“Oh. I haven’t met her. I’m sure I will, if you end up choosing us.”
He nods, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
There’s a brief silence before I break it with what I hope brings back the professional air back into the room. “What timeline are you looking at? I heard you’d been on this for at least eight months.”
He shakes his head, pinching the bridge of his nose like I’ve seen him do at the onset of a headache. “The timeline is what I can’t answer yet. But we need this expedited. I doubt it’ll take more than two years, butwith the clause, I think we need to start the process—likeyesterday.”
I nod. But then his words fully register. My head jerks up and I speak without thinking. “Clause? What clause?”
He blinks. His face flickers with shock as if realizing he’s said too much. “Oh. It’s just… a clause for me to keep the presidency past the five-year probation.”
“Does that affect the merger? Will we need to adjust our pitch?”
His breathing picks up, and I find myself confused more than ever about his near-panicked reaction.
He shakes his head. “No. It’s a personal clause. A marital one.”
A marital clause?
I freeze. Wait—is he saying that he’s marrying this Celestine Wentworth to fulfill a clause? To maintain his presidency?
He sees something shift on my face and quickly clarifies. “The merger and the clause are separate. Miller-Moore won’t need to interfere.”
I shouldn’t ask. But I do. “The clause, what does it say?” I have a sneaky suspicion it might be the reason I was forced out of his life by his parents.
He clears his throat. “Uh. It’s a clause that puts a few conditions on the type of marital partner I can choose before the five-year probation ends. Like… their net worth must be over five million, their social standing—among other factors.”
The air whooshes out of my lungs.
What the actual hell?
“W-What?” I can barely get the words out. “Then why did you even date me? Why would you—”
Levi’s face shifts, frowning at my hardened tone.
I immediately flush with embarrassment.
“I didn’t know about the clause,” he says firmly. “I only learned about it three years ago when I started my presidency.”
And then, the real blow. “Plus, you made yourself a non-issue, Iris.”
Non-issue.
The word slams into me like a slap.
I feel my throat tighten. Technically, he’s not wrong.
My net worth wouldn’t even touch a million. I never had a trust fund. No generational wealth. I was always the wrong kind of girl for the Astors. I’d made peace with that, but to hear it like this? It stings.
He sees the shift in my eyes. I know he does because I see the tiniest wince flash on his face. But he doesn’t take it back.
FIVE
Levi
She’s looking at me like I’ve just turned her life upside down with a few words. I need to remind myself it’s not my place to get that hurt look out of her eyes.
I wasn’t wrong, was I?
