Free The Billionaire Scoop: A BWWM Romance (Secrets & Deception Book 1) by Mia Caldwell

off with Lucy. For good.”
    Mari started feeling a bit guilty. 
    She was violating this man in so many ways—his privacy, his trust.
    Stop it—it’s necessary for your line of work. Don’t let Annie get in your head! Integrity keeps a lot of people constantly struggling. Exhibit A: your parents. Right now, you’re not dealing with someone who knows what integrity means. How do you think people like him get so rich?
    “So how will you explain my presence?”
    “I’ll say you’re there on behalf of the company—with PR or something.”
    “You better make that clear to her immediately. Anyway, I’m not saying a word while we’re there since it’s not my place in any way to speak—I’ll just be there for you.”
    He squeezed her hand and warmth flooded her at his touch, flushing her cheeks.
    She wanted to maintain contact, his large masculine hand on hers, but he pulled away.
    She tried to hide her disappointment at the broken grip.
    “Help me find the right things to say,” he said suddenly.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You’re a woman—what kind of mines should I avoid here?”
    Mari let herself laugh.
    “Okay, first of all, all women aren’t the same and you know that, because otherwise, you would have just married Lucy. So you need to tell me more about her—about this particular woman—and I’ll see what I can do. Although to me, she’s a different breed altogether.”
    “Okay, well, here’s the rundown: she’s materialistic, rather shallow, the daughter of a multimillionaire who never had to work for anything. Educated—has a business degree. Planning to get her MBA and find some place in her dad’s company or mine. Or not—maybe she’ll decide being a socialite is a job. I know she got her business degree because her dad insisted, but she’s got him wrapped around her finger, so if she said she wanted to run a bakery, no questions asked, I’m sure—even if it never turned a profit. Then again, less is always expected of women.”
    Mari quirked her eyebrow.
    She almost argued with him on that point, but ceded it instead; after all, he was right. If a woman married well, nothing more was required of her, except maybe producing a kid or two. A man was always expected to be the provider, no matter how many women’s lib movements and shouts for equality. Most women Mari knew were perfectly happy to let a man ‘be a man.’
    The whole point is to have the choice, her mom had told her once.
    “Okay, based on what you’ve told me, it sounds like she’d be happy with a very expensive parting gift and some lip service about how you realized you don’t deserve her just yet—that you need more time to grow into the man she deserves as a husband.”
    She detected a slight curl of lips as he said, “but that would imply I’d get back to her someday. I do not want to send that message.”
    “I’m still thinking.”
    She was quiet a moment.
    “Somehow, you’ve got to stress that it’s you, not her—without actually saying that, of course; it’s the most cliché thing in the world, despite its truth. Maybe make it clear you don’t want to get married at all, whether true or not; after all, she just needs something for now—something she can tell her friends. If you meet the right girl someday and change your mind, it won’t matter anymore. By that time, Lucy would have moved on, and maybe it’ll sting a little, maybe not, but time heals all wounds. She just needs to be able to save face at this time.”
    “Okay, so something like this: ‘There’s a better way to do this. The merger, I mean. The symbolic and legal joining between our families. I don’t want to be in your way…’”
    “Yes! That’s it—focus on her. Make it all about her and her needs; that’s brilliant, Jim.”
    “‘…I realize how hard you’ve worked on creating the perfect fairytale wedding and it’s only fair you marry your prince. We both know I’m not him, and I feel like a frog getting in the