Chapter 9

Olivia

He held out the folder. I didn’t take it. My hands remained firmly in my lap, though I couldn’t deny the curiosity building inside me.

“What is that?” I asked, eyeing the manila folder with suspicion.

“A draft of our agreement. Not finalized, of course. I’d want your input on the terms.”

I laughed without humor. “You already had this drawn up? Before even speaking to me?”

“I like to be prepared.” He placed the folder on the coffee table between us. “Take it home, read it, and then decide.”

My curiosity got the better of me. I reached for the folder and flipped it open.

The first page was a standard legal header, but what caught my eye was the figure: $1,000,000 to be transferred im- mediately upon signing. My eyes widened involuntarily.

“Keep reading,” Alexander prompted.

I flipped through the pages, skimming the dense legal text. Promotion to Senior Marketing Strategist. Relocation to the Carter estate. Public appearances as a couple. The divorce settlement: $5,000,000.

Then I reached a section that made my blood run cold.

“Duration of marriage: minimum one year, with potential extension based on the circumstances…”

“Extension?” I looked up sharply. “What does that mean?”

“Just a precaution. If my grandfather becomes suspicious, we might need to extend.”

I continued reading, my face growing hotter with each paragraph.

“Cohabitation in the same bedroom… public displays of affection… sexual relations as required to maintain the ap- pearance of a normal marriage…”

I slammed the folder shut. “Sexual relations? Are you kidding me?”

even have the decency to look embarrassed. “It’s

It’s a business transaction.” I stood up, clutching the folder like it might bite me.

from his seat with the fluid grace of a predator and took

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Chapter 9

until my legs hit the

frank, Olivia.” His voice dropped to a dangerous octave, sending an unwelcome shiver down my spine. “I have needs. Strong ones. I’m not the type of man who goes without sex for

flamed. “That’s not my

visiting hotel rooms or bringing women to my

how my body was reacting to his proximity. “So what? Find

my crude language. “Is that what you think this is? Me ordering you to spread your

shot back, waving the contract. “It’s right here in black and

not some monster who forces himself on unwilling women. But I am

felt suddenly heavy, my nipples tightening traitorously beneath my blouse. I

business arrangement,” I said, hating how breathless I sounded.

what

label on it doesn’t change what

reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my car. The casual intimacy of the gesture made my skin tingle. “Then what

his touch. “I’d call it

his eyes: anger, maybe, or surprise that I’d speak to him so bluntly. Then

“Read through it. If there are terms you want to

glanced down at the folder still clutched in my hands. “And the sex

wave of heat through my body. “Think about it, Olivia. Five million dollars.

clean.”

fact that he’d dug so deeply into my personal life should have

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Chapter 9

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