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He sniggers. “No.” He sits in his office chair. “You’ll get free run of the house and garden.”
“And after I’ve had the baby?”
“I will transfer one hundred thousand pounds into your bank, set you up in a house, and walk away.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You can’t.”
“So, why should I agree?”
“Because you have no other options.” He sighs. “Grace, you have no home, no family looking for you, no friend—”
“Thanks to you.”
“No money. I can solve two of those problems. Take the deal. It’s the best a woman like you is going to get.”
I think over his words. I don’t have a choice, not really. And I don’t believe for a second I’ll get out of here alive if I refuse, but it’ll buy me some time.
“You can’t kiss me,” I state, feeling the need to implement some rules so I at least feel a little in control. He bites his lower lip, hiding a smirk. “Or stay in my bed. It’s just sex, and then you have to leave.” He nods once. “And you can’t see other women. I don’t want to catch anything.” He remains quiet. “And I want to choose my house. The second I give birth, I want to see the money transferred.”
“Okay.”
“If I get a chance to escape, I’m going to take it.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
IVAN
Maxim enters my office. “I need you to gather some house listings together. Not around here—the farther away, the better.”
“Are you looking to invest?” he asks.
I smirk. “It’s to fool Grace into thinking she’s got a life after me.”
“You’ve told her your plan?”
“Part of it. The part where she’s having my child.”
“Then what happens?”
“You take her on a drive to what she thinks will be her fresh start. I’ve decided she’s too . . . much to keep around.”
“So, there is no fresh start?”
“Not in this lifetime, Maxim, no.” He bites his lower lip, and I sigh. “Spit it out, I know you want to say something.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to let her leave after watching her bring your child into this world, boss?”
“She’s a means to an end. There will be nothing between us.”
“And you plan on raising this child alone?”
“There are things such as live-in nannies,” I say with a laugh.
“With the upmost respect, Ivan,” he says cautiously, “if it’s a child you want, there are other ways. For a start, you don’t need to have sex.”
I laugh again. “And where would the fun be in that? Grace was brought into my life for a reason. This is it.”
