-Leia-
Six years at this company, and I’ve never once raised my voice to my boss, but right now I can’t believe what he’s just asked of me.
“Excuse me?!” my voice comes out like a strangled chihuahua and I damn near drop my coffee.
He looks at me as if I’ve asked the dumbest question ever, then he sighs. “You heard me, Miss Prescott,” he says, leaning back in his leather office chair that costs more than my annual salary. “Marry my son for ten million and straighten him out.”
Yeah, he definitely DID ask me that, I didn’t hear wrong at all. Alexander Moore might be the most gorgeous 55-year-old man and certified Daddy material, with his big blue eyes and obviously ripped body, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just accept what he’s offering.
“So, you want me to marry your son? Have you met Christian? He’s a nightmare!” I exclaim, to which he chuckles. Besides, who still does arrange marriages nowadays? What is this, the 1800s?
“Why do you think I came to you before going to one of those darned arranged marriage companies?” He says, then sits forward and steeples his fingers together.
I gather my thoughts and swallow hard. “What will this marriage entail? Do I have to pop out babies so he can have an heir? Do We sleep in the same bed, what?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all; I simply require you to help Christian’s head back in the game. You see, when Christian is committed to something, he gives his all, so giving him a wife will make him care more about someone else besides himself.”
“I don’t know, sir-”
“Listen, Leia, you’ve been working for me for over six years now and I trust you more than I trust any other woman besides my wife, Olivia. You’re beautiful and smart, you have your head screwed on straight, and you’re headstrong. I mean, you whipped this company and my meetings into shape within the first five months of you being employed here; there couldn’t be a more perfect match for Christian.”
I still can’t believe he’s asking me to do this. My boss might be the most down-to-earth billionaire out there, but his son, Christian, is another story altogether. Nearing 30, he still acts like a frat boy and has slept with nearly half of Manhattan's most eligible women.
While I’m here with my above-average college degree working for his father, Christian does more spending than I ever could in a year. To call him a bad boy is putting it lightly; Christian Moore is hell in a Tom Ford suit.
It doesn’t help that he’s sexy as heck, too.
I sigh and shake my head. “With all due respect, sir, why would me marrying Christian straighten him out? I’m sure he still hates me for spilling coffee on him that one time and I doubt I’m even his type,” I say, not doubting it at all.
Christian Moore loved his women tall, with no curves, and blonde. I’m short with red hair and curves for days. I could not be any less his type. As for spilling coffee on him, I had just made a freshly brewed pot and was about to take Alexander a cup when I tripped over the carpet in the office and dumped the contents on Christian’s crotch.
Burnt balls, anyone?
He sighs again. “Two years, that’s all I ask of you. Just think it over and I’ll speak with Christian tonight. Have an answer for me by Monday,” he says, dismissing me from his office.
I nod and offer him a tight smile before taking my cup and walking out and heading to my station. I’ve been working as PA to Alexander Moore since I was 21 years old and fresh out of college, so I know the man inside out, but to ask this of me is asking for too much.
It wouldn’t be a tough choice if he didn’t wave the money in my face, but he doesn’t exactly know I need it. Bad.
A few years ago, an ex of mine stole my credit cards and gambled all the money away. 500k in debt later and I’ve barely scraped the surface in back payments. That and my mother has cancer and needs my help too.
But marrying someone for ten mil? Could I really go through with that?
I hate that the answer is yes, especially when all I can see is my mother’s face. She needs the money for her treatments and the insurance doesn’t cover everything. It’s up to me since my father left her just after her diagnosis and my other siblings refuse to help.
Thank God it’s 5 pm and time to go home; I could always sleep on this and maybe ask Delilah and Lucas’ input. They’re both my best friends and always know what to say, so perhaps I can cry on both of their shoulders later on.
Knowing Delilah, she’ll try to convince me why I SHOULD take this offer and try to woo the boss’ son. Lucas will tell me to do it for the cash since my mother needs it. How the heck am I going to do that when I don’t even like the ass? It’s one thing to have confidence and another to just think you’re hot shit.
And Christian Moore thinks he’s God’s gift to the world. Ugh, I literally roll my eyes at the thought.
On my way home, I call Delilah and ask her to meet up with me the next evening for a few drinks at a cocktail bar. If anything, I think I need to be five daiquiris deep in order to tell both of them what I might be getting myself into.
***Her expression is exactly what I thought it would be the next evening, while Lucas’ jaw is literally hanging open.
“So Daddy Moore comes to you, literally begging you to marry his hot as fuck son for a cool ten milli and you tell him you’ll think about it?!” Lucas exclaims, downing his cocktail. “Please tell me why you hesitated when you know you need that ten mil.”
I groan. “Because even though his son might be hot as fuck, as you put it, I can’t stand the guy! Not only that but taking money to marry someone is just so…”
“And that’s a problem, why? It’s not like you two will be married for realzies, anyway. Take the money, marry the jerk, and divorce in two years’ time. You know the money will be a big help.” Delilah says, gesturing for another round of drinks. “Listen, I know you’ll probably feel cheap for doing this, but two years will go by quicker than you can say ‘cash out.’”
I can’t help but laugh at that, but I didn’t need convincing after all, because I already had my mind made up. I’ll marry Christian Moore with only my mother’s treatments on my mind; she needs this, so I have to grin and bear it.
-Leia-My boss is thrilled to hear my answer, of course. He will pay the ten million to me quarterly, with the first payment after I sign the papers. I doubt I’ll even need any more after the first payment, but if I’m going to be married to that ass, then I think I deserve it.“Thank you for this, Leia. I’m sure Christian will come around under your care,” he says with a soft smile.Oh, shoot. I forgot about that little part of the agreement; I have to literally tame his unruly son! Crap, how am I going to do that? I don’t know the first thing about getting an arrogant jerk to heel.What the hell have you let yourself in for, Leia!“I’m sure he will,” I say with a withering smile and immediately regret saying yes to this. I don’t like Christian one bit and he doesn’t exactly have a soft spot for me since I literally threw scalding water on his crotch. Maybe Delilah will have some tips for me.“Oh, I forgot to mention. Join us for dinner tonight at the estate so we can go over the agr
-Christian-Ten million to sort me out as if I’m the goddamn problem; what the hell is wrong with my father? Why does he think marrying me off would change me? That’s the last damn thing I want and to THAT woman?!Leia Prescott has always hated me, I know this. She thinks she’s better than everyone else, with her multiple college degrees, smug smile, and clipped tones when she speaks to me. Her minor accident of scalding my dick clean off with coffee wasn’t an accident, not with the slight smirk she tried to hide after I screamed. I tolerated her before that, but now I can’t stand the woman.Her attitude reminds me of someone else, and even if I might have had respect for her before, now I see her as nothing but a woman whoring herself out for money. How do I manage to end up with the gold diggers?Out of everyone he could have chosen, it had to be his PA. His fucking PA.I growl under my breath and walk out to my Rolls-Royce Phantom, where my driver is waiting. This evening was a fuc
-Leia-It’s been a month since I had that argument with Christian and in a few hours, I’ll be his wife. His gold-digging wife with zero respect for herself.When I told my mother what was happening and that it would help with her treatment, she wouldn’t talk to me for a week. Not because she felt disappointed in me, but because she blamed herself for it. She thinks her cancer pushed me to do this, truth be told I am doing this for her but I would do it again and again if it would help.I’m paying for her first round of treatments and my debt in full tonight. There’s an upside to my wedding day!Currently getting preened and pampered in my wedding suite, I allow myself to be transformed into a woman I do not recognize. This is who the Moores need, this is what I’m being paid to be so I can’t complain.After I’m done being dolled up and the dress slipped on, I take a look at myself in the mirror and groan. I’ve always dreamt of having a huge wedding one day, now I’m getting it just with
-Leia-I never would have thought I’d be miserable on my wedding day and yet here I am, miserable as heck. Everything was perfect; the church, the reception, the cake, even the dress. The only thing not perfect was the groom. I know I have no right to be pissed off about it especially since I chose this, but damn, could Christian at least pretend to like me in front of others? It feels like I’m playing a one-sided game here.Thank God the mess is over at eleven pm; I’m just about ready to strangle someone.The drive to Christian’s penthouse is spent in an awkward silence when I realize that we haven’t really spoken about anything regarding this arrangement. Like at all. Damn it, I didn’t want to be the first one to break the silence, but here goes.“Uhm, Christian,” he visibly stiffens at the mention of his name and turns his head to face me with a questioning raise of his eyebrow. “Yes, Red?” ugh, that nickname.Swallowing my pride, I take a deep breath and try not to let his ridic
-Leia-“There she is! Mrs. Christian Moore!” Lucas exclaims when he sees me walking into the restaurant for brunch and I nearly hurled. He wraps his arms around me in a warm embrace and does a little squeal of excitement. “Please, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I said yes to this dumpster fire,” I say while kissing his cheek and plopping down opposite him then immediately ordering a glass of wine.Lucas whistles when the server walks away. “Not even a Mrs for 24 hours and you’re knocking back the brunch wine. Tell me everything,” he says, leaning forward for some hot gossip when there’s none.Lucas McBride is nearly six feet tall and looks like a surfer; green eyes, sandy blonde hair, and ripped to perfection. He’s just your typical gorgeous guy who loves fashion, gossip, brunch time mimosas, and looking at eye candy, not of the opposite sex. Yep, you guessed it - besides, every woman deserves a colorful bestie, yes?“You’re salivating,” I comment with a scoff
-Christian-“Check your emails, mate, you might just see somethin’ interesting.” Jasper had said just before the shit hit the fan. I had been having a good morning up until then, a productive morning with CEOs from three major companies inviting me to a luncheon this weekend to discuss an important merger.Since then, it has wrapped me in nothing but a veil of anger the entire day. From the minute Jasper sent me that article, to the moment Leia arrived back at the penthouse as if nothing happened. Yeah, I get that I have a reputation for being a bit of a man whore, but I promised to push it aside when I married Leia. Not because I felt something for her, but because I know how sacred those vows are, even if they were fake. I wasn’t about to sleep around when I promised not to, but that went out the window when I realized Leia wouldn’t do the same. Was I foolish to think she’d think this is sacred, too? Of course, I fucking was.Once upon a time, I would have given everything to a wo
-Leia-I get up from the floor after getting off the phone with my mother. They started the new treatments with her almost immediately after I paid them and for the first time in years, there’s hope in her voice again.That alone makes it worth it; that alone tells me I need to push forward and do this.I haven’t heard that light in her tone in a very long time, not before her diagnosis and everyone bailing on her. It pains me not to be there for her right now, but she also refuses me at times. She hates pity and I understand that.When Christian barged in here a few minutes ago, it confused the hell out of me. I thought he would have apologized to me for getting it wrong, but it was simply to tell me about a stupid luncheon. Ah, I guess I’ll be paraded around this weekend then. ***I haven’t been able to visit my mother since our last phone call and it’s leaving me anxious. Her doctor has informed me that she’s taking well to the new treatments, but they’re leaving her drained. The
-Leia-The luncheon passes slowly and every time I turn my back, I see Christian chatting up some beautiful woman. This happened more times than I can count, and after he sees me looking, he merely winks.What the hell is going on with him right now? I thought we had some kind of breakthrough earlier, but clearly, I was wrong. The man cannot be broken as easily as I suspected. I’ll need to figure out what type of person he really is if I’m going to win.Before we are about to leave, I need the lady's room and excuse myself. Christian doesn’t look as annoyed with me as he did before, and I think my silence throughout the day has something to do with it.When I’m done doing my business, I walk out of the stall to wash my hands… and who should saunter in while I’m doing this, all while looking smug?“Hello, Amber,” I greet her while looking at her in the mirror. She crosses her arms and chuckles, shaking her head.“I knew you were dumb, but I didn’t think you were this dumb,” she says, s