AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Give us a few minutes alone, Miss Carter,” I said, and she nodded.
I didn’t speak again until she was gone, with the door closed behind her.
“What did Grandpa tell you?” I asked, surprised that they were here asking me what happened.
I was sure that grandpa would have filled them in on his conditions for my inheritance. It affected them, too. Dylan, with his knack for numbers and organization, was the company CFO. Hayden held the position of COO, making him the president of the company, in the position directly beneath me. We all had an equal stake in KeenTech.
“He didn’t say much, just told us to ask you about it,” Hayden said, taking a seat in one of the two chairs across from me. He propped his feet up on my desk and ignored the glare I set his way. “He was really shady about it too.”
“So, what’s going on?” Dylan asked, still standing.
I sighed and rubbed my fingers across my forehead. I didn’t really have a reason to hide the truth from them, and as unreasonable as my grandpa was being, I wasn’t sure that I was willing to lose something as important as the family company by defying his decree.
“Grandpa wants me to get married.”
A moment of silence followed my statement until Hayden chuckled.
“To whom?” Dylan asked.
“Apparently, I’m supposed to find someone to fall in love with in the next few weeks,” I said in a dry tone. “Oh, and she has to love me back enough to marry me.”
“He’s barking up the wrong tree for that.” Hayden shook his head.
“Yeah, well, he’s not exactlyasking,” I said, my annoyance at the situation evident in my voice. “If I don’t get hitched soon, he won’t leave the company to me.”
Dylan’s jaw dropped at the implications of that possibility. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
“I wish I was. He made it clear. He wants to know I’m in a happy marriage before he…passes on.” My chest hurt just thinking about my grandpa’s condition. “I don’t know how the hell he expects me to manage that.”
“Well, you know what you have to do so we don’t lose the business,” Hayden chimed in, looking unconcerned. “Man up and do it. Find a woman to marry.”
“You think it’s that easy?” I asked incredulously. “Make someone fall for me that quickly?”
“No, not with your grumpy attitude,” Hayden went on. “But you can definitely find someone topretendto love you.”
Dylan’s eyes lit up at the idea and he nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“None of this makes sense,” I pointed out, and ran a hand through my hair in frustration.
“Okay, no it doesn’t,” Dylan agreed, then shrugged, as if that didn’t matter. “But you have to do what’s best for the company. Just keep that in the front of your mind. You’re the oldest and supposed to be in charge. It’s your birthright. I’m only interested in finance and we both know Hayden is well-suited for the day-to-day operations and administrative stuff, but you are the glue that holds this place together.”
“Yeah, so just open your wallet and pay off someone to marry you for a few months,” Hayden said, as if it were that simple. “It’s not like you can’t afford it.”
I narrowed my gaze at my brother. “That’s easy foryouto say. You’re not the one that has to actuallydoit.”
“It won’t be real,” Dylan pointed out.
“No, but I have to act like it is if I’m going to convince Grandpa that I’m a happily married man,” I grumbled. “Trust me, with the way he was talking, I’m going to have to make it seem real.”
That was the part that really bothered me. The idea of faking it occurred to me last night, but that would mean that I would have to find someone that I could live with for around six months. That seemed nearly impossible.
CHAPTERTWO
Mia
Something was going on with my boss.
Logan always had the whole moody and broody thing going for him, but he was worse than normal today. It was unusual for both of his brothers to visit him since the three men ran this whole company, and that kept them all rather busy in different departments, but they stayed for nearly half an hour, shut up in the office and discussing something private.
