Chapter 2 The Deal
Leaning against a black SUV parked discreetly near the gates was Rhys. Her head of security. His arms were crossed, his gaze scanning the perimeter with a quiet, unnerving intensity. As always, he was a portrait of stillness and watchfulness.
Rhys had been a constant, silent presence for the past two years. He was ex-military, or so his file said. Impeccably professional, ruthlessly efficient, and utterly inscrutable. He was handsome in a stark, unforgiving way. Sharp jawline, dark hair cut short, eyes the color of a stormy sea that missed nothing. He was a fixture, like a piece of highly functional, very attractive furniture.
But in this moment of utter powerlessness, he represented the only thing in her life that felt solid. Competent. “Hers.”
An idea, wild and desperate and utterly insane, began to form in her mind. It was a spark in the overwhelming darkness.
She walked toward him, her heels crunching on the gravel. He straightened up as she approached, his posture shifting from observant to attentive.
“Ms. Sterling,” he said, his voice a low baritone that was always calm. “Is everything all right?”
She almost laughed. Nothing was all right. Nothing might ever be all right again.
“We need to talk,” she said, her voice tighter than she intended. “Privately. Now.”
A show of surprise crossed his features, so brief she might have imagined it. He simply nodded and opened the rear passenger door of the SUV for her. “Of course.”
She slid inside, and he closed the door, circling the vehicle to take the driver’s seat. He turned to face her, the privacy partition already up, sealing them in a soundproof bubble.
“What is it?” he asked, his full attention on her. It was unnerving. When Rhys looked at you, you felt like you were the only person in the world.
Chloe took a deep breath, her heart hammering against her ribs. This was madness. But it was the only card she had to play.
“My father’s will… there’s a condition,” she began, the words feeling foreign and clumsy. “To inherit the company, I have to be married. Within eleven months.”
Rhys’s expression didn’t change. He simply waited, listening. It gave her the courage to continue.
“My uncle… he’s already planning to marry me off to one of his… associates.” She spat the word out. “If that happens, I lose everything. My father’s company. His life’s work. It will be destroyed.”
She leaned forward, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “I need a solution. A way out. I need… I need someone I can trust.”
Rhys was silent for a long moment. The air in the car grew thick. “What are you proposing, Ms. Sterling?”
She met his stormy gaze, her own unwavering now. The die was cast.
“I’m proposing a business arrangement, Rhys. A marriage of convenience. You marry me. You stand by my side for one year. You help me secure my inheritance and protect me from my uncle’s schemes. In return, I will pay you five million dollars. Once the year is over and the shares are irrevocably mine, we get an amicable, quiet divorce. You walk away a rich man, with a new identity if you wish, free to live your life anywhere in the world.”
She laid it out like a corporate merger. Clean, clinical, transactional. Inside, she was trembling.
Rhys didn’t move. He didn’t blink. He just looked at her, and for the first time since she’d known him, she couldn’t read a single thing in his eyes. Was he shocked? Offended? Considering it?
The silence stretched, becoming unbearable. She was about to retract the offer, to apologize for her insanity, when he finally spoke.
“No,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.
Her heart plummeted. Of course. It was a ridiculous, degrading proposal. What had she been thinking?
But then he continued. “No to the five million dollars.”
Confusion knitted her brow. “What?”
“I’ll do it,” Rhys said, his gaze intense, locking with hers. “But not for the money. My current salary is sufficient. I’ll do it because you’re my principal, and my job is to protect you. If this is what you need to be safe and secure your legacy, then I’ll do it.”
Chloe stared at him, stunned. He was agreeing? But without the money? It made no sense. A five-million-dollar payout was life-changing. Why would he refuse it?
“I… I can’t ask you to do that without compensation,” she stammered.
“You’re not asking. I’m offering,” he replied, his tone leaving no room for argument. “But we do it my way. We have a legally binding contract, outlining the terms. Strictly platonic. Separate bedrooms. The public facade must be flawless. And the moment you feel safe, the moment the year is up, we dissolve it. No questions asked.”
His professionalism was absolute. It should have been reassuring. Instead, it made the whole arrangement feel even more cold and surreal.
“Why?” she whispered, the question slipping out. “Why would you do this?”
For a fraction of a second, something raw and unguarded flashed in his eyes. It was gone so fast she couldn’t identify it. He looked away, out the windshield toward the house.
“Because your father was a good man,” he said, his voice low. “And because it’s my job.”
It was a simple answer. A loyal answer. But as Chloe looked at his profile, at the sharp line of his jaw, she had the unsettling feeling that it was only a fraction of the truth. There was a universe of secrets behind those stormy eyes.
But she was out of options. He was her only lifeline.
“Okay,” she said, her voice barely audible. “Okay. We have a deal.”
Rhys nodded once, a sharp, decisive movement. “Then I’ll start the necessary background work. We’ll need to create a credible courtship narrative. We’ll announce the engagement in two weeks.”
Two weeks. In two weeks, she would be engaged to this near-stranger. This silent, watchful man who had just agreed to the most intimate deception imaginable without batting an eye.
He turned back to her, and for the first time, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. It didn’t soften his features; it made him look more dangerous.
“Welcome to the partnership, Ms. Sterling,” he said.
And Chloe Sterling, heiress to a fortune she couldn’t claim, felt a shiver run down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. She had just made a deal with the devil she knew, to protect herself from the devil she didn’t. But as she looked into Rhys’s inscrutable face, she wondered if she could truly tell the difference anymore.
