Page 105 of Knocked Up by My Fake Fiancé
Unless…
My intercom buzzes. I press the button. "What is it, Carissa?"
"Um… Ms. Marina is here. She says she needs to speak with you. Urgently."
"Tell her I'm busy."
"I did. She says it's important, and she's willing to wait all day."
Irritation crawls down my spine. What the hell does she want?
The last time Marina showed up, she talked in circles without saying a damn thing. Then came the "pushed or not pushed" fiasco at my parents' place—hardly something that endeared her to Jenna. I can't blame Jenna for that either.
I'm tempted to tell Carissa to say I'm in a meeting and can't be disturbed, but I owe it to Jenna to get to the bottom of this. Better Marina deals with me than tries to reach Jenna directly. I never want those two to cross paths again if I can help it. Marina brings chaos, and Jenna deserves peace.
God, Wolfe, listen to yourself. You're such a goner over her, aren't you?
I can't help but smile. Yeah, maybe I am. I thought I'd be a lifelong bachelor. I thought my heart was ironclad, impenetrable. But somehow, Jenna Marlowe slipped right past every defense.
It's a little terrifying to admit, but there's nothing I can do about it now.
Either way, better to hear Marina out, let her say whatever she came to say, and be done with it.
"Let her in," I say. "But tell her I've only got five minutes. If she's not out by then, knock and remind me of my important conference, got it?"
I plan to make this quick—ideally, under one minute. Hopefully this time she can actually spit out whatever it is she's come here to say.
Marina strides in confidently in a red pantsuit, her hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head. It used to be my favorite look on her—used to drive me half mad with lust. Now I just picture that same style on a certain red-haired beauty instead.
Marina smiles. "Nice of you to find time for me, Grayson."
"Hopefully, you can make this quick," I reply flatly. "I have an important conference call starting any minute. You've got two minutes—and if you came here to ask me to hand the CEO position to my brother, you've wasted both your gas and your breath."
Fighting words, I know. Still, with Marina's pregnancy and me breaking the nose of one of Wolfe Group's most important clients, the CEO seat might already be George's by default. My father still hasn't called about yesterday's circus, but the moment the story reaches him—and it will—there's going to be an explosion.
"I didn't come here for that," she says quickly. Her eyes flick to the newspaper still in my hand, and a look of sadness crosses her face. "Ah. I'm too late. You've already seen it."
I glance down at the paper, suspicion instantly crawling back up my spine. "You know something about this?"
"It's not what you think." She raises her hands defensively, then sinks into one of the guest chairs opposite my desk. "I got a call from a reporter a few days ago asking for a statement. I hung up, of course—but I thought you should probably be on the lookout for an article about you. It's one of the things I wanted to tell you earlier, but I never got the chance."
You had plenty of chances. You just didn't say anything."
"You didn't give me the chance."
"Or maybe you couldn't get it out for some reason." The suspicion thickens. "Tell me—was it George? Did he pay that reporter to write a hit piece just to secure the CEO role for himself?"
She hesitates, eyes dropping to her hands. "I… don't know."
"Don't lie to me, Marina. For once, be honest. Was it him?"
"I really don't know for sure."
"But you suspect it, don't you?" I lean forward, voice low. "That's why you've been struggling to tell me anything. Because you know I'd put two and two together—and figure out George was behind it."
My mind races. The pieces click together, but the picture still doesn't fit. It doesn't sound like George at all. My brother's a lot of things, butschemerisn't one of them. It's always been one of his biggest flaws—too lazy to plot, too spineless to manipulate. Still, it's been a while since I really knew him. People change.
"So why are you here now?" I ask.
