Chapter Four

Raze’s pov

I have learnt from experience that when a room starts turning against you, you either control the fire or you burn in it.

Everette was burning.

The reporters were circling him like sharks that smelled blood in water. Every question hit harder than the last and his voice which was steady at first, began to thin around the edges. I could hear it and I could see the way his fingers pressed tightly against the table.

He has never been one for public performance.

He was losing them.

And if he lost them, I lost leverage.

Simple as that.

I didn’t build my company from scratch to let a room full of cameras tear apart a deal and a revenge I have been waiting for.

I leaned back in my chair, watching the chaos rise.

Think

Optics

Emotion sells better than numbers.

Narratives calm markets and I had one second to decide. One second to either let his empire crumble or tie myself to it in a way no one could question.

My thumb brushed one of my gold rings on my middle finger. I slipped the band onto my ring finger beneath the table, the movement hidden by the frenzy.

“Is this collaboration legally binding or merely symbolic?” another reporter demanded.

That was it.

“Fuck it,” I muttered.

I turned toward Everette before my brain could argue with my instincts. My hand came up, firm against his jaw, tilting his face toward mine.

His eyes widened.

The first press of my mouth against his was fast and I felt him freeze.

Of course he froze. I had one heartbeat to sell this, so I did what I always do when I need to win. I went back in, slower this time.

My lips claimed his properly. I let my mouth soften, then deepen. I teased my tongue against the seam of his lips. For a split second, he remained stiff under my hand, then suddenly his fingers fisted in my shirt, his mouth opened and the kiss changed.

It was no longer a performance. It was heat and memory and everything we never resolved crashing together in front of flashing cameras. He tasted wonderful, and familiar, not at all like something I had spent years trying to forget.

He made a sound. A soft, involuntary moan that vibrated against my mouth and it hit me like a punch, pumping blood directly to my dick.

I was straight now, apart from the occasional threesome with a man, I stuck strictly to women. But yet, I start to feel doors creak open inside my chest that I had locked years ago. I felt the old pull, the old weakness.

Dangerous.

I broke the kiss, trying to catch my breathe. I see him trying to do the same and I grinned against his mouth, biting it lightly before pulling back.

The room was chaotic as cameras exploded in white bursts and reporters shouted over one another.

Everette looked dazed for half a second, his lips slightly swollen, his green eyes darker than before. I stood up slowly and adjusted my cuff.

“What Eve is trying to say,” I announced smoothly, “is that we’re engaged.”

I raised my left hand, letting the ring catch the light.

“He popped the question last week. We were planning to hold off on announcing it, but I suppose this is as good a time as any.”

The explosion was immediate.

“You’re engaged?”

“Is this real?”

“How long have you been together?”

“Does this impact the collaboration?”

I take Everette’s hand, pulling him up from his chair. “Impact it?” I laughed. “It solidifies it.”

I glanced at him briefly, daring him to contradict me. He didn’t. Shock still flickered in his eyes, but he played along.

Good boy.

That should do it.

Love story over scandal……Markets eat that up.

Minutes later, we were escorted out by security as the conference dissolved into frenzy. The moment the doors shut behind us and the hallway cleared, Everette spun on me.

“What exactly did you think you were doing?” he demanded, his voice low and furious. “Engaged?”

I adjusted my shirt calmly. “I was trying to sell the story.”

“You blindsided me in front of the entire financial press.”

“And saved your stock.”

His nostrils flared. “That’s not the point.”

“It absolutely is the point.”

He stepped closer, his eyes burning with anger. “For your information, I have a boyfriend.”

“Ohh really?” I stepped closer too. “He must be doing something wrong then because your kiss reeks of hunger.”

His eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed.

“Ohh please fucking relax, I’m teasing you. And I’m not asking you out for chrissakes,” I said flatly. “So I don’t give a shit if you have a boyfriend or not.”

“Then what was that?” he asked.

“That was damage control.”

We were interrupted by his crisis team, a female in the front rushing toward us, tablet in hand.

“Sir,” she said breathlessly, “That was a good move. Social media is exploding in your favor, shares are stabilizing and investors are calling it bold and authentic. The crisis narrative is already shifting.”

Everette blinked. “You’re certain?”

“Yes, sir. The engagement angle reframes everything. It signals long term commitment and personal stake.”

I gave him a lazy half smile. “Well,” I drawled, “you’re welcome.”

I turned and walked away before he could respond. Behind me, I heard him mutter something that sounded like, “Fucking egomaniac bastard.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Back in my office, the adrenaline started to fade and the real weight of what I had done settled in.

I paced.

The Carrington family never loses. They owned more than half the country, controlled boards, regulators, real estate, even politics. If I wanted leverage that could not be undone, I needed more than a kiss.

I needed something binding.

Something legal and Something airtight.

If I tied myself to Everette publicly, the family would hesitate before destroying my company. If I forced them into a documented alliance, with signatures and clauses they could not wiggle out of, I would have breathing room.

And maybe more.

The door opened without knocking and Dante walked in carrying his laptop. “Saw the conference,” he said. “You’re insane.”

“I prefer strategic.”

He snorted and set the laptop on my desk. “Our shares are starting to rise though. Buyers who were hesitant are suddenly eager to meet your valuation. Are we still selling?”

I folded my arms and shook my head slowly. “I don’t know yet.”

He studied my face. “That's not comforting. We were planning to. That was the whole survival strategy. Acquisition before collapse.”

“Keep looking at offers,” I said, moving around the desk to my chair. “But don’t accept anything yet.”

His eyes narrowed. “You have a plan?”

“I always have a plan.”

He sat opposite me. “Does this plan involve kissing him again?”

I didn’t answer and his eyebrow rose. “Oh,” he said slowly. “So it does.”

“It involves leverage.”

“Leverage with benefits?”

I took the pen on my desk, tapping it against the desk and as I stared at him.

He laughed. “What? You two practically set the room on fire.”

“It was tactical.”

“Sure it was.” He tapped on his laptop. “So what’s the endgame? You going to get him back into bed too?”

Bed.

Memory slammed into me. His hands gripping my shoulders and scaring my back from pleasure. The way he used to look at me like I was the only man in the world.

I froze as the perfect shape of it began to form in my head.

Public engagement meant narrative control……Marriage meant contractual unity.

A prenuptial agreement crafted correctly could intertwine assets, voting rights, decision making authority. A marriage between Calder Dynamics and Carrington tech wouldn’t just calm the market.

It would make me untouchable.

I looked up to see Dante still watching me. “What?” he asked.

I looked at him, really looked at him, then I said the first words of the plan out loud.

“Marry me.”