Page 11 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just kind of hard to imagine somebody as uptight as you actually letting loose enough to punch somebody in the throat." I eyed him curiously, wondering what else would surprise me about him.

I saw the corner of his mouth tug upward ever so slightly. "It happens more than you might think." Then, his face settled back into that stoic expression he seemed to favor. “Look, I would not be out here at a taco truck, trying to get my little sister’s best friend to agree to being my fake fiancée, if I wasn’t worried about how this fall out with the company would affect Penny.”

That made my ears perk up. "Well, then, spell it out for me because I don't get how it would hurt Penny all that much. She knows that big companies like yours get bad press every now and then. What's so scandalous that it could hurt her?"

He hesitated, looking down at his empty taco wrapper. “How much has Penny told you about our father?”

That was a weird subject change. "Not much," I told him. "She has admitted to me that she doesn't remember him all that much."

His eyes flashed as they met mine, "Good, I worked hard to make sure that happened."

I couldn't help but feel the kneejerk reaction of bristling. I adored my father, and I would give anything to have more time with him. I'd often felt sorry for Penny for never having that experience. She'd claimed that Spencer had been more than good enough as a substitute father, but sometimes, I couldn't help but get the notion that there was something missing there for her, a certain hollowness that just could never be filled. "I'm sorry?" I asked, hoping to God that Spencer would explain himself a little better.

I saw his nostrils flare slightly before he looked at me like I was much too young and naïve to understand. "Don't look at me like I did something horrible. He was a monster, and I did everything I could to ensure that an innocent child didn't have to carry the burden of being related to that cad. I will never regret my decision to shield Penny from him."

"Was he really that bad?"

He leveled his gaze at me. "He was worse."

I let this information marinate for a moment and wondered what Penny would do with it if she had it. Penny had a soft heart, but she was a tough woman. I couldn't help but think that Spencer underestimated her ability to handle such information.

"Look, these employees I fired? They were part of the company long before I was around, a couple of them before I was even born. But between them and my father, they got up to some shady business dealings, stuff that would run them out of town these days. When my dad passed away, I vowed to do everything I could to turn the company around, and so far, I've done pretty well. Unfortunately, I was still stuck with those employees. They're a smart bunch and knew how to hide their indiscretions well. But finally, finally," he said, shaking his fist, "I caught them dead to rights, and I could get them out of there properly."

I watched him carefully as a storm of emotions played out in his eyes. He struggled to get out his next words, so I filled in the blanks, "So now, they're singing like canaries?"

"Exactly. Personally, I don't give a shit what they have to say about anything, but there's some stuff that Penny doesn't need to know about her father…or her mother."

I looked at him in confusion. The story I always heard was that her mother had died in childbirth, and for all accounts, she was a perfectly bright, personable woman.

Penny had once told me that she used to beg Ralph for details about her mom, but all he would tell her was a resigned, "Well, I would say that you have her determination, my dear." This knowledge always warmed Penny. She just wanted some part of her mother that she could carry around.

"What's this have to do with her mother?"

I could see the tinge of sadness in his eyes caused by my question. "More than Penny should ever have to know. Look, I'm not going to get into details because they're not mine to share, not really, anyway. And I will ask that you keep this to yourself, but I can tell you that neither one of her parents were good people. Penny always assumed her mom was some kind of saint, and I never tried to convince her otherwise because I thought she deserved to at least have some fond hope for a family member instead of what she got."

I suppressed the shiver at the thought of all the secrets that could possibly have been hidden from Penny. From the look on Spencer's face, however, none of it sounded like anything I would ever want my best friend to be a part of.

"I'm sorry to hear all that," I murmured quietly.

"I've worked hard to make sure that Penny is in a good position and that she's not stunted by anything that happened in the past. She was the innocent one in all of us, and she shouldn't have had to pay for any of her parents’ sins, but I fear that if the attention is not taken away from these employees, that everything will all come out—and all that hard work I did to turn the company around to be something positive and to make sure that Penny is happy and healthy…it'll all go down the drain."

I stayed quiet for a long moment while I studied the chipped wood of the table in front of me, idly rubbing my hand across my chin and thinking.

Sighing, I asked him, "Hypothetically speaking, if we were to do this, what would we say to Penny? I mean, it would be kind of bizarre that her big brother and her best friend are suddenly engaged."

He already had an answer prepared. "For one thing, we would need to be sure that you and I are on the same page and that we have a game plan when we talk to Penny together. She knows there's been an uproar at the company, and she knows about Ralph's fake fiancée idea. We'll give her the bare minimum of details, and I will assure her that I am paying you amply for your services."

"No," I said before I could stop myself.

His eyebrow furrowed. "What do you mean, no?" I could tell from his offended tone that he was not used to hearing that word all that much.

I shook my head. "I mean, I'm not taking anything from you. If this plan is really about protecting Penny, I'm not taking one cent from you."

He gave me a small, tight smile. "Yeah, I understand that you want to be a good friend, but I don't think she would begrudge you one bit for taking a payout for something that's going to turn your life upside down for a little while. Besides, it's the least I can do."

I chewed on my lip as I contemplated his offer. "Fine, but I don't want to you to give the money to me. I want you to make a donation to the school in my name, and we need to lay out some ground rules first."

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