A Bet With Benefits

Judging by the way she’d felt during their short meeting, it wouldn’t be hard for him to do it to her again. Her physical attraction to him was still off the charts. That was why she hadn’t taken a seat, even when her brand-new Louboutins were killing her feet. She couldn’t allow herself to linger or get comfortable, even when she’d wanted nothing more than to unbutton her jacket and ask him if he wanted to rekindle the flame between them. One more time. For old times’ sake. But Sam was too sly and clever. Whip-smart and devious. There were plenty of reasons to stay away.

Of course, he’d been clear that attending the wedding together would be only as friends. That one detail of their agreement had helped her decide she could escape this scenario unscathed. So she’d be on the arm of a ridiculously hot guy for a few nights, she wouldn’t have to go stag to Sophie’s wedding and she’d get the building her business so desperately needed. This was a win-win-win. As long as she kept her clothes on and her head out of the clouds.

Clay whisked Mindy off to Eden’s, dropping her off at the south entrance on Thirty-Sixth Street. She breezed through the store, past cosmetics and the perfume girls, through ladies’ accessories to the back elevators that would take her up to the executive offices. She still hadn’t figured out how to handle this news with Sophie, although she had an idea about an approach involving one of Jake’s groomsmen, Gerald, and his wandering hands.

“Hey, Soph,” Mindy said, knocking on Sophie’s doorway, which was almost always open. “Do you have a minute?”

“Sure. I can’t keep my mind on work right now anyway.” Her sister pushed back from her desk, gathering her sleek red locks in her hand and pulling them in a bundle over one shoulder. Always fashionable and put-together, Sophie was wearing a jade green floral dress with dramatic bell sleeves.

Mindy was making herself at home on Sophie’s gray velvet sofa when Emma appeared at the door.

“Discussing wedding stuff, by any chance?” she asked.

“Yes. Actually. That’s exactly why I wanted to talk to Sophie.” Mindy patted the seat next to her. “Join us.”

“You guys want to talk about the wedding?” Sophie asked, incredulous. “I always feel like I’m jamming it down your throat.”

Emma glanced over at Mindy and without words, conveyed their shared desire for the relief they would feel when Sophie’s wedding was over. “Oh, no. We love to talk about the wedding,” Emma said, putting on an excellent front.

“It’s the best part of the day,” Mindy lied.

Emma tucked her long chocolate-brown hair behind her ear and crossed her legs, showing off an incredible pair of cherry-red Manolo Blahnik pumps. The three sisters did enjoy outdoing each other when it came to shoes, although this was a daring choice for the otherwise more subdued Emma. Her charcoal tweed pencil skirt and jacket made a nice counterpoint. “Absolutely. Mindy, what’s your news?”

Mindy wasn’t about to stall. She wanted to get this over with. “I found a date for the wedding. If you can just let Jake know and have him somehow filter that news down to Gerald, that would be great.”

“Why don’t you tell Gerald yourself? Doesn’t he text you four or five times a day?”

This was true. Gerald had been putting the full-court press on Mindy from the moment he met her at the first engagement party. He was one of Jake’s business school pals, and Sophie had known him then, as well. He had it in his head that Jake and Sophie along with Mindy and Gerald would make the perfect pair of power couples. Mindy had been clear that she wasn’t interested, but she’d delivered that news gently, only because she knew she was going to see Gerald a lot at the various events leading up to the wedding. Apparently she’d been too soft with her approach. Gerald didn’t seem to be taking the hint.

“Yes. He does. I just don’t know how to work that particular detail into a text conversation.”

“Then call him,” Sophie said.

“I don’t want to encourage him. And this was all your idea in the first place. Telling me to get a date to send him a signal.”

“So?” Emma knocked Mindy’s knee with her own. “Who’s the guy?”

Mindy couldn’t afford to hesitate with her answer. “Sam.”

The room went dead silent. Mindy braced for the fallout.

“No. No way,” Sophie said. “Absolutely not.”

“What? You can’t tell me who I can bring as a date. I’m a grown woman.”

“Not around Sam you aren’t. And it’s my wedding. I don’t like Sam. My future husband despises him. And frankly, you shouldn’t like him, either. Just think about the things he’s done to interfere with our business.” Sophie gestured to Emma. “Or our own sister, for that matter. He was the one who leaked the story of Emma’s childhood to the tabloids.”

“Which was ultimately a good thing, wasn’t it?” Mindy turned to Emma, pleading with her eyes.

“It was.” Emma looked back and forth between Mindy and Sophie, seeming stuck. “I just wish I would’ve had the chance to do it myself.”

“See? There you go.” Sophie sat back in her chair. “You are not bringing Sam Blackwell to my wedding. If nothing else, he is going to stomp all over your heart, and I am not going to watch that happen again.”

“Ah, but see, that won’t be a problem. We agreed that we’re only attending as friends.”

“Why in the world would you even want to be friends with him? Does he have any friends? Is he capable of it?” Sophie asked.

Mindy had been afraid of that question, but she’d anticipated it. She considered telling Emma and Sophie about the deal for the Mercer Building, but that seemed like news for after the wedding. She didn’t want to give them any more reasons to question his motives. “Whatever you think of him, we were good friends. We understand each other, at least from a business standpoint. And I couldn’t find a date. That’s the very sad reality of my life right now. I know you think Gerald is harmless, but I’d like to keep him at bay.”

Sophie nodded, seeming to think hard about all of this. Emma sat back and wrapped her arms around her middle.

“What, you guys? Just tell me what you’re thinking. I can take it.”

“Even if it all goes fine, even if there are no problems, I worry about you and Sam together, especially in a romantic environment like a wedding,” Sophie said softly.

“It’s true. It’s hard not to get caught up in the romanticism. And you were so sad after the last time you and Sam broke up,” Emma added.

“I broke up with him because I couldn’t be in any way disloyal to you guys. I told him as much. And of course I was sad, but we’ve had five months apart and I think we’re ready to be friends.” Mindy doubted whether that was at all possible, but she had to try, at least to get the Mercer Building.

“I’m worried you’ll fall for him again. Then you’ll be miserable. Again,” Sophie said.

“I won’t.”

“You will.”

“I will not,” Mindy insisted.

“Wanna bet?” Sophie asked.

“I told you I won’t fall for him,” Mindy restated.

“Then bet me. I know you and you hate to lose. So we’ll make a bet and as long as you don’t lose it, you won’t get hurt.” Sophie grabbed the pencil on her desk and began tapping it against a legal pad. “The question is what to bet.”

“I know,” Emma said. “The one thing Mindy doesn’t want, to stay at Eden’s longer than she has to.”

Mindy was struck with horror while Sophie’s expression became one of sheer delight. “Yes. That’s perfect.” Sophie clapped her hands together gleefully. “You promise me there will be no romance between you and Sam, and I will stop pestering you about staying on at Eden’s beyond the deadline next year.”

“And if I lose?” Mindy asked, wary of the whole thing.

“Then you have to stay for one more year. That should give Emma and me enough time to convince you to stay full-time.”

Mindy was starting to feel trapped, a feeling she didn’t handle well. Sophie and Emma had both been making their case for Mindy to sell BMO and stay at Eden’s. But maybe this bet could be a good one. It would keep her from falling under Sam’s spell. The very last thing she wanted was to spend an extra year at Eden’s. The second-to-last thing she wanted was to deal with Sophie’s and Emma’s regular hints about her staying.

“We’re talking a real bet, you two.” Mindy pointed back and forth between Sophie and Emma. “You guys don’t get to say one more thing to me about walking away from BMO if I’m able to keep Sam in the friend zone. Not a peep. No guilt trips. Nothing.”

Emma nodded. “I’m good with it.”

“Me, too,” Sophie said.

“Fine. It’s settled.” Mindy got up from her seat, feeling pretty good about having gotten everything she needed out of a second meeting today. “Oh, and just so you know, I’m planning on bringing Sam to the rehearsal dinner.”

“Seriously?” Sophie asked.

“Yes. Just think of it as one more chance for you to win your bet.” Mindy stopped at the door and turned to Emma. “I almost forgot. Emma, did you have something you wanted to talk about?”

Emma noticeably winced. “I guess my mom and your mom had a phone conversation. It didn’t go well. Your mom hung up on mine.” Jenny Stewart, Emma’s mom, and Jill Eden, Sophie and Mindy’s mom, had a complicated relationship. They were sisters. Who didn’t speak to each other. They’d also each had children by the same man, making Emma not only Sophie and Mindy’s cousin, but their half sister, as well. It was a bizarre situation, to say the least. All three sisters had hoped that the occasion of Sophie’s wedding and the fact that they were all working together now might be a reason for the moms to make amends. Apparently not.

“Is this going to be a problem at the wedding?” Sophie asked. “I don’t think I can handle any more stress.”

Emma shook her head. “I figure I’ll handle my mom and Mindy can handle yours. As long as we keep them apart, it should be fine. There might be some steely silence, but that should be the extent of the drama. I promise we’ll keep everything going smoothly.”

Sophie took a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling. “Okay, then. Let’s hope this all goes off without a hitch.”

* * *

Sam couldn’t keep Mindy off his mind, even though he had a mountain of work to do. This will be a good thing, he kept saying to himself, although he wasn’t 100 percent sure. Attending Sophie and Jake’s wedding certainly had the potential to put Sam back into a few business and social circles he’d managed to spin himself out of. But he also worried there was something else to it. Every time he read about the upcoming nuptials, it sent him into a downward spiral, thinking about Mindy’s life and wondering what she was doing and—most important—whom she was dating. He’d jumped at the chance to stake his claim on Mindy the instant he realized she didn’t have a date. But there was no claiming Mindy. She was her own person, through and through. Would this wedding just end up being an exercise in public humiliation? Quite possibly. But without risk came no reward. And he knew that his bad relationship with the Eden family had to end. It was keeping him from making all of the money he wanted to make.

Sam jumped when his phone line buzzed.

“Mr. Blackwell. Mindy Eden is on the line for you.” It was almost as if she knew he’d been thinking about her.

“Mindy, hi. Two conversations in one day. I hardly know what to make of this.”

“I won’t keep you long if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Believe me, I’m not worried.”

“I was calling to give you the details of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. I tried to reach you on your cell, but some woman answered and told me to call you at the office. Please tell me that wasn’t Valerie Cash I just spoke to. I refuse to go with a taken man to my sister’s wedding.”

Sam pursed his lips to stifle a laugh. Mindy did have a bit of a jealous streak. “Valerie and I are no longer dating. It was a very short-lived thing.”

“Long enough to be in the tabloids more than once.”

So she was jealous. If that was the case, why hadn’t she tried to beat Valerie Cash at her own game? He would’ve given in without too much of a fight. Okay...a little fight. But now? Months later? He wasn’t feeling generous. “It’s over. That’s all you need to know.” He swallowed hard and prepared himself for the question he had to ask. “How’d you manage to keep your love life under wraps that whole time?”

Mindy laughed quietly. “Cute, Sam. Real cute.”

“What?”

“Nice attempt at digging for information. I’m not about to tell you what I’ve been up to. I’d rather keep the mystery alive. Also, I’d rather ask about the mysterious woman answering your phone.”

“It’s one of my assistants. My phone has been acting up, so she’s out getting me a new one.”

Several seconds of silence wound its way through the line. “Oh. Okay.”

Sam couldn’t help but notice how uncertain Mindy sounded. Had she really been bothered that much by his relationship with Valerie? Had that been what kept her away? “So the wedding. Do you want to just text me the details?”

“Sure. I can do that. You should know that since the wedding is taking place at the Grand Legacy Hotel, I’m staying there both nights. If you wanted to do that, you could book a room. It would just need to be a separate room. And I don’t know what their availability is.”

“Right. Friends and all.”

“Exactly.”

“I think I’ll sleep in my own bed those nights.” It will save me the temptation. “So how did Sophie take the news that I was coming?”

“She wasn’t superexcited, but she was fine. Don’t worry about my sister. She’ll be too drunk on love and attention to know what’s going on. You just play the part of model wedding guest and we’ll be fine.”

“I do know how to behave in social situations, you know.”

“I know. I guess I’m just restating the obvious.” Mindy blew out a breath of frustration. “I should go. My to-do list is ridiculous.”

“Oh, sure. Me, too.” For some reason, Sam couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye and he sensed that Mindy was feeling the same way. “Big plans this weekend?”

“Sleeping, perhaps. Maybe brunch on Sunday. How about you?”

“Definitely the sleeping part. You know how I feel about brunch.”

“You’re the only person I know who doesn’t like it.” Despite her words, Mindy’s voice was light and playful.

“Well, which is it? Breakfast? Or lunch? Make up your mind, brunch. You don’t get to be both. Plus, it’s basically cutting out an entire meal, which is a big downside for me. I will always eat.”

“I actually noticed today that you were looking a bit skinny. Are you sure you’ve been eating?”

Sam ran his hand over his stomach. He hadn’t weighed himself in forever, but he had noticed that his pants were getting a bit loose. “Clearly not enough if you think I’m looking scrawny.”

“I didn’t say scrawny. I said skinny. You’re still all muscle.”

Sam had to swallow back a groan. The thought of Mindy looking at him that closely was a definite turn-on. One he knew he shouldn’t be relishing too much. “I’m not sure friends should be making comments about each other’s bodies.”

“It was just an observation,” Mindy retorted.

“Fair enough. For the record, you looked perfect today.” Every last inch.

“You’re just sucking up to me because I’m taking you to the wedding of the year.”

Not really. “You’ve always seen right through me, Mindy Eden. I can’t get a single thing past you, can I?”

Mindy laughed again, a musical sound that made Sam feel a little lighter. “Nope. So you’d better stay on your toes. I’ll call you next week so we can make a plan for the rehearsal on Friday.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Sam and Mindy said their goodbyes, but as soon as he hung up, his office line buzzed again. “Mr. Blackwell? There’s a Ms. Parson on the phone. She won’t tell me who she’s with or what she’s calling about, but she’s very insistent that she needs to speak with you.”

Sam was more than a little annoyed by this. Just when he’d been having fun talking to Mindy, he had to be smacked in the face with a less-than-pleasant call. “Put her through.”

“Mr. Blackwell?” Ms. Parson asked.

“I thought I asked you to never call me at the office.”

“You did, and I’m sorry, but I was unable to reach you on your cell phone.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. Long story.”

“Well, I’m very sorry to bother you during the day. I was as discreet as I could be when I called.” Ms. Parson had always kept Sam’s business with her a secret, at his request.

“It’s fine. What can I do for you?”

“I know your involvement with our organization has always been anonymous, but there’s a potential problem with the couple who is underwriting and hosting this year’s big event. Do you know who and what I’m talking about?”

Sam had heard inklings of this. “The senator and her husband. Something about a sex scandal?”

“Yes. I’m afraid so. Obviously, if that continues to play out the way it is in the tabloids, we’re going to have to ask them to step aside. Which means we will need a new host for the event. You’d be the perfect person to do it. You’ve been such a big contributor for so long.”

Sam drew in a deep breath. He’d attended this event many times and was well aware of what hosting it involved—getting up in front of a crowd of five hundred people and asking them to open their wallets, usually by telling a story that caused people to reach for a tissue. “That would require me to step into the spotlight. I prefer to keep my personal life, especially my past, out of the public eye.”

“I know that, Mr. Blackwell. And we’ve always respected your wishes. Always. But perhaps it’s time to be a bit more public about your involvement. People might benefit from hearing your story, especially since your mother was so young when she passed away.”

“I’ll think about it. No promises.” Sam hung up, swallowed hard and looked out the window. He didn’t like to think about this. It was too painful. He preferred to write a sizable check every year, try very hard to forget the difficult parts of his past and to remember happier times. Those days were so far gone, it was sometimes hard to believe they’d ever existed. His sister, Isabel, was the only person on the planet still around to remind him that any of it had ever been real.

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