Page 43 of Escorting the CEO
And I’d lied to my Grammy.
The shame hit me as I finished drying my hair. Forced to meet my own eyes in the mirror, I didn’t like what I saw. Yes, I’d signed a contract to marry Rhodes Barrington to protect my family. Would I do it again? Probably—there weren’t a lot of options for a girl like me.
But that knowledge was cold comfort as I fled my reflection, hustling to make sure I was on time for the man I’d traded my integrity to marry.
THE BEST LAID PLANS
RHODES
Rory racedinto my office and slammed the door behind her.
“What’s the matter?” I asked. “Are you being chased?”
“No,” she said distractedly, “but I ran into Miranda in the hall a little while ago, and I didn’t want a repeat performance.”
“That’s understandable. What did she say to you?”
“Oh, you know, the usual.”
Rory flopped into the chair across from my desk. She was wearing the same sweat suit from last night, her face bare of makeup. For some reason, I thought she looked even prettier than usual.Maybe it’s because you know she’s a virgin?
“So it was bad,” I said, trying to focus.
She sighed. “It wasn’t good. She accused me of marrying you just for the money. When I told her that I loved you, she snorted.ThenI told her that we wanted to get married ASAP to start a family because it would be good for Luke, and she…”
Rory bit her lip.
“She what?”
She looked up at me, clearly miserable. “She said that we were using Luke and that it was bad for him.”
I winced. “Miranda’s the one who’s trying to use him,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but she’s not wrong about what she said. Is she?” Rory asked. “If we’re telling everyone we want to start a family to give Luke cousins, but it’s actually just a cover story… Thatispretty shitty.”
“What do you want me to do?” I sat back in my chair. “I’m not giving Luke to Miranda. She’ll screw him up faster than even his mother could. Ineedto get custody of him—it’s what my brother wanted.”
“I know that,” she said softly. “And I think that’s what’s best for him, too. But he’s been through a lot. And we’re not exactly ideal-parent material.”
“He’s already attached to you,” I said, and immediately regretted it.
“I know that.” Rory looked like she might cry. “And I care about him, too. It’s just making me feel like we’re doing something really wrong. Something that’s going to hurt him in the long run. I didn’t think it through.”
“What are you saying?” My pulse quickened. “Do you want to back out of the contract?”
“No,” she said quickly, “I can’t. I have my own family to think about, remember?”
When I nodded, she continued, “It’s just that I already feel bad that we’re lying to everyone. When you add Luke’s situation on top of it, I feel sick.”
“We don’t have to use the ‘starting a family’ angle,” I suggested. “Would that make you feel better?”
She shrugged. “I already told Miranda, so it’s sort of beside the point. I just think we need to be careful, that’s all.”
“Careful how?”
Her eyes met mine. “Careful with Luke. I don’t want him to get hurt even more.”
I nodded. It had occurred to me that, at the end of our five-year term, Rory and Luke would be saying goodbye. He wouldstill be a little boy, and he would be crushed. Luke was collateral damage to our contract, even though I’d signed it for his ultimate benefit.
