Some Like It Charming (A Temporary Engagement) (2 page)

Ethan leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Tomorrow he’d find a way to fix the mess with Alyse. He just hoped he could do it without marrying her.

He was awoken early the next morning by alternating knocks and bangs on his hotel door. The massage had eased the stress in his neck and back, but the empty beer bottles had left his head fuzzy. He stumbled to the door, cursing whoever it was. And blinked a few times when he looked through the peephole.

“Mother? Grandma?”

He opened the door cautiously. His mother took one look at him and moved forward to hug him.

“Oh, Ethan. Why didn’t you tell us? I thought you and Alyse were getting along fine.”

He groaned.

His grandmother handed him a tabloid and said, “This is a fine pickle you’ve landed in this time. I warned you about that girl; always had to have her own way.”

His mother patted him on the back, frowning at the beer bottles. “It does seem you were right, Ellen. I’m sorry I was so friendly towards her.”

His grandmother snorted. “You’re nice to all the women your son brings home. You need to stop thinking about grandbabies and start thinking about the divorce rate in this country. He needs a woman who can handle him. He needs to stop dating these socialites and models. Worthless.”

This was an argument he’d heard many times over and he ignored it to read the paper.

Prince Charming Really A Frog?

Ethan Howell O’Connor, the man voted most charming eligible bachelor four years in a row, is reportedly not all that charming behind closed doors. His girlfriend of nine months, model Alyse Ryan, told this reporter that he “is a workaholic and has commitment issues. We’ve been dating nine months now and let me tell you he isn’t so pretty in the morning. It was time to take our relationship to the next level and he broke up with me instead. You can ask any of his old girlfriends and they’ll tell you the same thing– as soon as a girl starts thinking he might be the one, he starts sabotaging the relationship. Late nights working, flimsy excuses about not moving in together, sit down talks where he tells you he’s nowhere near ready to get married. Well, when is he going to be ready? I guess my mama was right, why buy the cow when you’re getting the milk for free?” Or why commit to one model when there’s another right around the corner?

It wasn’t the first time he’d been in the gossip column, and it wasn’t the worst article they’d ever written about him. It
was
the first time someone close to him had been quoted. The first time any of his ex-girlfriends had felt the need to go public.

But he had to admit, Alyce didn’t sound all that heart-broken anymore. Angry, but not heart-broken.

He looked up at his anxious mother and disgruntled grandmother and smiled. “It could be worse.”

The next day it was. Another quote from a former girlfriend, this time attacking his bedroom technique. It was a little harder to shrug that one off, but he consoled himself with the thought that she hadn’t complained while they were together.

It didn’t help all that much.

His grandmother simply shrugged. “I doubt that’ll stop all the women wanting to get in your bed from daydreaming about you. And at least it’s the models spilling their guts. Everyone’ll think they’re high anyway.”

Ethan kept his smile on, and if he worked a little harder and a little later, no one thought anything of it. He was the boss, after all.

Friday morning dawned bright and early. He had a call overseas to make before the picnic and he hoped against hope his ex-girlfriends were done with him. It had been a rough week and all he wanted to do was play a little softball. He grinned at the thought of Mackenzie Wyatt in short shorts running the bases.

He joined his mother and grandmother downstairs for breakfast in the best mood since Monday.

“Ladies. Have you reconsidered going to the picnic? I don’t think I’ll need bodyguards.”

His mother picked at her egg whites. “I think it sounds fun. I always like to watch you play the catcher.”

He laughed. “You hate watching me catch. Although I don’t think this is going to be that dangerous of a game.”

He decided not to tell her that at least one person would be gunning for him. His poor mother had never wanted her only child to play any sports and had finally agreed to baseball, and specifically catcher, because of all the protective gear he would have to wear. She hadn’t realized until too late there was a reason catchers needed protection.

His grandmother, who never picked at her food and would never order egg whites, said, “You’ll need someone to distract the paparazzi if they find you. Plus, I need some sun.”

He ordered his own breakfast, keeping it light and lean. He’d be running bases this morning and didn’t want to feel or look sluggish in front of his employees. At least one employee would take advantage of any weakness she saw, and he had no doubt, would constantly remind him of it.

He said, “I’m sure the paparazzi won’t want to hang around taking pictures of a company picnic. I can’t be the juiciest thing going on right now.”

His mother threw a glance at his grandmother, who ignored it and kept her fork moving.

He looked between them for a few seconds, then went for the weaker link. “Mother?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Was there anything worse today?”

His grandmother said, “Not anything worse. You’re still their soup du jour, but I expect that won’t last more than another week. Just ignore it.”

“It will be better if I know what it is.”

His mother put down her fork, abandoning the pretense that she was actually going to eat. “I don’t think it will be better, dear. Ellen is right, just ignore it.”

The only problem with that was his grandmother had never ignored anything in her life. She believed in facing problems head on.

He sighed and changed the subject. His good mood was vanishing fast but he kept a grip on it with iron control. He was going to have fun today, dammit. And maybe they just didn’t want him seeing what kinds of things his ex-girlfriends were saying about him. An ex was never the most reliable judge of a man’s character.

Not A Frog, A Toad!

Sarah Milton, one of New York’s leading socialites, was recently heard telling a friend that when she was dating Ethan Howell O’Connor he hit her so hard he broke her nose. Six years ago, Sarah Milton’s nose job had been attributed to allergies, but now we know she was allergic to a fist! Does Prince Charming have a nasty temper hiding behind that pretty face?

Mackenzie arrived at her first company picnic and instantly decided she shouldn’t have come. She tried hard to keep her real life separate from her work and had never wanted to get caught up in the culture that everyone else seemed to buy into.

She had coworkers she liked but she didn’t make friends. She never went out to lunch, never joined in for birthday celebrations, didn’t get into office politics, and never, ever went to outside functions. In the sales department, competition was taken to a whole other level and she tried to keep her focus on work. And to leave that work at the door at the end of the day.

Yet here she was. And all because one pretty boy had asked her to beat him at softball. Ethan O’Connor was a dangerous man.

But not as dangerous as the whispers being circulated about him. If anyone could have gotten him to lose his temper it would have been her the last few years. He wasn’t the kind of guy that hit women. He liked to persuade and charm people into doing what he wanted; using physical force would seem like an insult to his mental abilities.

Rob from marketing wandered over to her, looking glum. “You guys are going to whip our ass. There’s no way Ethan is going to be in top form today.”

She smirked at him. “That is just too bad. You shouldn’t have made that bet.”

“He was first-team All-Ivy for four years. He’s an all-star. We couldn’t lose.” He watched her take out her worn glove and plop a tattered UCLA visor on her head. He grimaced. “How much did you bet?”

“No bet. My pleasure is going to come in rubbing his face in it.”

“You’re a cold woman. Maybe you should go easy on him today.”

She laughed. “Uh-huh. How much of my team have you tried to guilt into losing today?”

A small grin peeked out before he hid it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s just going through a rough time right now. The press is going to go wild now that they know he hits women.”

“He didn’t hit her. And if he was somehow responsible for her broken nose, it was an accident. I
would
bet on that.”

“You can’t be sure. Especially with old money. What happens in private, stays private.”

She said, “True, but I’ve angered him, insulted him, and verbally abused him enough to know that when he gets mad, the charm starts oozing from him. He gets so sweet, you want to throw up. He doesn’t get physical.”

Rob nodded, looking thoughtful. “I’ve seen him come out of your office like that. And if he had cause to hit anybody, it would be you.”

“You’re a nice guy, Rob. Now go away and stop talking to my team.”

He laughed. “I’ll just have to remind Ethan how bad he needs to beat you.” He winked. “At softball, I mean.”

A frenzy of activity and a change in air pressure alerted Mackenzie that
he
had arrived. She refused to turn and watch him. Refused to even acknowledge that she wanted to.

He was a beautiful man. And a beautiful man you could admire from a distance was one thing, but a beautiful man who periodically waltzed into your office, sat in your chair, and ate your candy bars was another thing entirely.

He found her quick enough though.

“Hello, Mackenzie. You look ravishing in those yoga pants.”

She turned, bracing herself. He wore a faded blue Columbia t-shirt that outlined his chest and showcased his biceps. His forearms were sprinkled with golden hair and Mackenzie stared down at his bare arms. Then told herself to get a grip. They were forearms. But she stared at them anyway. Maybe it was the novelty. He was always in long-sleeved business shirts and jackets.

She looked back up to sparkly green eyes and flashing white caps and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to play when you’re this pissed?”

His smile dropped a centimeter. “I’m not pissed.”

“You look like you’re about to sing ‘It’s A Small World’. And I’ve seen that look enough times to know you’ve just about had it.”

His eyes stopped that annoying sparkle and his smile dropped another centimeter. “You would know.”

“I guess I would. Did you hit her?”

His smile disappeared completely. “No. I wasn’t even in the same state when she broke her nose.”

“Well, that’s what I told Rob when he tried to guilt me into losing to you. If you were the kind of guy that hit women you would have hit me a long time ago. And just to let you know, I’m still going to wipe up with you today.”

He stared at her for a moment before a grin started. “You can certainly try.”

She popped her fists onto her hips. “I don’t try, I do. And after I’ve skunked your sorry team I’m going to frame the score so every time you walk into my office you’ll remember Mr. All-Ivy lost to a girl.”

He mirrored her, leaning in her face just a bit. “And once
I’ve
won, I’m going to have it painted on your wall as a reminder that you need to respect your superiors.”

She snorted. “Superior? That would be a matter of opinion, and you would be wrong.”

He looked her up and down, leaning just a bit closer. “I’ve never had a complaint before.”

“Really? ‘Cause I could have sworn I read something just the other day.”

“She’s been without awhile, probably going through withdrawal.”

“It’s a wonder none of your exes have tried to kill you.”

“They just get upset when I won’t marry them. They don’t really want me dead.”

She laughed. “Could’ve fooled me. And I know my life would be a lot easier if one of them took you out–”

A shocked woman’s voice interrupted her. “Ethan?”

Mackenzie turned to find not one but two older women staring at her. Ethan chuckled and took a step back from Mackenzie.

“Mother, Grandma, this is Mackenzie Wyatt. She’s the top salesman in the L.A. branch and number one pain in the ass in the whole company.”

His mother gasped, “Ethan!”

She couldn’t get the shocked look off her face but his grandma looked amused. Mackenzie didn’t need two guesses to know who he took after most.

Mackenzie glanced at him. “I’m the top salesman in
all
the branches.”

“Any complaints about where I placed you in the other category? I didn’t think so.” He gestured to the two women. “This is my mother, Christine O’Connor, and my grandmother, Ellen O’Connor.”

Ellen shook her hand. “Nice to meet somebody who doesn’t fall all over my grandson.”

“It’s hard, but I manage.”

Ellen thought that was hilarious and slapped her on the shoulder. “You any good at softball?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. I think I’ll go make a wager. Now who did you say was taking bets, Ethan?”

He pointed out John from finance to his grandmother and she grabbed Ethan’s mother. “Come along, Christine.”