her lower limbs. He was there… and she really called him ‘sweetheart’…“You… you did?”“Yes, Gemma,” Declan confirmed wearily. “It must have been three o'clock by this time. You'd already gone to bed. And you'd foolishly left your door unlocked,” he added sternly.&ldqu
“Of course, Gemma,” William acknowledged. She gently touched his arm.“I told you how I felt about Declan from the beginning.”“Yes, you did. I'm sorry I tried to cause trouble between you two yesterday. I don’t understand what came over me…” If only he knew how much damage he had done! But he and Declan had enough to worry about with their father's illness without her raking up old arguments. Gemma gave him a vague smile before rushing into her bedroom. Declan was partly dressed by this time, his black leather shoes back on his feet and his shirt pulled back on over his powerful shoulders. His look darkened as Gemma came into the room and she ran into his arms, her own arms passing around his waist below the unbuttoned shirt.&nbs
“W-waiting for me?” Gemma repeated breathlessly. Declan stood up now and came towards her.“Mm-hmm,” he murmured. “Your glorious eyes were promising interesting things tonight… And I have no intention of letting any other man collect them.”“Promising interesting things?” She held on to the towel that was in danger of falling off to reveal her body in all its naked glory.“You… you're quite mistaken, Declan Starr!”“I don't think so, sweet darling.” He touched her pale cheeks.“You don't look well, Gemma. Have you been ill?”“No. I’ve been just fine, thank you very much,” she answered huskily, unnerved by his closeness.“Really? Not
She looked quickly away, all color leaving her face.“Would you mind if we sat down, Jerry?” she asked breathlessly. He put an arm about her shoulders.“That last one wore you out, did it?” he teased. Gemma gave a shaky smile.“Yes.” She deliberately swapped seats with Jerry, her back now firmly turned to the couple she most wanted to avoid. This was so… unfair… So hurtful and painful…“Gemma?” Jerry touched her hand. She smiled at him wanly.“Sorry, Jerry. I think I have a headache coming on.”“Would you like me to take you home?”&n
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