The desperate proposal
Alexander Kane slammed the phone down so hard the screen cracked.
“Ten days,” he growled, the words felt heavy Jen he said them.
“I have ten fucking days.”
His grandfather’s lawyer had been brutally clear. Marry or lose everything. The old man’s will was ironclad. No loopholes and no extensions.
He had been his olda favorite but his old man didn't care and didn't let faboiritism cloud his emotions.
Alex shoved back from his desk and stalked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Below, the city pulsed under a gray morning sky. His city. His empire. About to slip through his fingers because some sentimental bastard decided love was a requirement for power.
He jabbed the intercom. “Sophia. My office. Now.”
Thirty seconds later the door opened.
Sophia Reyes stepped in, tablet already in hand, spine straight, chin high. Her dark hair was twisted into a neat bun, but a few strands had escaped, brushing her neck. She wore the same fitted black blouse and pencil skirt she always did. Professional. Safe.
Except her fingers tightened around the tablet the moment she saw his face.
She had worked for Alexander long enough to know he was angry.
“Sir?” Her voice stayed calm, but her knuckles had gone white.
Alex didn’t sit. He rounded the desk and stopped two feet from her. He was close enough to catch the faint scent of her vanilla lotion and close enough to see the rapid flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat.
“I need a wife.”
Sophia blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Her lips parted, then pressed together. The tablet dipped slightly in her grip.
She didn't know how to react.
“For ten days,” he continued, voice low and clipped. “My grandfather’s will. Marry or my uncle takes the company. I don’t have time to find someone suitable.”
He watched her throat work as she swallowed.
“So you’re telling me…” Her words came out breathy. She cleared her throat and tried again. “You want me to find you a wife in ten days?”
“No.” Alex took one more step. Now only inches separated them. “I want you to be my wife for ten days.”
The tablet nearly slipped from her fingers. She caught it against her chest, pressing it there like a shield. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink that spread down her neck.
“Me?” The word cracked.
“You already know every schedule, every secret, every weakness I have. No learning curve. No surprises.” His gaze dropped to her mouth for half a second before snapping back up.
“The Trial Vows Agency can draw up the contract in an hour. You move into my penthouse tonight. We act married in public. We sleep in the same bed for appearances. Ten days, Sophia. One million dollars when it’s over, plus a promotion and full job security. Refuse, and I’ll have to let you go. I can’t risk leaks.”
Her breathing had gone shallow. He could see the rise and fall of her chest, fast and uneven. She took a small step back, but the door was right behind her. Nowhere to run.
“One million?” she whispered.
“Cash. Wire transfer the moment the ten days end.” He leaned in slightly, voice dropping. “But you sign today. We leave for the agency in fifteen minutes.”
Sophia’s eyes darted to the cracked phone on his desk, then back to his face. Her tongue touched her lower lip. She looked terrified. And something else. Something that made heat coil low in his gut.
Her fingers trembled as she adjusted her grip on the tablet. “I… I have bills. My mother’s treatments...” She cut herself off, jaw tightening. “This is crazy.”
Her mother was sick and needed surgery and this was an opportunity. On million dollas, ten days...just pretending to be in love.
“This is necessary.” Alex reached out and tucked one escaped strand of hair behind her ear. His fingertip brushed the shell of her ear. She shivered.
He let his hand drop, but didn’t step back.
“Say yes, Sophia.”
She stared at him for a long, heavy beat. Her lashes fluttered. Then her shoulders squared, just a fraction.
“I need to read the contract first.”
A sharp thrill shot through him. Not quite relief. Not quite victory. Something darker.
“Good girl,” he murmured before he could stop himself.
Her eyes widened. The flush on her cheeks deepened to crimson.
Alex turned away before she could see what those two words did to him. He grabbed his jacket from the chair.
“Fifteen minutes. Pack light. Everything else will be provided.” He paused at the door and looked back. “And Sophia?”
She lifted her chin, trying to look steady even though her legs looked ready to give out.
“From the moment you sign… you call me Alexander. Or husband. Your choice.”
He watched her swallow again, watched the way her fingers dug into the tablet like it was the only solid thing left in the room.
Then he opened the door and waited.
Sophia walked past him, heels clicking sharply on the marble floor. Her scent lingered in the air behind her.
Alex exhaled through his nose, already feeling the control he prized so highly start to fray at the edges.
Ten days.
He had ten days to pretend.
And suddenly he wasn’t sure who was really in danger of breaking first.
