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CHAPTER5
ARCHER
I wasn’t expectingher to argue like this. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, I don’t know her that well. This was all supposed to be hashed out before I got here to begin with, if her father had done what he was supposed to.
“Youwillmarry him,” Spencer barks, looking appalled that she’s even questioning it. “You will do it for your family. For everything we’ve worked toward, and I don’t want to hear another question about it.”
My jaw tightens because of the harsh tone he uses with her. It seems completely unnecessary. Did she make a mistake? Yes. But he’s persecuting her for having sex. She’s an adult. The man she slept with was an adult. It isn’t her fault he was a total dick and used her for some absurd revenge plot.
I understand her unwillingness to want to marry me. It’s the same feeling I had when my father told me what had to be done. I just always saw her as someone who does as she’s told, but in this instance, she’s doing anything she can to defy her father’s wishes.
With a deep breath, I stand up. My palms press into the top of Spencer’s desk as I lean in close to him. I’m already annoyed that there’s a good chance I’ll miss my next meeting, but this is more important. If I go to my father without finalizing the deal, he might disown me andfind a new heir.
He’s frothing at the mouth to have the contracts signed. For us to finally have a part of Bishop Hotels. Something we were supposed to have a partnership in years ago before Winnie’s great-grandfather split Bishop-Moore Hotels into two and made sure to take as much as he could.
“Can Winnie and I have a moment?” I ask slowly, looking into Spencer’s eyes.
I’m sure he isn’t a bad man—or maybe he is. I know my family’s hands aren’t clean. But I don’t like the way he’s speaking to his daughter, no matter my disinterest in marrying her. She’s a victim here, and it’s really bothering me how much it angers me to hear him talk to her like this.
Spencer narrows his eyes on me. I admire the guy for trying to pretend that he’s the one in control. He isn’t. He knows it. I know it. I’m sure Winnie knows it, too. I hold all of the cards, and if I want to speak to his daughter—the woman who is supposed to be my wife come tomorrow—alone, then I will.
“Anything you need to say to her can be said to me,” Spencer argues, casting a quick look to Winnie. She doesn’t say anything. She sits there, her cheeks pink as she stares between the two of us, her face completely emotionless.
A cold laugh escapes from deep in my chest. Just because I can, I reach out and grab the expensive pen from its holder on Spencer’s desk. I twirl it between my fingers, shaking my head back and forth. When I meet his eyes again, I make sure all humor is wiped from my features. “Let me rephrase this. I’m going to talk to my future wife—alone. You can leave your office or direct us to a more private location. The choice is yours.”
He lets out a loud huff, not giving any indication that he’s going to move. Always a man of my word, I roll my eyes and turn to Winnie.
“You’re coming with me,” I demand, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and pulling her from the chair. To my shock, she doesn’t protest, at least at first. The moment I lead her into a small office and shut the door, she’s opening her mouth to speak.
“I’m not marrying you, Archer,” she states, ripping her hand from mine.
This office is only big enough to fit a small desk and an old filing cabinet. I take a moment to look around, wondering if this is actually someone’s office or not. It seems empty. There isn’t an empty office at our Manhattan headquarters. We’re constantly expanding to keep up with demand.
“Did you hear me?” Winnie interrupts my thoughts. She’s on the other side of the small room, her hips resting against the windowsill. Her hands are folded across her chest in a defensive position.
“I did,” I answer, resting my shoulder against the wall. I mimic her position, folding my arms across my chest. There’s a desk between us, but it still feels like we’re chest to chest by the way we intensely stare at one another.
I hate the dull look in her eyes as they find mine. “So you understand, then? I won’t marry you.”
She surprises me. To the outside world, she seems like the perfect little doll for her father to use to his advantage, but behind closed doors, she seems to have more of an opinion than people would expect. I like that.
I guess Ishouldremember that Winnie has a bit of a wild side. I’ve seen it before.
“Youwillmarry me.”
Her mouth pops open. I try not to focus on her perfect, pink lips. “No.”
“Yes.”
She lets out an aggravated sigh, twisting her fingers through the ends of her ponytail. “People don’t do arranged marriages anymore, Archer,” she comments, her hands settling on her hips.
I lift a shoulder. “Sure they do. It happens all the time in our world.”
“If I wanted to marry for advantage, I would’ve marriedanyother man but you. Plenty have asked.”
I’m sure they have. She’s more than ten yearsyounger than me, but the moment she graduated college and started attending more social events, all of the men began to talk about her. Everyone wanted her. She was beautiful and the only daughter of a powerful man. Men wanted to get in bed with her family. But she’s right. As far as I’m aware, she hadn’t given anyone the time of day.
At least, she wasn’t giving anyone with social status attention. Turns out, her preference was an employee who is so worthless he shouldn’t even exist in the same world as her.
