CHAPTER 2 : THE OFFER

 

Elena was halfway to the elevator when her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen and nearly laughed.

Adrian Blackwood.

Of course.

The man had practically pushed her out of his office, yet he couldn't survive ten minutes without calling her back.

She let it ring twice before answering.

"Yes, Mr. Blackwood?"

"Come back to my office."

Elena pressed the elevator button.

"I'm sorry, sir. I believe I just submitted my resignation."

"I'm aware of that."

"Wonderful. Then I'm sure you understand why I'm leaving."

A pause followed.

"I have a business proposal for you."

She stepped into the elevator as the doors opened.

"Send it to my email."

"This isn't something I can send to your email."

"Then it sounds like a problem you should discuss with someone who still works for you."

She ended the call.

For the first time that morning, Elena smiled.

It lasted approximately three seconds.

Her phone rang again.

She stared at it.

The audacity of this man was actually impressive.

She answered.

"What now?"

"Are you always this difficult?"

"Only when people refuse to respect my time."

"Five minutes, Elena."

"I've already given you three years."

She hung up again.

This time, she switched her phone to silent.

If Adrian Blackwood wanted to make a business proposal, he could learn to wait like everybody else.

Outside the building, the morning sun was brighter than she expected. Cars crawled through the traffic, office workers hurried along the pavement, and the city carried on as though she hadn't just made one of the most frightening decisions of her life.

Elena stopped beside a flower stand and checked her bank balance.

The number staring back at her was painfully unimpressive.

She had enough for groceries, transportation and perhaps a few small expenses. Not enough for the hospital bills Maya had mentioned. Not enough to sit at home for weeks while she searched for another job.

Her smile disappeared.

"God, please," she whispered. "I need one thing to go right."

She could call a former colleague. She could send out applications. She could even swallow her pride and ask an old university friend whether there were any openings at her company.

Anything was better than going back upstairs to Adrian Blackwood.

Her phone vibrated.

A message from Human Resources appeared.

Dear Elena, please be advised that your resignation has been received. Kindly coordinate your handover with your supervisor.

She stared at the message.

Supervisor.

As if she hadn't spent three years being the person who kept that entire office from collapsing.

"Fine," she muttered. "Very fine."

She was about to put her phone away when another notification appeared.

This one was from an unknown number.

Elena, it's Martin Cole, General Counsel at Blackwood International. Mr. Blackwood would appreciate five minutes of your time. The matter is important.

She considered ignoring it.

Then she remembered the hospital bill.

Five minutes wouldn't kill her.

Probably.

She turned around and headed back into the building.

---

Adrian was standing beside his desk when Elena entered his office for the second time that morning.

He looked at the clock.

"Seven minutes."

"Would you like me to apologize to the clock?"

His mouth tightened.

She noticed that he had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. It was an ordinary enough change, but somehow it made him look less like a distant executive and more like a man who was used to getting exactly what he wanted.

Elena refused to find that interesting.

"Sit down," he said.

"I'll stand."

"Suit yourself."

He gestured toward the chair anyway, then returned to his desk.

For several seconds, he appeared to be choosing his words.

That alone made Elena suspicious.

She had seen Adrian negotiate million-dollar contracts without blinking. Watching him hesitate over a conversation was like watching a lion struggle to open a tin of sardines.

"Have you ever considered working somewhere else?" he asked.

Elena blinked.

"Is this a trick question?"

"No."

"Then yes. Frequently. Especially on Mondays."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

He exhaled through his nose.

"I know you believe you've been undervalued here."

"I don't believe it, Mr. Blackwood. I have evidence."

"Your performance has never been in question."

"That would have been a lovely thing to hear before I resigned."

"I am telling you now."

"Should I be grateful?"

"No."

"Good. Because I'm not."

Adrian studied her for a moment.

Most people became uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Some started talking too much. Others rushed to explain themselves.

Elena simply looked back at him.

It was one of the things he found most irritating about her.

It was also one of the things he had always respected.

He opened a drawer and removed a folder.

"I need your help with a personal matter."

Elena frowned.

"Then you should call your personal assistant."

"You're my personal assistant."

"Not anymore."

"You're making this unnecessarily complicated."

"And you're making it sound like I still work here."

He placed the folder on the desk.

"I'll compensate you for your time."

She almost laughed.

There it was.

Money.

The solution to every inconvenience in Adrian Blackwood's world.

"How much?"

He named a figure.

Elena's eyebrows rose before she could stop them.

It was more than she had earned in several months.

She hated that he noticed her reaction.

"Interested now?" he asked.

"Surprised. There's a difference."

"Would you prefer that I offer less?"

"I'd prefer that you stop assuming everyone has a price."

For a moment, something in his expression hardened.

Then he nodded toward the folder.

"Fair enough. Read this first."

Elena approached the desk and opened it.

The first page contained a summary of the Blackwood family trust. The next outlined a succession dispute involving the company's voting rights. There were references to trustees, controlling interests and an approaching deadline.

She read the same paragraph twice.

Then she looked up.

"Why am I reading this?"

"Because it concerns the future of my company."

"Your lawyers should be handling it."

"They are."

"Then what do you need me for?"

Adrian walked around the desk.

"Six months from now, I turn thirty-three. My grandfather included a condition in the family trust that affects my control of the company."

Elena glanced down at the document again.

"What condition?"

"I must be legally married before my birthday."

She looked at him.

Then at the document.

Then back at him.

A laugh escaped her.

She tried to suppress it, but the absurdity of the situation was too much.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

"You expect me to believe that one of the largest companies in the country is being held hostage by your marital status?"

"My grandfather established the trust long before I became CEO. The clause is legally enforceable."

"That's ridiculous."

"I agree."

"Then challenge it."

"My lawyers are exploring every available option. That doesn't change the deadline."

Elena closed the folder.

"So find someone to marry."

"I'm working on that."

"Excellent. Then I assume our meeting is over."

She turned toward the door.

"Elena."

She stopped.

He was watching her with an expression she couldn't quite read.

"I want you to marry me."

For a moment, the room seemed to go completely silent.

Elena slowly turned around.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me."

She stared at him.

Then she laughed.

Not the polite laugh she used when a client made an awkward joke. Not the small laugh she gave colleagues when she was trying to keep a conversation pleasant.

This was a genuine, disbelieving laugh.

Adrian's expression grew darker with every passing second.

"Are you finished?"

"No." She pressed a hand to her stomach. "I'm trying to understand whether you've finally lost your mind."

"I assure you, I haven't."

"You refused to give me a raise this morning, and now you're asking me to marry you?"

"Those are two separate matters."

"Of course they are. One concerns my salary, and the other concerns the possibility that you've suffered a serious head injury."

"Elena."

"No, seriously. Should I call a doctor? Because this is concerning."

He came around the desk, stopping a few feet from her.

"I am offering you a legally binding arrangement. You would receive a substantial payment, financial security and certain benefits. In return, we would marry and remain married for one year."

She stared at him.

He continued as though he were explaining the terms of an ordinary business acquisition.

"We would maintain the appearance of a genuine marriage in public. Our private lives would remain separate. You would have your own room, your own finances and the freedom to pursue whatever interests you choose. At the end of the agreed period, we would proceed with a divorce, subject to the law."

"And what exactly do you get out of this?"

"Control of my company remains secure. The trustees have no reason to interfere with the succession arrangement."

"So you get a wife, and I get money."

"You get considerably more than money."

"Such as?"

"Security. A home. Access to resources you would otherwise spend years trying to acquire."

Elena's face changed.

"Be careful, Mr. Blackwood."

He paused.

"You can offer me money for my time. You can pay me for a job. But don't stand there and tell me what my life is worth because you've looked at my bank balance."

For the first time since she had entered the office, Adrian appeared to have no immediate response.

Elena lifted her chin.

"I am not for sale."

"I never said you were."

"You just offered to pay me to marry you."

"I offered you a choice."

"A choice you think I might accept because you assume I need the money."

His jaw tightened.

"Do you?"

The question was quiet.

It was also cruelly direct.

Elena thought of Maya's message. The hospital bills. The uncertainty waiting outside the glass walls of this office.

She hated him for making her confront those things here.

But she hated herself even more for knowing that the offer had caught her attention.

"That's none of your business," she said.

"You're right."

The immediate agreement surprised her.

Adrian returned to his desk and picked up the folder.

"I won't force you to accept. Take the proposal home. Read it carefully. Have an independent lawyer review the terms if you wish. If you decide it's not for you, we'll end the conversation here."

Elena watched him.

For the first time, he wasn't issuing an order or dismissing one of her concerns. He was giving her room to think.

It unsettled her more than his arrogance had.

"And if I say no?"

"Then you say no."

"No punishment? No bad reference? No making sure nobody in the industry hires me?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you honestly think so little of me?"

"I think you dislike being told no."

Something almost resembling a smile touched his mouth, though it vanished quickly.

"Then perhaps this will be an educational experience for both of us."

She should have walked away.

She knew that.

Instead, she looked down at the folder again.

"How much?"

He told her.

This time, she didn't laugh.

The amount could cover the outstanding hospital expenses, provide Maya with some breathing room and leave Elena with enough to rebuild her life without depending on anyone.

For several seconds, all she could hear was the steady hum of the air conditioner.

Adrian watched her carefully.

"I'll give you forty-eight hours."

Elena picked up the folder.

"Seventy-two."

"Forty-eight."

"Seventy-two, Mr. Blackwood. If you expect me to consider marrying you, the least you can do is allow me enough time to think about it."

He held her gaze.

"Seventy-two hours."

"Good."

She turned toward the door.

"And Elena?"

She looked back.

"Don't mistake my offer for affection. This arrangement would be business."

Her fingers tightened around the folder.

"Believe me, sir. Affection is the last thing I'm expecting from you."

She walked out before he could reply.

The elevator doors closed, leaving her alone with the folder pressed against her chest.

She opened it again.

The proposed payment was printed clearly on the first page.

Elena swallowed.

She had spent three years trying to get Adrian Blackwood to recognize her worth.

Now he was offering her a fortune to become his wife.

She should have felt insulted.

Instead, she felt afraid.

Because somewhere beneath the shock, beneath the anger and the very sensible voice telling her to stay away from him, a question had begun to form.

What if this was her only chance to change everything?

And what if accepting it turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life?

End of Chapter Two.