Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

R egie jumped when the man across the table growled out, "No," at the same time as her grandfather said, "Out of the question."

Even without the shouting, she'd have struggled to remain composed. Mr. Varg's words completely discombobulated her brain functions. She had to rewind the conversation in her head and review the sentences again. Had he really suggested that the brooding man who worked for him would pose as her fiancé? She couldn't think of anyone less suited.

Not that she couldn't see how some people would be attracted to all that muscle and brawn. The guy had the type of body you only saw on movie stars in superhero movies after they'd spent months on a low-carb diet and worked out for hours per day. And still wore a body suit that simulated ripped abs .

She could see the aesthetics of his sex appeal, maybe even wonder what he would look like without his shirt on, but he was definitely not her type.

She preferred more refined men.

That sounded snooty.

She preferred less growly men, then. Yes, that's what it was.

And she definitely preferred men who didn't silently stare at her through an entire meeting. She'd felt his judgmental eyes on her from the very beginning and had to stop herself from staring back more than once. She was used to the look. Men less macho than him often had problems with women in authority. But in no way was she going to pretend she was engaged to someone who was threatened by her success.

She threw him a glance. His eyelids had been lowered for most of the meeting as he glowered at her from across the table. But now they were wide open, and his hazel eyes flashed as he rubbed a hand across his close-cropped dark hair. The gesture showed off impressive forearms, as revealed by his rolled-up shirtsleeves. Tattoos decorated his bronze skin, but they disappeared under his sleeves, and she couldn't make out the design.

"Come up with a different plan," he demanded in a gruff voice. "This one is not feasible." He glanced over at Regina. "No offense."

Oh, she was offended, alright. Not that she'd let him know. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out, Grandfather interrupted.

"I agree." He gestured toward the man. Was his name Bolt? What kind of name was that? "My granddaughter wouldn't date someone like that."

Regina put a hand on her grandfather's arm. "Calm down," she said. He was going to say something offensive. She just knew it. Grandfather was an elitist and didn't always know to guard his words when he was upset.

"Someone like what?" Bolt leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, which made his shirt stretch across his shoulders. Regie hoped he had a good tailor because the seams of that garment were getting a workout. "What's wrong with me? Is it my dark hair that clashes with your granddaughter's blonde strands?" His eyes flashed dangerously again. "Or is it my dark skin that doesn't match?" He revealed white teeth in what was probably supposed to be a smile, but looked more like a predatory snarl.

Regina looked at Arek Varg for help. Thanks to his ludicrous suggestion, the testosterone level in the room had risen and oozed way too thick. This verbal showdown between her grandfather and Bolt would only get worse. Arek needed to defuse the situation before it got out of hand, but the blond man just returned her look with an enigmatic half-smile, mirth glittering in his eyes .

Great. No help from the instigator of this impossible situation, then.

Regina shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with you," she said to Bolt. She kept the sigh that had built up inside her from escaping. As usual, it was up to her to diffuse a situation caused by fragile male egos.

"Then why wouldn't you date me?" If anything, the glare in his eyes turned even more hostile.

"Regina has advanced degrees in science and business," her grandfather sputtered out. "She dates men who are intellectually her equal."

Regie worried about him getting riled up. He hadn't looked well lately, but when she asked, he told her to stop nagging him and that he was fine. Because, of course, Lansfords didn't talk about illness or physical ailment. She squeezed grandfather's arm to get him to shut up. Surprisingly, he did. "What he means is that in the past, I've only been seen with dates who have advanced degrees or are business leaders."

Bolt quirked an eyebrow. "And you two don't think I am at your level?" He shot her grandfather a look. "Intellectually?"

She took a deep breath to try to steady herself. And then regretted the pause when her grandfather responded, "Exactly."

Regina shook her head. It had been too much to hope her grandfather would keep his mouth shut and let her do the talking. "I think people will be surprised that my new romantic partner is so...physically different from who I have dated in the past."

He leaned forward, his eyes hard. "Because I am dark-skinned."

For fuck's sake. She'd walked straight into that one because his skin tone was the least thing on her mind. She'd been distracted by all the muscles and his hostile glare. His skin was a rich golden brown. Combined with his square jaw and wide nose, his heritage could be anything from African to Hispanic, but that's not what she meant.

And it wasn't what grandfather meant either.

He hadn't had a problem with her non-Caucasian boyfriends in the past.

"No." She sighed. "Because most of the men I've dated don't look like they spend hours in the gym every day."

Bolt blinked a few times. "You think I'm too fit. You don't like muscles?" He sounded baffled. As if any woman who turned down the wonders of his beefcake body would have to be bonkers. He exchanged a look with Mr. Varg, who now looked equally puzzled. "But you run a fitness company. Wouldn't people expect you to date someone who works out?"

She threw out her hands. "I have no opinion about what you look like. And I don't know you, so I have no opinion about your intellect either." Regina turned to Arek. " That's my whole point. How am I going to pass off this complete stranger as my new fiancé? Wouldn't people who know me wonder why I never mentioned him? Or become suspicious when they figure out that I know absolutely nothing about him?" How had her life become this farce? And how had she so completely lost control of this conversation?

"Don't worry," Arek said. "We have prepared for that. My team has built an extensive background story of how you met, plus we have prepared a solid fake identity for Bolt."

"Oh. We have prepared for that, have we ?" Bolt growled out, with extra emphasis on the last word. "The team has been working on this for a while, then?" He glared at his boss with even more venom than he'd previously aimed at Regina.

The other man just smiled back.

The CEO of Heimdall Shield didn't seem bothered by his employee's disrespectful tone. If anything, he seemed amused by it. Mr. Varg smiled broadly. "While you finished up your last case, I had the team prepare everything."

Bolt growled something under his breath that Regie couldn't make out.

"That still doesn't explain why Regie wouldn't have mentioned this man before." Grandfather shook his head. "I won't have people believe my granddaughter would tie herself to someone she just met. It's simply not acceptable." He waved a hand in the air. "She has a reputation to think of, and jumping into bed with someone she doesn't know is not ladylike."

Regie rolled her eyes so hard she thought they'd get stuck in the back of her head. Before she'd come up with a suitable response to her grandfather's antiquated views, Mr. Varg spoke again in a no-nonsense voice. "Mr. Lansford, if you want your granddaughter protected twenty-four-seven while not tipping off your board of directors, the public, or the media, this is your only choice. I understand that there might be some awkward questions about the new man in her life. But it will also create publicity. And we can control the narrative of that."

He made valid points, but the idea of having a stranger with her constantly chilled Regina to the core. That was too invasive. He would see too much. Know too much. "Couldn't I have a woman bodyguard post as my new best friend instead?"

Mr. Varg nodded. "You'll have female protectors posing as your friends as well. But unless you've dated women in the past, all kinds of rumors would start flying if she stayed overnight often."

"She hasn't," Grandfather said. Regie resented him being so certain he knew her dating history. It's not like she discussed her bed partners with him. But before she could say anything, he continued, "And if she starts dating women now, that will cause the same kind of media circus that we're trying to avoid by keeping the threats quiet." Apparently, dating women was still ladylike as long as she took the time to get to know them properly.

Regina took a deep breath, but the air felt too thick. She couldn't help being straight. It wasn't like sexuality was a choice. You fell on the spectrum in one spot or another or preferred neither. Her mind searched frantically for a way out of this bonkers situation. "But once the board members are all vetted, we can break up?" She looked at Bolt and echoed the words he'd thrown at her before. "No offense."

He shot her a sly smile. "None taken. We just have to agree on who will dump who. Or is that who will dump whom? My intellectually inferior mind doesn't always get the grammar correct." He winked.

He'd gone from grumpy and growly to playful too quickly for her to adjust to the mood switch. That must be why she felt flush after that sexy wink. Regie didn't care about the grammar, but obviously, she would be the one breaking up with him. Duh.

"That won't work," Mr. Varg said. No matter how much you trust your board members, someone is bound to leak that your relationship is fake. Even if they don't intend to reveal that detail, someone will tell a trusted friend, who will tell someone else, and so on."

"And then we're back to a media circus again," Grandfather said. "And Regina dates so seldom that seeing her with anyone will be reported in the tabloids. Especially when they have already written about the IPO." He turned to Regina. "And we have to protect the company's reputation at all cost."

As if she didn't know that her life was second to the company's well-being. She'd long ago stopped resenting that Grandfather saw her only as an extension of the company, not a person. She did, however, resent that he was so certain he knew her love life. But the conversation they needed to have about that should be done in private, so Regie addressed Mr. Varg instead. "There has to be another way. What if we delay the public offering until we figure out who's behind the threats?" Her nerves were frazzled, and she felt on the verge of a breakdown. She needed to get out of there quickly and do some deep breathing in order to stave off the anxiety building up inside her.

"That would start up other rumors," Grandfather said. "People will wonder if there's a financial problem that we don't want to disclose. It would hurt us even more in the long run than vicious rumors about you personally."

Regina took a deep breath and pressed her index fingers to her throbbing temples. Why did everything rest on her shoulders? She'd worked hard to get to where she was. This company and the people who worked for it meant the world to her. She couldn't jeopardize their livelihood and careers in order to spare herself the inconvenience of having someone with her twenty-four-seven. Plus, she owed her grandfather this IPO. He was a major stockholder in her company. This public offering would give him enough wealth to make up for the fortune her dad had swindled.

No matter how hard it would be. She'd just have to figure out how to keep her secrets safely locked away from Bolt—and the rest of the world.

She'd been able to keep boyfriends from getting too close before.

How hard could it be to keep a fake fiancé, a stranger who obviously didn't like her, at an arm's length?