“I didn’t believe it at first,” Jonas interjected, his voice as sharp as a new razor blade. “At least not until I saw the betting sheet posted on the bulletin board. You did amazingly well; the odds weren’t in your favor. Several of the women seemed to have underestimated you. But I noticed the men were quick to trust your many charms. But only three hundred dollars? Really, Stephanie, you sold yourself cheap.”
His eyes narrowed as he mentioned the money, and Stephanie wanted to cry out with rage. “I didn’t have anything to do with the marriage pool.’’
“Not according to what I overheard. You’ve been in on this little setup from the beginning. You and half the office were plotting my downfall like I was some puppet on a string. Tricking me into falling in love with you was all part of the plan, wasn’t it?”
“I—”
“Don’t bother to deny it. At least have the decency to own up to the truth.”
“I never had any intention of falling in love with you,” she admitted, battling back tears.
“I suppose not. All you wanted—all anyone wanted—was to see me make a fool of myself.”
Moisture wetted her lashes, but Stephanie refused to give in to the wall of tears that threatened to erupt at any second. “You want the truth, then fine, I’ll tell you everything.”
Jonas reclaimed his chair and reached for his pen. “I have no desire to hear it.”
He started writing, ignoring her, but Stephanie refused to walk away from him now. He had to understand that it had never been a game with her. She’d fallen into the girls’ plans as an unwilling victim.
“Several weeks ago, a few of the ladies from the office approached me... it was right after I’d worked for you when Ms. Westheimer was ill.” She waited for some response, but when Jonas didn’t give her any, Stephanie continued undaunted. “They believed ... the girls from the office... that you worked so hard and demanded so much of everyone else because you needed a wife and family to fill your time. They thought you and I were perfect together.”
Jonas snickered.
Stephanie did her best to ignore it. “Anyway, I laughed at them and told them it was a crazy idea. I didn’t want any part of it.”
“Obviously something changed your mind.”
“Yes, something did,” she cried. “Paris. I met the real Jonas Lockwood at a fountain in a French park, and I knew then that I’d never be the same. For just a fleeting instant, I glimpsed the man inside that thick facade and discovered how much I could come to love him.”
“ More’s the pity.”
“I had no intention of falling in love with you. It just... happened. Even now, I don’t regret it, I can’t. I love you, Jonas Lockwood. I apologize that the girls’ game got carried to that extent, but please believe me,
I didn’t have anything to do with the marriage pool. I didn’t even know anything about it until yesterday.” She paused, her chest heaving with the tension that coiled her insides like a finely tuned violin. “I’d never do anything to hurt you. Never.”
Jonas dropped his gaze again. “Okay, you’ve had your say, and I’ve listened. It’s what you wanted. Now kindly do as I request and leave the diamond with Ms. Westheimer. Whatever was between us, and I sincerely doubt it was love, is over.”
Stephanie felt as though he’d physically struck her. Tears burned in her eyes, brimmed, and fell over the thick lashes onto her cheek. “You put this ring on my finger,” she said softly, slowly. “If you want it off, you’ll have to remove it yourself.” She held her hand out to him, and waited.
Although he refused to look at her, Stephanie could sense his indecision. “If it isn’t love that’s between us, I don’t know what it is,” she added softly.
“I saw you last night,” he said, in a voice so low that the words were barely audible. “You came out of some cocktail lounge, laughing and joking with a group of women, and I knew it was a victory celebration. You’d achieved the impossible. You’d brought me to my knees.”
“Not that...never that.” Stephanie didn’t know how to explain that she’d simply been happy and had wanted to share her joy with her friends. But words would only condemn her now.
“Keep the diamond,” he said finally. “You’ve earned it.”
“Jonas, please—”
“Either you leave peacefully, or I’ll call security and have you thrown out.” His tone left little doubt that the threat was real.
Stunned almost to the point of numbness, Stephanie turned away from him. Tears blinded her as she headed for the door. Her hand was on the knob when she paused, not daring to look at him. “Did you say something?” she asked hopefully. “No.”
She nodded and, leaving the door open, moved into the foyer and to the elevator. Something came over her then. A sensation so strong and so powerful that she could barely contain it. With a burst of magnetic energy she whirled around and stormed back into his office, stopping at his desk. “Well,” she cried, her hands on her hips. “Aren’t you going to stop me?”
Jonas glanced up and snarled. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“They said you’d stop me.”
“Who?”