Read Online TheBillionairesPilot by Suzanne Graham - Free Book Online

even more distance
between her and her dad.
    Evan sat with his forearms on his knees,
looking at her intently. “You’ll have to. Otherwise, it will increase the
chance that Xavier finds out this is a sham engagement.”
    “Then we’ll have a big breakup as soon as
we get back to New York,” she resolved. She could do a few days of this.
    “You heard what Xavier said. He
threatened to back out of this deal if we broke our engagement.”
    Leaning forward slightly in her chair,
she studied him. “Who needs this deal more? You or him?”
    “We both need it. It’s mutually
beneficial.”
    “Then he won’t back out.”
    “He has other offers to consider.”
    “But not as good as yours,” she insisted,
knowing from her own experience with Evan that he wasn’t a stingy negotiator.
    “Supposedly. That’s why I’m here and not
another company’s CEO.” He settled back in the armchair.
    Cassie stood and walked to the open
balcony doors. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she looked out at the
moonlight reflecting off the ocean. “I don’t like this. I hate lying.”
    “So do I.”
    She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“But you do it so well.”
    “I could say the same for you. Your
performance at dinner was impeccable.”
    “I just followed your lead.”
    “And I truly appreciate it.”
    She sighed and returned to the empty
chair. “How much do you appreciate it?” They might as well talk dollars because
she couldn’t see herself bailing out on him now. Loyalty was one of the most
important values to a soldier, and it was too ingrained in her to consider
walking away from Evan now.
    She’d agreed to the weekend, and now it
looked like her performance as his fiancée was going to be required for a while
longer. She might as well see how much further she could get herself out of
debt and set herself up financially because who knew if she was going to be
able to continue flying Mitchell Industries’ helicopter when this all ended.
    She’d certainly been forced to leave her
last position when things crashed and burned between her and Trent, and she
suspected she wouldn’t be interested in sticking around Mitchell Industries
when Evan was done with her. So much for learning from her past.
    “Ah, yes,” he said, placing his palms
together with his fingers steepled. “Let the negotiations begin. Where would
you like to start this time?”
    “Well, I assume I’ll still be employed as
your pilot during the day, so you’ll only need to compensate me for the hours
outside of the normal workday. What exact duties will you require of me?”
    He dropped his hands and used one to
massage the back of his neck. The man should seriously consider hiring a
full-time massage therapist to help him with his trigger points. He looked like
he was suffering, but he’d clearly let her know he didn’t appreciate her
helpful touch.
    “I hadn’t really thought about the
details yet,” he said. “I guess we’ll have to be seen going to dinner and the
occasional society event.”
    She nodded. “That sounds reasonable.”
    “And we’ll need to visit my mother and
your father.”
    She froze. “My father?”
    He studied her for a moment. “Would you
really prefer if your father heard about your engagement from the gossip rags?”
    “He doesn’t read those.”
    “No, but someone who knows him probably
does. Trust me, I’ve lived this life long enough to know that it’s best to talk
to your loved ones first before they hear the stories from the press.”
    She considered that before saying, “Okay,
so a few dinners a week and a visit to our folks. That sounds manageable.”
    He heaved a big theatrical sigh. “So,
what’s it going to cost me?”
    She ignored his dramatics while figuring
three dinners at three hours apiece, plus extra time to get ready, was roughly
ten hours a week. “I’ll do it for five hundred a week.”
    “You’re charging me four thousand for
this weekend, but you’ll be my fiancée for