FORBIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES

Albert's Point of View

So far that morning, I hadn’t seen any legal documents indicating that Mrs. Nichols intended to sue me. But it was still early. I hadn’t stopped thinking all night about the possibility that she would realize the opportunity my ridiculous proposal had handed her. Why accept a check when she could sue me for millions? It wasn’t that she was the litigious or opportunistic type, but I had crossed a line.

My grandmother would be deeply disappointed. That thought burned in my gut. I had worked hard to fill the place my father had left vacant after my mother died. Not that I blamed him. I was ten years old when she passed away. Noah was only five. My father, who had never enjoyed business, chose to stay home and raise my brothers and me. My grandmother supported him emotionally and financially so he could do that.

But as I grew older, I realized my father never truly recovered from losing my mother. And I understood that my grandmother had always hoped that one day he would take her place in the business. Since he couldn’t, I made it my mission to step into the role he had left behind. I would make sure the family business continued. I would take care of the family.

While my father had provided us with the love and attention we needed as children, I would provide the guidance and financial security we needed as adults.

Along with the burning fear that my grandmother would be disappointed in me for being sued over sexual misconduct, there was also the guilt of putting Mrs. Nichols in such a position. Not only was I risking a lawsuit, but she was an honest person, and I had asked her to lie. She was the last person I ever imagined ending up in a situation like this, and yet here we were.

A knock on the door interrupted my mental self-flagellation.

“Come in,” I said.

Mrs. Nichols stepped inside, and my stomach twisted.

Was she bringing legal papers?

Was she about to quit?

“Did you have a good evening?” I managed to ask.

“Yes.”

Her cheeks turned pink, as if she were blushing.

Jesus. Was I embarrassing her that much?

I was preparing to apologize again and back out of the arrangement, figuring I would come up with another solution somehow—maybe even postpone the expansion until winter and find a new distributor—when she spoke before I could.

“I’ve decided to help you and the company.”

Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by an entirely new set of worries, most of them involving what my family was going to think.

“Thank you, Mrs. Nichols.”

“Amelia,” she corrected. “It’ll be strange if you keep calling me Mrs. Nichols when we’re supposed to be engaged.”

“Right. Then call me Albert.”

“Okay.”

She looked down and intertwined her fingers.

“Is something wrong?”

“I don’t want to sound greedy, but you mentioned a bonus…”

“Yes, of course.”

What kind of bonus did you give an assistant for pretending to marry you?

She continued shyly.

“I... um... have some student loans.”

“Get me the payment information. I’ll take care of it.”

Her gray eyes widened in surprise.

“I didn’t mean all of it…”

“I’ll pay it off.”

“You don’t even know how much it is.”

“It doesn’t matter. How much could it be? Just send me the information.”

She nodded, and the relief on her face was obvious.

I studied her for a moment.

Money had never been a problem in my family, thanks to my grandmother’s business skills. I could only imagine what it felt like to have debt hanging over your head, affecting your quality of life, and then suddenly having it disappear.

The relief and the small smile that appeared on her face made her even prettier.

“Thank you, Mr. Torrens... I mean, Albert.”

I smiled.

“We’re quite a pair of lunatics, aren’t we?”

She laughed softly.

“Can you arrange our trip to Italy?”

“Yes, sir... um... Albert.”

She turned to leave, and I could have sworn something had changed.

Knowing she was getting something out of this arrangement made me feel much more comfortable about it.

When the door closed behind her, I realized I had been watching the curve of her ass as she walked away.

Oh, damn.

I sat up straight in my chair and rubbed my hands over my face.

Don’t think about her that way.

I buried myself in spreadsheets and numbers, determined to distract myself from her pretty face and sexy body.

An hour later, she returned.

Thankfully, she was wearing her professional expression again.

“I booked first-class tickets to Rome and then a flight to Florence.”

“Excellent.”

“I spoke with Mr. Len. He said he’ll have a car waiting for us and will take care of the rest.”

God, she was making this easy.

But there was still a lot to do.

I stood and pulled my wallet from my pocket.

Then I handed her my credit card.

“What’s this for? Am I supposed to pay for things with a different method?”

“No. It’s for you to buy whatever you need for the wedding. A dress, shoes, something blue...” I waved a hand. “You know. Whatever you need for the trip.”

Once again, her eyes widened.

“What’s the budget?”

“There isn’t one. Whatever you need. I trust you.”

She looked overwhelmed, and I wondered what I could say or do to make her feel better.

Then she smiled and left my office.

I took a moment to gather my courage before telling my brothers what was happening.

I sent them all a message asking if they could meet me in an hour.

Every one of them showed up, even Noah.

We gathered in my office to avoid curious ears passing by the conference room.

“Where’s your assistant?” Noah asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever come into your office and not seen her out there guarding the place like an iron gatekeeper.”

I smiled at the description.

She really was excellent at her job, especially when it came to protecting me from unnecessary distractions.

“I sent her on an errand.”

Hamilton raised an eyebrow.

“That’s not her job.”

Jesus. Just wait until he hears the rest.

“Sit down. There’s something I need to tell all of you.”

“Don’t tell me. You’re running away to join the circus,” Noah said, propping his boots on my desk.

I smiled.

“Stranger than that, little brother.”

Hamilton and Carter looked intrigued.

Hamilton sat on the couch while Carter remained standing with his arms crossed.

“The distribution deal with Len hit an unusual snag,” I began.

“Unusual?” Hamilton asked.

“He prefers working with family businesses.”

Carter frowned.

“We are a family business.”

“Yes, but none of us are married. We’re not stable. When Grandma is gone, we could sell the company, and he’d be stuck in a contract he doesn’t want.”

Hamilton shook his head.

“That would never happen.”

“I know. We all know that.” I pointed around the room. “But he isn’t convinced.”

“So how did you convince him?” Carter asked.

I took a deep breath.

“I let him host my wedding.”

Three pairs of eyes stared at me.

Finally, Hamilton spoke.

“What wedding?”

“The one I’m having in Italy soon.”

Noah burst out laughing.

“Who would be willing to risk dying of boredom by marrying you?”

Ignoring the boredom comment, I answered the important part.

“Amelia.”

It felt strange calling her that, but she was right. We needed to act more familiar.

“Who’s Amelia?” Noah asked.

Carter’s expression was pure disapproval.

Hamilton looked curious.

“Mrs. Nichols,” I told Noah.

“Who?”

I rolled my eyes.

“My assistant, idiot.”

“Jesus, Ry,” Carter said. “That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. You’re supposed to expand the business, not bankrupt us.”

“I know. But she agreed.”

Noah leaned forward.

“Are you sleeping with your assistant?”

“Shut your mouth,” I barked, pointing a finger at him. “It’s one thing to disrespect me, but I won’t let you disrespect her.”

Noah’s eyes widened.

He immediately raised both hands in surrender.

“Sorry. I just can’t understand why she’d do it.”

“I offered her compensation.”

“Fine. But what happens when you come back?” Carter shook his head again. “Are you going to keep playing happily married? How exactly is this supposed to work?”

“It’s just for appearances.”

I said it casually, as though it were no big deal, even though the knot in my stomach told me otherwise.

“Until she takes half of everything you own and possibly part of this company in the divorce.”

Carter really should have been a lawyer.

“We won’t have a marriage license. We won’t actually be married.”

“Only you could take something that’s supposed to be romantic and exciting and completely ruin it,” Noah joked.

“I don’t see you getting married,” I shot back. “Any of you could do it and make Len happy.”

I looked around the room.

“Hamilton? Carter? I know it won’t be Noah. He can’t even commit to his own family.”

“Hey!”

Noah looked offended.

Hamilton sighed.

“Do you really think Len will walk away if you don’t do this?”

“I do. You should’ve seen him when I told him I was engaged. The guy lit up like a Christmas tree. He insisted on hosting the wedding.” I rubbed my face. “Either we do this, or we start over looking for another distributor. And we all know he was our first choice. Besides, it would delay our goal of launching the fall line there.”

“What do you need from us?” Hamilton asked.

“I just wanted to tell you. And I guess if any of you talk to Len, stick to the story.”

“This is insane,” Carter said.

“We could vote,” Noah suggested. “Grandma said we should make decisions together. All those in favor of Albert’s loveless marriage of convenience so we can sell sandals in Europe this fall, say aye.”

He was joking, but Hamilton and I both answered.

“Aye.”

“Anyone opposed?”

“This could go wrong in a hundred different ways,” Carter muttered.

“We’ll count that as a no. Two to one,” Noah declared.

“What about you? You get a vote too,” I said.

“I’m in favor. I can’t wait to watch the fallout.”

Noah grinned.

“So who’s going to tell Grandma?”

“No one. I think we should do what she asked and run this place without her. And look at us—we just did. Even Noah contributed. Maybe it’s time you joined us officially.”

I fixed him with a stern look.

He started shaking his head before I’d even finished speaking.

“No.”

He stood up.

“Have a nice day.”

“You’re already doing the IT work for us,” I called after him.

“My time. My rules.”

He headed for the door.

“It’s too beautiful a day to be trapped in an office. Hopefully some of that Italian sunshine helps you see things differently, big brother.”

He waved and left.

“Do you think he’ll ever change?” I asked my remaining brothers.

“No.”

Carter stood.

“It may not matter anyway when Mrs. Nichols is finished with us. You might want to consider a prenup.”

“It’s not a real marriage.”

He shrugged.