Page 29 of Accidental Proposal

“Soon, I think.”

“From what I hear, she is a looker and very nice. I hope you will have her by your side at the Annual Benefit this Friday. I bet everyone will be dying to meet her.” I had forgotten about the Benefit completely. The idea of taking Jenna and having everyone stare at her was not all that appealing. I knew the people who attended those events. They would tear Jenna apart immediately. Everything about her screamed lower class and that she didn’t belong at an event like that.

“I don’t know. We haven’t even told anyone else besides my parents yet,” I said.

“Liam, everyone will find out eventually, whether you want them to or not. It’s better to do it yourself, before others do it for you.”

“You are right.” It was true. The moment anyone got wind of my engagement to Jenna, they would be on us like vultures. They would try to find out where Jenna had been, what she did for a living, who her parents where, and, of course, rumors would fly faster than the fall of Rome. People would make up the worst things about Jenna marrying me for money or fame, how she was some spoiled little rich girl who wanted to take over my business, or even that she was pregnant with my child. Whatever people wanted to say, they would. It was better to be on top of it before anything like that could happen. Jenna and I needed to announce it ourselves and in a big way.

“I better get going, son. I have a meeting at noon to take care of. Tell that fiancé of yours I can’t wait to meet her.” Brian stood up, interrupting my thoughts. Smiling at him, I hugged him goodbye before he left my office. I sat back down heavily in my seat, rubbing my forehead. This deal was a lot harder than I originally thought.Jenna and I have a lot of work to do to before the Benefit on Friday.

As it was nearing noon, I figured I’d better go home and warn Jenna and talk to her sooner rather than later. With practically all my work done, I told my receptionist to take any of my calls for the next two hours, as I would be out. I’d been at work since early that morning, so I’d gotten everything completed early. Ever since Jenna moved in, I had been staying at the office later, or all day for that matter. I didn’t want to go home and have to deal with her questions and silent stares. I didn’t know what was sadder: that I didn’t want to be home with my fake fiancé or that I’d rather be at work.

Getting in my car, I drove home thinking about how angry Jenna would get at my news and at the idea of Lennon teaching her how to act. Lennon knew just as well as I did that you had to act a certain way around snotty rich people. If you didn’t, then you were immediately picked on until you couldn’t take anymore and had to leave. A girl like Jenna would be picked apart in minutes. Pulling into the garage, I slid out of my Audiand headed inside. The moment I stepped through the door, I heard a loud voice down the hallway.

“You little bitch, you are supposed to be helping me!” I heard Jenna saying.Who is she talking to?“You have to move! Ugh!” Confused, I headed toward the sound. Grunts reached my ears, and the sound of huffing.Sounds like she’s having sex.

Coming to a stop in front of my spare room, my eyebrows flew up. Pushing and pulling the desk I put in there a while ago was Jenna. The room was scattered with tarp, with a few paint cans and brushes, and a ladder off in the corner. Jenna was dressed in a pair of worn pale blue skinny jeans that did very well for her ass, and they had a few rips in them by the knees. She was wearing a tight black tank top that had a few splatters of red paint on it. Her blonde hair was pulled onto the top of her head with a few strands falling out and sticking to her sweat-covered neck and forehead. She grunted, pushing what looked to be all her weight against the desk, trying to move it.

The walls were outlined with blue masking tape, and a few spots had red paint. Turning my head to my right, outside by the door was the mattress leaning against the wall. When I looked back at Jenna, I watched her as she grunted and huffed, not making any progress.What the hell is she doing?I stared at my fake fiancé, wondering why I really did choose her.

Chapter Thirteen

Jenna

After pushing and pulling that stupid desk, I finally gave up when it only moved an inch. Panting, I leaned against it and wiped my forehead.I really need to get in shape.A clearing of a throat made me look over toward the door. Standing there was Liam, staring at me like I had lost my mind. His eyebrows were raised, and his arms were folded across his chest. I looked around the messy room and bit my bottom lip, looking back at him. I gulped, anxious to see if he was going to yell at me.

“What are you doing?” he asked, pushing off the wall and walking into the room. He turned to me, waiting for my answer.

“Uh, redecorating?” I supplied, watching him move.

“Why this room and not your own?”

“I liked all the colored walls in the other rooms but not this one, so I decided to repaint this one. That’s okay, right?” I asked.

“Sure. It’s too late now anyways to say no.” He shrugged at me. Even though that wasn’t much of a yes or a no, I felt relieved.

“What are you doing home?” I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans, looking at him. Seeing him dressed all fancy, then me standing there sweaty in a pair of old torn jeans and a tank, made me feel dirty and small.

“I need to discuss some things with you.”

“Okay, um, can I get a glass of water first?” With just a nod from him as a response, I squeezed past his big frame and headed toward the kitchen. I already knew whatever Liam wanted to discuss with me wasn’t something I was going to like. Come to think of it, whenever Liam wanted to “talk” to me, I didn’t like it. Or it got me deeper into the hole I’d dug for myself.

Getting a glass of water and gulping the whole thing down in minutes, I turned around and almost crashed into Liam. He had been standing right behind me, watching me drink. I had already come to terms with the fact that I had to do whatever was asked of me, whether I wanted to or not. I was going to take everything in stride and go along with what Liam wanted to discuss.

“What did you need to talk about?” I asked, leaning against the counter.

“You have to listen to everything I say before getting mad, okay?” Liam asked, looking at me weirdly.

“Okay…” I was starting to actually get nervous.

“This Friday is my company’s Annual Benefit, and you are coming along with me.”Okay, that isn’t so bad.

“Okay, I can do that,” I started to say, but Liam stopped me.

“That’s not all. I am going to need Lennon to teach you some of the basics before we go.”

“The basics?” Did Liam think I didn’t know how to act properly or something?

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