Chapter 5 A Proposition Wrapped in Secrets.

The next day, Chloe sat stiffly in a sleek conference room with her notepad open yet utterly blank. Liam Astor's deep and commanding voice filled the space as he rapidly detailed quarterly financial projections nearly an hour prior.

She nodded fervently while scribbling notes in various spots, but her mind wandered eerily. Her phone vibrated fiercely against polished wood for the third time in the last five minutes. She completely ignored that her fingers were tightening rapidly around her pen.

Fresh excitement suddenly emerges. Suddenly, something else happened afterwards. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. Liam stopped mid-sentence, his sharp gaze suddenly shifting in her direction.

"Is there something more important than this meeting, Miss Carter?" She swallowed, shaking her head quickly.

"Not at all, Sir. Something more crucial exists beyond this discussion, Miss Carter. She swallowed, shaking her head rapidly beneath the faint light. He gave a faint nod and then resumed speaking, but the phone vibrated again, sounding like a siren in the tense silence.

Chloe clenched her jaw tightly, reached for her phone beneath the table, and swiftly declined the incoming call.

"Step outside and handle it. Somebody was remarkably persistent. Liam suddenly arched his brow upwards. Heat seared fiercely across her flushed cheeks suddenly. She rose with an embarrassed nod and hurried swiftly out of the conference room.

As soon as she stood in the hallway, she answered softly. "Hello?" then loudly exclaimed Chloe.

"It's Mom. I have been desperately attempting to contact you." Her younger sister Mia's frantic voice came through loudly. "Mom's health has worsened." "What?" She shouted.

"She utterly collapsed on the floor and currently, we are at St. Luke's Hospital. They require upfront payment before conducting further analysis and we don't have money with us here."

"Yes... ok... I... I will somehow manage to figure something out." She ended the call with her fingers trembling. She took a deep breath slowly before stepping back inside the darkened room. When she got there, she was stuck in thought of how to take permission from her boss, because she was not aware of the next command and actions from him.

Chloe summoned courage and walked up to her boss. "Sir, please, I need to step out."

"No excuses. This is work hour, Chloe," he uttered. Chloe felt the air leave her lungs abruptly. "Please, it's an emergency." But she got snubbed and went back to her seat.

After a while, he sluggishly signaled her to go. Relief flooded through her. "Thank you, sir." As she rushed out of the office, she failed to notice Liam's subtle gesture toward his bodyguard, Marcus. "Follow her. Discreetly," Liam ordered. Marcus nodded and slipped out, tailing Chloe from a distance.

After the meeting, Liam was sitting patiently, waiting for his bodyguard's watchful eyes' arrival. From his office, he watched the city skyline, deep in thought. Something about Chloe's reaction unsettled him. He had dealt with many employees and yet none had sparked his curiosity the way she did.

Hours later, Marcus reported back. "She went to St. Luke's Hospital. Met with a younger girl and they spoke to a doctor."

Liam's jaw tensed. A family emergency, whoa!... Then the plan is getting more interesting. He didn't like loose ends and Chloe looks like she will prove to be one.

The rest of the week passed with Chloe burying herself in work and avoiding unnecessary interactions with Liam. But it was impossible to escape his presence. He was everywhere and his commanding aura was impossible to ignore.

On Thursday, she received a call: I want to see you in his office now. Chloe stepped out of her office slowly, pressing the button for the top of his office door with a quiet confidence surrounding her entire being. The endless ascent felt like an eternity beneath her pounding heart, amplified by the machinery's deafening hum.

She clenched her hands tightly at her sides, forcing herself to appear ridiculously composed beneath uncertainty twisting furiously in her stomach. Doors slid open suddenly with a soft and muted chime echoing faintly through the air.

His office stood as a fortress of steel and glass perched high above city streets, exuding raw power and total control.

Towering windows framed the glittering skyline, but the view paled in comparison to the man standing eerily silent in front of it somehow.

Darkness surrounds Liam Astor mysteriously, always. He stood with his back toward her, broad shoulders rigidly set, hands tucked deeply into the pockets of his suit.

The city glow casts his silhouette in sharp relief, making him look impossibly formidable and utterly mysterious.

"Sit," he commanded, his voice smooth and unreadable. He barked out his voice, ridiculously smooth, utterly and unreadable. Chloe hesitated, then did as he said, lowering herself slowly into a sleek leather chair situated directly across from his imposing mahogany desk.

Her gaze flicked warily at him, searching for some obscure hint beneath his evasive demeanor somehow.

"Read it," he instructed. Liam turned abruptly, reaching for a ridiculously thick file, then slid it silently across the desk in her direction. He instructed us to read that thoroughly now.

Her fingers briefly hovered on the file, then she forced herself to open it with newfound determination. Crisp pages inside felt heavier than they should and her eyes scanning neatly typed words made her breath hitch sharply underneath. Some sort of binding agreement exists.

"What is this?" she asked, voice tight. She blinked momentarily beneath the overwhelming shock that settled deep within her chest. A weird proposition unfolded.

Fake engagement deal, which is supposedly going to be on for a few months only. Her pulse hammered wildly; she flipped pages rapidly, her mind racing incredibly fast.

"I need a fiancée for a few months to secure my grandparents' estate," he continued, his voice impassive, as if he were discussing a corporate merger rather than something so… absurd. "You'll be compensated."

Chloe swallowed hard, flipping another page, her fingers trembling slightly. "You want me to pretend to be your fiancée… for money?"

"Yes," he confirmed as if the entire situation was completely reasonable.

"One hundred thousand dollars." He needs a fiancée briefly to secure his grandparents' estate; his voice sounds impassive, like he's discussing a merger. Chloe's fingers trembled slightly as she flipped another page. You will get paid somehow.

"You think I would agree to something like this?" Liam didn't flinch. He confirmed with a nod that I should pretend to be his fiancée for a hefty sum of money. "I think you should consider it."

Chloe's hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. "Why me?" His lips curled into a smirk, though there was no warmth in it.

"You are convenient," he said simply. "You work for me, which means I control the narrative. A hundred thousand bucks. Fifty thousand is to be paid immediately upon signing the contract and the rest is to be given after project completion. Her lips curled into a wry smile suddenly.

Her entire body stiffened. "I won't do it," she spat. She slapped the file shut, pushing it back swiftly across the desk while turning on her heel. "Find someone else." She stood up and strode toward the door, ready to leave this madness behind.

"But, if you don't, I think your mother will."

Liam pretty much stood his ground then. "Do you believe I'd be down with something so sketchy?"

He worked forward, with his fingers resting on the desk, his piercing gaze locked onto hers with silent scrutiny that felt intensely unsettling somehow.

"What did you just say?" she whispered. Very quietly, under her breath.

Chloe's hands clenched into tight fists, her nails digging deeply into her sweaty palms so forcefully. "Your mother is in the hospital, isn't she?"

Chloe's stomach dropped. His lips curled upwards, forming a cold smirk beneath his eyes. "How do you…" Her voice failed her, barely coming out as a breath.

He knew... Liam Astor knew and that changed everything. She froze and slowly, she turned back, eyes wide. "How do you…know?"

"I know everything about my employees, Chloe." His voice was smooth and controlled. "I also know you're drowning in debt. The hospital bills aren't going to pay themselves."

Chloe's breath came in sharp bursts. "You have been spying on me."

"I make it my business to know things." He leaned back. "So, do you still want to walk away?" He worked towards her, placed the contract file in her palm and went to his chair.

Her heart pounded. The idea of being tied to him, of pretending to be engaged to this arrogant and ruthless man, was insane.

But the alternative? Watching her mother's condition worsen because she couldn't afford treatment? Tears burned her eyes. Without another word, she stormed out.

Chloe had a sleepless night of dilemma. That night, Chloe sat on her bed, staring at the contract. The words blurred together. Fifty thousand dollars upfront.

Her mother's weak voice echoed in her head. The mounting hospital bills and Mia's desperate calls, but could she do this? Could she tie herself to Liam Astor in such an intimate way, even if it was all pretend?

Her fingers quivered violently beneath her skin as she closed the file she was working on. She wasn't sure what scared her more. Is it saying yes outright or dealing with the nasty consequences of saying no, losing her mum and probably her newly acquired job?