Semua Bab The Billion Dollar Marriage : Bab 1 - Bab 4

Alison made it exactly four hours before she had to leave the building.She told herself it was just for lunch. That she needed air, needed space, needed to think anywhere that wasn’t within fifty feet of Eric Harrison and his insane proposal.Marriage. He’d said it like he was suggesting they grab coffee.She walked three blocks to the small park near the office, the one with the fountain and the old oak tree that had probably been there longer than the skyscrapers surrounding it. Her usual bench was empty. Mrs. Mary was there too, feeding the pigeons like she did every Tuesday.“Alison!” The old woman’s face lit up. “You’re early today. Usually you come at one thirty.”“I needed some air.” Alison sat down on her usual spot, pulling out the salad she had no intention of eating.Mrs. Mary had been a fixture in this park for as long as Alison had been working in the area. Retired, widowed, living in the rent controlled apartment building across the street. They’d struck up a friendship

Three weeks into the marriage and they’d established a routine.Alison woke at six, made coffee, and was out the door by seven fifteen. Eric worked from home until nine, then headed to the office. They passed each other in the hallway sometimes, exchanged polite good mornings, and pretended this was all perfectly normal.At work they were flawless. Professional, efficient, no indication that they went home to the same address every night. She still called him Mr. Harrison in front of others. He still gave her instructions in that clipped business tone.At home they were polite strangers who happened to share a kitchen.Separate bedrooms on opposite ends of the penthouse. Separate bathrooms, as promised. She had the east wing, he had the west. They met in the middle for meals sometimes, mostly they didn’t.It was working. Sort of.Alison had learned his patterns. He stayed up until two am most nights working in his home office. Drank his coffee black in the morning, switched to green t