“Good heavens, no.”
His searched her eyes. “Are you a man-hater?”
Katie glared at him. “Do I hate your entire gender? No. Are there a few men who push me close to the edge of hating them?Yes.”
Meaning him. Refusing to take the bait, he told her why he’d wanted to meet for lunch. “My father’s Will has a codicil I was only recently shown. If I do not have a legitimate heir of my own before turning thirty-five, everything goes to my lovable, yet dimwitted younger brother.”
She shrugged. “What does any of this have to do with me?”
“I need to marry and have a baby to secure my position.” He took her hand, knowing this would be as close as he ever came to proposing to a woman. “What do you say? Are you up for it?”
♥♥♥
A baby?!
Katie dropped her gaze to the small plate of biscuits. Two left. She had even less of an appetite now. Although she hadn’t met Chase’s father, she’d heard about him from his former employees. He was their second favorite subject; Chase was the first. When she’d started to work for the Grayson empire, at least one person a day asked her if Chase was as ruthless as his father. Juicy gossip was a favored fringe benefit at Grayson, but she refused to participate. Chase was a good boss. End of story. That bit of news instantly killed the spark in the eyes of nosy people.
Several questions formed in her stunned brain now. She didn’t know which to ask first. What happened to her job if his brother inherited? Did his brother even want to be CEO? What did their domineering mother have to say about it? Was it legal for a father to disinherit his son if he didn’t have a child?
She went with, “Is that why the lawyers are constantly in your office?”
He nodded. “We’ve been trying to find a way out of the codicil since it was produced. Our attorneys assured me they could overturn it, so I wasn’t that worried. However, I was informed this morning they have exhausted all legal avenues and can’t stop my father’s last wishes from being enforced, no matter how stupid they are.”
“Will you be totally disinherited?”
“Of course not.” His jaw tightened. “But I’ll lose my position as CEO, and that is not going to happen. I don’t care what I have to do. I have worked too long and too hard to watch my clueless brother destroy everything.”
“Maybe he’ll surprise you.”
Chase raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Have you met Billy?”
“Why don’t you just let him have it? The job makes you absolutely miserable. Anyone can see that.”
A spark of murderous rage hit his eyes, but it was dampened a bit by his dry humor. “Being CEO doesn’t make me miserable. That’s my family’s job, and they take great pride in their work.”
“I don’t get it. Why do you put up with them? You have looks, brains, and what my mum calls charisma. You could build your own empire separate from them.”
“This is my empire.Mine. I will not allow Bumbling Billy to get his hands on it.”
Katie sighed. “It’s the power and money, isn’t it? That’s why you won’t walk away. You’re addicted to being in total control of your father’s corporation, and I’m sure you enjoy lording it over your family. Admit it. Being CEO keeps them in line at least to a certain extent, even your mother.”
He grabbed a biscuit/cookie off her plate and popped it into his mouth. He chewed with aggression as if the tasty treat had done something to displease him. Or perhaps he was imagining grinding her between his teeth for voicing an opinion. Perhaps she’d hit too close to the target.
He shrugged his wide shoulders beneath the tan shirt. “I suppose there is a certain amount of truth to that. Does it matter why I want to keep my position?”
Chase placed his large hand on top of hers where it rested next to her plate, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. He leaned in and spoke in a quiet voice that led her to believe he didn’t want the other patrons to overhear. His dark eyes were deep whirlpools that sucked her in and refused to let go.
“You can help me if you’re willing.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze. “All we have to do is get married and have a baby.”
“Oh, is that all?”
Laughter bubbled up her throat and escaped her parted lips. He had to be joking. The idea of them getting married was ludicrous. She knew almost nothing about him, and what she did know wasn’t that great. Chase Grayson was a typical workaholic, gorgeous but boring now that he’d grown up. She would have loved spending time with the pre-CEO Chase, the fabulous playboy who seemed to get in trouble every other weekend, trouble that daddy’s money helped him escape. That Chase might have enjoyed her company, but the man sitting next to her couldn’t handle the real her.
His serious expression stopped the laughter dead in her throat.
“I don’t like this any more than you do,” Chase said. “But if we don’t do it, you and I are both out. Do you think Poppy will allow you to stay? She’ll be worried you might spy on Billy for me. Marry me now, and save us both later.”
Poppy had married his brother last year and set her sights on the CEO chair. For Billy, of course, not for her. He hadn’t cared anything about the company until she began to push him.