A Deal with the Devil

e

d built from the ground up was now a sinking ship, and despite her best efforts to keep it afloat, the numbers didn't lie. Debts were piling up. Investors were pulling

e time. Every figure, every chart, seemed to mock her. She had always been proud of her ability to solve p

r was soft but firm.

me

ccably dressed in a tailored suit, his presence was as imposing as it was magnetic. He stood in the door

ike velvet, yet with an edge that made

pression on his face. Chris Callahan wasn't a man who spoke without purpose, and every interaction with him f

acquaintance of his. Back then, she had seen him as nothing more than a shadow

asked, her voice betraying the

onto hers with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. He moved with purpos

. "I've been keeping an eye on your company, and it's

surge of anger that threatened to surfa

. "Oh, but you do. You just haven't realized it yet." He paused, watching

ds cut deeper than she was willing

"A deal," he said, as though it was the simplest

arriage? Are you out of your mind?" she spat. "I'm no

ompany is worth a fortune, but you're about to lose it. Unless you take my offer. I'll bail you

d, calculated marriages between two parties with nothing more than money and ambition at stake. But this was different.

red, her mind racing. "Why would y

ess of my heart. I'm offering you a chance to save your company. If you don't, I'll have no choice b

hris Callahan, a man she barely knew, felt like the ultimate betrayal. It felt like selling her soul. But

ration creeping into her voice. "There are plen

you, Theresa. You have ambition. Drive. Something most people lack. But you're too proud to ask for

ess, or was there more at play here? She didn't have the answers, but one thing was certain: she couldn't affo

bout it," she said, her vo

n it. "Of course. But don't take too lo

ced over his shoulder. "By the way... if you say yes, the cont

fice. She could hear her own breath, the rush of her heartbeat in her ears. The weight of the decision hung ov

her to decide: take th