Head Over Heels, page 2
* * *
Julia’s request came as no surprise. Aleksandr had been waiting for it since the scene in her office the day before. If he lived to be a wise, old man he doubted he’d ever understand this country he’d come to love. Nor was he likely to understand Julia Conrad. She was a woman encased in frost, a woman with a wounded soul. He’d recognized this from the moment they’d met. She was uncomfortable with him; he knew that from the way she avoided eye contact. He hadn’t had much contact with her, and he suspected she preferred to communicate through her brother.
Julia’s assistant let him into the office and announced his arrival. Julia was sitting at her desk writing. When he entered the room, she glanced up and smiled.
“Please, sit down,” she said politely, motioning toward the chair on the other side of her desk. “I hope I’m not interrupting your work.”
For a few seconds Aleksandr didn’t trust himself to speak. Her pain was closer to the surface than ever before, almost visible beneath the facade she’d erected.
“I’m never too busy for you, Ms. Conrad,” he said, bowing his head slightly.
Her features seemed perfect to him, her beauty so flawless it was chilling. He noted that her creamy skin was flushed but her eyes dark and clear as they studied him with equal interest.
“I thought it might be a good idea if we talked,” she suggested haltingly.
He nodded. “About my work?”
She hesitated. Not answering, she stood and moved away from him, carefully placing herself in the shadows where it was more difficult to read her expression.
“Tell me how your experiments are progressing,” she said, her hands clasped behind her back. He sensed her reserve—and her tension.
Aleksandr was well aware from the notes he’d received from her that Julia had read and understood his weekly reports. Nevertheless he humored her. The additives he’d been working on for Conrad paints had impressive capabilities. His first innovation had been a simple one. Once an exterior surface was painted, if the owner wished a different color at some later date, all he or she needed to do was wash the surface with another solution, one that would be available only through Conrad Industries. It was an approach that would work on homes, cars and lawn furniture.
His second innovation had been just as successful so far. He’d developed a blend of chemicals that, when applied to a surface, would completely remove the old paint. No more scraping or heating it. A spray of the solution would dissolve it away with a minimum of effort, without harmful effects or harsh chemicals to damage the environment.
Aleksandr gave Julia a detailed description of his most recent experiments. He regretted that he wouldn’t be with Conrad Industries to see his work come to fruition, but there was nothing more he could do. He was sorry to be leaving America, especially since there was still such poverty and upheaval in his homeland.
He paused, awaiting her response.
“You’re very close, then.”
“Within a few months,” he guessed.
Her brows arched with what he assumed was surprise and delight. Both emotions quickly left her expression as she looked away. Her eyes avoided his, and Aleksandr wondered privately how many hearts she’d broken. She held herself distant, the unattainable prize of many a man, the untouchable dream of loveliness.
“Aleksandr.” She spoke with a casual familiarity, although as far as he could recall, it was the first time she’d addressed him by his first name. “We have a problem…as you know.”
She moved toward him, her eyes wide, and when she spoke again it was in a whisper. “We’re too close to lose everything now. I can’t let it happen. My brother…came up with a solution.”
Aleksandr’s mind churned with confusion. She couldn’t possibly be considering Jerry’s suggestion that they get married, could she? Only a day earlier she’d scoffed at her brother for even mentioning something so preposterous. Alek hadn’t been given a chance to comment.
“I’ve been thinking about Jerry’s idea,” she continued demurely, glancing over her shoulder at him as she returned to her desk. “It seems marriage is our only solution.”
Aleksandr wasn’t fooled by her demeanor; there wasn’t a shy, retiring bone in that delectable body of hers. Julia Conrad was too proud and stubborn to play the role well. But there was no limit to her determination.
“Of course you’d be well compensated for your…contribution to Conrad Industries. Even more than we’re currently paying you. We’d be happy to double your salary. Naturally it wouldn’t be a real marriage, and when you’ve finished with your work, we’d obtain a quiet divorce. If you’re agreeable, I’ll have Jerry draw up a prenuptial agreement for us to sign.”
Aleksandr was convinced that if there’d been any other way to solve the problem, Julia would have opted for it. She was offering him a pretend marriage, followed by a discreet divorce.
He frowned, disliking the fact that she was trying to bribe him with money. His wages were already far beyond what he could ever hope to make in Russia. Much of what he earned now he sent to his family, while he lived as frugally as possible.
“I understand there are several members of your family still in Russia,” she said cautiously. “We might be able to help them immigrate to the States if we did decide to go ahead with this marriage.”
At his silence, Julia added, “If that’s something you’d care to consider—bringing your immediate family into the country. Is it?” she prompted.
Aleksandr’s voice was strained when he spoke. “My sister is unmarried and lives with my mother, who is a widow.” Unable to remain seated, he stood and walked to the window, his back to her. He felt a strong desire to take Julia in his arms, but he was painfully aware that there was no warmth in her, nor would she welcome his touch.
For two years Aleksandr had studied Julia Conrad. Outwardly she was often arrogant and sometimes sarcastic. But she wasn’t entirely capable of hiding her softer side. Every now and then he caught puzzling, contradictory glimpses of her. She cared deeply for her employees and was often generous to a fault. Then there’d been the day, shortly after Alek had come to America, when he’d seen Julia with her grandmother.
Julia’s facade had melted away that afternoon. If Alek hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed such a transformation was possible. Julia had glowed with joy and pride as she gave her grandmother a tour of the rebuilt facilities. Alek had watched from a distance—and had held on to that image of her ever since.
Marriage. He sighed inwardly. His religion didn’t accept divorce and he refused to sacrifice his life and his happiness for a business proposition.
“I wish you’d say something,” she said.
He returned to the chair and kept his features as expressionless as he could. “There’s much we would need to consider before we enter into this agreement.”
“Of course,” she returned.
“Your money does not interest me.”
She seemed surprised by his words. “Even for your family?”
“Even for my family.” What he earned now was adequate. Julia wasn’t the only one who was proud. Alek couldn’t be bought. She, a woman who needed no one, needed him, and he appreciated what it had taken for her to approach him with this offer. Alek wasn’t being completely unselfish, nor was he without greed. He had a price in mind.
“Then what is it you want?”
He shrugged, not knowing how to tell her.
Restlessly she came to her feet and walked away from him. He admired her smooth, fluid grace. She was a woman who moved with confidence, sure of herself and her surroundings. Usually. But at the moment she seemed sure of nothing and obviously that disturbed her.
“I don’t know what to say,” Aleksandr answered truthfully.
“Do you find the idea of marriage to me so distasteful?” she asked.
“No,” he told her quietly. “You’re lovely.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t want money.”
“If it isn’t money, then what? A percentage of my stock? A vice presidency? Tell me.”
“You Americans regard marriage differently than we do in my country. There, when a man and woman marry, it is for many reasons, not all of them love. Nevertheless, when we marry it is for life.”
“But you aren’t in Russia now, you’re in America.”
“Americans treat marriage like dirty laundry. When it becomes inconvenient, you toss it aside. My head tells me I live in your country now, but my heart believes in tradition. If we marry, Julia, and it would be my wish that we do, there will be no divorce.”
Her breath escaped in a rush and her dark eyes flared briefly.
Aleksandr ignored the fury he read in her and continued. “We both stand to gain from this arrangement. I will remain in the country and complete my experiments. You will have what you wish, as well. But there is a cost to this, one we should calculate now. The marriage will be a real one, or there will be no marriage.”
Her gaze cut through him with ill-concealed contempt. “So you want more than the golden egg, you want the whole goose.”
“The goose?” Aleksandr hadn’t heard this story. He smiled. “In my family, goose is traditionally served at the wedding meal. I do not know about the golden egg, but you may keep that. I want only you.”
Her voice was husky when she spoke. “That’s what I thought.”
The phone on her desk rang just then and Julia reached for it. “I said I didn’t want to be disturbed,” she said impatiently. Her face tightened as she listened. “Yes, yes, of course, you did the right thing. Put me through immediately.” Several seconds passed. “Dr. Silverman, this is Julia Conrad. I understand you’ve had my grandmother taken to Virginia Mason Hospital.”
Alek watched as the eyes that had been distressed and angry a moment earlier softened with emotion. She blinked, and Alek thought he might have noticed the sheen of tears.
“Naturally. I’ll let my brother know right away and we’ll meet you there as soon as we can. Thank you for contacting me so soon.” She replaced the receiver, stood and started out of the room, apparently forgetting Aleksandr was there.
“Your grandmother is ill?” he asked.
She whirled around, apparently surprised at the sound of his voice, and nodded. “I…have to leave. I don’t believe there’s any need for us to discuss this further. I can’t agree to your conditions. I refuse to be trapped in the type of marriage you’re suggesting. I’d hoped we’d be able to work out some kind of compromise, but that doesn’t seem possible.”
“I’m disappointed. We would’ve had fine children.”
She stared at him as if he’d spoken in his native tongue and she didn’t understand a word he’d said. “Children?” she repeated. A sadness seemed to steal over her; she shook her head, perhaps to dispel the image.
“I will think good things for your grandmother,” Alek told her.
She nodded. “Thank you.” With what looked like hard-won poise, she turned and left the office.
Alek watched her go, and the proud way in which she carried herself tugged at his heart. He wished her grandmother well, but more importantly, he wished Julia a happy life.
* * *
Knowing his time in the States was limited to mere days, Aleksandr worked well past five, when his colleagues had all gone home. He felt it was his moral obligation to do everything within his power to see that the next series of experiments was performed to the standards he’d set for the earlier ones. He wouldn’t be with Conrad Industries to oversee the ongoing research, and that bothered him, but he had no choice.
The laboratory was silent, and the footsteps echoing down the wide corridor outside his office were louder than they would otherwise have been.
He raised his eyes expectantly when Julia Conrad opened the door without knocking and walked inside. She was pale, her eyes darker than he’d ever seen them before.
“Julia,” he said, standing abruptly. “Is something wrong?”
She looked sightlessly around, as though she didn’t know where she was or how she got there.
“Your grandmother?”
Julia nodded and gnawed on her bottom lip. “She…she had another heart attack.”
“I’m sorry.”
Her eyes flew upward as if to gauge the sincerity of his words. For a lengthy moment she said nothing. Then she inhaled a shaky breath and bit her lip so hard, Aleksandr was afraid she’d draw blood.
“I…I’ve reconsidered, Mr. Berinski. I’ll marry you under the conditions you’ve set.”
CHAPTER TWO
“I don’t want an elaborate wedding.” Julia folded her arms, moving to the far side of her office. Her brother was being impossible. “How could there even be time to arrange one?”
“Julia, you’re not listening to me.”
“I’m listening,” she said sharply. “I just don’t happen to like what I’m hearing.”
“A reception at the Four Seasons isn’t so much to ask.”
“But a wedding with guests and this whole thing about wearing a fancy wedding dress is ridiculous! Jerry, please, this is getting out of hand. I understand marriage is the best solution, but I didn’t realize I’d be forced to endure the mockery of a formal wedding.”
Jerry gestured helplessly. “We’ve got to make this as credible as we can. Apparently you don’t understand how important this is—and not just the wedding, either. That’s only the first hurdle. You have to make everything appear as though you’re madly in love. Nothing less will convince the Immigration people. If you fail… I don’t even want to think about that.”
“You’ve already gone through this.” More times than she cared to count.
“Alek has to live with you, too.”
This was the part that disturbed Julia most. Her condo was her private haven, the one place where she could be completely herself. She was about to lose that, too. “But why?” She knew the answer, had argued until Jerry was seething with exasperation. Julia didn’t blame him, but this marriage was becoming far more complicated than she’d ever thought it would.
“Why?” Jerry shouted, throwing his hands in the air. “I’ve made everything as plain as I can. Alek isn’t the problem, it’s you. What I don’t understand, Julia, is why you’re being so difficult when we’re the ones who stand to benefit from this arrangement.”
“You’re making Alek sound like a saint for marrying me.” She frowned. “And I don’t see you running for the altar.” Jerry had recently ended yet another brief liaison.
He didn’t answer right away, which irritated her even more. “Let’s put it this way,” he finally said. “Conrad Industries is gaining far more from this marriage than Alek ever will. And,” he added, “my marital status is irrelevant.”
Julia rolled her eyes at that. “I offered to pay him, and very generously, too,” she said.
“You insulted him. The man has his pride, Julia. He isn’t doing this for the money.”
“Then why is he going through with it?”
Jerry shrugged. “Darned if I know.”
His words reiterated that Alek wasn’t getting any bargain by marrying her. “He wants to help his family,” Julia reminded her brother. She remembered Alek mentioning a sister and his widowed mother. As the oldest son, Alek would feel responsible for taking care of his family. Julia had promised to do whatever she could to bring both his mother and his sister to the United States. This marriage provided plenty of incentives for Alek, she told herself, so she didn’t need to worry about taking advantage of him.
“There’s more to the man than meets the eye,” Jerry muttered. “I’m convinced he’s not interested in monetary gain. When he read over the prenup, he insisted on no stake in the company. We’re about to make a fortune because of him, and he wants no part of it.”
This discussion wasn’t doing anything to ease Julia’s conscience. “I agreed to the marriage,” she said, not wanting to stray any farther from the subject than they already had. “But no one said anything about a wedding. I thought we’d make an appointment with a justice of the peace and be done with it.” She walked over to her desk, opened the old-fashioned appointment book and flipped through the pages. “Friday at four is open.”
“Julia,” Jerry returned with a sigh. “As I’ve explained—we’ve got to make this as real as we can for obvious reasons.”
“I’ve said Alek can move in with me.” To Julia, that was a major concession. She wasn’t pleased by it, nor did she feel good about tricking Alek. He’d insisted from the first that their marriage be real. He’d made it known that he intended to sleep with her; he also wanted children. Julia couldn’t allow any of that. Alek didn’t understand and neither did Jerry. Julia was incapable of love, the kind of trusting love a husband and wife shared. That possibility was dead, destroyed by Roger’s treachery. Never again would she put her faith in a man. Alek expected her to be his wife in every way, but soon he’d learn the truth. Soon he’d know for himself how badly he was being cheated. Such deception didn’t sit well with Julia, but there was no avoiding it.
While Julia admired Alek, she found herself nervous around him. He left her feeling naked, somehow. Exposed. He seemed to be able to look into her very soul. That didn’t make sense, but she couldn’t shake the suspicion that in some uncanny way he knew all there was to know about her.
“Immigration is going to ask about the wedding,” Jerry went on. “We need proof that what prompted the marriage to Alek was nothing less than earth-shattering love. A hurried-up affair in some judge’s chambers won’t work. They’re going to want evidence of your commitment and devotion to each other.”
“A hurried-up affair at the Four Seasons will convince them of all that?” she asked sarcastically.
Jerry sighed again. “It looks better. Now, I suggest you go out and get yourself a fancy wedding dress while I make arrangements with Virginia. We’ll deal with the caterers and the photographers and see to having the invitations hand-delivered.”
