Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 5

(Meghan’s POV)Five hundred dollars in crumpled bills lay in his right hand, and the seconds were still counting down on the digital clock on his sister-in-law’s cell phone.The air on the hotel rooftop balcony now felt suffocating, and my lungs wouldn’t expand.Tightening my fingers around the edge of my aluminum serving tray, I could feel them digging into the metal as the realization dawned on me.The man who had been staring intensely into my eyes for the past four minutes was not fascinated at all. He was just a competitive guy.“The game is called Muse,” Vivienne said, her scarlet silk dress rustling as she stepped closer to us.She picked up her cell phone and held it up, moving the stopwatch directly in my face. “The rules are simple, darling. You pick a total stranger from the working staff, you make them feel completely seen, and you get them to kiss you without touching them first.”She twisted her razor-thin grimace in my direction and then back to Adrian. With a big smile

(Meghan’s POV)The supervisor whispered aggressively into my ear, “Hold the tray higher, Meghan, and if you let a drop of champagne get on the floor, I’ll take it right off your agency fee.”The vast estate was built on top of a high bluff overlooking the sea, and the white stone pavilion was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.I ignored the supervisor entirely, my gaze darting over the richly dressed guests sitting on the elegant outdoor furniture. My heart pounded against my ribs.I spotted him ten minutes later. Adrian Vaughn stood near a heavy glass railing, looking out at the crowd of guests who swarmed around him like planets around the sun.He looked the same as he had the night before on the hotel roof—effortless and relaxed.Then his eyes scanned the balcony, and they locked squarely on my face.I didn’t flinch, and I didn’t look away. I lifted my chin, balanced the weighty aluminum tray along my fingertips, and walked right across his path as if he were nothing mor

(Meghan’s POV)“Please come join me in the car, Meghan, because my dad just moved the meeting forward by thirty minutes,” Adrian Vaughn said, his voice coming through the speaker of my phone with a sharp, frantic edge.I stood by our apartment window, my fingers pinching the plastic casing of the phone as I watched the long, black Benz idling directly over a massive pothole on our street corner.Sofia was sitting on the sofa behind me, her eyes tracking my rigid posture while she sipped her tea.“The car is waiting, Adrian, but I’m not stepping inside until you confirm the payment,” I said, my tone completely calm as I grabbed my backpack from the kitchen table.“The lawyer is in the back seat with the paperwork right now,” Adrian said, his breathing sounding shallow over the line. “Everything is ready, Meghan. The hundred thousand dollars will be sent right now, but I need your signature on the nondisclosure agreement before we cross the gates of the estate, or my dad will call the w