The Fiancée Fiasco by Alyssa Kress Page A

pointed out the obvious. "And machines," she added thoughtfully. "Was that true, what Boyd was telling me last night—that they always obey you?"
    "Always is a rather strong word."
    Roseanne paused. Once again, she was getting the distinct impression that Winthrop did not appreciate this characterization about his relationship to machines. "Even 'sometimes' would make me happy. I can never get mechanical things to work. For example, as soon as I step next to it, the copier breaks down. Never fails."
    Winthrop gave her a close look. "Yes, but when it comes to people, you have no problem at all, do you?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "People 'work' for you, don't they? The way mechanical things do for me."
    She frowned, considering that. Oddly, the idea held some water. Usually people did end up doing what she wanted.
    Winthrop picked up his chopsticks and took them out of their paper wrapping. "The way you are with your copier, that's how I am with people." His gaze fixed on his chopsticks.
    Roseanne opened her mouth, but nothing came out. The analogy left her speechless. He couldn't possibly believe it was true. A man couldn't build a multimillion dollar company without having some interpersonal skills. "That is absurd," she said at last.
    "Is it?" He turned his eyes in her direction. "You and I haven't exactly hit it off."
    "You and I are different." Even as she tried to explain, Roseanne felt like she was losing track of things. Winthrop was the prey and even, in his case, an enemy. It wasn't her job to be reassuring him. "We— Well, we're on opposite sides."
    Winthrop's slight smile was wry. "You mean, me being a man, and you a woman."
    Hearing it put in those terms didn't sit right. "It's a little more complicated than that."
    "How so?" Winthrop leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.
    "Look." Roseanne tried to sound reasonable, but his ironic smile disconcerted her. "This discussion is just going to lead us into dangerous territory and we're going to end up fighting again. Let's just agree to disagree, shall we?"
    Winthrop's smile grew. "Agree to disagree about what?"
    "About why we don't get along."
    "Let me get this straight. We're supposed to agree to disagree about why we can't agree." He shook his head, his smile very big now. "It's nice to know you have such a generous capacity for sheer, outright irrationality, Miz Archer."
    "I'm not being irrational." She was annoyed because he'd managed to best her, at least this once. "And you ought to call me Roseanne. People are going to find it strange if you don't address your fiancée by her first name."
    "Roseanne." Winthrop tested the name. "And are you going to call me Win?" There was a definite twinkle in his eyes.
    "Of course."
    He picked up the pot of tea left on their table and started to pour. "Tell me... Roseanne. Starting to have second thoughts about your little charade?"
    Somehow, coming from his lips, Roseanne's name acquired an intimacy she hadn't known it possessed. She had to force herself to meet his silently laughing eyes. "No second thoughts at all. Don't know why you'd say so."
    He laughed out loud. "Maybe the way you're clenching your teeth."
    That laugh. Roseanne's annoyance fell away, replaced by surprise. His laugh— It was a rare sound. He'd only done so maybe once since they'd met. And just like the last time, the sound was very pleasant. Heck, she almost laughed, herself.
    Instead, she hiccupped, dismayed. No. Oh, no. Surely she wasn't softening toward Winthrop Carruthers. She knew too much about him to do that.
    He'd been the one determined on the divorce from his still-loving wife. Roseanne had read the file. All the way along, Sylvia had been requesting a reconciliation instead of a dissolution. Winthrop had been oblivious to her pleas.
    And yet, Roseanne had a powerful feeling that it was only since the end of his marriage that laughter had become a rare thing for Winthrop Carruthers.
    ~~~
    Over lunch, Winthrop explained the