Confused

You didn’t have to look that hard to realize the couple wasn’t in a real relationship. I had done my homework, and I knew that they were in an arranged partnership. That wasn’t information I got easily.

I got it from years of cultivating connections everywhere.

Only one of them was in love with the other, and it wasn’t Seth. They had been sleeping together since college, and Celeste was working as a marketing director for Seth. Her feelings went beyond the bedroom, and Seth’s didn’t.

Not to mention Seth’s family hated her. She was nothing more than a tool Seth used to enrage them. You couldn’t even tell they were sleeping together by looking at them.

“How long is your contract marriage set to last?” I asked.

“A year,” Seth replied at the same time Celeste said, “It’s not a contract marriage.”

I could see a flash of hurt over her features at Seth’s answer, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for her. She was just as vile and terrible as he was.

Celeste shifted her gaze towards me and glared, regarding me as the enemy.

“Look, the only reason investors are not flocking to Seth is because they think he’s too cold and robotic. No one trusts a man who can’t even show a little softness.” I said to both of them, and then I turned to Seth, “She might make your situation worse if you’re going to treat her like this.”

Seth didn’t even glance at her when she put her hand on his.

“You’re not qualified to talk about our relationship and judge it in any way,” Celeste said defensively.

“On the contrary, I am the only person who is qualified to talk about it. People want Seth to be a dotting fiancée, and I am going to turn him into one.” I said.

Seth didn’t even look like he was listening. He kept staring at me with that cold gaze of his, refusing to reveal anything he was thinking. I was uncomfortable, but I wasn’t going to show it.

“The two of you will go to an art exhibition next week. I will send you both the details of the event. I expect the two of you to arrive together and to have your hands all over one another.”

I closed my folders and looked at both of them, wondering if they had any questions. All Seth did was pull his hand away from Celeste, and all she did was clear her throat and blush in embarrassment.

Seth wasn’t even trying to hide his disdain for her. He hadn’t looked at her once since she entered the room.

“I will communicate what I will need the two of you to do for your public perception to change and for people to trust you with their money like before.”

Seth was a tech genius, but all those brains didn’t buy him the wisdom on how to deal with people. He had survived for a long time relying on his brains, but he needed to change to continue making billions.

“Why the art exhibition?” He finally asked after a long period of silence.

“The proceeds go to homeless people in shelters all over the city. People need to think you care about the people living in your city. And trust me, it is the art event of the year. People will know you were there.”

They both seemed skeptical, but they had to attend.

“You’ll use my stylist. There is no debate about that. That will stamp Celeste as a fashion icon, and Seth as the guy who lets her bask in her feminine energy. I have another meeting in ten minutes, so I will see you two at the art exhibition.”

I gathered my things, and Celeste also started to leave. Seth remained seated, refusing to go anyway.

“I’d like to speak to you alone,” he said as he looked at me.

Celeste walked away with a huff, clearly unhappy that her fiancée had asked to speak to me in private. When the door closed, he walked toward me, close enough that I got a whiff of his intoxicating perfume.

“There’s something off about you, Ivy Vale, that I can’t wrap my head around. I’m a dangerous man to play with. You may be beautiful, but it won’t save you from my wrath when I unravel you and expose everything you’re hiding.”

He meant to scare me, and he did a good job. I wasn’t sure if it was the attraction I felt for him or the fear he meant to instil in me that made my heart beat a little faster.

I wasn’t supposed to feel anything for him, but when he looked at me like that, I couldn’t help it. He made me feel seen and exposed in a way no other man ever had.

However, what I had planned for him was bigger than any attraction I could ever feel for him. And luckily for me, I had never been a woman who was ruled by her emotions.

“Then I’m lucky I’m not hiding anything,” I replied, making sure to keep my voice steady despite how much my hands were shaking. No one could deny that Seth was intimidating.

Even in a suit, he managed to look like a predator waiting to pounce on his prey.

I turned around to leave, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back, with my back colliding with his chest. The whole thing was inappropriate, especially because his fiancée was waiting on the other side of the door.

His scent was so intoxicating that I closed my eyes like I was relishing it.

“Why is your heart beating so fast, Ivy?” He asked. “Do I make you nervous?”

His hands dropped from my hand to my hips. His touch was so soft that I thought I was imagining that it was even there. I should have pushed him away, but I found myself frozen on the spot.

It was like I was caught in some sort of trance, and I couldn’t even move.

“I look forward to seeing you in a few days,” he whispered in my ear, igniting a fire I didn’t even know existed.

He pulled away and walked out of the conference room, leaving me frozen and confused. In one breath, he said he didn’t trust me, and in the next, he sent sexual advances.

I had a feeling he was going to drive me crazy.

When I regained my composure, I walked to my office. To my surprise, Celeste was there. She was reading one of my work files as though she had the authority to do so.

“I thought you left with Seth,” I said to her as I grabbed the file from her hand and placed it back on my desk.

“What did the two of you talk about?” She asked.

I sat opposite her and shrugged.

“That’s between him and me. He is my client after all, not you. Like I said before, your only role is to make him look good in the public eye.”

She stood from her seat, planting her hands on my desk so she could lean in to talk to me. I felt like a student who had just been summoned to the principal’s office since she was in my seat, and I was in the one where my clients sat.

“Let’s get one thing straight. Don’t even think about seducing Seth. I have been known to destroy people with a snap of my fingers. You’re not any different. Just because you resemble the woman he once loved doesn’t make you special.”

She grabbed her bag and walked to the door. Then she turned around and smiled.

“Have a nice day, Ivy. See you in a few days.”