Page 26 of Seduced by Her Billionaire Fake Fiancé

Some of the group laughed.

“Yes, a slim majority,bella,” Max’s eyes met Andie’s, and he winked at her, in a way that somehow soothed her frazzled nerves and even went part of the way to settling her temper. It was all for show, but apparently that didn’t matter to her central nervous system.

“Nothing will change in the short term. Andie will continue on as CEO. I’ll come on board as Executive Director, but functionally, it’s business as usual.”

For now? Andie wondered, because she knew Max wasn’t the kind of man to buy into a company and not anticipate making wholesale changes. Nonetheless, they’d be fewer than what the Santoros would have implemented.

“Most of you know we’d been in talks with the Santoros about a sale of the entire company. The idea of losing this business that meant so much to my parents, of selling it to someone else, was anathema to me.”

“And to me,” Max added, squeezing her hand. “So given our personal relationship, a business partnership was the next logical step. And we will be working very much as partners,” he responded. “This is a positive step for Acto.”

They answered questions for the next fifteen minutes, mostly pertaining to group operations, technical questions regarding office locations, and Max continually reiterated that nothing substantial would change, at least not initially. “I want to understand how things operate before making any decisions on a shake up—and those decisions will only come about after much consideration and discussion with Andie.”

The executives seemed mollified, though Max did add, “I won’t lie to you. It’s likely some structural changes will be necessary, but I don’t know what that will look like yet. We will advise and consult as appropriate.”

That caused a few rumblings, but the meeting drew to a close without major incident.

Andie sighed a huge breath of relief as they filed out, one by one. “And now,” she said softly, “for Dante Santoro.”

Max studied her carefully. “Would you like me to be with you when you place the call?”

She would have loved that, but her reliance on him was already starting to spook her. She found it so much easier to tackle challenges when he was at her side. It was a weakness she wouldn’t indulge in because, at the end of the day, this was just pretend. All of it, except the business, and on that score, Andie had worked hard to carve out a place for herself in the company that stood independent of nepotism and parental indulgence.

“No, I’ve got this,” she said with a casual wave of her hand, projecting a calm confidence she didn’t feel.

“Okay,” he moved towards the door. “I’ll be in my office.”

It slammed into her as he left that Max would, naturally, have an office in the building. That she could go to him anytime of the day, and that he could come to her.

A tremble ran down the length of her spine.

She sat down at her desk, drew in a calming breath, and called Dante Santoro’s office.

A woman answered—not his regular assistant, though. Andie had spoken to Portia enough times, had met her in meetings, to recognize the other woman’s voice.

A moment later, Dante was on the line. “Andrea.”

He’d always used the full version of her name, despite her inviting him to call her Andie.

“Dante,” she sighed as she spoke. “You’ve read the report.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry you found out that way. I wasn’t aware my father intended to shout my personal commitments from the rooftops, but there you have it.”

“Proud fathers are the same the world over,” Dante responded, then paused. “How well do you know him?”

“My father?” She joked, then sighed again. “Sorry. He’s my fiancé. So, well.”

“I don’t know if you do,” Dante responded, his voice tight. “You see, Andrea, I’m concerned that he might be using you, to further an ancient conflict between our families.”

“I know about that,” she said gently. “He’s not using me.”

“How can you be sure?”

How could she answer that without explaining that she, in fact, was using Max? Using his rivalry to motivate him to do what she wanted, to inject a huge amount of money into her parents’ business, whilst retaining her position at the helm? It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than losing control completely.

“I’m sure. And I’m sorry. It all happened very fast. I had no intention of lying to you. When we first began discussing the sale, it was in good conscience. But then, I met Max…”

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