Chapter 8 Seethe
SEETHE
RHODES
“Philips!”
I stormed down the hall, finding my butler calmly dusting a chess set in the sitting room.
“I need you.”
“Of course, Sir.”
He followed me down the hall towards my office, but I pulled him aside before we entered. “Who saw the girl?” I asked.
“No one but me and Yves,” Philips replied.
Relief flooded me until Philips cleared his throat. “But Mrs. Barrington has been upstairs in her suite all evening,” he continued. “There’s a possibility that she witnessed Ms. Harris’s arrival.”
Which was why I’d kissed the girl—just in case my step-monster had been spying on us. I wanted it to look real. But now I wished I’d never brought her here.
“Fuck!” I cursed, careful to keep my voice low. There might be other staff lurking nearby, spying. “I need to send her home.”
Philips remained composed, but asked, “How shall I explain her absence, if I’m questioned about it?”
I cursed again, louder this time. If Miranda had seen the girl arrive, I was doomed. I couldn’t just hire another escort and slap a ring on her finger—Miranda would know what I was up to.
“Wait here. I’m going to try and convince her to stay.”
I stalked back into my office.
Rory was still sitting in the chair, staring out the window at the darkness. She jumped up when she saw me. “Oh! I didn’t think you were coming back.”
“Sit,” I commanded again.
She scowled at me, but sank back down.
The girl was young—too young—and striking, with clear skin, brown eyes, reddish hair, and full lips.
But although she was quite pretty, and had a blowout and wore a classic two-piece designer suit, which showed off her long, toned legs, she wasn’t fooling anyone.
She was a fish out of water here at Barrington Manor.
She was too eager to please, too friendly—I’d almost died when she’d tried to shake Philips’s hand—and clearly had zero breeding or sophistication.
Her jaw had been hanging open since she’d arrived.
And yet, she was all I had.
“I need to make this work with you.” I took out the contract. “What can I do?”
“I don’t know,” she said quickly. “I want this to work, too. I know you don’t care about me and my problems, but I have some, and the money would solve them.”
“So we both want to proceed.” I nodded, encouraged in spite of my many reservations. “One thing you need to know: the term is non-negotiable. It’s part of my trust. We have to stay married for at least five years.”
She sighed, looking like it pained her. “Again, I know you don’t want to hear about my personal life, but I have one. So…”
“You said you have a younger brother and sister?”
She nodded.
“What’s the custodial arrangement?” I knew about such things because of my brother and Gigi. They’d fought over Luke for a year, even though all Gigi wanted was more money.
“There isn’t one,” the girl said. “Our mother took off with her boyfriend, and I’ve been taking care of the kids since then. We moved in with my grandmother, so they’re with her now. That’s why I was able to come here in the first place.”
“Can’t they just stay with your grandmother?” I asked. It seemed simple enough.
“I mean—maybe. But I want to be able to see them and take care of them. And I’m worried that if I’m gone, my mom might come back and mess with their heads. I don’t want any trouble, and I don’t want the state getting involved.” She held up her hands. “Sorry if that’s TMI about my life.”
“TMI?” I arched my eyebrow.
“Too Much Information.” She snorted. “You made it really clear that you don’t want to hear about my stuff.”
“True,” I said, “I don’t.” But the details of her situation gave me an idea, which I decided to use as a bargaining chip. “What if I offered to pay for you to get full legal custody of your brother and sister? That way, your mother wouldn’t have rights to them anymore.”
She sat forward, eyes wide. “You would do that?”
“If you agree to stay, yes. I have an excellent legal team—they never lose.”
“Can I see them sometimes?” she asked, her voice hitching with emotion. “I don’t want to never see them again.”
“Of course,” I said, without thinking it through.
When my legal team had prepared the contract for this arrangement, we’d discussed money, terms, and non-disclosure provisions.
We hadn’t considered the more personal side of things, but now I didn’t have a choice.
I had to get married as soon as possible.
This girl was here, she was willing, and Miranda had already seen her. I had to make this work.
I was, in essence, trapped.
“It’s not going to be a secret that we’re getting married.
Everyone has a family—including you. I value privacy over most everything else, but I’m sure we can present this to your relatives in a way that they understand.
You can see them at agreed-upon intervals, and no one will be the wiser about the origins of our relationship. Is that satisfactory?”
She nodded, and I didn’t hesitate. I pulled out the contract and handed it to her. “Excellent. Please read this and sign on the last page.”
She handed it back to me. “Can you please write in the part about me getting custody of Josie and Bo, and you paying for it?”
“Of course.” I longed to level her with a withering stare, but I would wait until the ink of her signature was dry.
Once I’d finished, I handed the contract back to her. To my surprise, she took her time reading it, frowning when she read some sections, eyes widening in surprise over others. When she’d finished, she put the contract on my desk without signing it.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“I have a couple of questions.” Her brow furrowed, and it was impossible not to notice her unselfconscious beauty. “Why do I get paid all the money at the end? Most jobs, you get paid as you go.”
“Most jobs don’t have the underpinnings that this one has—I only get fully vested control of Barrington Enterprises if I’m married for five years.
If I offer you a contract that pays, say, by the year, I’m screwed if you decide three million dollars is enough, and you leave at the end of year three.
I need protections in place so that you’ll stay. ”
“That makes sense, but…” She tilted her head and looked at me. “I don’t understand why getting married is a term in your trust.”
I met her gaze. “That makes two of us.”
“But seriously, you must have some idea. Why would your family make you get married to inherit the company? Why would they make you stay married for five years?”
I eyed the contract, then her. “Why aren’t you signing?”
She sighed. “Because what’s wrong with you? What don’t I know? Why would anybody make their kid get married and stay married in order to run the family business?”
I sat back in my chair. I hadn’t anticipated her line of questioning. I thought she’d see the dollar signs, and the custody provision, and gladly sign her life away. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
That disarmed her a little, and her shoulders relaxed. “Why do you think?”
“Probably because my father wanted me to be settled. And my brother has a child—Luke, he’s four—and I’m his guardian now,” I said quietly.
Rory’s eyes widened. “You’re taking care of your nephew?”
“He has a full-time nanny, but yes.” I wasn’t sure why I felt so defensive.
“So you think they wanted you to get married so the kid would have another parent?” she asked.
I nodded. “They probably wanted to make sure that the child had stability and warmth to grow up with.”
Rory arched an eyebrow. “And they didn’t think you could provide that on your own?”
“Enough of these questions. I don’t have time to waste.” I scowled at her. “Are you in, or are you out?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m going to need that five hundred thousand right away. I know you don’t want to hear about my problems, but trust me when I say I have them.”
“Anything illicit?” I asked.
She frowned, like maybe I’d insulted her. “No—we’re behind on our mortgage. Elena did a criminal background check on me, you know.” Her face reddened.
I waved it away. “I didn’t mean to imply anything.” If only I would shut my big mouth and she would sign. “I promise that as soon as you sign, I’ll wire the funds into your account. And if you need help paying off the mortgage, I can facilitate that.”
“You would do that?”
I nodded.
“Can you make that part of the contract?” She shoved the papers toward me.
“Sure.” Gritting my teeth, I added yet another provision to the agreement, outlining the steps I’d take to ensure that the mortgage was satisfied. When I handed her the papers back, she smiled.
“Thank you.” She signed.
No wonder she was smiling. The girl had persuaded me to add two contractual terms to my offer that benefited her, while giving up nothing. Points for Ms. Harris.
For better or much more likely worse, I also signed the contract. Then I pulled a jewelry box from my desk drawer. “You’re going to need to wear this.” I opened the box, revealing a stunning six-carat oval ring, and she squinted at it like maybe it was blinding her.
“That’s crazy!”
I sighed as I handed the box to her, and she slid the ring onto her finger. We both stared at the enormous diamond.
She glanced up at me. “This is really beautiful.”
“It should be. It cost me a million dollars.”
She coughed, sounding like she might choke.
“Okay, Ms. Harris—Rory. Let’s get you to bed.”
She glanced at me, cheeks flushing, suddenly nervous. “Am I staying with you?”
“Not right now. I thought it would be best if you started off in your own suite, and then after we’re married, we can begin sharing a room.”
She nodded, regaining her composure. “That sounds good.”
“Fine. I’ll have Philips bring you to your room.” I brought her out to the hall where the ever-faithful Philips waited. This time, I found him straightening some of the original artwork on the walls.
“Philips? Please show Ms. Harris to her room.”
“Of course, Sir.”
I was about to depart for the safety of my office when the sound of heels echoed down the hallway. “Rhodes? Is that you?” A voice called.
Turns out, you could make a bad day worse.
My stepmother was heading our way.