Along Came Mr. Right (8 page)

The grading machine spit out Paige’s test with a low-level hum.

“How’d she do?” Olivia asked. “Any surprises there?”

Max studied the results, then returned his gaze to hers. “The assessment only confirms what I’ve come to suspect this last week. She’s working at an eighth-grade level. We have lots of catching up to do to get her up with her classmates.”

Olivia broke eye contact with him. “We should get back to Paige.”

He watched, his heart heavy, as Olivia walked back into his classroom. The truth hovered on his lips, but he bit it back. He had to talk to Annalise first, before he told Olivia anything. He owed his high school sweetheart at least that much.

Closing his eyes against the bitter sting of having done things all wrong, he wondered why Annalise had gone against their plan and released their engagement photos on the web. There had to be a reason; there always was with Annalise.

CHAPTER TEN

Max had to wait until Friday night to see Annalise. It had taken that long to find a space in her busy social calendar. He’d told her it was urgent, that they had to meet in person, and still it had taken four days for him to see his own fiancée. If he hadn’t already started thinking what he and Annalise were doing was wrong, her delay was a big indicator that something wasn’t right.

In so many ways, they were no ordinary couple. Her living arrangements were proof of that. But it wasn’t Annalise who filled Max’s thoughts as he parked his car in the garage of the Four Seasons Hotel. His thoughts were of Olivia. This was where they’d met, where they’d shared that one passionate night together. At the memory of her in his arms, his body burned. A smile played over his lips as he hopped out of his car and headed toward the elevator.

Standing near the elevator bay was Annalise’s Rolls-Royce. Her driver leaned against the car, waiting as he always did for his employer to need him at a moment’s notice. Usually the man gave Max a friendly hello and a nod as he passed by the car.

“Hey, Jimmy,” Max greeted.

The chauffeur said nothing as he stared off into the distance.

Max walked past and pressed the elevator button, assuming the man was distracted by something. He slipped inside and headed for the lobby above. The minute the elevator opened to the lobby, Max saw the reporters. Ducking his head, he moved toward the next bay of elevators that would take him to Annalise’s penthouse, but one of the reporters recognized him before he pushed the “Demand” button.

“Mr. Right, can we talk to you about your upcoming wedding?” a young man asked as he came toward Max, camera clicking.

Grateful the doors of the elevator opened, Max got in. “Maybe later,” he said with a wave and a smile. Inside the elevator, he hit the “Close Door” button. When the metal doors sealed, he released a long sigh. Annalise loved all the attention the reporters gave her. He hated it. What wouldn’t the reporters do to create a gossip storm if they learned his and Annalise’s engagement was fake? That kind of news would fuel the society section of their papers for weeks.

As soon as the doors opened on the twelfth floor, Max stepped out and headed for room 1201. Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

“Max?” A young, willowy blonde opened the door. Annalise stepped forward and kissed Max on both cheeks. “I’m so glad it’s you. Those pesky reporters have been snapping pictures right and left since our engagement was announced.”

Max came in and closed the door. “About that—”

“Isn’t it great?” Annalise interrupted. “The press love me, especially the
Intruder
. I help them sell lots of copies. My mysterious wedding is front-page news.”

Max gave her a hard look. “Why did you release the pictures of us early?”

Annalise’s perfect mouth pulled down in a pout. How had he ever thought that look was attractive? With a sigh, Max answered his own question. When you’re sixteen, any female who pays attention to you is exciting. But they weren’t sixteen any longer.

“You know better than anyone how powerful and bossy my father is. He started questioning the money I’m spending on a venue and my gown. So I needed him to see the kind of results he appreciates. Media results.”

Max looked around the expensive suite at the buttery sofa, dark woods, and creamy marble. Everything around Annalise was the finest money could buy. “This isn’t a real wedding, Annalise. You don’t need any of those things.”

“I know this isn’t a real wedding, Max.” Annalise’s blue eyes narrowed. “But we need to make it look like it is. Daddy is starting to suspect something is different.” She brought her hand to her abdomen. “I’m starting to show.”

Max frowned. Her abdomen was as flat as ever. No one would ever suspect the socialite was pregnant. He stared at the woman before him and couldn’t help but contrast her with Olivia. Annalise worried what the world thought of her, but Olivia thought only about what she could do for the world.

“I’m not sure I can go through with this charade,” Max said. “Why not tell your father the truth? Making him think I am the father of your baby, then having me dump you is only going to make everyone more upset.”

Annalise paused for a second as if gathering her thoughts; then she moved slowly to her mahogany desk, opened the drawer, and withdrew a thick packet of legal-size paper. Max didn’t need to see the words on the documents to know that it was their contract. She’d hired a lawyer in Venezuela to draw it up. Wanting confidentiality, and a lawyer who knew nothing of her father, she’d gone out of the country for her legal needs. “You remember this?”

“Yes. It’s hard to forget signing a document twenty-six times,” he said with a hint of a growl.

“A deal’s a deal.”

She looked so much like her father just then—a businessman who never took no for an answer. Max cleared the tension from his throat. “I met someone.”

As the words echoed around them, Max watched Annalise’s face. Her determined expression gave way, becoming harder, colder. She strode up to him. “Now isn’t a good time for that. I need you to be the father of my baby.” She took his hands, placing them on the flat of her belly. “We both need you.”

Manipulation was her forte. He’d known that about her since they’d dated in high school. It was also what had driven them apart. “What about the baby’s real father, Annalise? Doesn’t he have a right to know he’s having a child with you?”

“I told you,” she said, the words sharp. “I don’t know who the father is.”

“That’s what paternity tests are for.” Max watched her closely. “You usually know every detail about every person in your life. I hardly think you’d have forgotten the man who fathered your child.”

Annalise scoffed at the suggestion. “You owe me, Max. You wouldn’t be nearly done with the testing of your app if it weren’t for my money. And you know it.”

“Olivia saw the photos of us on the Internet. I want to tell her the truth.”

Annalise sucked in her breath. “She saw the pictures because I wanted her to see them. I knew you took someone out on a date the other night. I wanted to remind you of what you might lose if you follow your heart instead of your pocketbook.”

Her ominous tone sent a chill down his spine. “You posted those photos to Olivia’s newsfeed?”

“It was the kindest thing I could think of to let her down.” Annalise flipped her hair over her shoulder and settled into a pose that took full advantage of her slim silhouette. “Besides, just let her use your Matchmaker app to find someone new, someone better suited than you.”

As she spoke, a horrible thought occurred to him. Annalise portrayed to the world that she was above the mundane skills of the working class, but Max knew the real Annalise. The woman before him was not only smart but also computer savvy. Was she savvy enough to reprogram his algorithm? “Did you do something to my app the other night after we signed the legal papers? I left you alone with my computer for a while when I fixed you dessert.” That had to be why he and Olivia didn’t match. Annalise had done something to his program.

The blonde’s face turned deadly serious. “As stated in this contract, you’re mine until we both agree to terminate our commitment.”

He frowned. “That’s not what I read in the document.”

She straightened and looked away. “That’s what you signed. You also signed a nondisclosure as well. So if you even whisper a hint of this arrangement to your new friend, you’ll be in breach of contract and will owe me a million dollars.”

Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, trying to stave off his anger. He’d chosen this path; there was no way out. He couldn’t come up with $1 million to buy his way out of the contract.

You could ask your father for the money.

The thought came out of nowhere. He would die before he asked his father for anything, especially anything having to do with Matchmaker 2.0. His father hated that he’d initially developed the program to help his sister find her perfect match and a way out of their father’s control. That he’d gone on to use his creation for other philanthropic purposes had made his father even angrier. His father had always wanted Max to follow in
his
footsteps and not Peggy Right’s—his footsteps being the path to making millions for the family name. His mother’s footsteps went toward making the world a better place for others. In the end, Max hoped to achieve both the millions and furthering society, but only for society’s gain.

Max forced his thoughts aside, returning his attention to his fake bride. “Fine, Annalise. You win. We’ll keep the arrangement just the way it is. But don’t be surprised if your groom is a little grumpy on Sunday night at our engagement party.” He turned and headed for the door.

“Max,” Annalise called. “Please come back. Let’s talk about this. I’m sorry if I sounded—”

He shut the door, not wanting to hear her excuses anymore. She was a powerful socialite. He was a teacher. There had never been two more mismatched people.

Their families had moved in the same social circles. Still did, only Max had left that life behind him when his father had deliberately hurt his sister. Annalise’s father and his own had always believed you could buy anything with money. Obviously that sentiment had been passed down from Victor Ellington to his daughter.

As Max made his way back to his car, he couldn’t help wondering what it would take for Annalise to set him free, since he didn’t have access to that kind of money anymore. Not since he and his father were estranged. He would have to devise some other plan to make Annalise see reason. She might be selfish and manipulative, but he’d seen a softer side of her all those years ago in high school. That softer side still lurked in Annalise, which was why he was helping her with her crazy scheme.

Max returned to his home in Magnolia and made his way back to his office, his head empty of solutions except for fixing his algorithm. He sat behind the antique mahogany desk and pulled up his laptop computer. His fingers flew over the keys as he searched the code for whatever it was Annalise had changed. Damn her for messing with his program. She wouldn’t have known enough to cover her tracks, meaning at least he could search for obvious corruption. Annalise’s sabotage had to be why he and Olivia weren’t a match.

Why was it so important to him that they be a match? He was certain lots of couples dated, married, and spent their whole lives together when they were less than statistically compatible. Wasn’t that the relationship model his parents and grandparents had used?

Yet the couples he’d paired through his app had all ended up perfectly suited—the way two people who loved each other should be. Unlike so many of his friends, and especially his sister before Max had paired her with David.

He’d come home after work one day to find his younger sister huddled on his doorstep. She’d just broken up with her seventh boyfriend in as many months. It wasn’t until the last breakup that she’d learned their father had been paying the boys off, using the bribery as a way to keep them away from his daughter. That day, Max had never seen anyone look so desperate and alone. He’d helped her inside and asked her why she needed a man in her life at all.

Instead of a response, she’d looked at him with such sorrow in her eyes, and he knew he had to do something to help. That was when the idea for the Matchmaker app was born. Using his math and statistical skills, he was certain he could compose a matching system—one that focused on the essential elements of any successful relationship.

That was five years ago. Two years ago he’d found Clarisse her perfect man. So perfect, in fact, that just last week they’d welcomed baby Lucas into their lives. Max sighed at the thought of the little newborn. The three of them were so happy. Now, if only he could figure out the same thing for himself. Once he fixed his app, would he be able to convince Olivia to take the test again? Maybe then they would get a different result, one that proved just how ideal for each other they were.

Max’s thoughts were interrupted by an insistent tapping on the French doors of his office. He looked up to see his best friend, Connor Grayson, standing there.

Max got up and opened the door. “Why not try the front door?”

“I tried that first, but you didn’t answer. I knew you were home because your car was here.” Connor shrugged and stepped into Max’s office. “I decided to get creative.”

Rules never seemed to apply to Connor, nor did the lateness of any hour. Max looked at his watch. It was close to midnight. His friend was an entrepreneur like himself. The two of them had spent many nights together, working on their inventions, consumed with the need for success. Max’s algorithm was further ahead in development than Connor’s self-driving car. “What brings you here?”

Connor headed for the old-fashioned chaise longue and took a seat. “I had to know how things went with Annalise today.”

“Ever heard of a cell phone?” Max chided as he took a seat opposite Connor.

“Nah,” Connor replied with a flick of his hand. “I didn’t want to put you at risk any more than you already had.”

Connor was referring to the nondisclosure agreement Annalise insisted Max sign. The promise to keep the false engagement and wedding a secret had lasted all of ten seconds in Connor’s presence. But if anyone would understand what Max was doing, it would be his best friend.