Marriage Deal with Entangled Promises

s Point

sday morning, and then, in the time it take

s-surrounding me. But something was off. I couldn't concentrate on the scr

nticipating anyt

Tara, my assistant, announced from t

desk. The knot in my stomach was a persistent companion. My position at the market

to cling to some semblance of optimism.

in strode the last person

hew

re me, radiating the kind of power that suggested he owned not just the building, but the entire city. He was tall, with dark hair

oice was a low rumble, carefully

tending a hand that felt like it was made of ice, my clammy pa

didn't

m someone accustomed to closing deals, but it lacke

him sizing up the room, the people, and me. "I hope this won't take long. My

. This wasn't a social call. I suspected he

he vacant chair. "P

self-assuredness that spoke of a lifetime o

rt that constricts your chest, as if you're a piece on a che

his gaze pinning me in place

s was a surprise. "Help?" I echoed

d, purposeful. "Indeed, a business proposal." He opened the folder

ning behind his words. "I'm not certain

nto a brief, icy s

ruggling to grasp the mea

d on the desk. His eyes were steady,

ike a dense mist. "Pardon?" I mana

itation. "I have a business arrangement to compl

es. For their

aring at him. "But...

alm, as if he were explaining the weather. "You're

nt so clinical. He was look

find a way to understand, to make it all fit. "You

nod. "That's right. It's strictly

ng pe

eft that office, shut the door, and never returned. But I didn't. The words fai

pose myself. "And what if I say no?" I f

I'll look elsewhere. But I suspect you'l

the lure was undeniable. I took the paper, opened

r was st

of luxury. A home. A futu

ent plain. "And you expect m

ity in his eyes. "Indeed. It's a simple deal, Miss Be

d, a cruel taunt, presenting me with everything

heart was whisperi

air screeching as I sho

still. Not a fl

u w

ute, a certainty t

ring. "I don't know what you think I am,

the space. "You don't have to be," he said, his voice now a l

hitched. The power in h

ickened, he said, "I'll gi

oss for words, unsure of my next move. The proposition w

I felt his gaze, a

pened the door,

Esther," he said

bout to change

nd a sense of entrapment washed ov

leave, abandoning the billio

lway, paralyzed, I understood

even r