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CHAPTER 5
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2025-04-09 23:53:24For Liam, to be invited to a dinner with the members of the board was a huge honor and an extremely important sign. It meant he was being looked over by the board members before he was offered the Vice President position.
Yes!
It was really happening…
He was going to be the youngest Vice President in the history of “CareShields Ins. Group”!
And that’s when Liam got it. It wouldn’t be him under scrutiny. Howard and the board members wanted to make sure he was marrying the right kind of woman, the perfect one to become a “CareShields” vice president’s spouse.
Liam considered himself a glass-half-full kind of guy, but right now he felt like that glass had fallen off the table and smashed to pieces on the floor, spilling all his hard work and dreams of promotion with it.
“An engagement dinner?!”
His voice sounded a little higher-pitched than usual as he frantically tried to think of a way out.
“Yes, Liam. We’ve never met your girl. Never had that pleasure.”
“I’m not sure, Howard. She’s got a pretty hectic schedule… I’ll ask her, but I know that work is consuming much of her time…”
Howard rose and patted him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it, Liam. Since you two are the guests of honor, we’ll work around your and her schedule. ‘CareShields Ins. Group’ got plans for you, my boy. Big plans. Huge!”
“Thank you, Howard.”
After his boss left, he should have plunged into the day’s work. Instead, Liam tried not to panic and started to think. He was staring out his office window, watching the pedestrians scurrying like so many ants way down on main street. The hub of the city center was as busy as always as workers scuttled along hot sidewalks before diving into air-conditioned high rises.
Without knocking, Robyn entered his office.
“Here are the…”
She stopped when she noticed Liam had his forehead pressed against his office window. It was possible he may have groaned like a trapped animal.
“Liam?”
He turned and the look in his eyes was that of a man in agony.
“I’m doomed, Roby! I’m a dead man… or I’m going to be if I don’t come up with a solution.”
Robyn shook her head, unable to understand what he was blabbing about.
“I don’t get it. A solution for what? Liam, what is going on with you?”
“Howard and the board members want to have an engagement dinner for my ‘fiancée’ and I. Understand? A fucking engagement dinner! At this point, we have to set the date, so I can’t pretend she’s not available… Goddammit!”
The woman dropped a stack of papers on his desk with a thump.
“Oh, I see that now. Well, mister, if you’re looking for sympathy, you came to the wrong person. Didn’t I warn you? Didn’t I say you should stop playing with fire, or you’ll get burned?”
“Come on, Roby! Stop twisting the knife! The situation is already dramatic, so coming out with this annoying ‘I told you so’ is not helping at all.”
After taking a deep breath, Robyn shrugged and watched him running his fingers through his hair in desperation.
“What are you going to do? Break up with the love of your life before the engagement dinner?”
He ignored the sarcasm and shook his head. Robyn crossed her arms and drilled him with her pissed-off gaze.
“How long have you got?”
“A couple of weeks, tops… I think…”
“Okay… No problem. I’m sure you can find some nice, respectable young lady who’ll agree to marry you in a couple of weeks. You are Liam Right! This should be a walk in the park for you. There’s Jazzy, for instance, or… What was the other’s name? Adriana? And there’s Candy, Barbie, Cynthia, Deena, Isabel and so, so, so many more…”
“Look, the women I choose to spend my free time with are not the kind of women Howard and the board members would approve of. We both know that.”
Liam picked the first file off the desk and then put it back down.
“Dammit! I didn’t need this… I’m not the marrying kind, Roby!”
“No shit, Sherlock!” she mumbled and then snored.
But Robyn didn’t know his past and he had no intention of sharing the most humiliating interlude in his life. If she wanted to peg him as a player who was having too much fun to get serious, which was essentially true anyway, then that was fine with him. He made the decision then and there.
“You are half-right. I’m going to find a woman to present as my fiancée for a couple of months. All I need is a nice, decent one. Not a Candy or a Barbie… She’ll meet the board and then, after I get the promotion, we’ll break up, faster than you can say ‘Sex’. If I’m up-front about it, nobody will get hurt. How difficult can it be?”
“Liam, this is a terrible idea. On so many levels.”
“It’s only for a couple of months, Roby. All I have to do is find a decent woman.”
“Like you know the meaning of the words ‘decent woman’…”
Liam scratched his itchy nose again and glanced at the woman who had almost as much riding on his promotion as he did.
“I don’t suppose you know someone who might be perfect for the role…? A cousin or a niece? A neighbor?”
“All the women I know are too mature or way too good for you. They won’t fall for your charm.”
He’d been charming women for more years than he could count. He hiked a hip onto his desk, certain he could pull this off.
“Care to make a small bet on my chances?”
“What is a guy like you, who loves risk so much, doing working in insurance? You should be a bookkeeper or something…”
“Insurance is all about odds, Roby, you know that. The client pays a small premium in case catastrophe hits, the insurance company essentially bets that it won’t and keeps the money. Risk, safety, reward… It’s all tied up. And this risk? I think I can safely take it.”
Robyn opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.
“Boy, you are freaking me out… Right now, Satan is preparing a special throne for you, next to his. Because you are going to skip Judgement Day and go straight to hell. You mark my words.”
“Nah… St. Peter is going to open Heaven’s Gates for me,” Liam said, grinning. “I bet the Almighty needs a good insurance guy on a cloud up there. Who is better than me?”
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“I’m going to see Billie… Finally!” she mumbled and took a deep breath. Maxima paid the cab fare and started walking quickly toward one of the most exclusive bars in the Upper East Side. Manhattan was not her favorite spot to have a drink and decompress after a shitty day at work, but having a drink and a chat with her best friend in the whole white world was all she needed. This was their first meeting in four years and the excitement was significant. Since she came back from Italy, all Maxima tried to do was to find some sort of balance between two aspects of her reality: her new job and her new life. But all her attempts were doomed to fail. She hated her boss, a pompous ass who didn’t know the first thing about great food, and she hated her rented apartment. But, most of all, Maxima hated being back in a city so different from Florence. The only thing brightening her return to New York, has been getting in touch with Billie Right, her ‘sister from anoth
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‘I must find the perfect fake Mrs. Right or kiss my promotion and my job goodbye.’ Liam was pretty good at staying cool under pressure. In his experience, things usually worked out fine. Maybe he needed to work a little longer, push a bit harder, find a way around a blocked path. But, in the end, the solution would come out. Nonetheless, this was different. He’d stretched out the date of the engagement dinner as far as he could, but it was fast approaching, and the main character was still missing. Having to produce a suitable fiancée in a few days… How was he supposed to do that without stumbling across a magic lamp or selling his soul to the devil himself? And not just any girl would do. This one would be under scrutiny from the top brass, the board, and their spouses. Liam had mentally reviewed every woman he could think of, scoured his social media, his personal contact lists, and his old ‘black book’, but none of the women he
最終更新日 : 2025-04-11PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 8
That name… For the past four years, Maxima’s face and last words kept hunting his dreams from time to time. That last night, before her departure from Scarsdale, he did the most absurd things of all. After the party and after taking a shower, still a bit drunk, he went to her house, kissed her, and asked her to stay, acting like a damn fool who had just had some strange epiphany. She said no… obviously and kicked him out of her house. But those words she said to him, her disapproval, her refusal to come to New York with him, dug a large hole in his very essence, in his male pride, making it hard for him to find the perfect woman… the perfect ‘Mrs. Right’. Liam never told Billie or anyone else about Maxima’s refusal or about the kiss they'd shared. He never saw a reason in opening his heart and mind to the women in his family, allowing them to see the damage that the young woman, his sister’s dull friend, had been capable of accomplishing with ju
最終更新日 : 2025-04-11PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 9
“So? Am I a genius or what?” Billie exclaimed, sounding ridiculously pleased with herself. Another long second of silence passed. The coffee shop was busy with midmorning traffic, moms with kids in strollers, older folks with crossword puzzles, and a large noisy table that seemed to be some walking club. The steaming hiss of the espresso machine punctuated the babble of voices.“What did you just say?” Maxima finally managed to respond. She’d spent the morning looking at two hopeless places to rent, one where a cat came to greet her at the door and her eyes started watering before she could even cross the threshold, and the other with a supposed non-smoking roommate who seemed to think that joints didn’t count. They’d met at a coffee shop in the area. Billie looked pleased with the purchase of an old cookbook filled with recipes for dishes from all over the world, a gift for Maxima. She was looking through the book, so she hadn’t fully paid attentio
最終更新日 : 2025-04-12PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 10
“What the hell was I thinking?” Liam said slowly, preparing to exit his expensive Upper East Side penthouse. “Asking my sister for help… Accepting her conditions and choosing Maxima Davenport as my fiancée… Man, I need a shrink. A really good one.” He was heading out for possibly the most important evening of his entire life. And to add a little extra spice to the evening, he was about to see a real blast from the past. Maxima Davenport, the chef recently returned to the States after spending the last four years in Italy. Liam had no idea what she was like now. Billie kept her well hidden, as far away from his grasp as possible. The only thing his sister said to him was that Maxima would be on time and ready to do the part of his loving fiancée.“I hate blind dates! I hate the fact that my house is going to get turned upside down by a stranger… a woman I have kissed in another lifetime.” Liam gave a look at the apartment. Everything was just perfect. He call
最終更新日 : 2025-04-13PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 11
Even with her in those ridiculous heels, they were in time, and before he was remotely prepared, they were standing outside the restaurant. Liam drew in a quick breath.“It’s now or never… Ready?”“As ready as I’ll ever be, Liam.”“Okay.” Liam reached for her hand… her soft, perfect hand, with long, delicate fingers.“I hope you don’t mind. We should act like… Well, you know… Like…”“Lovers,” she closed the sentence, wrapping her fingers around his. The clasp was perfect. Her hand felt surprisingly reassuring in his. Even if the word “lovers”, and the way she’d said it, had him conjuring up a vision of the two of them in bed… Hot, sweaty, and orgasmic. Which was not what Liam wanted to be thinking about when he saw his bosses. They walked into the upscale restaurant and were directed to the upper floor, where a private space had been reserved. There weren’t many people there yet. Only the key ones: Howard and his wife, Amanda; Howard’s brother, Gregory
最終更新日 : 2025-04-14PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 12
Oh, no! The words bounced around Maxima’s brain like a pinging dot in one of those annoying computer games. No, no, no, no, no! If she’d had one rule for herself, if she’d thought any of this through enough to have created some set of rules for herself, which would have been a pretty damn good idea, rule number one would have been: NO KISSING. Well, no physical contact of any kind, obviously. But it was too late for that, so maybe, if she pulled herself together long enough to list a few rules for personal conduct, she had a tiny possibility of getting through this charade without making a fool of herself. The same way it already happened four years ago, on that night. Maxima got through the rest of the night somehow, but she was always conscious of Liam’s presence beside her, of the feel of his arm when it brushed hers. Even through the summer-weight jacket Liam wore, she felt his body heat the same way she felt the insistent attr
最終更新日 : 2025-04-15PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 13
That was it? ‘Okay’? Maxima had no idea why, but she kinda felt let down. He hadn’t tried very hard to argue her out of her position. And not that she’d have caved, but it would have felt good to know she was so desirable he’d make an issue out of wanting to sleep with her. She supposed he’d find another willing partner to play his games easily enough that not getting into her bed wasn’t going to bother him very much. How depressing… She hadn’t even been entirely honest. She’d slept with men she knew she didn’t love, but she’d always felt more than mere friendship, she supposed. And more than simply lust. And Maxima hadn’t been sharing living quarters with them at the time. Fortunately, since she couldn’t think of anything to talk about and her companion didn’t seem interested in starting a new subject of conversation, the cab pulled up in front of a wonderful building on the Upper East Side. The area was quite nice, and full of up
最終更新日 : 2025-04-15
最新チャプター
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 33
She wanted this. There was no question about it. Maxima’s hands were tracing the contours of his back, his shoulders, his arms. Liam was doing his own exploring, too, touching her hair, the curve of her face, her neck, and tracing patterns up and down her side, coming closer to her breasts but not quite reaching them, building heat within her. Liam kept kissing Maxima, as though now he had possession of her mouth, he would never let it go. He licked, explored, teased, and pleasured her mouth in a way that let her know he would take as much delight in every part of her, and he was in no hurry. She started to tug at his shirt, needing desperately to take it off. He broke the kiss and helped her tug the thing off. Her urgency fired his, so he decided to do the same. Maxima helped him, four hands all pulling at once. A deep growl of satisfaction came from his throat when her blouse went sailing through the air.“You’re so damn sexy, angel…” he said, fol
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 32
“I may not tell you this enough, but… I love you, Mrs. Stove,” Maxima cooed as she removed a tray of absolutely perfect profiteroles from the oven. “People may say that a stove is just a stove, but you, my dear, are a work of art. Thank you!” Maybe the saying “You get what you pay for” wasn’t always true, but in this case, the expansive range was a dream to work with. Her hair was still slightly damp from her shower, and an apron covered the denim shorts and blouse she wore. She’d always taken time to freshen up and dress in her nice clothes when she’d been working in restaurants, but now that she was working from home, Maxima saw no reason to change her ways. If she made sure to shower and change and put on makeup before Liam got home, that was coincidental. Purely coincidental. Maxima heard the key in the door, and her foolish heart fluttered.“Liam…” she said slowly, and pressed a hand over her chest. She was really going to have to do s
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 31
“Are you going to be home for dinner tonight?” Maxima called to Liam as he headed off for work. He paused and turned to face her.“What’s for dinner?”“I’m trying out a new recipe. ‘Cheesy Asparagus Stuffed Chicken’. I’ll use fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes. For dessert, I’ll go for a Vanilla Cake with strawberries. So, are you in?”“My pants are getting super tight, Max,” Liam replied, sighing. “I skip my workouts so I can eat your food.”“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”“I feel like I’m living on the set of Julia Child’s cooking program. People aren’t meant to eat so much butter and cream and wine.”“Oh, nonsense, Liam! If you use all these things in the right proportions, then you’re good to go. Besides, Julia Child and her husband both lived into their nineties, if you must know. So, I’ll take butter and cream over a bag of potato chips any day. Healthier and tastier.”“I don’t eat potato chips, Max.” She put her hands on her hips.“If you’re
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 30
However, there were things Billie needed to get straight now that Timothy was no longer some faceless online confidant. Like the fact that they’d met under false pretenses.“What made you e-mail me the first time?” she asked him out of the blue.There had been no photograph accompanying her profile. Even Liam wouldn’t stoop that low.Timothy thought for a few minutes.“To be honest, I don’t know. That was a while ago. I kinda liked your profile. How straightforward you were... Like, ‘This is who I am and what I want’. No apologies. It was straight-up. You communicate directly… Almost like a man.”Billie looked into his frank, innocent blue eyes and knew she had to tell him.
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 29
‘I’ll meet you at the Siberian tiger exhibit,’ he’d written. Sunday afternoon was her only real day off, and Billie used it to meet the only man brave enough to ask her out. Crazy enough to even contemplate the idea of getting to know her. She looked around, trying to stay focused and calm in the middle of such mayhem. There were a bunch of families, adults, and children, a lot of tourists speaking every language known to man and animals, also from every corner of the planet.“Why did I say yes to him? Why did I agree to meet him here? What happened to ‘let’s have a cup of coffee together’?” Billie murmured, astonished at herself for even showing up. “I must be out of my mind…” All week, she’d scoffed at the very notion that she, an intelligent, educated, sophisticated professional woman, would be seen at such a place. Yet, here she was… She was having her first date with a man who’d excited her on both a deeply personal and an intellectual level
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT EMMA'S NOTE 2
Hey, Y'all!!!!First of all, I would like to acknowledge all the readers (you know who you are) who contacted me outside this profile. Thank you for your support and all the love you showed me through your private messages. This return has been tough, but your motivational texts have helped me a lot. You are indeed the best readers out there. I've seen a lot of 'when is the next update?' types of questions. I just wanted to let you all know that I UPDATE DAILY (sometimes double chapters). I might not do it at the same hour every day, but I have 24H at my disposal. (Remember that I work on this book every single day, on Sundays, too, so I never prepare in advance). I live in Italy, so I always try to update by 6 PM (which is midnight in some of your countries). Therefore, I'm kindly asking for your... PATIENCE. What you can do for me while waiting for the updates is LEAVE A REVIEW. A PUBLIC REVIEW. It would mean a lot to me. Your opinions (good or not so good) always helped me while
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 28
Howard patted Liam on the back once more.“This is so exciting, son! Good thing I saw you here, so I can help you with this important choice. Give you some advice. I know a lot about diamonds. I’ve been insuring jewelers for decades. Fascinating business, if I may say so.”“May I help you, gentlemen?” a woman who reminded him a little of a teacher he’d had in sixth grade asked.“Absolutely!” Howard exclaimed. “Liam here wants to buy an engagement ring. But not just an ordinary one. No, no. He wants the perfect ring for his fiancée. So, a good quality one, mind you.”“Of course, Sir.” So, Liam, who didn’t know much about diamonds and didn’t care to know, got a lesson in gemstones and had very little choice but to buy one of them for a woman he had no intention of marrying. Not now, not ever. Since Howard was not only a self-proclaimed diamond expert but also a shrewd businessman, he negotiated a nice discount on the ring they both agreed would look perfect on
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 27
Liam smelled the fragrant scent of a woman on the pillow. He woke slowly, wondering where the woman who smelled so good had disappeared to, and as his faculties sharpened, he realized he was sleeping on Maxima’s side of the bed. And that there was a very satisfied smile glued to his lips. He’d known from the moment they first kissed at the dinner where he’d introduced her as his fiancée that he and she would have chemistry. But he’d had no idea their chemistry would lead to this emotional explosion. Maxima was hot… she gave and took pleasure with honest enjoyment. Even after a night where they’d worked around the limited supply of condoms by pleasuring each other numerous times with mouths and hands, Liam still wanted her. Her and her damn rules. When this thing was over and Maxima no longer lived with him, then maybe they could forget all about the rules and have some fun. It was something to look forward to. By
PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT CHAPTER 26
Maxima blinked dazedly. She’d nearly forgotten he’d told her to hold her arms over her head. Watching Liam just now in her disoriented, post-orgasmic state, all she’d wanted to do was to touch him. She’d started to let go. With his insistence that she hold her wrists above her head, all Maxima could do was watch him helplessly as he fucked her... as he took his pleasure. Because that’s definitely what he was doing. She’d fantasized incessantly about what it would be like to be with Liam. But she hadn’t prepared herself to be owned by him. She never would’ve guessed he was this type of lover. Maxima gripped her wrists tighter. Her hips began to move in a counter rhythm to his. It felt sinfully good. A light sheen of perspiration gleamed on his ridged torso. His nostrils flared slightly as he stared down at her. The tempo of their slapping bodies increased in her ears.“You act like you want it good and hard,” Liam said. “But
