Chapter 9

Jax I watched Reine who looked like she was in a battle with her mind, and I stifled a chuckle. She fascinated me. I enjoyed watching her fight whatever effect I had on her. The joke was on her though because she affected me as well. I was not going to push it, though. I knew I could if I wanted to. And I knew that if I pushed it, she was most likely going to fall like a house of cards. But that would be no fun.

It was much more entertaining watching her trip over her feet fighting a palpable connection. I saw the goosebumps that appeared on her neck when I stood behind her. It could have been caused by anything, but I knew that it was the effect I had on her.

“No, I am not second-guessing anything, Mr. Coleman. Did you want me to, perhaps?”

I smiled at her poor attempt to turn the tables around on me.

I walked around and faced her. Her beauty still mesmerized me, just like it had the day we first met. Her face was seemingly bare of any kind of makeup except for her lips. They were coated with gloss and they looked so plump and tasty. Her braids were down this time around and I wondered how it would feel to pull on them… I controlled my thoughts and my eyes trailed down. I was giving her the same treatment she had given me, and I didn’t have to look up to know that there was a scandalized look on her face.

I stopped the perusal, not wanting my thoughts to go any further than they already had. Just like I had predicted, when my gaze went back to Reine’s face, she was staring at me with a shocked look on her face. She looked very innocent, almost like she could do nobody any harm. That image was a direct contrast to the one I had already painted in my mind. The one about her being a desperate gold-digger who would stop at nothing to supplement an extravagant lifestyle.

I shook my head. Whatever she was, was none of my business. I needed her for one thing. The rest wasn’t supposed to matter. It was none of my business what she wanted to use the money for and what kind of debt she had gotten herself into. All I had to do was make sure that she was the right person for what I had in mind, make sure that everything about the lie I wanted us to live went smoothly and that was it.

“Are you done with your perusal?” Reine asked.

I chuckled, then I said, “I wasn’t done. But let me spare your sensibilities for now.”

It was obvious she wanted to retort. But then, apparently, she thought better of it and shook her head. I wanted her to express herself, but it was fine. I had no idea how I knew but I could already guess that getting her to open up to me in any kind of way was going to be hard—extremely so. I loved a challenge, though, so it was all good.

“Let’s go to the living room,” I said, then gestured in the direction of the said room.

Reine walked slowly in front of me. My eyes slid down to her behind moving sensually in the dress, but I looked up. The last thing I wanted was to find myself with thoughts that were going to make the night hard for me—pun intended. I motioned for her to sit on the couch while I walked to the bar and picked the bottle of wine and the two glasses I had already set aside.

“You drink, I hope?” I asked when I got to the couch.

Reine looked up at me with a startled look on her face. A few seconds later, she had relaxed a little then she answered, “I don’t.”

That surprised me but I didn’t ask. I had promised myself I would not try to pry, and no matter how much I wanted to know, I wasn’t going to ask.

I took the bottle away quietly then walked to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of apple juice. If she wasn’t going to drink, then I wasn’t going to either.

I poured the apple juice into two wine glasses and passed her one. Reine took it with a grateful smile and sipped immediately. I watched her, fascinated again by her movements. She put the glass on the table in front of her, then I noticed her left hand shaking a little. Why in the world was she so nervous? For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why.

“I don’t bite, you know,” I said.

Reine looked up at me, that same startled look on her face.

“Hmm?” she asked.

“I said, I don’t bite. You look scared.” My voice was quiet this time around and my statement elicited a sigh from her.

“I don’t know, I’m not scared…”

Reine sighed then she looked up at me. “Okay, fine, I am. I’m very nervous. I don’t know if I made the right decision coming here, or even accepting your lunch offer yesterday. I just feel weirded out by everything, I guess.”

I nodded. I couldn’t even fault her for that. It was very normal. But for some reason I couldn’t explain, I wanted her to accept my offer and sign the contract. I could have pretended that I was a concerned person and I wanted her to clear whatever debt she had gotten herself into. But it was a lie. If I wanted her to accept my offer and sign this contract, it was for purely selfish reasons.

One: I had that strange fascination with her and until I figured out how exactly to make it go away—maybe by getting her out of my system—I wanted her close to me. Maybe it was the newness of it all and the fact that she was unlike anybody I had ever met. There was a mix of innocence and worldliness in her that I just couldn’t put my hand on.

Two: I didn’t know how to explain it, but as soon as the fake fiancée scenario had popped into my head, she was the only person I saw occupying that space. I didn’t think I would be able to pretend with anyone else. And it didn’t matter that I had known this girl for just hours. I just knew she would make a perfect fit.

“Are we not going to talk about what brought me here in the first place?” she asked, after taking a sip of her drink.

I wasn’t going to rush this. For a reason I couldn’t explain, I wanted this to be like a normal dinner. Of course, we were going to talk about the contract and its terms, but I wanted both of us to enjoy this evening. I wanted her to chill a little and let herself go. It was clear she had a lot of learning to do in that regard.

“We should eat dinner and get to know each other first, don’t you think?” I asked, leaning into her.

I watched her face, and my gaze lingered a little too long on her lips as she pursed them before coming back to her eyes. I didn’t want to force her hand into anything. If she told me she had no desire to get to know me, I wasn’t going to push it.

When she said a little “okay”, I couldn’t help the smile that spread on my face. I stood, placed my glass on the small table in front of the couch, and stretched my hand out towards Reine. After a few seconds of what I assumed was hesitation, she put her glass down as well and took my hand. I led her to the dining room, which was already set, pulled a chair out for her, and when she looked like was comfortable, pulled the chair next to her and sat.

I would have sat opposite her. But I didn’t want us to be far away from each other. I wanted to see all her reactions clearly and watch her very expressive face go through all its emotions.

“So, tell me, Reine, where are you from?” I asked when both of us had served ourselves.

Reine picked up her cutlery, opened her mouth and closed it, then opened it again before answering. It was clear that getting to know her and killing that fasciation I had with her was not going to be easy. Nut if I was being honest, I loved the fact that it wasn’t going to easy. I was someone who enjoyed a good challenge, and I was making a promise to myself; I was going to break down all her walls and defenses and I was going to know her in an intricate way.

“I come from Youngstown,” she said finally.

I nodded, a little curious. I couldn’t say I had ever heard of the place.

“You’re not going to ask me where I come from?” I asked with a smirk. I was trying to push her as much as I could without making her feel uncomfortable. Surprisingly enough, I actually did want to know about her. I knew I could call Dylan and take him up on his advice for a background check. But I wanted whatever I knew about Reine to come from her mouth.

Damn, I sounded so corny. That was new.

“Is there anybody in the business world who doesn’t know everything about you?” she asked.

I took a bite of my food and nodded thoughtfully. She had a point. No matter how private I had been, of course, there was a lot about me online. After all, I was set by default to be the next president of the board of ColElectronics, and I was sure all of my college exploits were somewhere, lying there, waiting for whoever was curious enough to dig.

“And do you think you know all about me because of a few posts you’ve read?” I asked her, tilting my head much like she had done when I asked her a question.

“I never said that. That’s not what I meant…”

“What did you mean then, Reine? Enlighten me.”