A Spanish Seduction by Alyssa J. Montgomery

cosmetic surgery to someone who had no physical scars.’
    ‘Oh.’ She eyed him a little suspiciously, obviously having expected a fight.
    ‘Agree to this. Pose as my lover,’ he urged.
    She crossed her arms defensively in front of her chest and sat worrying her lower lip with her teeth. ‘Just how long would this arrangement last?’
    ‘Three months.’ His longest relationship to date had probably lasted less than three weeks. A three month time frame should be long enough to convince the board he was committed to a serious relationship.
    More to the point, the vote for the new CEO would be conducted during that time. In their present weakened financial position, it would be unwise to leave the company afloat in stormy seas without a commander firmly at the helm.
    The problem was that if he was elected to the role, it would be on a trial basis for a couple of months. He must have Jessica by his side until his management performance convinced board members he was the right man for the job and his appointment was permanent. Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary to endure the charade of being lovers for any longer. 
    ‘Exactly what would I be required to do?’ she asked hesitantly.
    ‘Move to Barcelona for that time. Live in my home and travel with me wherever I go.’
    ‘Up and leave my job, my home and friends, just like that?’
    He shrugged. Although the private investigator had prepared the report in less than a twenty-four hour time frame, it stated that Jessica had no close living relatives and very few friends. ‘Think of it as a holiday, but at the end of three months you’ll be debt free and completely out of reach of the scum who attacked you tonight.’
    Even as she paled, she argued. ‘What about my job? I couldn’t expect the clinic to hold my position for three months.’
    ‘I understand you’re highly sought after as a remedial masseuse. I shouldn’t think it would be hard for you to find employment again. However, if you’d like me to, I can make sure you find work at a suitable clinic when you return to England.’
    ‘You’re not only asking me to put my life on hold, Mr Garcia. You’re —’
    ‘Ricardo,’ he corrected.
    ‘You’re asking me to live a lie,’ she protested hotly.
    ‘I’m asking you to turn a lie told by someone else into a form of truth before it wreaks destruction in a number of very important arenas. In the process you’ll be helping me bring a company back from the brink of financial ruin and safeguarding the livelihood of thousands of employees. You’ll wipe away the threat of scandal to a charity that assists hundreds of underprivileged children and their families. You’ll also benefit financially and won’t be living with the threat of that bastard who came after you tonight.’
    She shuddered, but looked thoughtful. ‘You’re saying this deal will benefit people rather than hurt them.’
    ‘Yes. It’s a win-win deal and this would be a very short term relationship.’
    Her eyes narrowed. ‘The word relationship implies something of a personal nature. We are just talking business arrangement, aren’t we?’ she asked immediately.
    ‘Definitely,’ he said without hesitation. Jessica was in no way the sort of woman he’d engage in an affair with.
    ‘What if I come with you to Spain, people see through the pretence and realise this whole arrangement is staged?’
    ‘If you do everything you can to convince people we’re a couple, you’ll have kept to your part of the bargain. The debt will be paid even if the relationship is exposed to be a fraud.’
    ‘But, don’t you see? If you’re thought to be covering up an affair with a married woman it’s going to look worse than if you just admit to the truth of what happened.’
    ‘First, it was not an affair. We only met a couple of times. Second, you’re forgetting that if I admit to the truth, I incur the wrath of a man who can bring down the entire company. I believe I was deliberately set up,