CHAPTER 4: THE ARRANGEMENT
Daniel's office was as cold as the rest of the house—all white walls, black furniture, and hard edges. He gestured for me to sit, then closed the door behind us.
"Genevieve has a way of being dramatic," he said. "I apologize if she alarmed you."
"She said your ex-wife is stalking you."
"She's not stalking me. She's stalking the company. There's a difference."
"Not much of one."
He sat down across from me. "The board meeting is in four weeks. My brother, Richard, has been building a case against me. He's claiming incompetence, instability, erratic behavior. He wants to oust me and take control of everything."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Appearances matter. If I'm married, stable, settled, the board will have no reason to remove me. If I'm alone, they'll believe Richard's narrative."
"So I'm a prop."
"You're a solution," he said. "For both of us."
I studied him. "Why do you trust me? I could be anyone."
"Because I saw you step in front of your children," he said. "A woman who protects her children like that doesn't have a dishonest bone in her body."
He was wrong about that. I had plenty of dishonest bones.
But I wasn't dishonest with my children.
I never would be.
"Six months," I said. "And then we walk away?"
"Yes. You'll receive a severance package that will set you up for life. Your children's education will be paid for. And you'll never have to worry about money again."
"What's the catch?"
"The catch is that you'll have to pretend to love me. In public, at least."
"I can do that."
"Can you? Because my family is watching. My brother, my sister-in-law, my ex-wife. They're all looking for any sign of weakness. If they suspect this is a sham, they'll destroy us both."
I leaned forward. "Mr. Hayes, I've been on the run for three years. I've lied, cheated, and stolen to protect my children. Acting like I love someone is the easiest thing I've ever been asked to do."
He studied me for a long moment.
"Then we have a deal."
He extended his hand.
May you like
I took it.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this was the beginning of something I couldn't control.
