The Professional Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book Three Read Free Page B

touch.” He pulled his eyebrows together. “I guess I should tell you that I work exclusively for Mr. Hoagland, and therefore I’m now on your payroll. Here’s my card. If you have any questions or concerns, I’ll be happy to address them. We need to meet and go over things, but it can wait until after the funeral if you’d like.”
    Rym’s head was spinning. He had a payroll? He had a lawyer ? He never thought he’d need either, and yet he’d been handed them. His instinct was to shove them back, but there was no one to take them.
    Somehow, Rym made it to his car and down the switchback to Sven, who waved him through with a look of compassion.
    Rym’s phone rang, and he checked the number before answering. “Hi, Mom. You aren’t going to believe this.”
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
     
     
     
    Amber Appleby was somewhat surprised to feel sad that her marriage was coming to an end. She shared a fond look with Jeremy, his golden-brown eyes reminding her of the amber stone necklace he gave her this morning. It was a farewell present, one that she would treasure.
    No one expected a kid from a Kentucky holler to make it to the major leagues, but baseball was in Jeremy Appleby’s DNA. It ran though his mind twenty-four hours a day and it pumped through his heart with the driving force of a locomotive. He’d pitched his first major-league game at the age of nineteen. In just a short time, his life spun out of control and it started to affect his game. There was more money coming in than he knew what to do with and everyone wanted a piece of him.
    His agent found Pamela’s company, Billionaire Marriage Brokers, and asked if she could find Jeremy a wife who would stabilize his life. Pamela recommended Amber because of her mentoring experience, her background in finance, and her level head.
    The year Amber spent helping her husband gain control of his new wealth, buy and decorate a house, and learn to navigate the tricky waters of fame and fortune was a year unlike any other. Jeremy was her only husband who came with an entourage of reporters, groupies, trainers, an agent, and a wicked curve ball. The press went nuts over their age difference, calling her everything from a gold-digger to a cougar. She’d learned fast what to say in front of the camera and what to keep behind closed doors. She and Jeremy posed together like newlyweds while in public to keep up appearances and honor BMB’s confidentiality agreement, though they had separate bedrooms at home. BMB marriages were platonic, arranged for the benefit of both parties but not including physical intimacy.
    The same level head that helped Amber retain her poise in front of mean-spirited reporters was what made her decide to sign up with Pamela’s company, a matchmaking service for the ultra-rich. Numbers don’t lie, and Amber realized she could make more money as a business wife than she could on her speaking junket—and that wasn’t anything to sneeze at.
    Amber came out of her musings and back to Lisa Marie’s office, where the printer ink on her divorce papers had barely dried.
    “Jeremy, you’ll sign everything first and then pass it to Amber, and she’ll sign right below you,” said Lisa Marie. She was wearing one of her signature pantsuits and a bright green scarf. On other women, the scarf would have washed out their color. But the color did amazing things with Lisa Marie’s fair skin and dark brown eyes.
    Jeremy picked up one of the five blue pens lying on Lisa Marie’s desk and signed with a flourish. Amber grinned. They’d worked for days to come up with that signature, the one that would grace baseballs, bats, hats, and other merchandise as he signed autographs for fans. Before marrying her, he’d had a chicken scratch; now his name looked memorable.
    After several more pages and signatures, the divorce was final. Amber looked forward to the big bonus soon to be deposited into her checking account. That money would take her to a beach