Chapter 3

“Tell me everything this instant. Leave absolutely nothing out.” I threw my purse on a couch, folding my arms as I watched, waited for my parents to justify my engagement to Adrian freaking Sinclair.

“Your grandfather, the founder of our agency, didn’t build the company with the purest hands.” Dad sighed. “He has links with illegal gangs and a notorious record of embezzlement—”

“Grandpa? Embezzlement? Come on.” I scoffed, forgetting that the old and frail man who talked to walls was once young and smart.

“It’s true. We thought it was a long-buried secret until one of the workers at the agency decamped and went off to SC. She sold out the information along with documents containing proof, which your father kept for some reason.” Mom and I shot dad similar annoyed looks.

“So, you’re saying the Sinclairs are in possession of documents that could ruin Liss?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Precisely.” Dad nodded.

“How did my marriage to their son get into the mix?”

“As long as you, the heir to Liss, are married to the chairman of SC, their son, their stock will go all the way up. The sick part of it is the fact that our stock price will increase, too. The catch is, they’re waiting for a tweak. The moment something goes wrong in the marriage, especially a divorce, they’ll kick off a court case and try to get the power over Liss,” Mom explained.

“That’s never going to happen.” I shook my head. Not while I was still alive.

“It will, if they pull out your grandfather’s records in court. Adrian will then be the sole owner of both companies.” Mom grabbed my hands and gave me a pleading look. “Please, Alexandra. We want you to do this for yourself. Your father will step down and hand over the authority over Liss to you before you get married. We want you to do everything you can to protect what’s yours.”

My head was filled with expletives directed at who my grandfather used to be, and even more of them at the mess-up of an employee who sold the information to the Sinclairs. Marie Sinclair was obviously a dirty player. Hell, even Adrian could be. He was most likely putting up an act about not knowing what was going on. Why else would he tell me that divorce was not an option?

I plopped on the sofa and rubbed my temple to help with the accumulating headache. The world was after me. This was my quote’s way of laughing at me.

I was wrong from the start. It wasn’t my parents who understood the quote. It was the Sinclairs. Keep your friends close, get your enemies’ daughter married to your son and progressively blackmail them. Checkmate. They knew how the game would end before the game even started.

“What happens if I get involved in something horrible? For heaven’s sake, I could be getting into an abusive marriage. Why in the world did you keep those documents, Dad? They’re not trophies!” I snapped.

“I’m extremely sorry, Alexa.” He sat beside me, staring into space.

“Words cannot carry how deeply hurt we are by this, too, Alexandra. We—”

“Save it for the wedding day. Good night.” I stood up. “I’ll get married to him. Not because I want to, but because I know how much you two have put into this company. It would kill me to see it burst into flames and for you two to be arrested for association.”

I walked into my room and threw the engagement ring across the room, hearing it land on the floor with a slight clink.

I peeled the nightmarish dress off my body and spent minutes soaking myself in the bath tub. God, I was starting to hate my grandfather. Not as much as whoever the hell had gotten access to the info and sold it. What happened to being as thick as thieves? Especially when we were indirectly said thieves.

I could hear my phone ringing in the bedroom, but I chose to ignore it for rubbing lather on my body. The phone rang over and over until I couldn’t take it anymore.

I wrapped a towel around my body and got out of the bathroom to find an unknown caller ID. Before I could say a word into the phone, his voice came through first. “Ah, there she is. You finally decided to pick up the phone.”

I didn’t have the time to ask him how he had gotten my number. Maybe it was sold, too. I shook the thoughts off my mind as I frowned. “What do you want?”

“You know, I realized that you were right about me not knowing anything about you. If we’re being fair, you know nothing about me either. It wouldn’t be that easy for the press to believe this isn’t a business scheme since—”

“I don’t have all night. What are you arriving at?”

“Would you like to go on a lunch date with me tomorrow? Just the two of—“

“No.”

“No?”

“No.” I hung up before he could ask why and I would have to give him a thousand and one reasons. I returned to the bathroom after having the phone put on silent. How dare he ask me out on a lunch date with the whole situation on ground? If he was trying to turn me into some trophy wife, screw him and his twisted ideas.

It took a while for me to relax and return to the bathroom. My phone was flooded with missed calls and texts from him. Would blocking his number be considered a breach of agreement?

I scoffed at his texts, loathing how he was right.

Adrian: I honestly do not see any reason for you to refuse a lunch date. It’s a good opportunity for us to talk about what this whole thing is in detail.

Adrian (2): I don’t even know your favorite color.

Adrian (3): Did you know that we’re required to go on a compulsory honeymoon? We need to talk about this.

Adrian (4): How is it that you’re already giving me the silent treatment?

Adrian (5): Ms. Bennett, I’ll have you know that neither of us can escape this. We have to make do with this and get used to it.

Adrian (6): This isn’t any easier for me, just so you know.

Adrian (7): I have no exact why we’re getting married either, but I won’t act like it’s something that can be avoided. This is serious. The world will be informed about this by morning.

Adrian (8): Rosemill restaurant. 1 p.m. I’ll wait for thirty minutes.

Adrian (9): Good night, Ms. Bennett.

Boy, was he insufferable. I placed the phone on the nightstand and curled into a ball, wearing nothing but the towel that was wrapped around me. Life had never been that messy.