Page 30 of Counterfeit Connection

“Well. Well. Well. It seems you’ve taken a real interest in something that doesn’t involve money or the making of it. Maybe you should be the one to kiss and tell.”

“We did not kiss so there’s nothing to tell. Good God…we sound like a bunch of hens.”

“Wait. So you’re telling me you didn’t have sex, you didn’t even kiss, and you were alone with that blond beauty all night?! Are you feeling well, Griff, because that is the least like you thing I’ve seen in years.”

“The truth is much more salacious than a romp in the sheets.”

“Now, this I have to hear.”

When the kettle sounds, I pour two very large mugs full and add the tea bags. Within a few silent minutes, we’re seated across from one another at the very desk where Kaitlyn and I hammered out some of the details of this very bizarre and unconventional arrangement. I’ve felt like my friend’s eyes have been boring holes in me the entire time since the girls left. Will he exhale or is this opening Pandora’s box?

“Before I say anything else, it should go without saying this conversation stays in this room. No one else knows. In fact, if you weren’t my best friend, I’d be pulling out an NDA.”

“Calm down, Jesus. I’ve kept your secrets…each and every one. I don’t think I’d be selling you out to the rags. Get on with it.”

I laugh. “Someone’s beat you to the punch. Pictures of our evening out have already made it back across the ocean, in record time, I might add. Within an hour of you retreating to your chamber with Katarina, I was fielding a phone call from my father referring to Kaitlyn basically as my prostitute du jour.”

“What? Your father is a class A fucker, but even that is a new low. What did you say to him?”

“That’s where it becomes a little complicated.” I grip the back of my neck and sigh. “I told him he better watch how he speaks of her, because she’s my girlfriend.”

I watch as fifteen different emotions make themselves known on my best friend’s face before he finally settles on confusion. “What in the hell would possess you to do that?”

“It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it. I’m sick of listening to him constantly berating me, so I did what I had to in order to stop it.”

“I’m assuming Kaitlyn heard you? What was her reaction?”

“My back was to her when my foot swiftly hit my mouth. I didn’t see her face, but when I turned around, well, let’s suffice it to say, I don’t want to play poker with that woman. I fear I'll fall for her bluff every time.”

I pull my mug into my hands as I slowly begin pacing in front of the windows overlooking the city. “Kaitlyn is extraordinary. She refused to accept any apology I offered her for my bringing her into the lion’s den. She held my defense of her above the lie I told.”

“So what now? How are you going to tell Papa Shaw the truth?”

“I’m not. We’re not.”

“I don’t follow…”

“Kaitlyn and I have come to a mutually beneficial understanding and compromise. She has agreed to pose as my girlfriend for all intents and purposes, temporarily, until I’m able to square away my father and all of his baggage. Once the paperwork is signed and the company is securely under my control, we’ll ‘break it off.’” I sign air quotes with my words.

“Mate, I fear, for the first time in my entire life, you’ve rendered me speechless. This is… certifiable.”

“I thought you said you were speechless.”

He’s right, though. This is certifiably insane. On what planet is this a good idea?

“I am speechless. I speak fluent bullshit, innuendo, and generally enjoy taking the piss out of you. All I’m left with is a mind full of questions I don’t know if you’ll answer.”

“You might as well try me. I’m out on this branch. Go ahead and break it.”

“All right. Pose as your girlfriend, you say. What does that mean exactly? I can think of several scenarios and the woman I met wouldn’t just…”

Tobias waives his hands in front of him, wanting me to lead where I know he wants to go. “There are several intimate details to be worked out, but I refuse to have her on those terms. I wouldn’t want her on those terms. She’s too…pure for that.”

“And this was her idea? She does seem the type that wants to fix things, being a lawyer and all.”

“Almost entirely. She listened to my side of things, twisted her hair up into this adorably sexy thing with a pen, and got to work. She read over my contract with my father, marked all over it, and this scenario was what came of it. Am I aware that this could be messy? Absolutely, and that’s what gives me pause. On the other hand, am I willing to enjoy having her on my arm and by my side for all the world to see? Yes, that’s true too.”

“Then what’s the problem?” he asks.

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