Chapter Two
No one wants to watch their parent die.
It’s one of the hardest things to do—sitting by and watching them deteriorate before your very eyes without being able to do a single thing to stop it.
I’d already done it once with my mother.
Mom passed away before I was barely six years old. She was there one day and gone the next. Quicker than a blink, she vanished from my young life.
The harsh reality was that losing her didn’t change much for me. She was rarely at home, taking every chance to jet across the world with her friends, and only came home whenever my dad required her. When she did spend any length of time at home, she acted more like a distant relative than my mother.
Getting older, I soon realized that she never wanted the family life. She married my dad for his wealth and the protection it gave her. She bore his children because that was what he wanted.
He wanted heirs and she gave them to him without a thought. Whatever it took to keep the money flowing into her bank account.
Her death was a distant, foggy memory.
Dad’s, however, was crystal clear. His health had taken a serious dip in the past couple months. The man was as stubborn as a mule and refused to speak to our family doctor until I practically trapped him in the same room as the medical professional.
When the doctor finally checked him over and ran countless tests, the news we all tried to ignore was confirmed.
Lexington Reynolds was dying and there was nothing we could do to stop it.
I didn’t want to lose him, not after watching my fiancé walk out the door without rhyme or reason. I didn’t want to watch the one man in my life who truly loved me die.
Every time I faced the harsh reality of life without him, my stomach violently twisted itself until I vomited.
My dad. My rock. My lifeline in a storm.
And selfishly, his illness meant my life was about to no longer be my own.
“Stefan is here to see you,” Polly said as I entered the kitchen. “I told him to wait for you in your father’s office.”
I swallowed the groan of annoyance. “Where’s Flynn? He is better at dealing with Stefan than me.”
Polly chuckled. “That man is the closest thing your dear father has to a brother.”
“Doesn’t make him any less creepy. I mean, just being in the same room as him gives me the ick.”
She shook her head in disapproval, yet the knowing smile on her face confirmed that she thought the same about my mother’s only brother.
Stefan Ryans may have been my uncle, but he acted as if we were commodities, not family. He only showed up whenever he was looking for something, mainly money, or because he had once again landed himself in hot water and needed his brother-in-law to dig him out of a deep shithole.
Time and time again, my father would do it without question.
Dad always said, ‘family comes first, no matter what’. A constant reminder that no matter how much I disliked Stefan or thought he was nothing more than a sleazebag who used my dad like a walking bank machine, he was still regrettably family.
“Flynn isn’t home.” Polly handed me a cup of freshly brewed coffee with three sugars and a healthy dash of sweetened creamer. “I haven’t seen your brother since Friday afternoon. He stopped by for something to eat and then left before I got the chance to clean away his plate.”
Damnit.
My brother’s disappearances were nothing new. He tended to take himself off for days at a time doing God only knew what, and resurfaced moments before I rang the cops and reported him as a missing person.
“Ring Saunders. Tell him to locate Flynn and bring him home by noon.” I popped another cube of sugar into my cup. “I don’t care if he has to knock him out and drag him home. Tell him to do whatever is necessary to get him back here before I go out there myself.”
Normally, I tried not to care what my brother was doing or who he was doing during his long stints away from home. But we were weeks away from becoming the new bosses of Reynolds Regality Jewels. Everyone was watching us, waiting in the shadows and ready to pounce at our mistakes for no other reason than to undermine us.
Our father made a lot of enemies on the way to the top. They were never able to touch him, but I knew that, like sharks circling blood, they were biding their time for the opportune moment to strike.
I took a sip of my coffee. “Don’t let Dad know that he isn’t home yet. It will only worry him, and the doctor said he is to try and remain as unstressed as possible. His blood pressure hasn’t been the best this weekend.”
“Will do,” Polly said. “We’ll get him home. Don’t worry another moment about it.”
“I’ll go and deal with the other problem upstairs.” I drained my coffee. “If I am not back in fifteen minutes, come up and save me.”
Leaving the kitchen, I physically dragged myself up the stairs to my father’s office. Was this what my life would become once I was in charge? Meetings upon meetings with people who I disliked, listening to them talk about things that served me no purpose? Having to pretend to care about people who would plunge a knife between my shoulder blades the second I turned my back?
This wasn’t what I wanted.
Don’t get me wrong, being the daughter of a multi-million-dollar jewelry tycoon had done a lot for me in life. It gave me the security to do whatever I wished, paying for my university education and ensuring that I never wanted for anything.
But I never wanted to take over the family business.
I never wanted to be the CEO.
Pushing my shoulders back, I smoothed the creases from my dress and opened the office door. Old books and smoking tobacco greeted me. It smelt like Dad. Despite his absence from his office the past two months, the place still held his presence.
My steps faltered upon entering the room, the air in my lungs seizing and a coat of red-tinged mist lacing my sight.
“Good morning, little niece.”
Stefan lounged in my father’s chair, his booted feet resting on the large custom-made mahogany table before him. Pieces of paper and notebooks were pushed to the side in disregard while he aimlessly toyed with a lighter in one hand.
Hot pricks of anger scorched behind my eyes. No one had sat in Dad’s chair since his illness.
“Stefan.” I forced a painful smile. “Always a pleasure to have you in our home.”
“You lie so sweetly.” Stefan flicked the lighter to life. “Something else you inherited from my dear sister. She could lie through her teeth with a smile that would melt even the coldest of hearts, too.”
There was a lot I got from my mother. Her bright red hair. Her dusting of freckles across the bridge of my nose and cheeks. My quick-to-boil temper and dry humor.
The only thing Reynolds about me was my eyes.
“Please sit.” Stefan motioned to the chair on the other side of the desk. “We have much to discuss.”
I refused to sit, opting to stand behind the chair and gripping the leather cushioned back. Whatever it took to stop myself lunging across the table and wiping the sly smirk off his face.
Stefan eyed me, his lazy gaze trickling from my head to my waist. “It won’t be long now.”
“Be more specific. I don’t have time for your vagueness today.”
“Old Daddy Reynolds. It won’t be long until he is buried alongside my sister.” He flicked the lighter again. “Two, maybe three months from what I hear, correct?”
It wasn’t public knowledge how truly sick Dad was. Many were led to believe that he was simply stepping aside and relinquishing control of the company to his children due to wanting to retire. The true nature of his illness was kept under wraps, with our public affairs team working night and day to avoid it leaking out. The chances it could scare off investors and partners, or plummet the share price, was too risky.
Stefan always was a sneaky fucker. It didn’t surprise me that he knew the truth.
“Are you ready to be the next CEO of a company as large as your father’s?” Stefan mused. “It’s a lot of responsibility. The empire your daddy made… gosh, it would be very easy for it to go wrong with someone with no experience in such fields. After all, what is it you do again?”
I refused to answer him. He knew very well what I did for a living.
“Oh yes, that’s right. You’re a blogger or something.” His grin turned feral. “Not sure how much help that is going to be when you’re in your daddy’s boots for a year.”
“And let me guess, dear Uncle. You think you’d do a much better job than me?” I laughed falsely. “Last time I checked, you work in a personal security firm, which hardly makes you more qualified to take over a multi-million-dollar jewelry industry.”
“And you simply being born a Reynolds means you are capable of doing the job?”
“More capable than you.”
I refused to let someone so insignificant get under my skin despite the way his words grated against each of my nerves like rusty nails on a chalkboard.
Stefan tipped his head back and chuckled. “Evie, we both know you have as much interest in running the company as a penguin in the desert. But considering how unreliable your brother is these days; we can at least agree your father is smart by putting you in charge until young Flynn grows up.” He stood suddenly. “I only fear, little niece, that you will not be able to handle it, and those beneath you in the company will jump at the chance to see you fail.”
The air in my chest tightened. Stefan wasn’t completely wrong. I never wanted to be in charge. I understood it was only for one year, to let Flynn finish his degree, and then he’d take over. However, with the way my brother was behaving, his recklessness and inability to grow up, I feared that he may never be ready to take over.
“I do have a way that might be able to help you,” Stefan said. “A way to show all the investors and partners that you mean business, that you actually have what it takes to do the job.” He moved around the table, fingertips sliding along the wooden surface and leaving smears in their wake. “My idea can help you in more ways than one.”
Where the hell was Polly?
My spine stiffened as the scent of stale cigarettes assaulted my nostrils. “What makes you think I’d take anything from you, let alone advice?”
Stefan stopped inches from me. “Don’t you want Reynolds Regality Jewels to thrive? Don’t you want to show your poor sick daddy that you can handle his legacy? His entire life’s work? That you won’t squander it away and leave it in ruins because you didn’t listen to me?”
I said nothing.
“A proposition has arisen,” Stefan continued. “A mutually beneficial one. Like most of the marriages within your circles, a proposal has been offered your way from Frederic Dade.”
It was my turn to laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Frederic Dade was one of the most uptight people I’d ever had the misfortune of meeting. What he lacked in interpersonal skills, he more than made up for in his business. He was ruthless, and over the past seven years, he’d grown Dade Diamonds to be one of Dad’s biggest competitors. I could appreciate his thirst and drive for success, but the man could make as much conversation as a damn rock.
“I’m not marrying Frederic Dade,” I said. “First and foremost, our company does not need his. Secondly, I made it clear to my father that I will not marry for any reason other than love.”
“Evelyn, grow up.” Stefan rolled his eyes. “You belong to a world where love is worthless. No one as wealthy as you marries for love. You’re a fool if you don’t think Reynolds Regality Jewels could benefit from Dade Diamonds.”
“I don’t care.”
I meant what I said.
Stefan was right—most, if not all my friends and those who lived within the high society of New York married for no other reason than personal gain.
I never wanted that.
My dad had promised me that if I chose to marry someone, it would be my own decision and for the sole reason of love.
It’s why I chose Laurence. We were marrying each other because we were in love, or at least, used to be.
“Think about it.” Stefan’s hand gripped my arm. I tried to remain unbothered. “You have no idea what it takes to run your father’s company. You were never trained. It was always meant to be Flynn.” His fingertips tightened. “Marrying someone as business savvy as a Dade will help you run the company. Chase away all those waiting on you to fail away.”
I didn’t have a clue about being an interim CEO. Something I told my dad time and time again, but he refused to listen. He feared that letting an outsider do it was too risky.
A marriage to someone who understood what it was to be a CEO would be highly beneficial.
But, why did it have to be Frederic Dade?
From what I read about Dade Diamonds, they were not struggling in terms of wealth. Why would they want to align themselves with us? It was true that we held two of the largest markets. Maybe even the stoic Frederic knew he had little chance of stealing them.
Shrugging Stefan’s touch off, my nose crinkled at his sly smirk. “I don’t need to marry Frederic Dade to be a passable CEO. I have learned many things from my father, and if he believes I am ready to lead the company, then that’s all I need.” I stepped back and walked to the office door, cursing Polly under my breath for not showing up to save me. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have things to do today.”
Stefan sighed heavily. “Don’t be a fool, little niece. Don’t let your pride get in the way. Frederic’s offer won’t last forever.”
“Since when do you work for Frederic Dade?” I said, calmer than I felt.
“Since I helped him when his brother-in-law refused.” Frederic’s emotionless voice sent a shudder through my spine the second he opened the office door. “Apologies for my tardiness.”
Black hair, blue unflinching eyes, and an aura that rivaled an iceberg.
Bile scorched the back of my throat as nerves rattled from the bottom of my feet up to the top of my head. “What are you doing here?”
Frederic stepped into the room, straightening his black tie. “Offering you a lifeline.”
“As I was already telling your associate here, I am not interested in anything you have to offer,” I said with a fierceness that shocked me. “Now, it’s impolite to remain somewhere you are both unwanted.”
“My offer—” Frederic ignored me. “—is a simple one. Marriage for the year you are CEO. In exchange for providing you with the tools and one-to-one help on how to do what Lexington expects from you, all I ask is for you to enter into a working partnership at the end of the year.”
“What do you mean a working partnership?”
“Your European clients and general monopoly of the continent,” he said bluntly. “After the year, before Flynn takes over, our companies will no longer be competitors but rather allies. Something your father has never been willing to consider.”
I needed to leave the room. Dad was only down the hall. If he knew what was happening, he’d have a heart attack on the spot. “Then what the hell makes you think I am going to consider it?”
Frederic picked a piece of invisible lint from his sleeve. “No one believes you can do this, Ms. Reynolds. You are a journalist by trade. Lexington is sick and in crisis mode. He cannot put Flynn in charge yet, and he has little other choice than you. My offer will provide you with the ability to actually pull off the impossible.”
“By marrying you?” I blurted, unable to hide the disdain in my voice.
He shook his head. “Not me. Lucky for the both of us, my divorce has still not been finalized.”
“Then who?”
“Mon frère, Jaxon. Marriages start worse ways, Ms. Reynolds. Utilize this opportunity to have the help you will need for one year, that’s all, and for a small exchange. Simple as that.”
Simple as that.
“Don’t you want to make your dad proud?” Stefan said. “Don’t you want him to be able to leave this world peacefully without having to worry that his life’s work isn’t going to turn to rubble because you couldn’t handle it for a year?”
Fuck.
Fucking fuck.
My dad gave me everything in life. He never pushed me into anything, and I knew that making me CEO for a year was hurting him as much as it hurt me. Surely after everything he did for me, I could do this one thing to make him happy?
No.
I couldn’t marry for such a calculated reason. It was absurd.
I needed to get out of the office quickly.
“This isn’t about you,” Frederic drawled. “This is about your father and showing him that you can handle yourself.”
“You say that like marriage is something small,” I bit back. “Marriage is meant to mean something, to me at least.”
“It’s only a piece of paper.” Frederic shrugged. “Be warned, my offer is a one-time thing, Ms. Reynolds. If you refuse and plummet your father’s company into the ground, the Reynolds name will be a laughingstock. You will always be remembered as the woman who destroyed her dying father’s legacy, and unfortunately, you’ll be completely on your own. Can you handle that?”
Bastard.
Teeth skimmed my bottom lip. “For one year?”
Frederic nodded. “One year, and then you get a divorce, go back to your life and pretend the whole thing never happened.”
Between losing my dad in slow motion, Laurence walking away, and Flynn being no help to me, I knew that I was going to struggle to survive the year.
They always said it was a lonely place at the top. But what Frederic was offering meant that I wouldn’t have to do it alone.
Slowly, I dipped my chin once. “I’ll do it.”
An unnerving grin fell across Frederic’s face, making me realize in that moment that I just made a deal with the devil, and the devil never played fair.