Page 5 of Seduced by Her Billionaire Fake Fiancé

“You might be, but I’m not. Regrettably, my dating history is laid bare. So too the fact I’ve already been engaged once, to a woman I did indeed live with. The Santoros—and your father—will easily see through your ruse if we do not make it seem authentic.”

She bit down into her lip. “But we wouldn’t…it wouldn’t be…” She forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down, to stop acting like the innocent virgin she was. “I’m not having sex with you or anything.”

“Heaven forbid,” he responded, more mockery in his deeply accented voice.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I. Believe me, Andie, I have as little interest in a personal relationship with you as you do with me.”

“It’s just, we’re going to be working together,” she explained quickly. “And I don’t want anything to complicate that.”

“When we are around colleagues, business partners, we will also have to play the part,” he continued thoughtfully.

“Yes, we can both act our hearts out,” she said with a lift of her shoulders. “But behind closed doors, there’ll be clear boundaries in place, always.”

“That sounds like a wise precaution.”

“Okay,” she expelled a shaky breath. “Wait a second. Are you agreeing to this?”

“You’ve read my wants well,” he complimented her darkly. “I will stop at nothing to acquire Acto, and you’re offering it to me on a silver platter. I’d be a fool to say no.”

“Yes, you would be,” she said with a feeling of such intense relief she almost fainted. “Then why don’t you look over these contracts? If you’re in agreement, I’ll take them back to dad tomorrow and get him to sign off on the deal.”

Two

FOR ALL SHE SEEMED prepared and wise beyond her years, it was clear that the young heiress to the Acto fortune hadn’t thought through the details of this deal they were making.

“No, that’s not how we’ll do this.”

She visibly bristled at his tone, but Max ignored that. He was used to getting his own way, doing things as he suggested, at all times.

“I am not the kind of man who would leave it to his fiancée to break this news. If we were truly engaged, and in love, as you’re trying to convince your father we are, then I would have a far greater hand in managing this scenario. And so we will go to him together,” Max said. “It will be more difficult for him to say ‘no’ if I’m there.”

“And it will make it seem more real,” Andie murmured slowly, nodding, her pale hair, so fair it was like sunshine and corn, shimmered in the afternoon light.

“Exactly.”

But it was clear that she was nervous about that. Max didn’t mean to be intimidating. He just couldn’t help it; he was born this way. He was not a man who smiled often, nor was he someone who made a habit of bending over backwards to put others at ease. Max was full of self-confidence and he expected the rest of the world to operate on the same terms.

“Okay,” she said after a beat. “We’ll go tomorrow.”

A surge of adrenaline spiked in his veins.

He loved little more in life than thwarting the Santoros. But unfortunately, because they’d over-extended right before Covid, it was a goal he’d had to shelve for the last few years. But now Andie Scott had appeared in his office, presenting him with an offer that was too good to refuse: even if it did come with the slightly messy caveat of a fake engagement.

Nonetheless, he had no issues with faking it. As he’d reassured her, the villa was more than large enough to accommodate both of them with very little inconvenience. He’d barely see her. There could even be a silver lining, he thought, moving towards the documents to glance over the contracts she’d prepared. If they were going to be working together as partners, getting to know each other in a personal sense might make that easier to accommodate.

“The only sticking point then,” he said, flicking over the top page and reading the second, “is the percentages.”

“I’m not negotiable on that.”

He made a tsking sound. “Of course you are, Andie. And I’m sorry to say, you’ve already shown me how much this matters to you. Given the choice of retaining an equal stake or no stake whatsoever, I know what you’ll choose.”

Her lips parted and a dark emotion swirled in her beautiful features before she could tamp it down. “That’s not fair.”

“It’s business.”

She compressed her lips.

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