Chapter 4

"Remember to breathe deep and let me handle the interrogation when those doors open," Gideon advised in a low voice that resonated through the confined space of the ascending elevator. He watched Maren clutch the sleeping infant against her chest while her knuckles turned stark white from the immense pressure. She nodded in absolute silence as the polished metal doors slid apart with a soft chime to reveal a sprawling penthouse living room.

Five older men in dark bespoke suits sat around a massive glass table with expressions of profound skepticism carved into their faces. They represented the generational wealth of his grandfather and they held the power to strip Gideon of his entire empire with a single vote. Maren stepped out of the elevator and felt the hostile weight of their stares attempting to crush her spirit into dust.

"You expect us to believe you eloped with a destitute woman hours before a major corporate transition Gideon?" the lead executor demanded without offering a basic greeting. He stood up and adjusted his wire rimmed glasses while examining Maren from head to toe with blatant distaste. "This arrangement reeks of a desperate legal maneuver designed to secure your inheritance check and bypass the trust regulations."

Maren felt her heart hammer a frantic rhythm against her ribs as she shifted the baby in her tired arms. She opened her mouth to defend herself but the sheer intimidation of the room paralyzed her vocal cords. Gideon stepped forward and positioned his massive frame between Maren and the judgmental men like an impenetrable fortress of muscle and rage.

"I expect you to respect my wife and address her with the deference my family name commands," Gideon countered with lethal calm. He did not raise his voice but the sheer dominance radiating from his posture forced the older man to take a step back. "We fell in love away from the public eye because I refuse to subject my family to the toxic media circus you men feed upon."

The lead executor crossed his arms and let a mocking smirk touch the corners of his mouth. "A beautiful sentiment but you lack any documented history together prior to this morning," the man pressed with ruthless persistence. "You are asking the board to hand over billions of dollars based on a marriage certificate printed an hour ago."

Colm stood near the elevator and opened his briefcase to retrieve a stack of forged background documents. He handed the files to the men while maintaining a blank professional expression that gave nothing away. "The timeline of their romance is unusual but the legal standing of this marriage is ironclad and immune to board interference," Colm stated with supreme confidence.

The executors ignored the paperwork and continued to glare at the couple standing in the center of the opulent room. Panic threatened to swallow Maren whole as she realized they were losing the psychological battle before it even began. Gideon turned toward her and saw the raw terror swimming in her wide hazel eyes.

He reached out and pulled her flush against his chest with an unexpected possessiveness that shattered the cold air in the room. The sheer physical electricity of the contact sent a massive jolt of heat straight through their bodies. Maren gasped into his shoulder as an intense undeniable current of desire hijacked her entire nervous system.

Gideon felt his own breath catch as the primal need to protect her eclipsed every rational thought in his brilliant mind. He tangled his fingers in her auburn hair and held her against him while the rest of the world faded into nothingness. Maren closed her eyes and melted into his solid warmth as the baby slept undisturbed between them.

The skeptical lawyers watched the profound intimate exchange and felt their collective doubts begin to fracture under the weight of such raw emotion. They were trained to spot corporate deception but the chemical reaction they just witnessed was impossible to fabricate. The lead executor gathered his thick stack of files and shoved them into his briefcase with a heavy sigh of defeat.

"My personal life is not up for board debate and my devotion to this woman is absolute," Gideon murmured while his gaze remained locked on Maren. He pulled back just enough to let the executives witness the genuine fire burning between them. "I signed the papers and claimed the child which fulfills the exact requirements of the inheritance clause."

The room fell into a suffocating silence as the men exchanged uneasy glances with one another. The lead executor cleared his throat and buttoned his suit jacket while preparing to concede the argument. "The board accepts the marriage certificate and acknowledges your new legal dependents Gideon," the older man stated with obvious reluctance.

Maren let out a shuddering breath of relief thinking they had survived the agonizing gauntlet of billionaire politics. She stepped out of the embrace but Gideon kept a firm hand anchored on the small of her back to steady her shaking frame. The lead executor walked toward the elevator but stopped just before stepping into the metallic cabin.

He turned around and leveled a piercing stare at the exhausted couple standing in the center of the room. A cruel calculating gleam replaced the frustration in his eyes as he delivered his final devastating mandate. "A paper marriage is not enough to secure the final asset transfer next month," the man stated with a dark warning in his tone.

"You will share the master suite exclusively starting tonight to prove this union is authentic in every regard," the executor commanded while the elevator doors began to close. "The household staff will monitor your habits and they will report back to me if you spend a single night apart.”