Her name sighed out of him like a lover’s exhalation. “You are even more beautiful than I remembered.”
Crap. Her heart fluttered like some idiotic debutant at her first cotillion.
“And you are more charming than ever.” Her voice snapped like a whip, snatching the compliment right out of the words.
He grinned at her, unfazed by her tartness. “Come in.”
The loft was as incredible as she’d expected. Sixteen-foot ceilings, enormous arched windows, exposed brick everywhere she looked. Wood floors gleamed beneath couches slip-covered in white. The living space was so huge he was able to have three separate sitting areas. One flanked the stone fireplace at the far end. One clustered in front of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves near an opening that she guessed led to the bedrooms. A third near the open kitchen with its dark granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
“This is nice,” Elizabeth murmured, reflecting on the shoebox she lived in. “Perfect for entertaining. How many people are you inviting?”
“I was thinking about a hundred or so.”
Elizabeth pulled out an electronic tablet and began jotting notes. “Did you have a date picked out?”
“I was thinking next Saturday.”
“That is short notice.”
Mentally running through her bookings, she keyed up her schedule, already knowing she had the Hendersons’ tenth wedding anniversary on that evening. The arrangements were all made. It was the sort of party Brenda could handle on her own.
“I’m happy to compensate you for any inconvenience it might cause.”
Elizabeth offered him a bright smile as she mentally calculated her commission. “What sort of party did you have in mind?”
“It’s an engagement party.”
“How nice.” And how surprising. She’d never pictured Roark Black hosting something like that. The man had commitment issues written all over him. “Who’s the lucky couple?”
“We are.”
* * *
Incomprehension fogged her indigo-blue eyes as she looked up at him. “We are what?”
“The happy engaged couple I’m throwing the party for.”
Her crisp professionalism wrinkled beneath the weight of her confusion. “We’re not engaged.”
“Not yet.”
The expression in her eyes went from shell-shocked to resolute. “Not ever.”
“I’m crushed.” He shouldn’t enjoy teasing her so much, but it seemed the only way to get past her guards and reach the woman behind the event planner.
“I doubt it.” She’d recovered her equilibrium and now regarded him with open skepticism. “Perhaps you should explain what’s going on.”
“Last night you jumped all over me about how I was going to be the downfall of Waverly’s.”
“I merely suggested you might be a contributing factor.”
“You weren’t the only one thinking that way.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Not surprising. But what does that have to do with why I’m here?”
“A certain member of the Waverly’s board mentioned that he’s been approached by Dalton Rothschild about selling his shares and has been asked to persuade others on the board to follow suit. He doesn’t want Rothschild to take over Waverly’s, but needs a good reason to continue to support the current leadership at Waverly’s.”
She nodded, but remained silent while her steady gaze encouraged him to proceed.
“He thinks that leadership needs to include me, but recent events have raised questions about my activities. He indicated if I could demonstrate that I’m leaving behind my proclivity for trouble, the board would feel more confident about the stability of Waverly’s.”
“And you think an engagement will make you more respectable.”
“It was suggested a stable personal life would inspire confidence in my upstanding behavior.”
“Why me?”
While his address book was bursting with women who would jump at the chance to play his fiancée, Elizabeth was unaffected by his money or his charm. She intrigued him.
“After last night’s passionate denouncement of me and your concern for the future of Waverly’s, I thought you would be the perfect choice for a pretend engagement.”
His last two words caused a profound reaction. Her muscles relaxed and she almost smiled. “Find someone else.”
“I’ve already decided on you.”
“Surely there are more suitable women in the circles you frequent that would be happy to perpetrate this ruse with you.”
“None more suitable than you.” And he meant it.
The concern she’d shown for Waverly’s had inspired him to make her his co-conspirator in his scheme to improve his image. And the active dislike she was struggling so hard to maintain intrigued him. Winning her over presented an enchanting challenge. And if he was going to be stuck in New York for the uncertain future, he would need something exciting to occupy himself. Elizabeth Minerva fit the bill.
“Does it strike you at all counterproductive that you’re trying to inspire confidence in your upstanding behavior by presenting a fake fiancée to your friends and family?”
“See, this is why I need you. Not one other woman I know dives straight to the heart of my shortcomings the way you do.”
Her full lips twitched. “And somehow you perceive this as a good thing?”
Despite her skepticism, Elizabeth hadn’t slammed the door on his proposition. Or at least, she hadn’t stormed out of his loft and put an end to the conversation. If he could keep her around for a few more minutes, he knew he could convince her how much he needed her help.
“Last night you were right. Waverly’s is in trouble. Dalton Rothschild is after the board members to sell. I’m in a perfect position to stop him.” He hit her with all the seriousness in his arsenal. “And you are in a perfect position to help me do so. Think of what will happen to all the employees who’ve been with Waverly’s for years. If Rothschild takes over, what do you think he’s going to do with them?”
“You aren’t playing fair.” Her gaze skidded away from his.
At that moment, he knew he had her. “We’ll make this a business arrangement. Consider it a contract job. Six months and you’re free of me. In the meantime, think of all the contacts you’ll make as my fiancée. Manhattan’s elite will be vying to have you as their event planner.”
“A business arrangement,” she echoed, eyes narrowing as she searched his expression. “Nothing more?”
“Well, of course there will be public appearances and equally public displays of affection.”
She chewed on her lower lip, attention fixed on the far side of the room where floating shelves housed some of the less valuable artifacts he’d brought back from around the world.
“But just public displays of affection. Don’t expect to reap any benefits of our engagement in private.”
Keeping her in the dark about all his intentions was completely necessary if he hoped to secure her agreement. There would be plenty of time later to demonstrate all the ways their arrangement could be mutually beneficial.
“I promise not to do anything you don’t want me to.”
Her brows came together. “That didn’t answer my question.”