Chapter 5: A Deal From The Devil

Hailey's POV

"Ms. Ramsey." Denison, the CFO, leaned forward with a smile that was clearly for show. "With all due respect, you have zero experience running a corporation of this magnitude. Ramsey Industries employs over fifty thousand people globally. Our shatehol are.... concerned."

"Concerned about what, exactly?" I forced my voice to stay steady even though my hands were shaking under the table.

"About stability.' Valeria, the VP of Operations, spoke. "The media attention surrounding your inheritance has tanked our stock. Down by twenty percent in the past seventy-two hours."

"That's hardly my fault..." My voice was rose slightly.

"Isn't it?" Denison slid a table across the table. The screen showed a gossip site, the headline screaming: BILLIONAIRE HEIRESS'S SECRET CHILD, WHO'S THE FATHER?

My stomach dropped through the floor.

"Your personal life is now very public," Denison continued. "And it's affecting our business. Major clients are reconsidering contracts. Board members are fielding calls from investors threatening to pull out." He leaned back. "Perhaps you should consider stepping down. For the good of the company."

"Stepping dow?" The words came out strangled. "My father left this company...."

"Your father..." Valeria interrupted coldly, "built this empire for over thirty years. You've been for three days. There's a big difference."

The room murmured in agreement.

"I can learn...."

"Can you?" Denison smile sharpened. "Because right now, you're a liability. A scandal. And Ramsey Industries can't survive that."

"This meeting is adjourned." I stood on shaking legs. "We'll reconvene next week."

I walked out before they could see me break.

The executive hallway was empty. I made it ten steps before my back hit the wall, my lungs refusing to work.

Three days of being a billionaire, and I was already drowning.

"Rough meeting?"

The voice came from behind me, I spun around.

A man stood near the floor to ceiling windows. Tall, easily six-three, with the kind of presence that demanded attention without asking Dark suit that probably cost more than my old car. Dark hair swept back from a face that belonged on magazine covers.

But it was his eyes that made recognition slam into me. Violent-blue. Exactly like Gio's. Exactly like Floyd's. Which meant he was, Maxwell Kingston.

I'd never met him personally, but I knew the story. Everyone did. The illegitimate first son of Richard Langford. Conceived during an affair with his secretary. The unwanted heir who'd clawed his way up from nothing to build an empire that rivaled his father's. The man Floyd's family had pretended didn't exist, even though his success was impossible to ignore.

"You're Maxwell Kingston." My voice came out steadier than I felt.

"And you're drowning." He moved closer with predatory grace. "The board wants you gone. Your father's widow and her sons are contesting the will. And your ex-husband just filed for paternity custody."

My stomach dropped. "How do you know..."

"I make it my business to know things." He stopped a few feet away. "Your father and I had an arrangement. He promised me a seat on the board before he died. Decision-making power in Ramsey Industries. But he died before making it official. Now I need you alive and in control to honor that promise."

"So you want to use me?"

"I want to help you." His mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "There's a difference."

I laughed. "Right. Out of the goodness of your heart."

"I don't have a good heart." He said it like stating facts. " But I keep my promises. And I promised your father I'd protect his interests."

I rolled my eyes "How convenient that protecting his interests helps you."

"It usually works that way." He said it without shame. "You're about to lose everything, Hailey. The board will force you out. Your stepmom will drag the will through courts for years. And Floyd?" He paused. "He'll fight for custody to prove he's not the man who abandoned you. You need an ally. Someone who understands how this world works."

"And let me guess... that's you?"

" Yes." He replied certain and sure.

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"Marriage."

The word hit like a bomb.

"Excuse me?"

"Marry me." He said it like he was suggesting coffee. "A contract marriage. It would be Public and legitimate. And it solves all your problems instantly."

I stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "You're insane."

"Am I?" He tilted his head. "Think about it. A marriage to someone powerful, established, respected in the business world, someone the board can't dismiss and Floyd can't intimidate. It gives you stability, credibility and protection."

I shook my head. "I'm not marrying a stranger..."

"You married one before." He said, so brutal and obvious. "At least this time, you'll know exactly what you're getting into."

"No." I shoved past him toward the elevator. "Absolutely not. Find someone else to manipulate."

"There is no one else." His voice followed me, cold and certain. "And there's no time. The board votes in two weeks. The custody hearing in nine days. You need me, Hailey. Whether you want to admit it or not."

I jabbed the elevator button, refusing to look at him.

"Think about Gio." His words stopped me cold. "Think about what happens to him if Floyd wins custody. If your son is raised by a man who threw you away the second something better came along. When you become the weekend parent fighting for scraps of time."

My finger froze on the button.

"I can stop that." Maxwell's voice softened slightly. "I can protect you both. All you have to do is say yes."

"Why?" I turned to face him, searching that beautiful, cold face. "Why do you care?"

"I don't." The honesty was brutal. "But your father did. He was the closest thing I had to family. And he wanted you to succeed." His jaw tightened. "I keep my promises. Even to dead men."

The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. I stepped inside, my hand shaking as I reached for the button.

"You have forty-eight hours." Maxwell didn't move, just stood there like a statue carved from ice. "After that, my offer expires. And you're on your own."

The doors started to close.

"One more thing." His voice cut through the shrinking space. "I knew your father for ten years. Worked beside him, learned from him. And you know what he told me three months before he died?"

The doors stopped. Some part of me needed to hear it.

Maxwell's violent-blue eyes, those beautiful eyes that matched my son's, locked onto mine.

"He said his biggest regret was letting you go. That if he'd been braver, stronger, he would've fought for you." A pause. "Don't make the same mistake with Gio."

The doors closed.

And I stood alone in the elevator, staring at my reflection in the polished mental, my father's words echoing in my head.