Chapter 2 - The Perfect Choice

 

As soon as the door closes, the silence of my office returns like an old companion. The same calculated stillness that has always accompanied me. I usually enjoy it. I prefer controlled, predictable environments where all variables are under my command.

But today, for some irritating reason, my mind refuses to return to equilibrium.

Sophia Carter.

The girl left my office the same way she entered: with her head held high, even though her world is crumbling on her shoulders. She didn’t beg. She didn’t bargain. She didn’t cry. She simply stood her ground, holding my gaze until the very last second. But she doesn’t fool me. Women are always after something: money, status, power. There’s always a hidden motivation, a carefully adjusted mask on their faces.

I shove my hands into my pockets and walk to the window, observing the city below. Everything looks small, insignificant. People rushing from one place to another, trying to survive in a concrete jungle that doesn’t forgive weakness. New York stretches out before me, vibrant, chaotic, unforgiving. I like this view. It reminds me of who I am: a man who climbed alone, who took this jungle piece by piece and molded it to my will.

And that’s why I know people like Sophia are no exceptions. There are no exceptions.

But… why am I impressed by that girl?

She entered here with that steady gaze, a straight posture, her face free of any trace of excessive makeup. A stark contrast to the high-society women I’m used to seeing. No forced smiles, no empty compliments. Just her and that restrained silence that seemed to carry the weight of the world.

That’s what caught my attention for a moment: her refusal to show weakness.

But that resistance doesn’t mean she’s different. It just means she knows how to play better.

Because, deep down, they all play.

I return to my desk, my fingers drumming on the cold mahogany surface. Everything here is calculated. I need it to be. Control is the only reason I’ve gotten this far. And now, I’ve offered Sophia an opportunity any woman in her position would accept without a second thought.

A marriage of convenience.

The proposal was clear, direct. No attachments, no emotions, no complications. Just a contract that will meet both our needs. She’ll have her father’s debt paid off, her family saved from ruin, and I’ll have the wife I need to maintain my position in the company.

Simple.

And yet, her reaction...

She didn’t accept immediately. She didn’t beg for time, but she asked for it. She didn’t yield, but she didn’t challenge me either. It was as if she was weighing every word, every possibility, on an invisible scale only she could see.

That’s rare.

Lucas knocks on the door and enters after my permission. My assistant is always impeccable, efficient even in details I don’t notice. He’s carrying a folder with documents, probably another contract or merger for me to sign.

“Mr. Hawthorne, the meeting with the investors in Milan has been rescheduled.” He pauses before continuing. “And Miss Carter? Should I arrange something with the legal team to formalize the proposal?”

“Not yet. She’s thinking.”

Lucas raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question me. He knows I don’t like being questioned.

“Understood.”

He places the folder on the desk and leaves without further questions. As soon as the door closes, the office returns to silence.

I should be thinking about the next meeting, the international expansion, the company’s shares. But my mind keeps circling back to that woman.

Why?

There’s no room for distractions in my life. I built myself on that principle. A childhood marked by absence, a youth forged in the determination to never depend on anyone. I grew up watching my mother beg, crawl for men who promised worlds and only delivered crumbs. I learned early on that emotions are weaknesses and that people only get close when they want something in return.

And that’s exactly what Sophia wants.

She just hides it better.

I sit down again, my eyes fixed on the chair where she was seated. I can imagine where she is now: perhaps at home, replaying every word we exchanged, trying to find an angle she can use to her advantage.

But there is no angle.

The proposal is simple because there’s no room for ambiguities.

I offer the solution to her problems. She offers me the fulfillment of an absurd clause in my grandfather’s will. A marriage for one year. A contract.

Nothing more.

I pick up the folder Lucas left and start flipping through the documents. My eyes scan lines of numbers, legal clauses, and financial projections. This is what I’m good at. Numbers, deals, negotiations. People? They’re easy to predict.

Sophia is just another variable that will soon be under control.

And yet, as I review the papers, part of me remains uncomfortably aware that she somehow disrupted the solid surface I usually maintain.

I close the folder with a quick motion and stand again. I walk to the window, looking at the world below once more.

She’ll come back. I have no doubt about it.

And when she does, she’ll know she made the right choice.

Because, in the end, everyone has a price.

Even Sophia Carter.

And I always know how to pay it.