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Prologue
Harper
Numb with grief, I sit in front of Jayson Satyros. His massive desk may be a huge barrier between us, but our losses have brought us together. “I still can’t believe it.” Even seeing my father’s coffin, with his smiling face displayed in a photograph perched on top of the glossy mahogany, hasn’t yet made it real.
“Look, I get it. It’s an enormous shock, Harper. I’m sorry,” says Jayson, looking for a moment much older than his thirty-five years. He rubs the bridge of his nose between his dark eyebrows. For a moment he closes his eyes, and the heavy fringe of lashes softens the look of his strong jaw and cheekbones.
Jayson buried his older brother and sister-in-law yesterday. Had things been different, I’d never have missed Dmitri and Ione’s funeral, but I had my own father’s to sort out.
“So…have you thought about the future yet?” asks Jayson.
I shake my head, folding the edge of my black skirt between my fingers. It’s a bit short, but it’s black, and I hope that’s respectful enough. I found it hanging in my closet a couple of days ago, likely where my mom had left it two years back, when she died. “It’s difficult enough to deal with the present.”
“You know, my brother found Mitch invaluable to the Satyros Corporation. They were much more than employer and employee. Mitch was also his friend.”
I nod, wishing my father and Dmitri hadn’t been so close. My dad wouldn’t have been on the plane that crashed, taking the only person I had left in the world. Mitch’s tradition was to accompany the Satyros family on vacations, in order to deal with any business matters that might arise. His loyalty to Dmitri and the Satyros Corporation ended up costing him everything.
“I took the liberty of making some inquiries.” Jayson shuffles some papers, though he doesn’t look down at them. His dark eyes remain on me, the gravity in his expression doing nothing to mar the classic perfection of his features. Before the crash, I would have been giddy to have so much of Jayson’s undivided attention, but today, my heart won’t muster even a slightly rapid pulse. I remember when I worked at Satyros over the summer and I would find myself slick from him just walking by my desk. “How much do you know of your father’s finances?” he asks.
That’s an unexpected question. With a shrug, I say, “Not much. It wasn’t my business.” My stomach clenches with sudden anxiety. “Why?”
“Your mother’s illness was… expensive. My brother offered to help, but you know how proud your father is… was.”
I nod tightly, my anxiety increasing by the moment. I want to run back to my summer job where Jayson is just an object of desire, not someone tasked with bringing me bad news.
Jayson offers his first smile of the day—a weak, half-hearted curl of the lips. “It drove Dmitri crazy, but Mitch continued to refuse his offers.”
“What’s the bottom line?” I can’t take not knowing. Just say it, Jayson.
“I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you, but you’re penniless. Mitch died with everything leveraged, including your family home. He’d borrowed everything possible from his life insurance policy and still owes a substantial amount to creditors.”
I blink, unable to fully process what Jayson is saying. I may understand the words, but I can’t yet figure how they affect me. How will my life change? I already lost my father. It seems impossible that things could get any worse. I barely have any money left over from working in the summer.
“Dmitri would never forgive me if I didn’t settle your father’s accounts and provide for you.”
Instinctively, I shake my head. “I can’t accept that. Dad wouldn’t want me to take charity.”
Jayson sighs, leaning back in his chair. He rubs the bridge of his nose again. “It wouldn’t be charity. I have a business proposition—of sorts—for you to consider.”
What kind of business could I assist with? I’m only a sophomore in college, studying botany, for crying out loud. Sure, a summer job is one thing, but I’m hardly qualified to work for the Satyros Corporation in earnest. Imports and exports? I’d be utterly lost. “What possible use could I be?”
“Sophie is gutted, as you can imagine.”
I feel a sharp pang in my chest. “How is she?” How could I have forgotten to ask about Dmitri’s daughter? So thoughtless. Being so lost in my own grief is no excuse. We’re all going through it.
“Physically, the doctors expect Sophie to make a full recovery.” Jayson grimaces. “However, I am not so confident about her mental state. She still doesn’t seem to fully grasp her father’s death.”
“That’s understandable.” I can relate. I’m nowhere near accepting my own father’s passing. It still seems like he’s going to come around the corner, rub my shoulder and ask me what I want for dinner. But, it’s been less than a week, and I know it will take time—for both me and Sophie. But where will she go? “What happens to Sophie now?”
“There is an aging aunt in Greece who will look after her, but Sophie is begging me not to send her away. Her life is here in New York, and she knows nothing of our homeland, aside from vacations spent on Trini Island and occasional visits to Greece.” Jayson leans forward, folding his hands together. “As such, I have agreed to keep her here, with me.”
I nod. “That sounds like the best solution. She’s already lost so much. It wouldn’t be fair to make her lose everything else.”
“I’m pleased you agree.” A strange expression lights his face. It sends a shiver down my spine, though I can’t say why.
“Back to my business proposition,” he says briskly. “I want you to marry me.”
I gasp. “Are you insane?” Jayson proposing marriage is almost as big a bombshell as Dad’s death. He’s the man I dream about, not a man I actually marry.
“Probably,” he says with a hint of tiredness. “Yet, I see no other option.”
“I don’t need you to take care of me, especially not by marrying me.” Briefly, I entertain the idea of what I might have said if Jayson proposed in other circumstance
s. Considering up till now he’s barely known that I’m alive, there would never be any other circumstances besides these improbable ones.
“It isn’t to take care of you, Harper. Well, I suppose it is in some ways. You’ll be well provided for, and I’ll make sure you have a more than generous settlement when we divorce.”
My eyes narrow. “I haven’t even agreed to marry you, and you’re already discussing getting a divorce?”
Jayson sighs. “Here’s the thing: I’m proposing a temporary arrangement, Harper. Let me assure you, the idea of marrying someone I barely know is as strange for me as it is for you.”
I look at him, dumbfounded. “What do you need me for? If you’re looking for a marriage of convenience, for whatever reason, I’m pretty sure you’d have a hundred candidates volunteering within an hour.” I force back a twinge of jealousy I realize I have no right to feel. But it’s true; Jayson is a hot commodity. Rich, sophisticated, and above all, incredibly sexy. He doesn’t need me.
“I could find someone else,” he concedes, “but that wouldn’t help Sophie.”
