Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
I glided my hand down the front of my shirt then centered my cuff links, a birthday gift from Knox. I was minutes away from meeting Lily at the altar. We were to be married in a simple ceremony on my rooftop terrace. It was going to be an informal—but well-documented—affair.
If I’d ever planned to marry for real, this was how I would’ve done it—small, simple, intimate. Though, I would’ve invited my siblings.
I frowned at the thought. Not inviting them felt like a mistake, but it also meant that nothing would stand in the way of my wedding Lily. I still didn’t know how I was going to tell my family after the fact. Or how they’d react. Though, one thing was for certain; they were going to have a lot of questions.
I sighed.
Perhaps sensing my distress, Prince Albert nudged his head against my leg. I smoothed my hand over his fur, wondering where Queen V was. Probably with Lily. My dogs loved her, especially Queen V.
“Cold feet?” Pierce asked.
“I’m not getting any younger,” I said, trying to remind myself of all the reasons I was doing this. “The sooner we’re married, the sooner I control the board.”
“I know I pushed for this, but we can find another way to get the shares.”
“We’ve been trying everything we can think of for fifteen months. We’re running out of time, and this is our best option.” Our only option, really. Moretti’s offer was like a ticking time bomb.
I avoided Pierce’s reflection in the mirror where he stood behind me. Instead, I kept my eyes focused on my jacket, smoothing out invisible wrinkles. As far as I could tell, everything was falling into place.
“Why? Did Liliana say something to you?” I turned to face Pierce.
He’d visited Liliana at the penthouse yesterday to go over the remaining legal documents. Had she said something to him then? Expressed reservations? Had Josephine tried to talk her out of it?
I hadn’t spent much time with Liliana since returning to LA, but I’d been swamped with meetings and calls and emails. She was often asleep when I returned home, and I knew she’d been busy with fittings and work obligations of her own.
So far, our engagement was barely affecting my life. If anything, it was better. Queen V and Prince Albert seemed to enjoy her company, and she’d sent me pictures from their walks. Otherwise, she mostly kept to her room and herself.
I hoped it would remain that way even after we were married. Not that I didn’t like Liliana. But I couldn’t let our fake relationship get in the way of my plans. As soon as I was in possession of those extra shares, I wanted to hit the ground running.
“No.” Pierce blew out a breath. “She didn’t say anything. I only hope you realize what you’re getting into.”
“With her?” I frowned.
“And the chateau. That’s one hell of a project.” He let out a low whistle. “And unlike your other projects, you won’t have control over the chateau or the restoration. Liliana is running the show, and I hope she knows what she’s doing. Otherwise, you can kiss your twenty-million-dollar investment goodbye.”
Did I like the idea of giving up control? No. But I’d been thorough with my research, and I had faith in her.
“She does,” I said, annoyed by his interference. I’d done my own due diligence. But I’d also listened to her plans, watched her videos. She had a vision, and she had the fortitude to see it through. Now, she’d have the money.
He fell silent, but I could feel the tension thickening in the room. Soon, you’d be able to cut it with a knife.
Finally, I asked, “What’s this really about?” Pierce was one of the few people I trusted not to bullshit me.
He sighed, looked toward the ceiling as if seeing guidance. “I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
“And you think I’ll regret marrying Lily.”
I’d made my decision. Liliana was set to walk down the aisle in minutes. Now was not the time for second-guessing.
“Not necessarily.” He shifted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tux. “But I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t ask if you were sure.”
“I’m sure.”
I was so sick of letting the board run amok. I was done with veiled threats and fears. I’d done everything in my power to keep the company from falling into the hands of an idiot like Donahue. And there was no way in hell I was going to let him destroy everything my grandparents had worked for in a “merger.”
I spun my grandfather’s ring on my pinkie finger and stilled. Pops.
I wondered what he’d think of my solution. Would he find it clever, misguided, or downright deceptive?
Everything I’d done was to make them proud. To live up to their legacy. To try to be a worthy successor.
And this… I massaged my temples. A fake marriage. A sham. I swallowed hard. I didn’t have to wonder what they’d think; I knew exactly how they’d feel about dishonesty and deception.
I didn’t want to let Liliana down. I knew how much she had riding on our agreement. And I wasn’t someone who went back on their word—not without good reason. But… My stomach churned. I also hated the idea of disappointing my grandparents. It didn’t seem right to let Lily agree to this, especially without knowing the full story.
I dropped my head to my chest, eyeing the sunflower-and-fern combination of my boutonnière, wondering what Gran would’ve picked for my wedding flowers. Black dahlias for betrayal. Or perhaps snapdragons for deceit and grasping intentions.
“I think I need to talk to Liliana.”
Pierce patted my shoulder. “I’ll make sure Josephine is occupied.”
I walked down the hall to the guest room, my shoes clicking against the floor. I took a deep breath and lifted my hand to knock. Lowered it. Sighed and lifted it again, rapping my knuckles against the door.
“Almost ready!” she called out.
“It’s me, Graham. Can I come in?”
“I, um—” There was a pause. “Now?” she squeaked.
Her voice was much closer now, and I imagined her standing on the other side of the door. I wondered what her dress looked like. I wondered if she was as nervous as I was.
“Yes, now,” I said, knowing this was a conversation that couldn’t be avoided.
The door remained closed. “Is everything okay?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets and rocked on my heels. “Can I please just come in?”
“But it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.”
I leaned closer, careful to keep my voice low. “Not sure that applies, given the circumstances.”
“Fine,” she huffed, and the door swung open.
It was as if someone had punched a hole in my chest. She was gorgeous. I lost the ability to speak. To breathe.
Her seductive curves were encased in white silk that hugged her like a second skin. The material draped over her breasts, dipping low and hanging on by two thin straps that looked as if they might snap at the slightest provocation.
“Envo?tante,” I whispered, desperate to touch her but afraid to all the same. She didn’t belong to me. She could never belong to me, and yet, she was absolutely bewitching. Enchanting.
Her cheeks pinkened, and she dipped her head, her hair falling forward and hiding her face from my view. When she glanced at me from beneath her lashes, the look was so fucking coy. So coquettish, my cock stirred in appreciation.
I closed the door before facing her once more.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, twisting her hands together.
More than okay. No. Wait. I shook my head as if to shake some sense into myself. I’d come here to talk to her about the wedding, and seeing her had made me forget all about it. Shit. This was bad. Really bad.
I took Lily’s hand in mine and guided her over to the bench at the foot of the bed. I sank down onto it, and after a moment’s hesitation, she took a seat next to me.
“I—” I released her hand and twisted my ring on my pinkie, torn between a loyalty to the past, what I’d always seen as my duty, and the future. Not just my own, but Lily’s, my family’s, and that of the entire Huxley Grand brand.
I dragged a hand through my hair, struggling to find the right words. Any words, really.
“Graham?” Her tone was gentle, but I sensed her uncertainty all the same.
“I haven’t been completely honest with you.” There. That was a start.
“Are you…” She lifted a shaky hand. “ Oh shit . Are you calling off the wedding?”
I took her hand in mine. I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand, soothed by the contact.
“I want you to know that this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me.” When she said nothing, I placed my finger beneath her chin, guiding her eyes to mine. “You believe me, right?”
“Oh my god.” She gasped. “You are, aren’t you?”
There were so many reasons for and against this marriage, and all of them were important. My family. The brand. Her chateau. My integrity.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. This was my problem, not Lily’s. Which was why I forced myself to say, “I am, but I’ll still invest in the chateau as promised, assuming we can agree to a fifteen percent return.”
She was quiet for a minute, and I would’ve paid anything to know what she was thinking.
“That’s very generous of you.”
My shoulders dropped. This was it. No wedding meant no shares. And the board might be able to push through the merger. The idea of letting Moretti gut my family’s company was devastating.
“But why would you do that? Why would you ask me to marry you and go through the trouble to arrange everything, only to pull out at the last minute?”
“Because it’s not only dishonest, but it’s disrespectful to my grandparents and the legacy they built.”
She frowned. “No. There’s something more to it. Something about this has never added up. What aren’t you telling me?”
Damn. How did she see through me so clearly? Was I truly that obvious, or was she just that observant?
She waited silently, giving me the time and space to organize my thoughts. That was something I’d often appreciated about Lily. She didn’t push me to answer. She didn’t get impatient. She waited, allowing me the time I needed.
“I’m motivated to marry for all the reasons I mentioned previously. But there’s another, even more compelling reason.” I took a deep breath. “My grandfather’s will contains a provision that I receive an additional ten percent of the board’s shares if I marry by the age of forty-five.”
She jerked her head back. “Is that even legal?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” I’d had a team of lawyers comb over the documents, to no avail. “My grandparents could’ve made my accession to CEO conditional on marriage, and it still would’ve been enforceable.”
“Wow.” She grimaced. “Yeah. I guess it could be worse.”
“True. And I get why they did it. But I also know that they wouldn’t have wanted me to marry solely for the sake of the shares. My grandparents wanted me to marry so I’d have a life partner like they’d found in each other.”
“That’s sweet,” she said, flipping her hand so that ours were clasped together. “And I can see why they’d want that for you. Why any grandparent would want that for their grandchild. They loved you a lot.”
I nodded. I’d loved them. Respected them. Was this really how I wanted to repay them for everything they’d done for me?
“Marrying to secure the shares feels underhanded and deceitful, and I’m sorry I let it get this far.” Yes, I might cross some lines with my hacking, but it was always for the greater good. It was for justice.
I didn’t want to disappoint my grandparents. I didn’t want to hurt Lily. And if we went through with this, I would hurt Lily. She was too kind. Too good.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
“I didn’t want you roped into this mess. I wanted you to have plausible deniability if anyone asked. There’s more than just control of the board riding on this. We’ve had a merger offer.”
“Really? Who wants to merge?” She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “I mean…I understand if you can’t—or don’t want to—tell me.”
“Jacob Moretti,” I seethed.
Her jaw dropped. “Did you see what he did to the Loft chain? He’ll gut the Huxley brand.”
“Exactly.” And why the board couldn’t see that, I’d never know. Probably because they had their heads too far up their asses. Or they were more focused on filling their pockets than what was best for the company as a whole.
“So that’s the real reason you wanted to get married,” she said.
I nodded, and she seemed to mull it over. I had no idea what she was thinking, but I was glad I’d told her.
“From the stories I’ve heard of your grandfather, he was a trailblazer,” Lily said. “He took risks. He didn’t always do what was expected, and it brought him great success.”
I’d never mentioned it, but that was one of the things I’d admired most about Pops. His willingness to shake things up—the industry, guest expectations, you name it.
“I’m guessing that’s a big reason why he chose you as his successor. Because of your ability to take risks and think outside the box. To think for yourself.”
It was easily one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me. And she wasn’t wrong. When my grandparents had sat me down to tell me they wanted to leave the hotel empire to me, they’d said something along those lines.
“So, while I understand that this—” she gestured between us “—probably wasn’t their intent when writing that clause, I can’t imagine they’d be happy with the idea of a merger either. Especially if they knew how Moretti operates.”
“They wouldn’t,” I said darkly.
“We may not be in love, but that doesn’t mean we can’t form a successful partnership,” she said, my hope rising with every word. “And, ultimately, isn’t that what they wanted for you?”
When she put it that way… I nodded.
“Do Jasper or Sloan have a clause like this?”
“Just me.” But they’d never struggled with relationships and expressing their feelings like I had. My grandparents had probably assumed they’d both marry without the need for an additional incentive.
“They put you in charge for a reason. So maybe, this arrangement isn’t conventional or ordinary. But you’ve never been anything but extraordinary.”
My chest warmed from her compliment. I didn’t even know what to say. No one ever recognized me for what I did. It was always expectations and pressure. Not gratitude.
Finally, I settled on, “Thank you, Lil. I—” I cleared my throat. “That means a lot. Especially coming from you.”
She tilted her head. “What does that mean?”
I debated whether to answer, then said, “You know. Because I used to be your evil overlord.”
She laughed. “Evil overlord? Isn’t that a touch dramatic?”
“Jasper’s moniker for me.” I shrugged, trying to downplay my reaction to the fact that Lily hadn’t agreed that it was warranted. She hadn’t chimed in with some less-than-flattering nickname of her own. “And you know Jasper. He’s always had a flair for the dramatic.”
“Yes, but still—” She furrowed her brow. “I always found you to be tough but fair.”
“Thank you,” I said, grateful that had been her perception of me. It made me realize how much I valued her respect, and I could only hope it was the same for others in my employ.
“Look, Graham. I can appreciate having morals and integrity. Hell, I admire you for it. But life is full of difficult choices. It isn’t always black-and-white. There isn’t always one correct answer. Sometimes, we have to be willing to live in the gray.”
“Is that what this is?” I asked. “Living in the gray?” With me.
“I suppose so.”
“We can call off the wedding right now. I will invest as promised.”
“I know what this company means to you, and I’m not going to stand by and let Moretti ruin everything. We’re getting married.” She dipped her head. “If you still want to, that is.”
“I…” I swallowed hard, choking back emotion. She was willing to do this, even knowing everything. Perhaps because she knew everything. “Yes. But are you sure this is what you want?” I couldn’t resist saying it again. “I’m giving you an out.”
Her eyes blazed with something—anger. Stubbornness. “Maybe I don’t want an out.”
“Most people would,” I said. “Most people would take the money and run.” But she hadn’t. Not yet anyway.
“I’m not most people. And neither are you.” She gave my hand a squeeze.
She was right. She wasn’t like most people, and she definitely wasn’t like any of the women I’d been with in the past.
“That said,” she continued. “There can be no more secrets between us. I’m going into this with eyes wide open. But I expect that we’ll discuss anything that could affect the agreement.”
“No more secrets,” I vowed.
I wondered if I should tell her about hacking her blog, but technically speaking, it didn’t affect the agreement. I knew that was a flimsy excuse, that now would be the perfect time to tell her, but it was in the past. Before our agreement. Before…anything. What was done was done.
“You’re sure?” I asked, needing the confirmation.
Her eyes never left mine. “Yes.” She adjusted my boutonniere. “I know you, Graham. I see how hard you work. How much care and attention you put into every aspect of running the Huxley Grand. And I refuse to let a technicality stand in the way of your success.”
So maybe this wasn’t what my grandparents had envisioned for me, but marriage was a partnership. And that’s what I’d proposed to Liliana. I couldn’t offer love, but I could give her my loyalty.