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?”

didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed. “It’s a marriage, Olivia. People would

it might bite me.

fluid grace of a predator and took a step toward me.

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backed up until my legs

sending an unwelcome shiver down my spine. “I have needs. Strong ones.

face flamed. “That’s

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

trying to ignore how my body was reacting to his

language. “Is that what you think this is? Me ordering you

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

on unwilling women. But I am a man with

tightening traitorously beneath my blouse. I crossed my arms over my chest,

business arrangement,” I said, hating how breathless I

what you

it

behind my car. The casual intimacy of the gesture made my skin tingle. “Then what would

away from his touch. “I’d

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

the contract home,” he said, his voice even. “Read through it. If there are terms you want to negotiate, we can discuss

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

another unwelcome wave of heat through my body. “Think about it, Olivia. Five million dollars. Your father’s surgery.

clean.”

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

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Chapter 9

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