"No, Gates, that's not it. I, well, it's a little difficult to explain." As she was about to continue, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Sloane figured it was Liyah coming back to rescue her. Watching the door open slowly, she felt every drop of moisture leave her mouth as Chase walked in. "Chase. What are you doing here?" Glued to her seat and unable to move from behind her desk, she looked from Chase to Gates.

"We were supposed to have lunch today, remember?" Chase looked confused at her lack of remembering she owed him lunch for all of the babysitting duties he'd provided lately. Chase turned, noticing Gates. "Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't realize-"

"I-" She was about to reply before being interrupted by Gates. Standing and offering his hand, Gates introduced himself.

"Hi. Chase, is it? Gates McCall." She couldn't tell what was going on in Gates' head as he shook Chase's hand.

Accepting and equally returning the firm handshake of his friend's ex, Chase offered a smile to Gates. "So you're Gates? Sloane's told me about you."

Craning his head to the side, Gates took note of Sloane's obvious discomfort. "Well, unfortunately I can't say the same, but you're a lucky man Chase. Sloane is quite a woman, but I don't have to tell you that do I?" Sloane realized in that moment, Gates a.s.sumed she and Chase were a couple.

"Uh, well-" She could tell Chase was about to correct Gates and before she knew it she'd interrupted with her own version of the 'truth.'

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I forgot all about lunch." Sloane came around the desk to squeeze Chase's arm. She could feel him looking at her with his mouth gaped open, and she squeezed harder as he started to say something.

"Well, don't let me hold you up. I just wanted to stop by and apologize again for the other night." Gates nodded to Sloane. "Again, Chase, nice to meet you. Sloane, I'll see you soon. Have a great lunch." Both watched Gates exit the office before Chase turned to glare at Sloane.

"Honey? You want to tell me what's going on?" He crossed his arms waiting for her to divulge her impulsive thoughts.

Shrugging, she tilted her head. "I told you I had to think of something."

"And that's the best you could come up with? What've you gotten me into?" Chase huffed and moved past her to sit in the chair Gates vacated.

Motioning over to the calla lilies sitting on her desk, Sloane tried to explain her actions. "Gates sent these as a peace offering and I needed a way to keep him at bay until he goes back to New York. What was I supposed to do?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe tell him the truth." Chase shook his head at Sloane. "So, you want him to think we're together? Are you crazy? What about Brayden?"

"What about him? Gates doesn't know about him." She walked back to her chair and sat down. Picking up her pen and tapping it on the desk; she knew it was wrong, but having Chase pose as her boyfriend could work. Couldn't it?

"h.e.l.lo, I don't think so," Chase said, pointing to the picture behind her. "The picture behind your desk says otherwise. I'm sure he saw it and is wondering about it."

Looking up quickly, Sloane spun around to look at the tiny innocent face of her baby boy in the picture frame behind her desk. "Oh no! I forgot all about that." It was an older picture of him so Gates probably got the impression Brayden was a newborn. It was in plain view for Gates and she wasn't sure if he'd seen it, but if he had, she had a lot of explaining to do. Turning back to face her friend, she pleaded for his help. "I really need your help on this, Chase. I know it's a lot to ask, but-"

Chase could see the question in Sloane's eyes and realized what she was asking. "Oh no, no, Sloane. It's bad enough you have him thinking we're together, but now you want him to think Brayden's mine? No. I'm not doing it."

Skirting around the desk, Sloane knelt beside him and placed her hands on the arm of the chair. "Chase, please. It's only for a little while, just until he goes back to New York. Please?"

"Sloane, this is wrong on all accounts." Chase stood and walked over to look out of her window.

"Please." She stood from her spot, wringing her hands and continuing to beg for his help. She didn't have a clue what else to do and she needed him more than ever now.

Turning to face her, Chase shook his head. "What's so wrong with you telling him the truth?"

"I can't. You know that. Please, I really need this favor. Think about what's best for Brayden."

"What's best for him is to know who his father is."

"After talking to Gates the other night, I don't know if it's best to tell him. Please Chase. Please do this for me? I'll never ask you for anything else." She walked to his side and clutched his arm presenting the biggest, saddest eyes she could muster.

"Don't lie."

"Okay, I won't ask you for anything this big. Please?" She batted her eyelashes at him and hoped he would agree to her plan.

"I cannot believe I'm agreeing to this." Chase grumbled. "Okay, fine. But this is only until he leaves."

"Okay." She breathed deep trying to dismiss the nagging thoughts of how badly this farce could backfire if Gates found out the truth. She walked back to the shelf behind her desk and picked up the frame holding the picture of Brayden.

"I hope this doesn't come back to bite you." Chase added, waiting for her to get her things so they could go to lunch.

Staring at her precious baby's face behind the gla.s.s, she wiped her fingers across his image and sighed. "Me too."

Chapter 5.

"As you can see, the hospital will not only bring opportunities for children to be treated for very severe injuries, but will also increase the opportunities for more jobs. With more medical professionals in the area, it will increase the chances for more research and grants and give this community a chance to capitalize on various educational prospects as well." Sloane couldn't tell if Gates was really listening or not as she finished their presentation, and then watched as he leaned back in the leather chair and flipped through their proposal. Evan had returned and sat on Gates' right. He was a welcomed face in the boardroom and she was thankful he was there.

She wasn't sure exactly what to do next and it seemed Gates was taking his sweet time with making any type of comments as to whether he liked the proposal, or wanted her to drop dead in the middle of the floor. He hadn't mentioned anything about meeting Chase, nor had he said anything about the picture of Brayden. Actually, he hadn't said much of anything to her. Noticing the growing apprehension on her face, Evan cleared his throat and started to say something just as Gates spoke up.

"Sounds good. I'll have to give this a little more thought. I'm not saying it's a go, but you've given me something to think about." He placed the proposal on the desk before standing and reaching for his buzzing cell phone.

"Okay. Again, thank you for allowing us the time to present to you and if you have any further questions, Liyah and I'll be happy to answer them at any time." Gates nodded and motioned to his phone.

"Good. Well, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have a phone call I need to take. Evan, can you wrap things up?"

"No problem." Evan watched his boss retreat from the room then turned to the two eager faces watching his every move.

"So, what do you think?" Sloane waited on baited breath to hear Evan's point of view as she placed her notes into her briefcase.

"Sloane, you and Liyah made a great case for the hospital. I don't see any negatives to the project. But ultimately, it's Gates' decision."

"That's a safe answer, Evan. What do you really think? Is he going to do this or is he stringing us along?"

"Sloane, you did great. Don't worry, okay." Evan offered as he packed up his briefcase and moved toward the boardroom door. "Hey, he's listening to you at least, right?"

"I guess now we hurry up and wait." Liyah looked over at Sloane as they watched Evan leave the room and both continued packing up their things.

"Yeah, I guess so. I don't know, I kind of thought he would've been a little more receptive or would've asked more questions. I'm guessing introducing him to Chase wasn't as great of an idea as I thought."

Liyah stopped what she was doing to look at Sloane. "What?"

"Yesterday, when he came to the office. After you left, Chase showed up. We were supposed to go to lunch and I'd completely forgotten about it. I guess I, well, I kinda gave him the impression Chase and I are together and I'm pretty sure he saw the picture of Brayden behind my desk." Watching her friend's jaw go slack, Sloane waited for the fall out she knew was coming.

"You WHAT! You didn't?"

"Before I knew what I was doing, I made it seem like Chase and I were a happy couple." Biting her bottom lip, Sloane tried to explain that she panicked and before she knew it one lie was piling up on another one. "It's not like he wasn't a.s.suming it already."

"I can't believe you did that. Why did you do that?"

"Because, it was the only thing I could think of at the time. It's just until he leaves and then things can go back to normal." She tried shamelessly to defend her actions as well as convince herself she'd done the right thing. At least she hoped things would go back to the way they were. There were no guarantees and she really wasn't sure about much at this point.

"Don't look at me like that."

"That's kind of dangerous. What happens when he finds out?"

"He's not going to find out, and how can it be dangerous?"

"I'm not just talking about Gates. I'm talking about how you commandeered Chase's life. Did you consult him, or better yet, did you consult Hannah before you decided to do this? This has the potential to be very bad and you should get it over with and tell Gates the truth."

"I can't, Liyah, not now. And you know I'm not doing this to inconvenience Chase or Hannah. It's harmless." She couldn't deny the truth; she was deathly afraid of telling Gates about Brayden. So much so, that she hadn't really taken anything else into consideration when she told the fib. Of course this wasn't the way she wanted things to go, but now she'd started the ball rolling and there was no stopping the momentum.

"Sloane, be careful, okay?"

"I will." For the first time since she opened her mouth with the latest lie, she stopped to think about Chase and how she'd involved him in this whole mess and how it could affect his life. He and Hannah were getting more serious and before now, it never crossed Sloane's mind how this farce could affect her.

As both ladies started to leave the room, Gates reappeared at the door. "Great. I caught you before you left. Sloane, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Glancing at Liyah apprehensively, she swallowed hard and wondered if he'd heard her and Liyah's previous conversation.

"Gates, thanks for listening to our presentation. It was great to see you again." Liyah held out her hand and waited for Gates' strong hand to envelope hers in a friendly shake.

"It was my pleasure, and it was good to see you, too." Excusing herself, Liyah closed the door behind her.

As soon as the door closed, Gates turned. "Have dinner with me?"

"Ah, what? Gates, I, I don't think that's a good idea." She clutched her briefcase, almost sighing a breath of relief when he didn't say anything about Brayden. His impromptu dinner invitation surprised her and she felt her knees weaken. She could get lost in his deep-set gaze.

"Chase, huh? Come on, he can't be that insecure? If that's the case, then maybe he isn't the guy for you." She watched him confidently lean against the boardroom table.

"Okay, you don't know anything about Chase or my relationship with him, so-"

"Hey, I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries, just making an observation." He threw up his hands in mock defense and grinned. What was it about this man? Anytime he looked at her, she felt like a jellyfish.

"I can't go to dinner. I have plans." She looked away and clasped her hands together; trying to change the subject, get her mind off of him, anything to keep her from looking at his gorgeous face.

"Cancel them."

She looked up to see him staring at her with the most serious expression. "Who do you think you are? You order people around and we're all supposed to jump when you say so?" She was secretly happy he was acting so arrogant and c.o.c.ky again. For a moment, she thought maybe he was reverting to being nice to her and it would make it that much harder for her to deny him his wish of going to dinner.

Chuckling, he moved away from the table and walked closer to invade her s.p.a.ce. "Come on, Sloane. You know when I want something, I get it." She could feel his breath on her cheek and she fidgeted with the clasp on her briefcase. It was hard to stand near him and be under his resolute stare without growing more and more nervous. What is he doing? He suddenly seemed interested in spending time with her and she was thrown off.

"Well, I guess you'll be disappointed today because I'm not going to dinner with you." Don't cave Sloane. Stay calm. d.a.m.n, he smells divine.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." All she wanted was to get out of the room and away from his hypnotic gaze. Trying to sidestep him, she moved to head towards the door, but he stepped in her path to block her.

"Why're you being so obstinate? You said I could ask questions at any time, remember? I simply want to take you to dinner so we can talk about how we're going to proceed."

"What do you mean, how we're going to proceed?" She was trying to regain her composure; she had not been in this close proximity to Gates in a long time and his cologne made it hard for her to catch her breath. Her chest constricted when her eyes met his and she realized her facade was fading fast.

"You want to be able to take good news back to Antony and Isabella, right?" His eyes sparkled and she could tell he was enjoying toying with her. Of course she wanted to be able to tell her boss good news, but at what cost, and what did Gates have on his mind?

"Of course I do." Stop looking at me like that. Please.

"Then have dinner with me." His voice whispered on the wind and she had to brace herself to keep her knees from giving way.

"You're blackmailing me into going to dinner with you? Are you serious? If I don't go are you just going to automatically decide to go with D&S?" She was trying desperately not to give over all power to him, but failing miserably.

"It's not nearly that serious Sloane. That's not me. I don't have to blackmail any woman into going out with me. I merely want to talk to you about the project. But, if you don't want to go, out of fear of your boyfriend being mad at you...then hey, far be it from me to get in between a happy couple." He reached out and gently moved a lock of her hair behind her ear. His finger grazed her ear and she could feel a tingling sensation run down her ear and neck to wake up a place that had lain dormant since she left him over a year ago. Please don't do this to me.

"I'm not worried about Chase, and he's my fiance." As the words exited her mouth, Sloane knew Chase was going to slaughter her. She'd practically elevated their 'fake' relationship to a whole other level without consulting him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, fiance," Gates said slowly. He paused and she couldn't tell what the emotion was crossing his face. Whatever it was, he quickly recovered. "Then if you aren't worried about him, we can go." He took her hand in his, continuing to hold her gaze, and began drawing circles in her palm with his thumb. Every bit of the bone and cartilage in her body was surely starting to melt.

"Gates." The cotton filling her throat made it hard to form his name, much less get it out of her mouth. Please G.o.d make him stop.

"Come on, you're really too uptight. Stop thinking about it, just come with me."

Finding it harder and harder to concentrate as he gently ma.s.saged her hand, she relented. What can it hurt? If he pressed, she would embellish the truth about her and Chase some more and he could leave quicker. She was never one to be able to resist Gates' charm and she meekly gave in. "Okay."

Practically dragging her down the hallway, Gates took her briefcase from her and kept her other hand in his as they made their way to the parking lot. Once there, he opened the door to his rented Mercedes for her and they sped off through traffic.

"Gates, exactly where are we going?" She could no longer sit in silence as she watched the city skyline whiz by; it looked like they were headed away from any conceivable restaurant nearby.

"It's a surprise." He offered up cryptically, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the road.

"Um," she sat up as she watched him pull onto the road for the airport.

"Just sit back and relax."

Before she knew it, she and Gates were sitting on his private jet. "This is a bad idea." Mumbling to herself, she knew she needed to get up and get off of the plane, but she couldn't make her body listen to her brain. She gripped the armrest as she heard the pilot inform them they were ready for take-off. "What is this?"

"Dinner. I told you that. We used to do this all the time, remember?"

She bowed her head and sighed, thinking about the many times Gates would surprise her with spur-of-the-moment trips when they first started dating. It never ceased to amaze her how at any time she could be whisked away to some exotic island or a metropolitan city for dinner or a play and she never had to pack. It was always done for her, or if it was truly spontaneous, by the time they landed, she had a whole new wardrobe for the duration of their stay. It was something she missed by not being with him anymore. They were always so impulsive and it was somewhat thrilling to have that same freedom again.

"What're you trying to do here Mr. McCall? I'm the one who should be trying to impress you so you agree to back the Reyes project."

"Sloane, I'm going with the Reyes project. There never really was any doubt in my mind about it. I'd be a fool to stir up a controversy like that in the community. Plus it's a great project and it gives me good publicity." She watched him sit back in his seat with a smug, satisfied look on his face.