Page 30 of Reckless King

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

TATE

After my surprisingly successful meeting with Violet, I head back to the office. Now that she’s agreed to go along with this plan, I need to talk to Mark. Initially, she wanted to be the one to inform her brother about the arrangement, but I convinced her to let me speak to him. Considering how she feels about me, I’m not confident she’d have done a good job of selling him on the idea.

Though Mark isn’t likely to take it very well coming from me either, even if the relationship will be completely fake. I wasn’t kidding when I told her he’d warned me away from her before we’d even met. Not that I would have considered messing around with a friend’s sister, especially when I had a whole college of women to have fun with back then. But Mark wasn’t taking any chances, and I respect that.

I’m not prone to procrastination, especially when it comes to unpleasant situations, so when I make it back to the King Group, I head straight up to the legal floor and make my way to Mark’s office.

He’s on the phone when I get there, but when I step inside, he wraps up the conversation.

After hanging up, he leans back in his chair with a grin. “Two visits in two weeks. What did I do to get so lucky?”

He won’t feel quite so lucky in a moment. I pull up a chair opposite his desk. “I need you to write up a contract for me.”

With a nod, he sits up again, picks up a pen and makes a note on a pad. “Okay. What’s this contract for?”

“A relationship.”

He looks up from his pad with his eyebrows raised. “A relationship? Like an NDA? Since when did you start dating?”

“I didn’t. This is for PR purposes only.”

“Is this in response to that photo of you with Serena Worthington? Your brother met with general counsel about it this morning.”

“That and all the other crap that gets printed about me.”

His grin is a little too broad. “I have to say, I never thought you’d go the fake girlfriend route.”

I snort. “Neither did I. I guess Roman’s more convincing than I gave him credit for.”

“Well,” he drawls, obviously enjoying this. “I can’t wait to see how you do with that.” He looks back down at his pad. “Okay, what are you thinking for terms?”

I run through what I’ve already discussed with Violet, and he jots the details down on his notepad, making suggestions of his own here and there. A crease forms between his brows when I tell him the payment amount, but he doesn’t comment.

“Okay,” he finally says. “I’ll get this drafted and back to you for review. Once you’re happy with it and you’ve found the woman, we can finalize it.”

I clear my throat and sit a little straighter. “I already know who it’s going to be.”

Surprise flashes across his face, and he picks up his pen again. “You work quick. So, who’s the lucky lady?”

“Violet.”

He scratches the name onto his pad. “Last name?”

I almost laugh. He didn’t even blink. He’s that sure I wouldn’t be talking about his sister. “Sinclair.”

His head snaps up. “What?”

“Your sister.”

He drops his pen on his desk. “No.”

I lean forward, keeping my eyes fixed on his. “Why not? This is strictly business, and you already know it’ll benefit her significantly.”

“Because she’s my sister, Tate. And you’re… you.”

I school my expression so he can’t see the way his words hit. “And she’s a grown woman making a smart business decision. I have no intention of screwing her over, regardless of what you apparently think of me.”

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