Riches to Rags Bride Read online

  “I don’t have my parents’ experience on a commercial level or…okay, on any level,” she said truthfully, “but I have spent my whole life in beautiful rooms, admiring them, studying them for long hours, in some cases cataloguing the details when my parents wanted assistance.” Which wasn’t what he was looking for at all, she didn’t think, but…he studied her closely.

  She tried not to squirm or to think of him as a gorgeous man. That was so not relevant. Her trust had been betrayed many times in her life in small ways, but never so thoroughly as it had been with Barry. Love—being blinded by a man—had been her downfall. It wasn’t happening again. Even if the incident with the beautiful brunette hadn’t taken place, Teresa had already warned her that Lucas had a solid reputation as a fast-moving rolling stone and a heartbreaker who never really let his guard down with a woman. She’d also said that he was totally tempting, but she needn’t have bothered.

  It doesn’t matter how astoundingly virile he is, Gen thought. She didn’t want a man. Of any kind. All that she wanted right now was work. Money. Salvation. A new life where she would stand on her own two feet, order her own world and rely on no one. Trust no one. Love no one. Simple rules.

  But first she had to get the job. She looked up to find Lucas studying her closely.

  “Who chose your outfit?” he suddenly asked.

  “Excuse me?” She blinked and lurched in her chair, but she quickly regained her calm expression. What an odd question, but…so what? Maybe he was just some sort of eccentric. As long as he wasn’t a lecher or an ax murderer—and she’d never read anything that indicated that he was either of those—nothing else mattered beyond the fact that he had a job that needed filling.

  “I chose it.” Okay, she’d had it made. She’d had plenty of money at the time.

  “Hmm.”

  Genevieve tried to keep from responding to that. And lost the battle. “Is that a bad ‘hmm’?”

  “It’s an interested one.” He looked at her bronze skirt and dark gold blouse with the small, cream-colored star-shaped glass buttons she’d made herself, each one slightly asymmetrical and different from the next. “The effect is muted, tasteful, in some ways even a bit old-fashioned.” Which was right. This was one of the oldest outfits she had. “But the buttons are…most unusual. They’re a bit out of step with the rest of your attire, but in spite of being a bit unconventional, they work. It’s an outfit, not a room that needs decorating, but the skills are related. You know about color and planning and how to mix things up so that the big picture works. And the colors complement your red hair.”

  Genevieve was grateful that he hadn’t used the word fiery. Her parents hadn’t cared for her hair’s particular shade of red and had tried to get her to dye it many times. Barry had hated it, preferring blondes. Or at least preferring the blonde he’d spent Genevieve’s money on. In her one act of defiance she’d kept the color but had toned things down by pulling her hair back and out of the way in a severe ponytail that made her hair less noticeable. Or so she’d hoped.

  “The skirt is too short, though,” Lucas said suddenly, and automatically Genevieve looked down to her crossed legs. The skirt exposed her knees and a bit more.

  She bit her lip.

  “Say it,” he said.

  “I’m…sorry,” she said, although she wasn’t sorry. She was chagrined. Lucas was either not going to hire her or he was going to be very difficult to work for. “I…this is the length I usually wear my skirts. Will this be a problem with your dress code?”

  Lucas looked amused. “I don’t have one. I just wanted to know if you would defend your choice.”

  “I—” She wanted to tell him that he was being unfair. She was interviewing and was afraid to argue with a potential employer. But telling someone they were being unfair wasn’t her style. She was the “go along to get along” type. And right now she was scared and nervous and tired and hungry.

  “I wish you wouldn’t play games with me,” she said, surprising herself. Maybe she was more tired than she’d realized, because she was definitely acting stupid. What man would hire someone who reprimanded him? She opened her mouth to apologize.

  Too late. Lucas was already speaking. “You’re right. My comment was unfair, given the circumstances. So, let’s just do this. For the rest of this interview, you try turning off the nerves and act exactly the way you would if you were already working for me. All right?”

  “And…” She swallowed hard. “That is…what if you don’t like the way I act?”

  He shrugged. “I won’t hire you. The minute I have an inkling of doubt I’ll end the interview. Is that fair?”

  It was terrifying. “Are you always this frank, Mr. McDowell?” If he hired her, would she be on full alert every hour she was on the job?

  “Always.”

  He stared directly into her eyes, and she couldn’t look away. That intense expression of his…she felt as if he was daring her to object to his tactics. Genevieve’s body began to hum with awareness. This man was very potent, and the fact that he held her future in his hands was very scary, but she had told herself that she preferred truth to deception and just because that truth was unnerving wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because Lucas McDowell hadn’t ended the interview yet. She still had a chance to get back on to solid ground.

  “I think…I’m good with all this, Mr. McDowell. You’re being fair.”

  “I’m being a bit of a jerk, and your skirt’s just fine.”

  It was. It was perfectly decent. Even so, Genevieve was suddenly aware of her knees in a way she’d never been aware in her life. She was very conscious of the fact that Lucas McDowell had been studying her legs. Even though he had shown no interest whatsoever.

  “Okay,” she said.

  He looked as if he was going to smile, but…not quite. “Okay, that I’m a jerk or that your skirt fits the bill?”

  “I—”

  He shook his head. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. Answer this, instead. Do you have any strong feelings about the homeless, about people who have no money or prestige, people who may have been in trouble?”

  I’m seriously going to faint, she thought. Is he talking about me? How much research did he do? Does he know everything about my situation?

  “I think…that people shouldn’t be judged by their financial situations. I would hope that most people felt that way.” Even though she knew that that wasn’t the case.

  Lucas nodded. “All right. Last question. You and Teresa haven’t seen much of each other since you’ve grown up, but when you were young, you were close, she tells me. I’m sure she shared secrets with you. I make it my business to know everything about my employees past and present. Can you tell me some of those secrets?”

  “No!” Genevieve’s voice came out a bit too loud, but shock at the bizarre and rude question rushed through her. For a moment she felt physically ill. Maybe she’d never interviewed for a job before, but she was sure that such questions were out of line and just plain alarming. What kind of man was this?

  She looked up at Lucas and knew that in that moment, with that no, she had sealed her fate. The sick feeling grew. Lucas was gazing at her intently, waiting, those gray eyes mesmerizing. Hard. Cold. Demanding. What would it be like to have no money, no home, no food? No doubt she was about to find out.

  “No,” she said again, softly this time. Teresa, despite her playful attitude and her money, had had a harsh childhood. She trusted Genevieve. “No.”

  Lucas’s cold gray gaze softened, just a touch. “When can you begin work?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Work. When can you begin work? That’s what you came for, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I thought—your question…I…”

  “Most people have a few dark secrets in their closet. I have no interest in prying into Teresa’s past. What I needed to know was whether you would spill those secrets in order to get a job. That’s all I needed to ascertain.”

  Hi
s deep voice delivering the news she most needed to hear seemed to rumble right through her body, touching every nerve ending on its journey. Genevieve let out a deep, shaky breath, still disoriented and more than a little alarmed by her physical attraction to this man when he was so obviously someone who didn’t play by the rules. She had been fooled by people reputed to be straight shooters. How on earth could she deal with someone whose methods she couldn’t even begin to understand?

  “I’m afraid that you have me at a disadvantage, Mr. McDowell. Teresa told me that the job might involve a little decorating, some clerical or organizational skills. She told me what little she knew, but…as I mentioned earlier, I have no real idea what the job will entail or why you would need to know whether I would spill my guts about a friend’s past.”

  “I know, and I apologize for the bizarre nature of this interview. My only rationale is that the work you’ll be doing, should you accept the task, is in some ways very public, but other parts are very sensitive. The person I hire has to be capable of dealing with sensitive personal information, but it’s difficult to measure that kind of loyalty. Most job candidates would insist that they were capable of discretion, but in reality not that many can resist retelling a juicy story. So, my apologies for my methods. I guarantee that from here on out, we’ll have the most practical and ordinary of business relationships.”

  Genevieve highly doubted that. There was nothing ordinary about Lucas McDowell. “All right,” she said. “Can you tell me what the job is now, please?”

  He looked slightly amused.

  “What?”

  “You’re exceptionally polite, given the fact that I no doubt creeped you out.”

  She tilted her head. “You hold the cards.”

  “So I do. All right, Genevieve, I’ve bought a large piece of property in the suburbs. The plan is to create a shelter for women who are down on their luck, a place to rebuild the lives of those who’ve been damaged by poverty or circumstances. We’re going to make it something the city can be proud of. I’m hoping it will spawn other such establishments, so we’re going to give it plenty of publicity. I want Angie’s House to be a perfect jewel, a success that will be the epicenter of a growing movement that will change lives. That means lots of buzz in order to jump-start the project with the public and potential sponsors of future Angie’s Houses.

  “However, once we open the doors, we can’t forget that the women who’ll live there have already been betrayed by life. Some of them will want to keep the more personal aspects of their hardships to themselves. Others may put their trust in you by sharing parts of their stories. It’s important that whoever I hire knows how to put on a big show but also how to keep a confidence. I have to know that whoever works with me will talk up the concept while never betraying the trust of the prospective new tenants. It’s a fine line we’ll be walking.”

  Genevieve knew what it was like to have her trust betrayed. She shuddered.

  “That’s why you asked me about Teresa.”

  “If you had tried to say one word about her past, I would have stopped you. And I couldn’t have hired you.”

  She looked up into Lucas’s harsh face. “Mr. McDowell, I assure you that I understand. It isn’t always easy or smart to trust someone. Words aren’t enough.”

  “Agreed.”

  “So…why me?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I choose my employees carefully. Teresa is trustworthy. She recommended you. That alone wouldn’t have been enough, however. I need a good project manager and I’m sure I could have found someone else. You, however, have an edge.”

  For the job of project manager? Genevieve wanted to close her eyes. Had Teresa overstated her skills? Did Lucas McDowell think she knew more than she did?

  “What’s my edge?” she managed to ask.

  “If you’ve organized your parents’ society events, you have a handle on how to make things happen and how to deal with time constraints, problems, setbacks and personnel. You’ve proven that you can keep a secret should that become necessary, and you have some experience with decor, something I lack. Furthermore, and most importantly, because as I said, I don’t want this project, Angie’s House, to be a single entity, you have the name to get people talking, to attract the kind of attention we need to bring in other donors for other houses.”

  Genevieve struggled to keep her hands from shaking. The last thing she wanted right now was attention. The last thing she was capable of was bringing in people on the mere mention of her name.

  She tried to swallow, struggled to find her voice. “You have a famous name.”

  He shook his head. “I have money and a successful business. With a few exceptions, famous entrepreneurs don’t become household names. But people like your parents? World renowned artists? Yes, they do. Their name is like a glowing diamond. It puts people in a good mood, gets them excited. And you happen to share it.”

  Genevieve’s heart fell a bit. Her importance hinged on her parents’ talents as it always had. She wanted to back away. But she couldn’t afford to.

  “Does that mean I really do have the job?” She managed to ask.

  “If you want it.”

  She wanted it, but she must have been slow to say yes.

  “If you don’t, tell me now. I’m on a strict timeline. I have another job waiting in France when this one is done, an opening of a new store in Japan after that and I intend to finish up here in six weeks. So, if you can’t do this, Genevieve, or if you don’t want to, tell me. You’re free to go.” She wanted to walk away. There were things she didn’t like about this setup. Her name, unlike her parents’ names, would be of no use. She should tell Lucas that. She didn’t really even have the skills he needed. And then there was the man, this intimidating, far too masculine man. But…hunger gnawed at her. Her faintness wasn’t only from nerves. She wasn’t free. She had to have this.

  “I’d like the job, please,” she said. “I’ll be your…”

  “Project manager.”

  She nodded. The title was that belonging to a bolder person, one who knew how to take charge of situations and not be tricked or bullied into doing things she didn’t want to do.

  “I’ll be your project manager. I’m your woman.”

  For a moment, those gray eyes turned fierce. Genevieve realized just how little she knew about this man.

  “Good.” Lucas held out his hand, and Genevieve automatically reached out. His fingers closed around hers, his hand much larger than hers. She should have felt trapped, insignificant. Instead, as heat seeped from his skin to hers, she was suddenly aware of him as a man more than as her new boss. That could be a problem if she let it. She wouldn’t.

  “You should know that I believe in being hands-on in a project like this, Genevieve,” he said, releasing her. “If you and I are going to oversee and sell this project, we have to know it from the ground up. Every higher level employee at every factory and store I own spent some time in the trenches so that they could fully understand the business, so we’ll get started on your ground-floor experience right away. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. We’re headed straight for Angie’s House. Dress for work.”

  “What kind?”

  “The dirty kind. Do you have clothing you can mess up?”

  She had clothing. It was the one thing she still had in abundance. Whether or not she had what Lucas meant, however, was questionable.

  “No problem,” she said, hoping her smile was reassuring. “Let me give you my address.”

  “I have it already.”

  Once again, Genevieve had that feeling of being overwhelmed, too small and insignificant next to this man. She felt vulnerable, and vulnerable was the last thing she wanted or needed to feel right now.

  “I won’t let you get to me, Mr. McDowell,” she muttered to herself later when she scoured her closet looking for something that could rightfully be called work clothes.

  But she knew she lied. The man seemed to know everything about her. He felt like
a powerful dark tornado that drops out of the sky, wreaks havoc in your life and then roars off again. He had her at a disadvantage, and she had sworn she would never be at a disadvantage with a man again. She would have to work on that and just start ignoring all the unnerving things about Lucas. She hoped that was possible.

  Lucas shook his head after Genevieve was gone. This might well be a disaster in the making. She was young, destitute and had never worked at a job in her life. Despite her telling him that she wanted the job, she might change her mind later if there were complications or strife or if something better came along. He’d spent most of his youth dealing with people who thought they wanted to do something good but later changed their minds when things hit a rough patch.

  What’s more, she was far too pretty. Even with her hair scraped back from her face so brutally, or maybe because of it, her classic features were striking. And also…a vision of her legs and those luscious knees crept in, and he quickly slapped that right out of his consciousness. The last thing he needed was to get involved with a socialite who was down on her luck and looking to improve her situation. Women…and others had used him or tried to use him before. Repeatedly. As an orphan in the foster system, people had thought taking him in would earn them Good Samaritan points. As a man who’d fought his way to wealth and power, women like Rita thought he’d make a nice trophy or else they wanted his money and power. The only thing that none of them realized was that he had nothing to give them, emotionally or any other way. He’d spent all his emotional capital years ago, wasted it, burnt it, lost it. Now all he had—all he would ever allow himself—was work and guilt.

  But he was not going to feel guilty about Genevieve Patchett. Their relationship would be work only, nothing personal. He wasn’t responsible for her problems, and she wasn’t going to be on his conscience.