Free How to Trap a Tycoon by Elizabeth Bevarly

you—all of you—no matter what happens. And I will never, ever abandon you."
    As Dorsey grew into adolescence, the speech became more specific, as her mother had traded the word "people" for the word "men." And over the years, her mother's was a prediction that Dorsey had seen fulfilled. Carlotta had always been there for her, had always loved her unconditionally. And people, including men, had come and gone in Dorsey's life—though not with the frequency or the intimacy that they had with her mother. Dorsey made certain of that. And people, especially men, did seem to find what they wanted in her and overlook the rest.
    For some reason, that made her think of Adam Darien. To him, she was simply Mack. One of the boys. A pal, a bud, someone with whom he could speak frankly and nothing more. She couldn't imagine him seeing her as a woman. Unless, perhaps, she was someone like Lauren Grable-Monroe. Party girl, sexpot, tycoon-trapper.
    Hmmm…
    Having Lauren come forward into the public eye might possibly deter any exposing that Adam Darien and Lucas Conaway might undertake. If they saw Lauren in the flesh—or at least in the print and television media—then they might not be so inclined to dig deeply into her background. If Lauren saturated the market, then they might just leave her alone. They might never find out that she was, in fact, Dorsey MacGuinness, sociology instructor and stuffy academic.
    That thought brought her back to the matter at hand. She looked at her mother beseechingly, but she knew going in that the battle was already over. Because she'd already fought the hardest conflict with herself—and lost it.
    In spite of that, she asked her mother halfheartedly, "Why can't you be Lauren?"
    Carlotta smiled a bit sadly. "Actually, there's nothing I'd enjoy more than being the center of attention with a book tour and network television," she began. "Especially if it was that nice Matt Lauer doing the interview. But as I said, there are two reasons why I can't."
    "And they would be?"
    She expelled a quick sigh. "Reason number one is that there are too many men out there who, were I identified as the source of the material, would recognize themselves in the book. And worse, whose wives would recognize them in the book. The lives of those men would be thrown into an uproar, should I come forward as the author. Those men have been good to me, Dorsey. I owe them discretion."
    "You owe them nothing," Dorsey countered.
    "I owe them more than you realize," Carlotta countered. "More than you will ever know." She paused only a moment before adding, "And even if I didn't, they all have battalions of attorneys at their disposal, attorneys who could ultimately claim every nickel from those piles of money Anita has promised."
    "So you'd rather have your daughter's life thrown into an uproar?" Dorsey asked.
    "No," her mother told her. "But I think that you would bounce back from uproar much more quickly than any of those men would. Men are such frail creatures, after all. We do so have to shelter them, Dorsey. And who knows?" she added with a smile. "You might just like uproar, if you'd only give it a chance. I don't know why your quiet, peaceful, academic existence is so all-fired important to you."
    No, of course she wouldn't know that, Dorsey thought. Carlotta would never understand her need for quiet and permanence. But all she said was, "And the other reason?"
    This time her mother's smile held resignation. "The other reason is that nobody wants Lauren Grable-Monroe to be a fifty-something woman who only has a few good years left in her."
    "Oh, Carlotta, you don't honestly think—"
    "What I know to be true, Dorsey," she said, "is that the American public would much rather see you as Lauren than they would me."
    "A peace-and-quiet-loving academic who dresses like a lumberjack?" Dorsey asked. "I doubt it."
    "Dorsey MacGuinness is the peace-and-quiet-loving academic who dresses like a lumberjack," her mother corrected her.