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“Are you adding litigation to my record, in addition to being fired?” My heart skips a beat as the words leave my mouth. They sound less joking and more… worried.
Rather than answer, Bellamy wrenches open the door on his side and steps out onto the curb. I take my time before following, fully convinced that if the bastard plans to humiliate me further, I won’t hesitate to leave him a parting gift right over one of his beautiful eyes.
I’ve barely taken a step in his direction before he turns on me and grabs one of my hands from my side.
“Name your price,” he tells me, his tone gruff, his eyes an icy shade of blue. “Any number.”
“F-For what?” I don’t like how serious he sounds. How stern he looks. This past week I’ve grown accustomed to the mocking, shameless side of him. I’d almost forgotten just how intimidating he could seem.
“You,” he gruffly replies. Before I can take offense, he adds, “I have a proposal to keep you out of Adrian Riley’s crosshairs. Will you accept it?”
I attempt to disentangle his hand from mine. “Well, it depends on what it is—”
“An agreement,” he says, releasing his grip. He turns on his heel and approaches the entrance to the law offices. One of his hands tugs at his collar while the other pushes open the main door. “One that admittedly benefits us both.”
I instantly don’t like the sound of that. “How so?”
He nods toward the entryway of the office, beckoning me inside—but I don’t move a single muscle. Graeme Bellamy, in all the time I’ve known him, rarely acted like this. Secretive. Vague. Evasive. Those traits, in fact, have only appeared more recently.
Right after the first time we had sex, in fact.
“What exactly does this ‘arrangement’ consist of?” I gather up the nerve to ask.
It feels like an eternity that he holds my gaze, his mouth set in that stern frown that would send many of his business partners scurrying for cover. Finally, he sighs and attempts to close the door, forcing me to step inside or be caught in the doorway. “I’m making you an offer that you can’t refuse,” he says without turning to face me. “One that solves both of our familial problems.”
“Like what?” Be re-hired as his assistant? Help him infiltrate Adrian Riley’s club so that he can set it on fire? Pay off Danny’s debt and send him to a secluded island where he can’t get into trouble.
He turns then, and my heart lurches to the back of my throat. The look in his eye catches me off guard—raw, piercing emotion that I’ve never seen in him. Or maybe I’ve only seen glimpses up until now. This vulnerable part of him that seems somewhat… human.
His jaw is clenching again. He’s no longer staring at me directly, but at the wall behind my head—ruthlessly, as if he’d like nothing more than for it to crumble into pieces. “I see only one solution. Family members and wives are off-limits according to his silly rules—”
I frown. “So… are you replacing me with Gloria?”
“Bloody hell no.” He grimaces. “My solution is simpler than that—I’ll keep ownership of the club but let Alexander take charge. Then, to keep you out of Riley’s crosshairs… I want you to marry me.”
CHAPTER36
evie
Ithink I faint—or whatever it’s called when you lose your balance and need to cling to the nearest solid surface to keep from falling face forward. It doesn’t help that that “surface” happens to be Graeme Bellamy’s arm. I promptly shove him off, only to find myself staggering back against the nearest wall instead and using it for support.
“You’re insane.” I’m surprised by just how much genuine pity leeches into my voice. Poor Graeme Bellamy. The man may be a total ass, but no one deserves to damage their mental health before the age of forty. “You really are actuallyinsane—”
“What’s so insane about it?” he snaps. His eyes touch onto that molten hue of indigo, and he adjusts his tie with a brutal twitch of his wrist. “You’ve spent three years by my side. It should be only a formality to marry me. You’ll have access to my money, of course, to settle your brother’s debts—”
“You’re serious.” My throat goes dry as my brain scrambles to comprehend his logic. Too much. More than enough. It’s disgusting how easy it is for him to throw dollar bills at his problems in the hopes they disappear. “What if I don’t want your money?”
He blinks. Then he throws his head back and laughs, long and beautifully. The sound takes on a dangerous edge as it trails off, however. Like the sound a car’s engine makes right before it stalls out. “What else could you possibly want?”
It’s a good question, considering that a part of me is wondering that same thing. “Well… peace, for one. Being around you hasn’t exactly brought me much of that.”
But it has brought me a sense of purpose that I can’t deny. Fighting with him in a luxurious penthouse has, admittedly, been way more fun than scurrying from apartment to apartment, outrunning my past.
“Peace.” He scoffs. “With the amount I’m offering, you can buy a bloody island and live in peace.”
Something inside me shrivels into a ball when I realize he’s probably right. “I don’t…” Trying to find the right words, I shake my head. In the end, all I come up with is, “There are things in the world more important than money.”
“I know that.” The look that transforms his features catches me off guard. Is this actual sincerity? “Use whatever excuse you will, Evelyn, but admit the obvious. Your real hang-up is that you couldn’t last one day as my wife.”
