Seven

"Are you joking right now?" Charles was impressed. He wasn't sure why- it might partly because she still maintained a cool look- but he was.

"You heard me Miss Shade. Marry me and your debts will disappear, I assure you."

Isabella let out a bitter chuckle as she got up. "You must be joking."

"I most certainly am not."

"So, you just want me to marry you." She moved dangerously yet graciously towards Charles.

"Be my wife and that's all you need to do."

"Did you hit your head? Or don't you know that it is stupid to tell a married woman such nonsense?"

Charles's eyes narrowed as he thought confusedly, 'She is married?'

He checked her ring finger for both hands but there was no sign of her being married. He wondered if she was lying. The man who had her situation checked didn't mention anything about a husband and truthfully, he wouldn't have believed the man just as he wasn't at that moment.

"You know I am not joking right, so you can cut out the attitude."

"Attitude? You think I am giving you attitude?" she asked unbelievably as she moved even closer. "I am married Anthony. If your research didn't tell you that much, now you know that you can shove your proposition back into where it came from."

Charles was dazzled. If she was really married, she just made the game way fun. Getting up, he maintained this smirk that said it was eager to put the woman in her place. When he was a few inches away from her, he stopped and his hand immediately went into his pocket.

"You know..." His eyes scanned the walls of the room which were plastered with a spiral design of black and white mix before they looked down at hers which looked like they were eager to tear him apart.

"For someone who is in a lot of debt, you are being too rude." Her pupils dilated. "You are being so rude that you look stupid especially if I recall correctly that about six years ago you left me standing at the altar waiting for you hopelessly."

Isabella's legs gave away almost immediately but Charles caught her and sat her down on a nearby cushioned chair, her scent briefly tickling his nose.

"Listen to me carefully Isabella..." His ringtone interrupted him, but he ignored it. " I don't care if you are married or not. I am going to get back at you for what you did. But, no, I am not going to harm you. All you need to do is marry me and have your debts cleared and I will get what I want, simple."

"I can't be married to two men at the same time!" Isabella seemed to have found her voice.

"Well it doesn't look like your marriage is doing you that much good, so a divorce is an approachable option."

"What the hell do you think you are doing? You really think I am going to leave my husband?" Charles found it silly of her to be putting up such an attitude. She clearly was making a fool of herself.

His eyes roamed her again as he thought that even when a bit foolish, she looked beautiful.

"If you want your company's debt to be cleared." Isabella huffed for like the umpteenth time. "And yes, you owe me a lot for not marrying me earlier."

"Are you blackmailing me?"

Charles shrugged as he took few steps back. "If that is what you want to call it, fine. I am just going to remind you that my proposition is simple, just marry me."

Isabella got up angrily and looked him straight in the eye and said, "Never."

Charles sighed and picked a half empty bottle of whiskey lying on a low stool. "I guess I will have to ask you again at a more convenient location." His head swung in the direction of the furious woman. "Will your house be okay?"

"I am not going to marry you and that is final." Isabella did not even wait to capture the smug look on Charles face before storming out.

~

Christina Kane was angry. And that evident in the manner with which she pressured the almost empty wine glass with her fingers.

And why was she angry?

She had just heard the most stupid reply come out of the mouth of the non-fashionable woman that just stormed out of her boss's room.

Christina just found it insane, she found it absurd that the woman just boldly rejected Charles's proposal. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she caught the part where Charles had asked the lady to marry him and the part where she said she wasn't going to before storming out of his room.

Her manicured, white painted fingers caused a crack as she thought more and more about it. As Christina spared the glass and set it down, she thought of how foolish the Isabella woman was. Charles Oxford was not a man you can say no easily to.

His glare was enough to drive reluctance out and leave you with nothing but want for him. His body, without being exposed looked so yummy. Even, his beautiful, beautiful face was not left out.

Christina had been crazy about him way before she got a job at the company he specifically headed. Before she became his secretary almost two years back, she worked at a position where she was very invisible. So, all she did was admire the gorgeous man from afar and wish that he would one day jam into her and offer her a smile as he apologized. And then, he might just ask her to go out.

It was just pure wishful thinking.

But heavens smiled on her when a spot for his personal secretary was thrown open. And for the six months used to carefully select a candidate, Christina did more than her best. She drove herself to a point she never would have thought she could have reached.

And that certainly paid off.

And that left her with just one problem- making him her man.

Christina's face lit up as reason approached her. If Charles was looking for a wife, maybe she finally had a chance to be with him.

That brought a smile to the sexy blonde's face. Grabbing her phone, she knew she just had to play her cards right. And she knew how exactly she was going to do that.