“You want me to consult on how to ruin Craig’s relationship?”
“No. We can talk about makeup and facial products. You are a cosmetic chemist, after all. And our consultants get paid a flat fee instead of an hourly rate.” Then he named a figure that was three times my previous annual salary.
I couldn’t help it. I gasped. “Why is it so much?”
“Consultants get paid more for their expertise and because we don’t have to pay benefits, given that it’s a short-term arrangement,” he said.
Wow. It was a lot of money. I could replace all the appliances in the kitchen that had been born before I had. It would also mean that I could buy that high-shear mixer. The red one. My precious.
To stop any further objection, he added, “You would technically be employed by KRT, so there wouldn’t be any conflict with us ‘dating.’” There was a tone to his words that indicated it wouldn’t have mattered to Minx if he was my boss.
At least he didn’t remind me again that the company didn’t have a nonfraternization rule. That would have annoyed me.
And if I’d had any dignity, I would have told him no. That he could keep his fancy job that paid a ridiculous amount of money and the opportunity to win over the man I was in love with, no matter how improbable it all seemed.
Unfortunately, dignity had never been my strong suit.
“All I would have to do is hang out with you?” I asked.
“It would be a bit more involved than that, but essentially yes.”
I tried to bring up that fantasy I had of Craig, and for a few seconds, I saw his face as we walked, holding hands, but it kept shifting to Marco. I don’t know what that was about, but I wanted what I’d initially imagined. Craig and me together, having our happily ever after.
“Do you want Craig?” he asked, almost as if he could see my thoughts.
“More than almost anything,” I admitted.
“Then give this a chance. We can both get what we want.”
This was all so bonkers. My grandma would have so much to say about it if she knew. That kind of made me want to do it.
He must have sensed my resolve weakening. He said, “You can’t think about this like you’re trying to hurt people. You want to be with Craig, and you think he would be happy with you. My company stays safe. We would all be happy.”
“Not Leighton.”
“Leighton could move on to finding her next victim. I don’t think she’d be too heartbroken.”
Besides the Leighton stuff—he was right. This was a perspective I hadn’t considered yet. How this might be a beneficial thing for both Craig and me. This could mean me ending up with the man of my dreams. Why would I miss out on that opportunity? Marco was also spot-on about changing the outcome of my current situation. If I didn’t do something, I would have zero chance with Craig because he was going to marry someone else.
I hoped this wasn’t a mistake.
“Okay,” I said, rushing the words out before I could change my mind. “I don’t see how it’s going to work, but I’ll give it a shot.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Yes!” Marco said, clapping his hands together as he beamed at me. “I do think that we can do this if we work together.”
I wanted to believe him, but it was difficult. Especially given how simplistic his actual plan was. It was full of holes, but I’d give it the old college try.
“We should probably keep this between us,” he said. “Secrets tend to have a way of coming out.”
“I have to tell Catalina. She’s my best friend, and she works at Minx. She would definitely notice if I suddenly started dating her boss’s boss’s boss with no explanation. She’s smart. She would figure it out.” Plus, I had the feeling I was going to need the moral support.
“What about your family? Do you need to tell them?”
“My grandparents aren’t going to care about you unless you suddenly decompose or grow a beak and feathers.” Becoming dirt or a bird was honestly the only way they’d be interested in Marco.
He picked up his water. “Well, I’m definitely not telling my family for obvious reasons. Anyway, I feel like we should make this official. A handshake or a toast or something.”
“A toast,” I said quickly. I didn’t want to hold his hand again. It seemed unwise.
“To saving my brother from himself,” he said.
“And Minx Cosmetics.”
We clinked our glasses together and both took a quick drink. “You should try your pizza,” I told him. He was the one who had wanted to come here. I felt bad that he hadn’t eaten anything yet.
He picked up his slice and did the weirdest thing ever—he folded it in half lengthwise. “What are you doing?” I asked in alarm.
“This is how you eat a slice in New York. I went to boarding school there during high school.”
“Like a taco? That’s culinary blasphemy.”
“You need structure in your crust or else you get the flop.” I wanted to tell him this wasn’t New York and our crusts in California already had plenty of structure, but he gave me a mischievous grin and took a big, wolfish bite. I wanted to laugh but refrained.
When he swallowed his food, he said, “So tell me what you were working on before you quit.”
I figured it’d be safe to share that information because I’d done the work at his company. We ate while I told him about all of my recent professional projects. I wondered who had taken them over and had a brief pang of regret. I kept expecting him to interrupt me or change the subject, but he didn’t.
He also didn’t get that glazed, bored look in his eyes. He seemed interested in what I had to say. This was nice. He would make a great brother-in-law.
One thing at a time, I told myself. I was jumping too many steps ahead. First, Marco’s completely sane and totally-based-in-reality plan had to work.
After we’d both eaten half of our pizzas, the waiter brought over a couple of boxes and the check. Marco made a big show of paying the check, and I didn’t offer to split it. He could afford it. I thanked him and grabbed my jacket to put it back on.
“Before we go,” Marco said, “we should make plans to get together soon. We should go on a date.”
“A date?” The words squeaked out of me. I’d thought we were just going to pretend to date. It just hadn’t clicked that we might actually go on a real date. Together. In the same place at the same time.
Him paying for lunch didn’t count.
“Yes, a date. You’ve seen them on TV—now have one of your very own.” He was teasing, but the reality of it felt unsettling. “Like I mentioned earlier, I think we should do a couple of practice dates before we specifically spend time around Craig and Leighton.” He took out his phone and scrolled through it. “It’s too bad there’s no red-carpet events coming up soon. We could get our picture taken together and put on some website. Craig’s assistant has a Google alert set up with my name.”
I did not want to know how he knew that. Totally believable, though, knowing Gretchen. “I may know a way to get his attention.”
Marco looked skeptical. “Really?”