Because You Want Me (Falling for You, Book One) Read Online Free PDF Page B

their family?
    I decided to dial it back and give her what she needed to know. “My dad is sick and decided to add something special for me in his will. If I don't get and keep a girlfriend for a month, I'm ousted.”
    Our drinks arrived just in time. The bartender asked about a tab but I just handed her a couple of twenties, telling her to keep the change.
    Penny took a long gulp of hers before she placed her hand over mine. “I'm sorry about your dad.”
    She meant it, squeezing my fingers tight and sending warm pangs through my chest. I cleared my throat as I used the other hand to white knuckle my drink. “He's lived a full life.”
    “Sounds like he wants to make sure you live a certain life, whether you want to or not,” she mused, staring into her drink.
    Her words meant more to me than I let on. “I'm used to making sacrifices and hard decisions,” I said gruffly. When she gave me a sidelong glance, I lightened my voice and added a nonchalant shrug. “Occupational hazard.”
    “Yeah,” she said slowly, peering at me with a studied patience that reminded me of a teacher having the umpteenth conversation with a difficult student. “But this is more than just a job.” She used her straw as a pointer, making a large rectangle in the air. “I'm guessing you work in one of the skyscrapers downtown and you've been proving yourself since you got your MBA. You dress well and throw money around like confetti because you want people to know that you're successful. The one man that you want to notice hasn't though. In fact, he's kind of crapping all over your work by saying your contribution means so little that he'll take it away if you don't change your Facebook status.” She paused, dropping her gaze as her cheeks bloomed with embarrassment. “Sorry, I get chatty and inappropriate when I'm nervous.”
    “No need to apologize,” I murmured, trying to downplay just how awed I was that she hit the nail on the head. “Sounds like you know something about not being noticed.”
    “I'm a special ed teacher and I've fought to make real changes in my district for my kids,” she explained. “I'm even taking the show on the road to be a thorn in the side of several districts in the state when I get back from vacation. My parents don't even ask about my job because my first mistake was not going into law or medicine. The only question they care about is if I'm dating someone and if so, does he do something respectable?” She angrily chugged the rest of her drink. She pushed the empty glass away and tugged her hair over one shoulder, ringing the brown strands.
    “You know, I do something respectable for a living.”
    She stopped twisting. “What?”
    “I need a girlfriend, and you need a boyfriend. Temporarily,” I added quickly. I was usually on point when it came to selling ideas. I could make even the most unappealing concept, like I'm going to fix your company and lay off thousands, sound like roses because the profits or vision I had for the company trumped the collateral damage. My words stumbled with Penny. It didn't help that she was gaping at me like I'd just asked her to hike up her skirt and mount me.
    “You want to pretend we're dating? So you go to my sister's wedding, and I pretend I'm your girlfriend for your dad and you stay CEO?”
    “That's right.” There was another piece. It could be my ace in the hole—or bring this whole conversation to a screeching halt because she slapped me across the face. “I'll pay you.”
    The words were already out and if her eyebrows jumped any higher they'd fly off her face. Just like that, I’d blown it. She was about to flip me off and get the hell out of dodge.
    “How much?”
    The anxiety immediately transformed into relief and I almost kissed her until I saw that whatever warmth she'd been feeling was hiding behind something brassy. I could see the barbed wire going up before my eyes.
    I didn't let on, casually sipping my drink. “Twenty thousand for one