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He shook his head. “But…how?”
“How did I keep it a secret? Or how did it all fall apart in the first place?”
He glanced at the papers in front of him, turning another paper over. Sure enough, a bunch of dire looking numbers stared back at him, and he tossed it back down angrily. “Both.”
“I’ve always been good at hiding what I want to hide, once I put my mind to it. At putting on a show. A good face.” She rubbed her forehead. “As for the other question, we lost everything through a series of bad decisions made by your father that led to financial ruin. We’re doomed, Benjamin, and need an influx of money if we’re going to survive.”
His heart thudded in his ears, and he tugged on his tie because, Jesus Christ, it was trying to fucking strangle him. “I…see.”
“Do you?” His mother leaned forward, a penetrating stare latched on to him like a hawk. “Reginald agreed to bail out the company if you marry Elizabeth. We need her money. Gale Incorporated needs it, or it’ll die. And your father’s memory, with it.”
A heavy weight fell to the pit of his stomach. It felt a hell of a lot like responsibility laced with a healthy dose of dread. It also felt like the death of any hope of happiness with Maggie. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I could have tried to do something.”
She lifted a dainty shoulder. “I didn’t think it would come to this. I thought you would do your duty and marry Elizabeth, as you should have all along. But you went and picked that woman, and you’ve forced my hand. Don’t worry. Your ‘fiancée’ will bolt as soon as she discovers you’re poor. I have no doubt of that. Gold diggers like her always flee at the slightest scent of poverty.”
“She’s not—” He stiffened, rage pumping through his veins instead of blood. For the first time, he let himself feel anger toward his mother. And it was because of Maggie that he could do this—the same Maggie he was now going to lose. “You know what? Get the hell out of my office.”
“I understand that you’re upset, but that’s no way to talk to your mother.” She stood, smoothing her flawless business skirt. “I’ll go. But Elizabeth is stopping by in three hours. I told her you’ll be asking her to marry you, and I expect you to follow through.”
Rage blinded him even more, and he pushed to his feet, taking a step toward her. “How dare you tell her such a thing?”
“I dare because I have faith you’ll do the right thing, for once in your life.” She eyed him, her lip curled in disgust. “I raised you to do it. I expect it. So does your father. Or are you going to let him down again?”
Without waiting for an answer, she swept out of his office, shutting the door behind her. He watched her through the window that led out into the main office area—his attention on one person in particular.
Maggie sat at her desk, holding her head, looking as if she was about to cry. His mother stopped to speak to her, and she tensed.
Swallowing hard, he closed the blinds and ignored the gut instinct to go out there and make sure she was all right. Instead, he sat at his desk and picked up the papers his mother had dropped on his desk. Unfortunately, he found exactly what he’d been looking for all day long. He found the reason why his mother wanted him to marry up.
And there was no escaping the undeniable truth. If he wanted to save his father’s company, he’d have to do the unthinkable. He’d have to marry Elizabeth and be miserable for the rest of his goddamn life.
He closed his eyes, Maggie’s laugh ringing through his head. It only made him feel even more depressed, because he was about to lose that. Lose her. Everything was about to slip out of his hands, because he had to save his father’s company.
The door opened again, but stopped halfway.
Someone knocked.
He scowled at it, and whoever dared to interrupt him. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.” Maggie peeked her head in, and her fresh-faced beauty was like a punch in the throat. “Do you have a second?”
Everything he’d wanted and couldn’t have, stared him right in the face. Mocked him. He’d been so damn sure they could make things work, and now he had to let her go. That hurt a hell of a lot more than it should have, which only pissed him off more.
“I’m busy,” he said through clenched teeth. “Make it quick.”
She shut the door behind her but didn’t come inside the office more than necessary. She clutched the knob, shifting on her feet. “Are you okay?”
“No,” he bit out. “I’m not fucking okay. Now isn’t a good time.”
She blinked, clearly taken aback at him snapping her head off. “Oh. Sorry.”
When she didn’t speak any more, he gestured for h
er to get on with it. He was being an ass, but he couldn’t seem to stop. He was going to lose her because of something his father did—and that pissed him the hell off. It might not be her fault, but right now, it felt like it was. “Well? What did you want?”
She hesitated, and he wanted to scream at her to get the hell out before he said or did something he’d regret, but he didn’t make a sound. He just sat there like a fucking fool. “I have to…I mean…I had a question. My parents got bad news today, and…well, uh, I—”
Something inside of him exploded, and there was no stopping the flow of words once they came. He’d just found out he was all but trapped in an arranged marriage he didn’t want, and she couldn’t get a damn sentence out? “Jesus Christ. Spit it the fuck out. I don’t have all damn day to sit here while you get up the nerve to speak.”
