Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
The word drops into the room like a bomb. Fiancé.
My mind goes blank. I can't breathe. I can't think. What? I can only feel the searing heat of Adam's hand on my back and the final word he said ringing in my ears.
When I finally rebound back at warp-speed to planet Earth, I whip my head over to Adam, my eyes wide in shock so genuine it’s almost a physical pain. My mouth is slightly agape, but no words come out, and my fingers and toes are tingling. I cannot help thinking to myself, translate this, Elowen.
Dubois’s smug expression vanishes, replaced by a look of sheer disbelief. He looks from Adam's stony face to my stunned one and back again. "Your…fiancé?" he sputters, the smooth sound of his voice gone now. "But...you just said she's your translator."
"My translator," Adam confirms, "and the woman I intend to marry. A fact, I assure you, that has no bearing on our business negotiations." His fingers slide up and down my spine in a gesture that is way, way too casual for our true relationship, but fitting for the new declaration that he’s made. "I hadn’t intended to reveal the state of our relationship until a later date, but I’d rather get it out in the open now instead of letting you, Mr Dubois, or anyone else touch her. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have other people to greet."
He doesn't wait for a reply. He turns, guiding me away with a firm hand, leaving a sputtering, speechless Dubois in our wake.
The whispers are everywhere. Fiancé.
Why would he say that? I'm a temp worker. He's a billionaire. We barely know each other. This is a joke. It has to be a joke. Or a plot he’s weaving. A business strategy, maybe? But that could be even worse.
He leads me through a set of ornate doors and into a quiet, empty hallway. The heavy doors swing shut behind us, muffling the sounds of the party. The silence is deafening, pressing against my eardrums.
I finally find my voice.
"What the hell was that?"
4
ADAM
Istop walking and turn to face Elowen. She's almost vibrating with anger, and I reluctantly drop my hand from the addictively soft skin of her back, letting her take whatever space she needs.
Maybe I'm an idiot. No, I am definitely an idiot; that’s a given, but right now I need to be smart enough to manipulate the ridiculous thing I've just done into something that can work in my favor.
I drag my hand through my hair, immediately regretting the act and how it shows just how out of sorts I am. “Look, Dubois is a shark. I had no idea he was going to be here tonight, and I acted rashly.” I manage, “Stupidly, maybe, but he was going to use you to get to me. I know it. I know him. He’d suggest I was unprofessional, that I mixed business with pleasure. It's a tactic he's used before."
"So you decided to prove him right?" Elowen snaps in disbelief, "You told him we were engaged! Adam, that's insane!"
"It was a strategic move. It neutralizes the threat. It takes away his leverage. He can't use you against me if you're already solidified as a part of my life. A girlfriend and a soon-to-be wife are two utterly different things.”
"A part of your life?" The laugh that comes out of her is nearly hysterical. "I'm your translator! We've known each other for what, six months, and most of that has been over a screen! This is not a life, it's a job! A job you just made a thousand times more complicated!"
"I know," I exhale, "I know. And I'm sorry."
The apology is so unexpected that it throws her off balance. "You're sorry?"
"I am. I didn't mean to put you in this position. I just...I saw the way he was looking at you, and I saw an opportunity to shut him down before he could start. It was a split-second decision."
"A split-second decision that has made this job into…into,” she repeats, gasping, “a nightmare!”
The words hit me hard, because I know she's right. I had a choice, and I made it without her consent. I put my own goals, my own misplaced possessiveness over this woman I have no right to feel possessive. No right to place any kind of convenience above her comfort. I have to make this wrong, right. How?
The fucking problem is that I don’t really want to make anything right. Being this close to Elowen, with her looking so damn beautiful, so damn perfect, and watching all these other horny, try-hard pricks looking at her, drooling, is resurrecting a part of me that I’d thought died long ago. A possessive part, yeah, but it’s more than that. It’s a part of me that wants to claim, wants to own, wants to take Elowen and hide her from the world while showing her why I’m the only thing she’ll ever need. I was fascinated by her when we first met, but now that my veil of grief has lifted, the feelings I have for her are inconvenient, undeniable, but….addictive.