Riding Mr. Benson: A Fake Marriage Romance Read online

  “Arc, comeback!” she shouted as the dog ran deeper into the house.

  “Is that a dog?” He yelled. Violet thought he couldn’t be more than six or seven. The perfect age to see the destruction around them as fun.

  “It’s my dog, her name is Arc, she won’t bite, but she thinks we’re playing a game of chase,” Violet answered before yelling for Arc again.

  “Cool,” the boy said. “I love games. Arc! Come here Arc!”

  “Wait!” Violet shouted, turning toward the direction the boy had run after Arc and slamming into a hard wall of flesh. Tight muscular flesh.

  * * *

  Rafe heard the commotion from his office but was completely unprepared for destruction in his foyer and the tall, curvaceous blond in heavy work boots that was standing in the center of it all screaming.

  “Is that a dog?” Chloe asked quietly, as they approached. His son laughed and chased the beast around. It was definitely a dog.

  He didn’t mean to sneak up on the woman, he was simply moving in to get a better look, when she backed right up into him. But he found it hard to let her go once the soft curves hidden under all that work uniform fit against him. How long had it been since he felt a woman, any woman?

  “Oh,” she sighed and leaned into him, just slightly before stepping back and looking up. Rafe’s breath hitched as he found himself staring into the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Usually he didn’t find blue eyes impressive, but looking into hers was like being on a white sand beach and looking out into a crystal clear, calm ocean. Hints of gray and white outlined the blue that surrounded her irises like waves crashing. “Excuse me,” she said, and Rafe snapped back to reality.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, and suddenly all the commotion in the room came to a halt. Travis looked up at him with his own green eyes and smiled. Rafe’s heart melted and Chloe let out a giggle behind him. He turned shooting her a look, this was serious.

  “It’s a dog, dad!”

  “I see that, Trav. But where did she come from?” He was speaking to his son but he looked down at the woman in front of him.

  Obviously she held all the answers. She quirked her eyebrow, and Rafe found himself wondering where she came from. This vision in a worker’s set of overall’s and a slight dark smudge on her cheek that he wanted to gently wipe away from her porcelain skin. If she was an employee of his why had he not seen her before? Then again, maybe if she was an employee it was a good thing he hadn’t. Even now with his family in the room, and Davis in the corner fretting himself into convulsions, all Rafe could think about was pulling her against him again, and seeing if that blonde hair felt as silky running through his fingers as it looked.

  “Can we keep her?” Travis asked.

  “I’m afraid not, buddy,” the woman said, her voice was velvet and she looked at Travis with genuine affection. “She’s my best friend, and I would be too sad to see her live with anyone else. Even if it was a cool kid like you.”

  “Oh,” Travis said. “But can I play with her now?”

  “Sure, if that’s ok with your dad? Maybe you could take her out into the driveway? Her name is Arc. She loves to play fetch with this.” The woman pulled a worn pink tennis ball from one of her pockets and handed it to Travis. His eyes lit up. He looked up at Rafe and Rafe instantly knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse the boy anything.

  “Go ahead, just be careful,” he said. Before his sentence was finished Travis had Arc by the collar and was racing out the door. The dog happily wagging her tongue and her tail, completely oblivious to the mess around them.

  Rafe turned back to the woman, as Davis slowly emerged from behind the remaining undamaged table and got to work setting the room back to rights.

  “So, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” She took a step back and looked at him, hard. All the softness in her face she had when speaking to Travis had faded away replaced with a touch of what Rafe thought was anger. Even to himself the sound of his voice came off pompous and stuffy, but he didn’t recognize the woman at all.

  So why the hell was she pissed? And why at him?

  Chapter Three

  “You really have no idea who I am?” Now that the young boy, Travis, was outside with Arc Violet saw no need to keep up a friendly pretense.

  “I’m afraid I really don’t know who you are. That is why I asked,” Rafe said.

  The man standing in front of her was a tall, handsome drink of water, that was for sure. With his thick tan arms, but not from working in the sun. No, Violet bet Rafe Benson was evenly tanned all over. His eyes were a shade of green she had only ever seen in drawings of meadows and forest leaves in children’s picture books. His dark hair had the slightest hint of an unruly curl, and she itched to reach up and push an errant lock off his face. She instinctively clenched her toes in response to the way his chest rose and fell. She had to get a hold of herself.

  You’re here to collect your paycheck Violet, she admonished herself. It doesn’t matter that Rafe Benson looks like an Adonis.

  “My name is Violet Chambers. And you Mr. Benson owe me twenty-five thousand dollars.”

  “I owe you what?” He asked. Violet stood her ground. He wasn’t going to be able to feign ignorance to get out of paying her. There was no way she was leaving his house until he did. He clearly wasn’t hurting for the money.

  “Did you say your name was Violet Chambers?” The young woman, who Violet immediately knew was Mr. Benson’s sister, stepped out from behind her brother. “Didn’t you go to school with Kelly… oh what was her last name. Kelly…”

  “Jennings. Well actually she is Kelly Gordon now, but yeah we went to law school together.”

  “I knew you looked familiar are you Ivy Chambers sister?”

  “I am.”

  “Oh my god, I love Ivy!” the woman exclaimed and then turning to her brother. “Rafe, this is Violet Chambers. You probably don’t know this but Ivy helped me out of those traffic tickets last year. Our mothers are friends. I’m Chloe, Chloe Benson.” Violet tried not to let herself be distracted by Chole. She had no idea who she was, but if their mothers were friends, that made it all the harder for her to think she was going to actually get Rafe to pay her. Most people assumed because she was a Chambers she was as rich as her family. They don’t know she walked away from that life.

  “You’ll have to forgive me Chloe. I don’t really talk to Ivy about her clients, and I haven’t spoken to my mother in two years. Not since I left law school.” She didn’t understand why she was revealing so much. Could it possibly be because the whole time his sister was speaking, Rafe just stared at her with those intense green eyes. He didn’t say a word. It was disconcerting and she wasn’t going to let him stay silent.

  “Forgive me for the mess in the foyer, and I’ll certainly clean it up, and try and pay for any damages, but Mr. Benson…”

  “Call me Rafe.” Oh god, his voice was so smooth. When he spoke a sensation crawled down her spine in tingling star bursts.

  “Ok, Rafe. Forgive me, but I only tried to get your butler to help me find you. You owe me for the ironwork on your gate, and as I have finished the artwork, I would very much like to get paid.”

  “Artwork? Paid?”

  “Yes, artwork, and yes paid.”

  “Artwork. Paid.” He said it again. Was he dumb or something? Why did the man just repeat what she was saying.

  “Was I not clear, Rafe, um Mr. Benson?”

  “Rafe,” Chloe interrupted. “If you are thinking what I think you’re thinking. I agree. Ms. Chambers would be absolutely perfect.”

  “Perfect?” What the devil was Chloe talking about? What would she be perfect for? All she wanted was her paycheck and to get Arc and get the hell away from these crazy loons.

  “She would be perfect,” Rafe finally said. “Ms. Chambers, won’t you please follow me to my study. Let’s talk about your artwork, and your payment.”

  * * *

  “You’re nuts. Absolutely nuts.”
Violet could not believe what this man was actually saying to her. What year was it? A fake marriage to impress a business partner. No way.

  “I assure you Ms. Chambers, Violet. I’m not nuts,” he said. Violet could not disagree more. What he had just outlined was the definition of nuts. He wanted her to pretend to be his wife, and his son’s stepmother, for a whole week at some fancy lake house on Lake Jordan and in return…

  “And in return I will pay you triple what the cost of your ironwork is worth. How can you refuse seventy-five thousand dollars?” He had her there. With that kind of money she could stop doing gate work for the limited clientele she had, and really focus on her art. She could pay her studio rent for two whole years, as well as put some money away for a rainy day. It was a lifeline, but she didn’t feel right about it.

  “I’m not a prostitute Rafe,” she replied. Violet had avoided sex her whole life, not on purpose, but that was just how the cards had been played. She never met a man that made her want to share that part of herself, yet at twenty-six, she had never met a man like Rafe Benson.

  This is a bad idea, she thought. A horrible idea.

  “Woah…woah…Violet, Ms. Chambers I’m not proposing sex for money,” Rafe said. “I need this deal to go through, and the man in charge of making that decision, Skylar Dennis, all but said that he was only signing the papers because I had a lovely wife, er, family. You were raised in this life,” he continued waving his arms around the room. “You need money, I have money. It’s the perfect deal, and at the end of the week we can go our separate ways.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t need money, you owe me money. There is a difference.”

  “Yes, well technically, I don’t owe you anything. See, I don’t have a signed contract, I didn’t pay a deposit, and the employee you said you had the agreement with is no longer a part of my company, for many reasons. Theft being one of them. So where does that leave us?” That was a low blow. She couldn’t believe he would even…

  “Are you serious? Did you even see the work I did for you? I had an agreement with David, sure I didn’t get it writing. I didn’t think I had too. You have a solid reputation as a stand-up businessman. But really? You would stoop to blackmail?” He simply shrugged his shoulders. Violet realized he was serious.

  “Rafe,” Chloe chastised from the corner. At least one Benson has some decency, Violet thought, her anger growing.

  “Chloe’s right. Look Ms. Chambers, Violet, I’m not a bad guy, the only reason I’m pressing this so hard is because I need this deal.”

  “Why do you need this deal so badly? Don’t you have enough money?” Violet put her hands on her hips. She couldn’t believe she was still in Rafe Benson’s library, in his house, discussing this… she didn’t even know what this was. Sure she needed the money, and the extra money he was offering her was hard to refuse, but of all the arrogant, self-important, greedy men…. Violet wasn’t going to stick around any longer. She turned and headed to the door. Rafe’s entitled bull was starting to make her nauseous.

  “I need it for my son,” he said. “Please, I need this deal to close so I can stop working so much, and spend real time with my son.”

  Violet’s hand was on the door handle, and she stopped. Well, crap, she thought. That was unexpected. She turned and faced Rafe. He had dropped his head. Violet could instantly tell it was hard for him to admit his reasons for such a hair brained idea. She couldn’t believe it but she actually felt for the man. Even though she had only spent a few moments with Travis, she understood what it was like to grow up with parents who weren’t around.

  Her own parents were always working, at some social function, or just simply unavailable. It was part of the reason she stayed away now. She didn’t want that kind of life.

  “You are doing it to spend time with Travis?” She asked. He nodded.

  “Yes, I don’t want to be the kind of Dad who is a slave to his work. I’m all Travis has. I want to be around for him, like I wasn’t able to be for the first six years of his life. This is my chance to do that. Please.”

  “But we don’t even know each other? How would it even work?”

  “That’s where I can come in,” Chloe spoke up from the corner. “Violet and I can spend time together this week. I can fill her in on some of the details about you brother. Then on the plane you can fill in the rest.”

  Violet liked Chloe so far. And if she was the one giving her the goods on her brother, then Violet wouldn’t need to spend any more time than necessary with Rafe. It could work.

  “And Rafe, you will pay me for the iron work as well?”

  “Tell you what, I’ll draw up a contract for both. I will pay you now for the iron work, and half up front for the trip to the lake, the final half when we return and the company sells?”

  With a contract he wouldn’t be able to back out, and Violet really could use that money to launch herself fully. She would be free. “And no forced…um… you know?” She felt silly for asking but it really was important that Rafe knew the expectations ahead of time if she was seriously considering this.

  “No, I don’t make a habit of forcing myself on unwilling women,” he said. “If you are in my bed it’s because you want to be.”

  “I’ve no doubt about that, but regardless, it won’t be me,” she said. Violet fought down the blush that threatened to creep up to her cheeks. She had no doubt that a man that looked like Rafe Benson had no problem getting women into his bed, but she would not be one of them. No matter how tempting he may be. She would however, take his money.

  “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this, but draw up the contract. I’ll do it.”

  Rafe smiled, and Violet’s stomach churned. He really was an incredible looking man, especially when he was smiling. Chloe let out a clap and squeal, and Violet tried not to roll her eyes.

  It’s only a week, she thought. You can handle a week.

  Chapter Four

  “Chloe are you sure she is expecting us?” Rafe asked his sister. She seemed too eager to send him and Travis to Violet Chambers’ apartment this morning.

  “Yes, she said last night that she thought a picnic with you and Travis would be a great idea. It would help you get to know each other before the Lake House trip.” Chloe had a look in her eye that Rafe learned long ago meant she was up to something. It seemed at the moment that something was forcing him to spend time with Violet.

  “Aren’t you going to join us?” he asked his sister as she made no move to get into his car, instead headed toward her own.

  “No way, you and Travis need to get to know Violet. She’s great. I think you’ll really like her. Besides we’ll go shopping right before you leave on Saturday.”

  Just like Chloe to flake out at the last minute. Now Rafe had to ‘hang out’ as his sister put it, with a complete stranger. A complete absolutely beautiful stranger who just so happened to have signed a contract to pretend to be his wife for a week. Rafe looked up at the clear blue sky, the temperature wasn’t as hot as was typically for this time of year, and there was just enough of a breeze that he bet he and Travis could get a kite up. He supposed he would have to spend time with Violet eventually and it was such a nice day.

  “Fine, but don’t think I’m not on to you sister,” he shouted across the circular driveway at Chloe.

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Rafe?” she replied, innocent as the devil himself.

  * * *

  Ugh, Violet moaned, her head was killing her, and the light streaming in from the blinds let her know she slept way later than she usually did. It was Chloe’s fault.

  She rolled over in her queen-sized bed, coming into full contact with Arc’s hard furry body. The dog knew she wasn’t allowed to sleep in the bed, and had obviously taken advantage of Violet’s extremely inebriated state the night before when she’d come in from Chloe’s ‘get to know Rafe’ dinner.

  “Arc, move,” She groaned, pushing the huge animal without causing Arc to so
much as budge. Why did she let Chloe talk her into that second bottle of wine? Because they were having fun, that’s why. And when was the last time Violet had fun with anyone? Chloe even mentioned something about getting together this week for a picnic, and Violet agreed. She loved picnics. Thankfully she didn’t have to worry about any hang out time for today. In fact, there wasn’t anything scheduled. No clients, no meetings, and no picnics.

  Violet surrendered that she would have to get up and face the day, eventually. Since Arc seemed comfortable in the bed, and wasn’t going to budge, she decided there was no better time than the present.

  She blindly found her way into the shower. When the hot water hit her skin, she felt some relief from the headache she had woken up with. She let the water flow over her, not so much washing as just feeling the soothing patter of the flow.

  She had to admit she did learn a lot about the Benson family from Chloe. She now knew that Rafe broke his leg when he was fourteen trying to save a dog from steep wooded ravine, during a family vacation in the Talladega Forest. She knew that Rafe had an engineering degree, and before he founded his company he wanted to build bridges. Chloe said he was fascinated by their construction. When most teenage boys had posters of half-naked super models on their walls, Rafe had posters of skyscrapers and bridges. In fact, Chloe said, growing up Rafe was kind of a nerd.

  “He’s certainly not a nerd anymore,” Violet said to her reflection as she toweled off. Violet took stock of her own looks. She had always known she was pretty, at least by conventional standards when she was fully clothed. But she knew something about her body that no one, except family knew that would make even the most open minded man cringe, certainly a man as sexy as Rafe Benson.

  She ran her finger down the long jagged scar that started just below her collarbone and ended before her belly button. Honestly, she didn’t mind the scar. It was a symbol of her survival. She had suffered with a weak heart her whole childhood, then at twenty-two she finally had a doctor that figured out she suffered from a rare form of heart valve disease. She’d had a valve replacement and it was like getting a whole new lease on life. She had energy for the first time. She felt confident and able.