The Deal Read online

  The Deal

  A London Suits Novella #0.5

  Becca Steele

  The Deal (London Suits, #0.5)

  Copyright © 2019 by Becca Steele

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by NET Hook & Line Design

  Editing by One Love Editing

  Becca Steele

  www.authorbeccasteele.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s crazy imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Playlist

  Let It Be Me - Ray LaMontagne

  Meant To Be - Bebe Rexha, Florida Georgia Line

  Beautiful People - Ed Sheeran, Khalid

  You And Me - Lifehouse

  Kiss Me Slowly - Parachute

  I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues - Alessia Cara

  Dangerously - Charlie Puth

  How Would You Feel - Ed Sheeran

  Passport Home - JP Cooper

  Falling Like The Stars - James Arthur

  Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars

  New York - Ed Sheeran

  Find The Deal playlist on Spotify

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  1. Avery

  2. Ethan

  3. Ethan

  4. Avery

  5. Ethan

  6. Avery

  7. Avery

  8. Ethan

  9. Avery

  10. Ethan

  11. Avery

  12. Avery

  13. Ethan

  14. Avery

  15. Avery

  16. Ethan

  17. Avery

  18. Ethan

  19. Ethan

  Epilogue

  Want more?

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Becca Steele

  About the Author

  Author’s Note

  The author is British, and British English spellings and phrases are used throughout.

  For Stefanie

  “I would not wish

  Any companion in the world but you,

  Nor can imagination form a shape,

  Besides yourself, to like of.”

  William Shakespeare, The Tempest

  1

  Avery

  As per my usual morning ritual, I made my way to the office belonging to my boss, Ethan Barrett, carrying two takeaway cups of coffee. Although I was employed as an accountant and getting coffee was not part of my job description, I got him a drink every morning on my way to work, a habit that had begun when his assistant had been on sick leave and had continued ever since.

  I placed one cup in front of Ethan’s assistant’s computer and turned around, balancing Ethan’s cup in my hand. His office door was ajar, and I could hear him talking on the phone, his tone exasperated. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.

  “Yes, I have the suit… No, you don’t need to do th— I told you I’d handle it… Yes. I. Do… I have a date, so there’s no need to interfere… See you at the wedding… Goodbye, Mother.” He made a kind of frustrated growl sound, so I counted to thirty before walking in, to give him time to compose himself. I knocked lightly to announce my presence, then pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked across the room to where he sat, now focused on his computer.

  Everything on Ethan’s desk had its set place, and the coffee was no exception. The metal coaster sat perpendicular to his computer monitor, and just to mess with him, I moved the coaster slightly to the left as I placed his drink down. He frowned, glancing over at the cup distractedly, and nudged it back into place with a finger before returning his gaze to his screen. His eyes flicked up to mine for a second, and I met his irritated expression with an exaggerated eye roll, turning on my heel to make my way out of his office.

  “Avery, wait.” His commanding tone stopped me in my tracks. This wasn’t going to be good. I slowly turned to face him. He was staring at me, his laser-focused gaze directed at mine, and I swallowed, nerves overtaking me.

  “You like me, right?”

  My mouth dropped open. What kind of a question was that?

  “Like you? Uh…yes? Why?”

  His brow furrowed at my tone. “Why the hesitation?” He sounded genuinely curious, so I sighed and walked back to his desk, sliding into the seat opposite him.

  “Take a seat, why don’t you?”

  I chose to ignore his sarcasm. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound hesitant. Your question came out of the blue, so it threw me.”

  Ethan leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his thick, dark hair. He appeared to be mulling over his words, so I sat back and waited. Finally, he opened his mouth.

  “Listen, Avery, I want to make a deal with you. If you’re interested, that is.” For the first time ever, he seemed unsure, and it unnerved me. Ethan Barrett was the owner and founder of Barrett London, a successful boutique digital marketing agency he’d built from the ground up. Although I didn’t know a huge amount about his personal life, we’d always got on well in the office. I admired his work ethic, and his business had a low staff turnover. He always came across as confident and imposing, so to see him hesitate threw me.

  He took a deep breath and continued. “Here’s the deal. I have a family event to attend, and I need to take a date. I’d like to take you.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” I stared at him in disbelief, shuffling uncomfortably in my seat.

  “Let me explain myself. This isn’t a real date. Long story short—my baby sister is getting married. My mother is”—he looked pained—“rather vocal regarding my love life. She’s desperate to set me up with the daughter of one of her friends, and if I turn up to the wedding without a date, it’s going to be really fucking awkward for me, to be perfectly honest.”

  “Okay…” I said slowly, frowning as I tried to wrap my head around his words. “Why not just bring an actual date?”

  “I can’t do that. It’s my sister’s wedding, and to make it worse, I’m expected to stay for the whole weekend. If I took someone I wanted to date, she’d read far too much into it. A whole weekend away with me at a family wedding? That’s just asking for trouble. She’d have high expectations regarding my feelings for her, and she’d either end up being an utter clinger, or we’d drive each other insane by the end of the weekend.” He shuddered in revulsion, and I couldn’t help the amusement that tugged the corners of my lips into a small smile.

  “While I understand your predicament, I’m not sure why you’re asking me to help you.”

  Ethan leaned forward, spearing me with his dark gaze.

  “Firstly, and most importantly, this is a business deal. You won’t get the wrong idea about my intentions. Secondly, you’re attractive enough to pass as my girlfriend. Thirdly, we’re friends—in work, at least, and we work well together, so I’m confident we can pull this off without a hitch.”

  My mind was whirling.

  “Hold on just a minute. This was what you were talking about on the phone just now, wasn’t it? I could’ve sworn you said you had a date.” I bit my lip. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. You were talking quite loudly.”

  Ethan raised his eyebrows at me. “Hmm…I’m sure. But yes, I was talking to my mother on the phone. The reason I told her I already had a date was because she was hassling me about setting me up, and I thought of you. I apologise, I s
houldn’t have presumed that you’d say yes, but I was hoping you would be amenable to the idea.”

  “Were you, now?” It was my turn to raise a brow at him. “What do I get out of this arrangement, anyway? It seems to me like you’re the one getting all the benefits, while I’m supposed to lie to your family and pretend to be your girlfriend?”

  “Look, I’m going to come clean with my family afterwards. My sister, at least. I’m not close to my mother, at all,” he muttered darkly. “As for your benefits, I was hoping we could negotiate those. You’ll be getting an all-expenses paid weekend away in a five-star country manor. There’s an on-site spa and golf course, and you can charge whatever treatments you want to my room. I will of course compensate you financially. I thought maybe an additional payment on top of your annual bonus?”

  I shook my head emphatically. “No, no, no. If I do this, you are not paying me. That veers far too much into paid escort territory for me.” I smiled at him mischievously. “In fact, why don’t you just use an escort? Wouldn’t that be easier all round?”

  “That is out of the question,” he said sharply, glaring at me.

  I held up my hands. “Ooookay…it was just a suggestion.”

  “I’m not paying a stranger. If you don’t want money, you can have something else. Name it.” His dark eyes met mine. “So, what’s your decision?”

  “Hold on, Mr. Impatient. Can I at least have some time to think about this?”

  “You have until the end of the working day. Let me know your decision by five o’clock.”

  He stood, effectively dismissing me, and I stumbled back to my desk in a daze. Had that really happened?

  Needless to say, my concentration was non-existent for the rest of the day. One comment Ethan had made kept repeating itself in my mind. He’d said I was attractive enough to pass as his girlfriend. Coming from him, that was the closest he’d ever given me to a compliment. I mean, he was an incredibly good-looking man: he had that tall, dark, and broodingly handsome thing going on that so many women seemed to like.

  Okay, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to him, but in the same distant way I’d find a celebrity attractive. He barely featured on my radar as we were poles apart. He was a rich, successful businessman, and I was an accountant. His luxury penthouse bathroom was probably bigger than the entirety of the tiny studio apartment I rented. No doubt he stayed fit with an expensive gym membership, and I stayed fit by making the long walk to work every morning to avoid being charged peak travel fares on the Tube.

  We got on well at work, but he was so strait-laced and proper. I was, frankly, a bit of a mess and a daydreamer. Flighty—that was what my mother had always called me. “You’ve got your head in the clouds, Avery. Join the rest of us in the real world sometime.”

  I mulled over Ethan’s proposition in my mind as I input the expenses claim forms strewn across my desk into my accounting software. It took me all of thirty minutes to make up my mind, but I decided to let Ethan stew until the end of the day. At 4:55 p.m. I pushed all my paperwork into a messy pile on the edge of my desk and shut down my computer. Swiping my handbag from the floor, I headed to Ethan’s office, smiling at his assistant, Delia, as I passed her desk. His door was open, and he looked up from his computer with a hopeful expression as I entered the room.

  “I’ll do it,” I said, not wanting to prolong the suspense any longer.

  A huge smile spread across his face. An honest-to-goodness actual smile from Ethan Barrett, directed at me. That smile did funny things to my insides. He looked so gorgeous right then, it completely disarmed me. Pull yourself together. I walked briskly across to his desk and held out my hand for him to shake.

  He pushed back his chair and rose to his full height. “Hang on a minute. I’m not shaking on anything yet. What’s your stipulation? What do you want as compensation for this?”

  “A coffee machine.”

  “Huh?” Ethan’s expression was so befuddled that I laughed out loud.

  “A coffee machine for the office,” I clarified. “So your staff members don’t have to waste time queuing in crowded coffee shops. And everyone benefits, because none of us will have to drink that disgusting instant stuff that’s the only other current option in this building.”

  He stared down at me, humour dancing in his espresso eyes. Okay, I had coffee on the brain. What could I say? I was addicted.

  “And that’s all you want?”

  “Yes. Well, I may take advantage of one or two of those spa treatments you mentioned earlier.”

  “Only to be expected.”

  He rounded the desk to stand in front of me, and I had to crane my neck up to look into his eyes. He clasped my hand briefly, then cleared his throat.

  “Miss Jenkins, we have a deal. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that this is a confidential arrangement, so please don’t mention it to anyone in the office. I’ll message you all the details later. Thank you for doing this; you’re helping me out of a sticky situation.”

  I nodded. To be perfectly honest, other than the bonus of the coffee machine, I was intrigued to spend some time with Ethan and see how he acted out of the office environment. And being pampered for a weekend in a gorgeous country manor—in the end it had been an easy decision to make. How often did a chance like this come around?

  2

  Ethan

  Reclining against my smooth Italian leather sofa, I took a sip of Scotch, then placed my glass down on a coaster on the coffee table. I picked up my phone, scrolling through my contacts to the number I’d saved earlier. Avery. I laughed to myself, thinking how stunned she’d looked when I’d presented my suggestion to her. I was glad she’d agreed to my deal; I was dreading this weekend away. An entire weekend with my mother, who wanted nothing more than to palm me off on some fucking trophy wife type, all breathy fake baby voice and flicky hair. No, thanks. Avery would be my buffer—my barrier against the interference. It didn’t hurt that she was stunning, and she didn’t even appear to be aware of it. Huge, expressive, azure-blue eyes, long waves of dark hair, and her body…no. I did not want to go there. The whole point of her coming on this shitshow of a weekend away with me was so I didn’t have to deal with inconveniences like attraction and feelings.

  Besides, I wasn’t attracted to her. She was nothing like my usual type. I dated tall, cool, refined blondes—career women who were happy to meet up occasionally and had no expectations. Avery was…different. Looks aside, although she had a real talent for numbers, her mess of a desk and general untidiness exasperated me. She was happy-go-lucky and had an annoying obsession with musical theatre, a fact that everyone in the office was well aware of. I shuddered. Was there anything worse than sitting through endless hours of overly dramatic actors wailing and prancing around on a stage?

  No, Avery was a safe option. I’d made the right decision.

  I abruptly downed the dregs of my Scotch, then tapped out a message.

  Me: The wedding is the weekend after this. We’ll drive up on the Friday after work, and be back by Sunday evening.

  She replied a couple of minutes later.

  Avery: OK. Good thing I didn’t have plans. What do I need to bring? Not sure I have anything suitable to wear.

  Me: Good point. You need to dress the part. I’ll call a personal shopper friend of mine; she’ll sort you out. I’ll pick up the bill of course.

  Avery: It’s fine, I’ll pay.

  I chuckled. So stubborn. She’d soon learn there were certain areas I wouldn’t back down on.

  The three little dots appeared on the screen, indicating she was adding more to her previous reply.

  Avery: Should we get to know some things about each other so this relationship seems believable?

  Me: Yes. Good idea. I was going to suggest a list of questions we could send each other, but let’s start talking. What’s your all-time favourite food?

  We traded information throughout the evening. It turned out that Avery and I did have somethi
ng in common, after all. We seemed to have a shared appreciation for sitcoms, and before long we’d gone off track with the questions, instead debating the merits of the UK versus the USA version of The Office.

  I was startled when I looked at the clock to find it was almost midnight. We’d been messaging each other for over two hours. I sent Avery a quick message to say goodnight, then dropped my phone onto the sofa next to me. It buzzed, and my sister’s name flashed up on the screen.

  Victoria: Sorry it’s late but I saw you were online. Sorted a date for my wedding yet?

  Me: I have, actually. Mother can stop interfering now.

  Victoria: Ha. I hope your date has a backbone. You know Mother won’t give up that easily.

  Me: I live in hope.

  Victoria: Even if you’re not in love with the girl, bloody well act like it.

  Me: I plan to. Get ready, I’m calling you.

  I hit the Call button and sat back, waiting for my sister to connect.

  “Ethan. Please tell me you’re not calling me to try and talk me out of the wedding again.”

  “As your older and much wiser sibling, I feel it’s my duty to warn you that I feel like you’re rushing into it.”