Eight

As the meeting dragged on, I found myself zoning out, lost in thought. What was Gino really looking for in this fake marriage? Was it just a business arrangement, or was there something more?

I glanced over at Gino, trying to catch his eye, but he was too engrossed in the meeting to notice. His eyes were fixed intently on the papers in front of him, his brow furrowed in concentration.

The meeting finally came to a close, and we left the conference room together. Gino turned to me with a smile. "Well, that's done," he said. "The merger is set to close next week."

I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. It was over, and now we could move on to the next step.

But as we walked back to the office, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Gino seemed distant, preoccupied. And I couldn't help but wonder what was going on behind those piercing blue eyes.

We spent the rest of the day going over the details of our fake marriage, discussing everythin