Chapter 7 SEVEN

Callum studied her with those cold, assessing eyes. "Can you? Because once we announce this engagement, there's no going back. If you have doubts, now is the time to voice them."

Did she have doubts? About a thousand of them. But prison had zero doubts, it was just concrete and iron bars and the end of everything.

"I'm sure," Lennox said.

"Why?" The question came out sharp, like he'd been holding it back. "Why agree to this? Gerald said you need money, but there are other ways to get money. Less complicated ways."

"None that don't involve jail time for a crime I didn't commit." The words came out bitter. "My boyfriend stole from my company and framed me. The evidence is perfect. I'm completely screwed unless someone pays the restitution, and I definitely don't have three hundred thousand dollars lying around."

"Your boyfriend framed you." Callum's tone was flat, unreadable. "How convenient."

Lennox's jaw tightened. "You think I'm lying?"

"I think people lie about their circumstances frequently when large sums of money are involved." He said it like he was commenting on the weather. "I think you could be exactly what you appear to be, a victim of unfortunate circumstances. Or you could be running a very sophisticated con."

"Then why am I here?" Anger cut through her nervousness. "If you think I'm a con artist, why offer me this marriage at all?"

"Because even if you are, the contract protects me." Callum's expression didn't change. "And honestly, Miss Rivers, I don't particularly care about your past or your motivations. I need a wife who'll play the role convincingly and leave quietly when it's done. Your desperation makes you ideal for that purpose."

The words hit like a slap. Your desperation makes you ideal.

He wasn't wrong, which made it worse.

"Good to know where I stand," Lennox said quietly.

"I'm not trying to insult you. I'm trying to be clear about expectations." Callum pulled out his phone, checked something, put it away. Even that movement looked expensive. "This isn't a fairy tale, Miss Rivers. I'm not Prince Charming, and you're not Cinderella. We're two people entering a mutually beneficial business arrangement. Nothing more."

"Got it." Lennox's throat felt tight. "Anything else I should know about this business arrangement?"

"Several things." Callum counted them off like items on a meeting agenda. "First, I travel frequently for work. You'll accompany me when it's necessary for appearances, but otherwise you're free to remain in the city. Second, my family will want to meet you. My brother, my mother, various relatives. You'll need to be convincing. Although, it's very likely that I will inform my brother of the situation."

Your brother who I'll meet eventually, Lennox thought. Your company that I've been inside. Your servers that I've hacked.

"Why tell your brother?" she asked. "I thought the whole point was keeping this secret."

"Cole is very close to me. We don't keep secrets from each other." Something flickered in Callum's expression, too fast for Lennox to read. "He'll need to know the truth so he can help maintain the fiction with everyone else. But he's the only one who'll know, besides Gerald and my legal team."

Lennox filed that information away with everything else she was learning. Cole Westbrook, who also had to get married before turning thirty, who was apparently close enough to his brother to be trusted with this secret.

"What about your mother?" Lennox asked. "She won't know?"

"Absolutely not." Callum's voice went cold. "My mother can never know this marriage is anything but real. She's already concerned about me fulfilling the will requirements. If she suspected I was taking shortcuts, she'd make both our lives miserable."

"Concerned about you or the money?"

"Both." Callum's jaw tightened. "She loved my father, but she's also very aware of what losing the company would mean. Not just for us, but for the thousands of employees who depend on Westbrook Industries. The legacy my father built."

There was something in his voice when he said that, something that almost sounded like real emotion. Like behind the ice cold billionaire exterior, there was actually a person who cared about something beyond money.

Or maybe Lennox was just seeing what she wanted to see.

"I can be very convincing," she said. "Even to your mother."

"You'll have to be. She's not easily fooled." Callum leaned back in his chair. "She'll ask questions. About how we met, how long we've known each other, why we're rushing into marriage. You'll need to know the story inside and out."

"So what is the story?"

"We met three months ago at a business dinner. You were there with colleagues from Hartley & Associates. We talked, discovered we had common interests, started seeing each other quietly to avoid media attention. The relationship progressed quickly. I proposed last week, you said yes. We're getting married soon because we're both certain this is right."

It sounded almost believable, the way he said it. Like he'd practiced the lie until it felt like truth.

"Common interests," Lennox repeated. "What would those be?"

"Art, literature, travel. Things wealthy people are supposed to care about." Callum's expression remained neutral. "Gerald will provide you with more detailed background. You'll need to study it."

Study it. Like she was preparing for an exam instead of a marriage.

"Third, there will be a prenuptial agreement in addition to the contract. My lawyers will handle it. Sign what they give you."

"Obviously."

"And fourth..." Callum paused, and for the first time, something almost human crossed his face. "This marriage ends after the two year requirement is fulfilled. No extensions, no renegotiations. You get your money, we divorce quietly, and we never see each other again. Are we clear?"

Never see each other again. Two years of living with someone and then just nothing. It shouldn't bother her, this was fake, temporary, meaningless. But something about the cold finality in his voice made her chest ache.

"Crystal clear," Lennox said.

They sat there in silence for a moment. Outside the windows, Manhattan stretched out in every direction, buildings and traffic and millions of people living their normal lives. Lennox wondered what they'd think if they knew what was happening in this room. If they'd think she was smart for taking this deal or stupid for getting involved with someone who looked at her like she was a line item on a spreadsheet.

"Do you have questions?" Callum asked.

About a million. Starting with who's embezzling from your company, why, is it something you're secretly aware of, and ending with do you ever smile, or is your face permanently stuck like that?

"When would this start?" she asked instead.

"Immediately. Gerald handles your legal situation today. You move into my residence tomorrow. We announce the engagement by the end of the week and marry within a month."

Tomorrow. Her entire life was about to change tomorrow.

"That's fast."

"My thirtieth birthday is in eleven months." Callum's jaw tightened slightly. "I don't have time to waste courting you properly, Miss Rivers. This is the arrangement. Take it or leave it."