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All Chapters of The Billionaire's Binding Proposal: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

173 Chapters

~ 71

Chapter 71~ Kesley ~I couldn't wait in the office anymore.The clock had hit 4:45 and there was still no word from Taraji. My desk felt like a cage, the walls of my cubicle closing in with every passing minute. The silence of the nearly empty department was oppressive, making every small sound—the hum of the air conditioning, the distant ping of an elevator—seem amplified and accusatory.I had to go to the lobby. That was the only logical place Taraji would go if she couldn't reach me by phone. She'd probably come to the lobby and ask for me at reception or wait by the entrance or park her car outside.She had to.I grabbed my bag, stuffing my phone into the side pocket even though I'd been checking it obsessively every thirty seconds, turned off my computer with hands that weren't quite steady, and headed for the elevator bay, my heart pounding with a mixture of anxiety and determination.Just get downstairs. Wait for Taraji. Get the costume. Transform. Make it to the restaurant.

~ 72

Chapter 72 ~ Taraji ~When I turned around, my heart still racing from hearing my name called out across the lobby, I found myself face-to-face with Fred.Niklaus’ assistant.Relief flooded through me so intensely I almost laughed out loud. Almost let out a hysterical giggle right there in the middle of the SpecterTech lobby like some unhinged person.I'd met Fred once before—briefly, awkwardly—when I'd confessed to Niklaus that I was the real Taraji Gilbert. That I'd hired someone to sabotage our dates. That the woman he'd been meeting with wasn't actually me but a paid actor doing increasingly absurd things to ruin his evenings. Fred had been there in the background during that uncomfortable conversation, professional and silent, his face carefully neutral, probably judging me for the entire mess. Probably thinking I was the most chaotic, unprofessional person he'd ever encountered.And now here he was again, standing in front of me in his perfectly tailored suit, looking at me wit

~ 73

Chapter 73 ~ Niklaus ~Kesley was as tense as always in that elevator.I could see it in everything about her—the rigid set of her shoulders, the way she pressed herself into the corner farthest from me like being alone with me for thirty seconds was some kind of torture she had to endure.It was frustrating, honestly. I'd been nothing but professional with her. Complimentary, even, about her work on the Gateway project. And yet she acted like I was some kind of threat.I wanted to say more to her. Wanted to tell her to be careful during the workshop coming up on Wednesday. Wanted to ask if the guys in the department were treating her okay, if any of the others were giving her trouble for being the only woman on the team. If she felt safe, supported, respected.Women in tech faced enough obstacles without having to deal with hostile coworkers on top of it. The industry was notoriously male-dominated, and I'd heard enough horror stories to know that being the only woman in a departmen

~ 74

Chapter 74~ Kesley ~"Damn it, Taraji!" I hissed the moment I was safely in her car, slamming the door harder than necessary. "Niklaus almost caught us!""I know! I'm so sorry!" Taraji pulled out of the parking garage with more speed than was probably safe, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles were white. "I'm so, so sorry, Kels.""What happened? Why was your phone off?" The questions tumbled out in a rush as I fumbled with the shopping bag, pulling out the wig and makeup kit with shaking hands."My phone died right after our call," Taraji explained, her voice apologetic and stressed. "And then I forgot my charger in my classroom when I went to get your stuff. I had no way to reach you, no way to coordinate where to meet. So I thought the only option was to come to SpecterTech and try to find you.""And run into Niklaus in the process," I muttered, pulling down the sun visor to use the small mirror."I didn't plan that part!" Taraji's voice rose defensively. "I

~ 75

Chapter 75~ Niklaus ~The drive to the penthouse took a few minutes through evening traffic, and I spent most of it staring out the window, my mind spinning.I turned to look at Fred. "Why was Taraji at SpecterTech?"Fred adjusted his glasses, that gesture he made when he was choosing his words carefully. "She didn't explain, sir. She said she came to look around. Check out the company."I laughed—a short, humorless sound. "What a terrible lie.""Indeed, sir. It was quite unconvincing.""Something fishy is going on," I said, half to myself. "Did Aria send Taraji to spy on me? To check out the building before tonight's meeting? See if I was serious about this arrangement?"It seemed paranoid, but nothing about this entire situation had been normal. Why not add corporate espionage to the mix?"I couldn't say, sir. Though Ms. Gilbert did seem quite flustered when she saw you.""She practically ran out of the building." I shook my head. "Well, Aria can explain what Taraji was doing at my

~ 76

Chapter 76 ~ Kesley ~Niklaus was looking at me with that same intensity I'd noticed in the office earlier today.That focused, analytical gaze that made me feel like he was seeing right through the makeup and the wig and the carefully constructed facade to the person underneath. Like he was solving some complex equation in his head, putting together pieces of a puzzle I didn't even know existed.But that was impossible. I was Aria right now. Not Kesley. Different identity, different persona, different everything. Different hair, different makeup, different dress, different voice pitch, different mannerisms.So why was he looking at me the exact same way he'd looked at Kesley Bellamy in the elevator just an hour ago?The thought sent a chill down my spine.I sat down carefully, hyperaware of everything—the tight dress that rode up slightly as I moved, the wig that felt slightly heavier than usual, the false eyelashes that kept threatening to come loose every time I blinked too hard.

~ 77

Chapter 77 ~ Niklaus ~Fred had been in such a hurry to leave for the hospital that he'd forgotten to remind me about my insulin.And I'd forgotten too.It was embarrassing. Humiliating, really. I was a grown man, a thirty-two-year-old CEO who ran a multi-billion dollar company with thousands of employees and complex operations spanning multiple continents, and I couldn't remember to take basic medication that kept me alive.The kind of thing diabetics were supposed to manage automatically, like breathing or blinking.But diabetes was like that sometimes. You got caught up in work, in meetings, in stress about fake marriages and family expectations and employees who looked mysteriously familiar. Suddenly hours had passed and you'd skipped a meal because you'd been too focused on reviewing reports and you'd forgotten your insulin because Fred—who usually reminded you—was dealing with his own family emergency, and your blood sugar was plummeting.And now I was paying the price in the

~ 78

Chapter 78~ Kesley ~Damn! Why was this happening?Insulin. Diabetes. Of course Niklaus would have something like this—some medical condition that required constant management and could turn deadly in minutes if not treated properly.Just my luck."Come on," I urged, my arm tight around his waist, supporting as much of his weight as I could. "Stay with me. We're almost there."The waiter was on his other side, helping me keep Niklaus upright as we stumbled down the hallway toward suite 3001.Niklaus's head was lolling forward, his eyes half-closed. His breathing was shallow. His skin had gone pale and clammy.I knew these signs. Had seen them before. Had lived through this nightmare once already.With my father.My father who'd been diabetic. Who'd struggled to afford insulin. Who'd sometimes skipped doses to save money, to make the supply last longer.My father who'd died from it.The disease had worn him down over years, the complications piling up, the lack of consistent treatment

~ 79

Chapter 79 ~ Niklaus ~I felt the sharp pierce on my arm as the insulin went in.The sensation cut through the fog in my brain—clear, present, real. A pinpoint of awareness in the chaos of confusion and disorientation that had consumed me.And then Aria’s voice, urgent and worried, calling my name."Niklaus? Niklaus, please wake up. Please be okay. Come on, come on..."She was forcing me to stay conscious, her hands on my face, patting my cheeks gently but insistently, her voice cutting through the darkness that had been trying to pull me under like a riptide.I could feel my body starting to respond to the insulin.I should open my eyes. Should let her know I was okay, that the crisis was passing, that I wasn't dying.But I was embarrassed.Deeply, thoroughly embarrassed in a way I hadn't been since I was a teenager.I'd collapsed in the middle of a restaurant. Had to be half-carried to an elevator by a woman half my size who probably weighed barely over a hundred pounds. Had probab

~ 80

Chapter 80 ~ Kesley ~My heart flooded with relief when Niklaus finally opened his eyes.Those blue eyes that had been closed for what felt like an eternity, leaving me terrified and shaking and praying to every deity I could think of—Christian God, Allah, Buddha, the universe itself—that he'd be okay.That I hadn't just watched someone die in front of me.That the insulin had worked.I'd been seconds away from calling 911. Seconds away from complete panic, from screaming for help, from breaking down entirely.But he was awake. Alive. Looking at me with those intense blue eyes that seemed to see right through me, past the makeup and the wig and all the lies, straight to whatever truth lay underneath.And that's when reality crashed in.The position I was in.My legs were separated, straddling him where he lay on the bed. My hands were on his face, cupping his jaw, my thumbs against his cheeks where I'd been trying to rouse him, trying to keep him conscious. My body was pressed agains

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