Page 68 of The Unplanned Wedding

"Not at all. Just appreciative of your professionalism, is all."

"Now youaremaking fun of me."

"I told you already, I’m not. And it’s your fault I broke it off with her."

I gape at him. "M-my fault? I don’t understand."

"Priscilla’s convinced I have a thing for you; so is Mary, for that matter."

The way he says 'thing' in a caustic tone has my cheeks blazing.

"I told both of them they were mistaken, but there’s no changing their minds." He looks me up and down. There’s anger in his tone, but his gaze… It's confused, and filled with lust, and something else. Reluctance. That he’s attracted to me, I’m aware, but just how much he’s been trying to resist it is something I now realize. It’s empowering, but also confirms, there's no chance of any kind of relationship between us.

"Well, you did chase me that day in the gym?—"

"And bend you over the conference table and spank you. And madeyou almost come at the royal reception. Also, I haven’t forgotten that I promised you three orgasms." He nods. "Which goes to show, there’s chemistry between us, which will be helpful."

"Helpful?" I shake my head to clear it.What is he talking about?"Sorry, I’m not following you. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I quit this morning." The words are out before I can second-guess myself. Not sure why I put it out there. Perhaps, to remind him that the boss-employee relationship between us no longer exists?

"And I’m here to accept your resignation."

A hot sensation squeezes my chest. My stomach feels like a black hole has opened up in it.Why am I disappointed? Did I expect him to come here and tell me he wants me back? And even if he did, it's not like I would've accepted it.Not even now that he's not going to marry someone else, for he’ll never be within my reach.

Knox Davenport, former Marine, now CEO within the Davenport group, is a billionaire and one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. I am no longer his assistant. Our association has ended.So why can’t I stop myself from hoping he’s here to ask me to work for him again. It was your choice to leave, remember? And it was the right choice.I set my jaw, "If that's all…"

"It isn’t."

His voice is stern and deliciously firm. And has a compulsiveness to it that I can’t resist. I haven’t been able to resist him from the moment I laid eyes on him. He, on the other hand— I tamp down on my thoughts and look at him from under my eyelashes.

"I have another job for you."

"A job?" I scan his features, and the gleam in his eyes sends my pulse rate into overdrive. The hair on the back of my neck rises.Whatever he's going to say next, is not something that I want to hear… Do I?

"A job." He nods.

"What…" I clear my throat. "What is it?" The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.

His lips twist. "Marry me."

27

Knox

"Not for real, of course," I add.

Her eyes bug out. It would be almost comical, but for the fact that I’m being perfectly serious about my proposition.

"You want to fake marry me?" Her tone is puzzled.

And rightly so. I went by Priscilla’s place right after my discussion with Mary. Priscilla told me she sensed I had feelings for my assistant at the lunch at Arthur’s place when we announced our engagement. She accepted my decision to break off the engagement with relief, not least because she has feelings for Tyler. No, she didn't admit that, but it seems clear.

I insisted I'd be the one to break the news to Arthur and her brother Toren. She was grateful, and the two of us discussed the best way to do it.

The mess is my fault, and I should be the one to clear it up. I'm sure she's a perfectly fine person, but we hardly know each other. I should have known there'd be no future for us, not when I'm so preoccupied with my assistant and the things I want to do to her.

Now, I widen my stance. I needed to find a solution to deliver onArthur’s stipulation, else Gramps was sure to hold it over me, and I really want that house in Cumbria. It’s only when I walked in here and saw my assistant that I realized what my subconscious had planned all along. And the more I think about it now, the more it seems like this is the only way out.

"I want you to be my wife for all practical purposes, except in the real sense."

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