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?”

look embarrassed. “It’s a

folder like it might bite me. “And you’re not

He rose from his seat with the fluid grace of a predator and took a step toward me. I

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Chapter 9

legs hit the

shiver down my spine. “I have needs. Strong ones. I’m not the type of

“That’s not

becomes your problem in this arrangement.” He moved closer, his expensive and masculine cologne filling my senses. “If I’m seen visiting hotel rooms or bringing women to my house while married to you, people will talk. The tabloids will speculate. And eventually, my grandfather will discover

trying to ignore how my body was reacting to his proximity. “So what? Find someone else who’s willing to fuck

at my crude language. “Is that what you think this is? Me ordering you to spread your legs when- ever I snap my

the contract.

misunderstand.” He stepped even closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. “I’m not some monster who forces himself on unwilling women. But I am a man with a healthy sex drive who won’t be celibate for

blouse. I crossed my arms over my chest,

said, hating

wife. That’s what

it

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my car. The casual intimacy of the gesture made

“I’d call

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

his voice even. “Read through it. If there

still clutched in

about it, Olivia. Five million dollars. Your father’s surgery. Your

clean.”

did he know about my brothers? The fact that he’d dug so deeply into my personal life should

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Chapter 9

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