Fiance by Fate
by Jennifer Shirk
Copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Shirk. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Chapter One
You’re not doing anything wrong.
Sabrina Cassidy took a deep breath and waited for the psychic to shuffle the cards.
You’re not doing anything wrong.
She repeated the thought again for good measure—and because she liked to hear herself think.
Eating an entire cake? Sure, she could feel guilty. Lying on a résumé? Oh yeah, she’d certainly feel terrible about that one. But asking a psychic for information on her fiancé? Not a chance. She was sure any woman in her position would do exactly the same thing.
Pretty sure, anyway…
The psychic placed the third Fate tarot card down on the table with such careful attention to spacing that Sabrina was almost afraid to breathe on it. The woman seemed a stickler for details—except when it came down to her name: Madame Butterfly. The psychic was neither Japanese nor even really female for that matter, but so far she seemed to know what she was talking about, so Sabrina was willing to let those things slide.
Sabrina glanced at her friend, sitting next to her. Maddie’s eyes were looking sleepy, and she was trying hard to stifle a yawn. Sabrina had to admit, watching Madame Butterfly was a little like watching a slug race. They had already been there for more than twenty minutes and were just starting to get to the good stuff.
It was Maddie’s suggestion that they come to get their fortunes told tonight. She thought Sabrina needed some fun, a distraction to help her forget about her recent fiancé problems. But Sabrina took the readings much more seriously than that. From the moment she and David had met, she had known it wasn’t merely by chance. It was something more—the date, the timing. David was her destiny. And although she and her fiancé were on a temporary break right now, Sabrina knew in her heart they would be together again.
Of course, if she could hear that same thing from the psychic, it’d make her feel much better.
“I see a man in your future…” the psychic began in a raspy voice. His—her—Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as she closed her eyes and laid her palms on the cards. Sabrina blinked and tried hard to focus on what she was saying and not on the hair of Madame’s knuckles.
“A man. Wow, that narrows it down,” Maddie muttered.
Sabrina shushed her.
Madame Butterfly opened one false-lashed eye and aimed a definitive glare at Maddie, then continued on. “He’s very handsome.”
Sabrina shot a knowing grin at Maddie. David was handsome. And smart. And successful. He was just finishing his orthopedic surgery residency at Mass General.
The psychic opened her eyes, tapping a long, painted-blue nail on top of one of the cards. “He’s wearing a white coat.”
Sabrina gasped. “David’s a doctor. That could be his lab coat you’re talking about.”
Madame Butterfly nodded emphatically. “Yes, I see that.”
“Now you see that,” Maddie added, folding her arms over her chest.
It was Sabrina’s turn to glare at her friend. “Maddie, please. Don’t make me kick you out of here.”
“You can’t kick me out. I’m the one who paid.”
The table suddenly buzzed. Madame leaned forward and blew out her candle. “I’m afraid our time is up,” she said in a regretful tone. “Please exit to your left.”
“What? But wait,” Sabrina pleaded. “One last thing. I have to know…do you see us…?” She tried to calm her voice. “I mean, will David and I get back together in my future?”
Madame Butterfly studied the cards for several agonizing seconds, then looked straight into Sabrina’s eyes. “Yes. Most definitely.”
I knew it! Sabrina elbowed Maddie with a grin. “I told you we were meant to be.”
“Ah,” the psychic said, waving a finger in Sabrina’s face, “you must be careful with this knowledge. You are still the creator of your own destiny.” A dry smile slowly kicked at the corners of her mouth. “Don’t overlook the journey, my dear.”
Sabrina frowned. Journey? “But I don’t understand. You said David and I would get back together.”
Madame Butterfly stood and threw her heavily ringed hands in the air. “Sorry. You want more information, you need to pay. And also reschedule. I have an appointment waiting.”
Maddie grabbed Sabrina’s arm and yanked her up. “We’re not paying more. But thanks for the entertainment. It was a real hoot.”
Sabrina allowed herself to be pulled out the door, even though she was seriously tempted to shill out the extra money. A little “journey” clarification would be nice to have.
Once they were outside, Sabrina turned to her friend. “Hey, just so you know, that wasn’t entertainment. That was for real. Everything Madame Butterfly said was spot-on.”
Maddie snorted. “Easy for you to say. At least you got ‘white coat.’ All I got was ‘lots of hair’ in my relationship destiny. Now I’m going to have to make a guy remove his shirt before I date him.”
Sabrina laughed. “Aha! I knew you believed.”
“I don’t.” Her friend bit her lip, then grinned. “Well, maybe a little,” she admitted. “Now I need a drink. Let’s stop over there.” She pointed across the street to a Tex-Mex bar and restaurant. “You owe me a margarita after that one.”
“Okay. Deal.”
The truth was, all that psychic-journey stuff gave Sabrina a headache and she needed a drink, too. Plus, it was unusually warm for an October night in Boston.
Tons of people were out walking along the streets in the Back Bay, and although the restaurant was packed, they managed to snag a high-top table in the corner of the bar. After the waitress took their drink orders, Maddie scanned the crowd and grinned. “I think we struck gold. Lots of hotties here tonight,” she said, waggling her eyebrows up and down.
Sabrina shook her head but glanced around anyway. Yeah, there were some cute guys. But she only had eyes for one. And unfortunately, he wasn’t there. “You can meet your hottie. I’m an engaged woman, remember?”
Maddie pursed her lips. “You were an engaged woman.”
“David said this split was just temporary while he figured some things out. Besides, you heard what Madame Butterfly said. We will be getting back together. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still engaged.”
Maddie blew her wavy blond hair out of her eyes. “Now I’m sorry I suggested going to that psychic. I was hoping it would get you to forget about David and his ‘I think we need a little separation’ theory.”
Sabrina lifted her chin. “Hey, it happens to be a good theory.”
“Says David.”
“No, says me, too. It’s actually very mature when you think about it. Maybe we did rush into our engagement a little. Better to take a small step back now and make sure this is what he really wants. It’s a big commitment, and I appreciate that he’s not taking it lightly.” Although a little niggle of doubt—despite what Madame Butterfly had said—wormed its way into her thoughts. She pasted on a bright smile when the waitress brought their drinks and wiped the thought out of her mind.
After the waitress turned away, Maddie lifted up her glass in a toast. “Well, here’s to a hottie for me and good karma for you and David.”
Sabrina smiled. “I’ll drink to that.” She took a healthy sip and swallowed appreciatively. The margarita was the perfect combination of sweet and sour and as she licked the salt from her lips, she enjoyed the heady kick of the tequila. She was such a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
Maddie leaned in with a wicked grin. “Remember when you talked me out of that tattoo for my birthday? Well, I was thinking…” A strange look crossed her face and she trailed off.
“You were thinking what?”
“Nothing.” Maddie’s eyes grew round, and then she ducked her head. With a shaky hand, she lifted her margarita to her lips and downed half of it. “I was thinking nothing. Let’s finish our drinks and get out of here.”
“But we just got here, and you said there were lots of hotties.”
“Not that many,” Maddie said, her voice escalating. “In fact, did I mention I needed glasses? Hey, I have a great idea! Let’s go get my eyes examined. I think there’s a Four Eyes around the corner.”
“What’s the matter with you?” She glanced behind her to see what had Maddie in such a tizzy, and when she did, she immediately understood.
Her fiancé, David, was standing on the other side of the bar, talking to a beautiful redhead. Sabrina’s heart dropped further when he grinned at something the woman said, then handed her a glass of wine.
Sabrina bit her lip until it throbbed. David. With another woman. She had to look away, or she was going to be sick.
Maddie placed her hand over Sabrina’s and squeezed. “Hey, I’m sorry you had to see that, but pull it together. Don’t sit here and let him do this to you. You should go confront him.”
Her chest hurt, and she wanted to scream, but she shook her head instead. “No. I couldn’t do that,” she said, trying to control the tremor in her voice. “David wouldn’t want a scene.”
Maddie scowled. “David wouldn’t want a scene? Forget what that jackass wants.”
“No, I—I can’t.”
“Well, don’t you worry,” her friend said, patting her hand. “I personally love a good scene, so I’ll be more than happy to cause one for you.”
Maddie sliding off her stool pulled Sabrina from her daze. She grabbed Maddie’s arm. “No. Don’t. It’s nothing. I’ve seen her before. I think she’s a doctor at the hospital.”
Maddie looked back at David with her eyes narrowed. “A coworker? Maybe. He’s not touching her or making any googly eyes, I’ll give him that much. There are two other men with them, too.”
Relief flooded her senses, and she was able to breathe again. “See?” She picked up her drink and took a healthy gulp. “It’s business. Now sit down before he sees us. Please.”
“Oh, fine,” her friend huffed. “Looks like they’re going into the restaurant now anyway.” She sat back down but still looked petulant. “Honestly, Sabrina, you should go over there and say hello. If he’s truly out on business, then neither of you have anything to feel guilty about.”
That was true. But a nauseating sinking of despair held her immobile. What if it was a date? What would she do? She couldn’t let him go so easily. She finally thought she could have a family and home of her very own. After everything she’d been through, was that too much to want for herself?
Maddie tilted her head. “Your silence is incriminating. You know what I would do if I were you?”
She was afraid to know, but still asked, “What?”
“Retaliate.”
“Retaliate,” she repeated. She cocked an eyebrow. “What are we, fifteen?”
Maddie shrugged a shoulder, then opened her purse and pulled out a copy of Boston magazine. “Okay, maybe ‘retaliate’ is the wrong word. But dating while he makes up his mind is a good strategy. Imagine if David saw you with one of these guys. That so-called temporary break of his would be on permanent hiatus.”
Sabrina peered down at the article entitled “New England’s Most Eligible Bachelors” and rolled her eyes. “Oh my gosh. Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Well, put it away before you give me one. I’m not interested in dating any eligible bachelors to make David jealous.”
“Why not? If David is playing the field, you should, too.”
“He’s not playing the field.” Maddie just didn’t get it. Sabrina didn’t want to play games. At almost thirty years old, she didn’t have the time or patience for them. She and David had been together for three years and it had been wonderful—a lovely taste of what it was like to be loved and accepted into a family. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t want to date anyone else.”
Maddie ignored her last comment by burying her nose in the article. “Check out this guy. He’s even from Boston.”
Sabrina grudgingly looked. And wish she hadn’t. Jack Brenner’s all-too-handsome face stared back at her. He was posed with his arms crossed, wearing a designer tuxedo, tieless with his shirt undone at least four buttons down from the collar. His thick, dark hair looked playfully mussed, as if some woman had just run her fingers through it.
Sabrina swallowed hard. Good Lord, for a man who worked in finance, he sure had Hollywood-chiseled looks. Unfortunately, he also had that same cocky grin he wore the last time she’d spoken to him—and that was enough to ground her back down to reality.
She shoved the magazine away. “Definitely not that one.”
Maddie did a double take at his picture, then frowned. “Are you kidding me? Why? He’s the best-looking one in the bunch.”
“Well, I can speak from personal experience that he’s all too aware of that, too.”
Maddie’s mouth hung open. “You’ve met Eligible Bachelor Number Three and you didn’t introduce him to your bestest single girlfriend?”
“Trust me. If I had, we wouldn’t be friends anymore. He’s my boss’s son and one of the mutual-fund wholesalers at my company. Thankfully, he covers the state of Connecticut, so he’s rarely in the Boston office. Small favors, since he’s a complete and total player.”
Her friend winced. “A dog, huh?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Maddie looked back at his picture longingly. “Yeah, I guess the article does mention he’s gone through quite a string of women. But I don’t know. Dogs can be fun. Sometimes all they need is the right trainer.”
Sabrina just shook her head. Becoming another notch on someone like Jack Brenner’s bedpost held no appeal to her. The last thing she wanted was to be bounced around in her love life like she’d been bounced around foster homes as a kid. That kind of hollowness was not something she’ d easily forget, which was why she craved stability. And David gave her that. Besides being handsome and intelligent, he was grounded and levelheaded. David’s parents loved her, too. Even if she took out Madame Butterfly, there were still so many signs…
“Is he as handsome as his picture?” Maddie asked with a sigh.
Sabrina wrinkled her nose at her friend’s fawning. It never failed. Whenever Jack Brenner entered a room, women felt compelled to fling their panties in his direction like he was some modern-day Elvis He had that kind of effect on women.
On all women except her, that is.
Sabrina shrugged. “I guess so.”
A minor lie. Jack Brenner was a thousand times better-looking in person. Even though she was engaged, she could admit that much to herself. After all, any woman would have to be dead and buried in the grave a month not to notice. But that didn’t change the fact that he was heartless and self-centered. He didn’t even have the decency to come back to town when his father was in the hospital last month. The fact that he could so easily dismiss his family in a time of crisis was yet another reason why she couldn’t stand the man.
Maddie stuffed the magazine back in her purse. “I have to hand it to you. You must be head over heels in love to ignore someone like that.”
“I definitely am. David is worth the wait.”
“Well, if I were you and anything happens with your engagement to David—or maybe I should saydoesn’t happen with him—I’d zero in on this guy in a heartbeat the next time I saw him.”
Sabrina laughed. Yeah. Right. Get mixed up with a playboy like Jack who ate up women who threw themselves at him like they were chocolate bonbons? No. Thank. You. There was no chance of that happening, even if she and David never got back together. Which was highly unlikely in itself.
But she knocked on the wood table for luck anyway.
Maddie eyed her. “All I’m saying is keep an open mind. Don’t get your hopes up that David will be ready to commit just because of a few superstitions and the premonition of a cross-dressing psychic.”
“I am keeping an open mind. I may not be Madame Butterfly, but I can safely predict that Jack Brenner is one man who will never, ever be a part of my future.”
…
Jack Brenner walked across his father’s penthouse and stared out the window into the night. The Boston skyline was illuminated before him and he felt content being back in the city he’d grown up in. This was where he belonged. It took some time, but he’d paid his dues and was ready to make the next step in eventually taking over control of Brenner Capital Investments. He assumed that was why his father had transferred him back to Boston, to make the transition easier. Jack couldn’t wait to get started. He loved his job, and he did it well. Aside from his family, this company was the one thing he could say he was truly passionate about.
It was a part of him.
The front door suddenly opened, and his father walked in. Leonard Brenner smiled and extended his arms wide as soon as his gaze landed on Jack. “I’m glad you finally made it, son. You look great.”
“Thanks. It’s been a while,” he said, giving his father an extra clap on the back. He stepped away and tried not to appear obvious as he assessed his father’s appearance. At least on the surface, his dad looked fit and healthy.
Taking a deep breath, Jack hesitated, not sure he wanted to hear the answer to his next question. “So…how do you feel?”
His dad gave him a crooked smile as he rubbed his chest. “The old heart’s still ticking, if that’s what you want to know. I’m sorry to tell you that it’ll take more than a little angina to force me to retire.” His smile grew wider, and he looked at Jack with a thoughtful expression. “You know, I’m really glad you’re back. Maybe it was worth getting sick to have you home where you belong.”
Jack tried to smile, too, but a part of him was still worried about his father. He wished he could have been at the hospital when his father was admitted last month. He would have liked to talk with the doctors personally. Since his mom’s death, his dad was everything to him. Unfortunately, his former girlfriend didn’t quite have the same attitude when it came to family matters and neglected to pass on the message until he’d already been discharged from the hospital.
“Yeah, I’m glad to be back. The traffic here is crap as per usual, but, all in all, I’ve missed Boston. And you and Laurie, of course,” he added with a dry grin.
His dad gestured to the living room and took a seat on the white leather sofa. “Well, your sister and I appreciate that. It’s partly why I changed your territory. I assume you know the other reason.”
Jack sat, too. Anticipation coursed through him as soon as his father mentioned business. This is it, he thought. The national sales manager position had opened up, and now with his father’s health not what it used to be, the time was growing closer to pass the baton.
He leaned forward, friction barely keeping him in his seat, but he willed himself to stay in control. “I know exactly why you changed it,” he stated evenly.
“Good.”
“I’ll take it.”
His father paused, deep lines creasing his forehead. “What exactly will you be taking?”
“The national sales manager position. I’ll take it.”
Leonard blew out a long breath, drumming his fingers on the arm of the sofa in a nervous gesture that made Jack grow wary. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’ve decided not to give you that promotion. At least for now.”
Jack almost fell off the sofa. “What are you talking about? How can I ever take over as president some day if I don’t make this move up in the company now?”
His father’s sudden silence had him breaking into a cool sweat between the blades of his shoulders. Jack narrowed his eyes. “I am going to take over this company someday, aren’t I?”
Leonard cleared his throat. “You might be getting ahead of yourself.”
“Ahead of myself? The position just became available. Plus, I’m your son.”
“True. But I could easily give the job to Laurie,” his father countered.
Jack knew that wasn’t going to happen. As much as he loved his sister, she wasn’t the type to run a company. Besides having no financial education whatsoever, she loved being a stay-at-home mom and having her house to run. “Come on, Dad, you have to start training me to take over.”
“There’s nothing I would like better than for you to take over for me someday,” his father stated in a somewhat reassuring tone, “but I think you still need a little maturing.”
Jack stared at him blankly. “Maturing? I’m thirty-four years old.”
“Now, that’s just a number,” his father said with a chuckle. “Nothing else.”
“What are you talking about then?”
His dad’s expression quickly sobered. “Well, the stockholders seem to have some…issues with your reputation and how it could affect the company in the long run.”
“My reputation? There are no problems with my reputation. I’m your number-one wholesaler on the East Coast.”
“Yes, but the stockholders have more of an issue with your, ah, personal reputation. In short, you change women like you change underwear. I happen to agree.”
“What?” Jack shot out of his seat and began pacing the room. He reached up and roughly worked loose his tie, which now felt like a hangman’s noose around his neck. “That’s ridiculous. But even if it were true, it’s my personal life. That has no effect on my business life.”
“Well, when your personal life becomes front-page news, it does have an effect,” Leonard said, sweeping his arm in the direction of the coffee table where the recent issue of Boston magazine lay.
Jack winced. “You, uh, saw that article, huh?”
“Yes, and I’m sure the board saw it too. The single life may be all fun and games to you, but to them, instability in your personal life translates to instability at work. Managing a company is like managing one giant relationship. And you, my dear boy, according to that article, have never been in a relationship longer than a month.”
“That’s not…” Is it true? He gave it some thought. He had just broken up with Brianna before he was asked to do the interview. Then before that there was Rachel. Then Mila. Giselle. Hmm…perhaps there was a grain of truth in there somewhere.
His father sighed tiredly. “That’s what I thought.”
Jack rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t understand any of this. If you have no plans to promote me, then I’m not sure what I’m doing here.”
“Being closer to your family was something I thought would be nice for you, Jack. I even entertained the idea you’d like to be home again.”
Jack looked away. A part of him had only agreed to come back because he thought he was going to get that promotion. And now, he’d turned his life upside down for nothing. “I do like being home again. It’s not that, but—”
“Maybe you could even find a nice girl and settle down here now. Sabrina Cassidy—”
“Sabrina Cassidy?” He didn’t mean to snap at his dad, but just the sound of that woman’s name had his blood pressure skyrocketing. “What does she have to do with anything?”
Sabrina was one of the internal wholesalers at Brenner Capital, which meant she worked as an assistant to one of the senior wholesalers who, like himself, did the actual traveling to brokerage firms. She was an excellent worker but the kind of woman who thought she was always right. Jack had even secretly dubbed her “Little Miss Perfect.” Unfortunately, most times she was right, which was one of the reasons why his father adored her. Jack, however, did not share that feeling.
His father raised his eyebrows. “I wasn’t going to suggest you settle down with her—although you could do worse.”
“Well, forget it. She’s engaged already anyway.”
“Rumor has it she’s not engaged anymore. But someone as smart and hardworking as she is would be a huge step up from the supermodel airheads you seem so accustomed to parading around with. It wouldn’t hurt to look for a woman with some family sensibilities. You know, I would like grandchildren someday,” he added with a smile.
“You already have grandchildren.”
His father’s jaw tightened. “Not from you.”
Jack heaved a frustrated sigh. He hated to burst his father’s bubble, but it had to be said. “Look, Dad, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to suddenly get married and have kids just because it will look good to the board and will somehow make me a better executive. Not going to happen. Plus, I don’t have time for a family. It’s not in me. I like—no, love—the way things are right now.” He’d given that life up to move back here. He paused and grinned without guile. “I’d love it even more if I was the National Sales manager.”
“There’s more to life than this company.”
Jack remained silent. There was no use arguing about it. He wasn’t about to change his father’s or the stockholders’ minds, so it seemed a moot point.
“Jack, no one is forcing you to get married. But I think there are other ways—like keeping your personal life out of the spotlight, for one—that could highly influence them. You know how conservative they are in their values. Once I’m convinced you’re ready to get serious and start acting like a responsible man, I can go to the stockholders and we can talk again about that promotion. Fair enough?”
Jack stared at his father. Just like that, he felt as if he were a teenager who broke the neighbor’s window with a baseball and now had to figure out how to make amends. It was humiliating, to say the least. He was a grown man—and dammit, he already was a responsible man. “Dad, you have to hear me out. I think if you went to the board now and—”
His dad raised a spread hand. “I don’t want to hear anything else from you. Go out there and showme instead.”
Knowing all too well his father’s adamant look, Jack wisely shut his mouth. Without a glance back, he stormed out of the penthouse.
Great. Just great. He came back to town and the first thing that happened was his personal life going under a microscope.
There’s more to life than this company.
No. Not for him there wasn’t. Work filled Jack’s life and had never let him down through all these years. He couldn’t give up on it now. It was his lifeblood. But he needed this company not only for himself, he also needed it for his father. Jack had already failed his mom. He couldn’t fail his dad, too.
Jack hadn’t realized how his reputation with women had preceded him—or that it would be perceived as something bad. Women were a weakness to him, but not so much that he couldn’t change. He could. He had to. Desperation was not an emotion he was used to feeling, and he didn’t like it one bit. Who knew what his father’s health was really like? The board could even force him to retire early. Time could be running out. Jack needed to change people’s opinion of him. And fast.
Perhaps his father had a point. Maybe it was time for him to settle down and…
No. The thought made him queasy, but it also made him wonder. Maybe he could convince his father and the stockholder board to reconsider quicker than he originally thought if it looked like he was ready to settle down. All he needed to do was find himself a nice, girl-next-door type of girlfriend.
Or at least a fake one.
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