Chapter 2 #2
“Desperate to save face. Desperate to continue being one of the most influential Korean families. Tied to the marriage contract is a payout of fifteen point six billion dollars—enough to wipe their slate clean and put the word bankruptcy out of their vocabulary.”
I held his gaze, unmoving. “And what exactly am I supposed to be? A CFO or man playing house with a woman who no one's even seen in years?”
“Both.”
The answer came without hesitation and it made me narrow my eyes at him.
“Does mom even know about this?”
At that, his eyes narrowed. “Your mother understands this is about business.”
No way would she agree to this.
“You will marry the Choe girl in two months,” he continued, as if discussing quarterly projections.
“During that time, you will work with Ryan on joint statements, press tours, and public appearances both here and internationally. You will attend all engagements. You will smile and play the part of the doting husband for the next year. Most of all, you will use this opportunity to close the deal.”
I let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh, shaking my head. “You’ve wrapped this up in a nice little bow—planned my life down to the timeline and didn’t even think to include me in the conversation.”
“I included you where it matters.”
“And where is that?” I snapped.
His expression hardened. “At the altar.”
Silence fell again, thicker this time. I stared at him, searching for any sign of reconsideration, and found nothing but an empty void.
“And if I refuse?”
He didn't entertain the idea. Instead, he picked up a brown envelope and opened the lid, tilting it so the papers slid out. Wordlessly, he slid it across the desk and set one of his gold pens on top.
“Play your role convincingly in the public eye,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “I care little about what happens behind closed doors, but image is everything as you well know. The last thing this company needs is a scandal.”
My lips pressed into a thin line.
“And if I refuse?” I repeated the question, slower this time.
This time, when he leaned forward, there was no mistaking the warning in his eyes.
“Then you will lose more than a deal, Benji.”
A pause.
“Do not make me question my successor again.”
There it was.
Not just a marriage.
A test.
I straightened slowly, the weight of it settling whether I liked it or not.
“Two months,” I repeated.
“Yes.”
My tongue pressed against the inside of my cheek as I nodded once.
“Fine.”
The word tasted bitter as it left my lips, but maybe it was the finality of it all. Choice was an illusion when it came to him—it was either his way or the highway, and right now wasn't the time to test his resolve.
So I leaned down to scribble my signature on the page, barely glancing at the flawless signature to the left.
And as I walked toward the door, his voice gave me pause.
“Now, I need to see the projections from the Seoul trip.”
Deeply exhaling, I muttered, “Yes, father.”
By the time I got to my office, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Looking down, I cursed silently and shut my door.
“Won, what the—”
“I was going to call you,” I cut Jaxon off, sighing deeply and rounding my desk.
“When? After the grandchildren? You're getting married?”
“It's a long story but yes.” I paused, not wanting to get into a lot of the details here. “and I'm going to need your help ending it.”
A beat of silence followed.
“Ending it?” Jaxon repeated, shock tainting his words. “You just announced it, Benji.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling slowly. “I didn’t announce anything. My father did. I didn't even know until I got out of bed this morning and saw the news all over. He didn't even tell me.”
“That’s… worse,” he muttered.
“Understatement of the century,” Savannah’s voice emerged. “Do you even know who she is?”
“Some daughter of the Choe family.”
“Choe?” Jaxon repeated. “As in the Choe name that papa dearest always complains about?”
“Yeah.”
“Isn't there some bad luck juju about going into business with your rivals? Now your dad wants you to marry one of them? What the fuck?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“There has to be a reason—more to the story. What aren't you telling me?”
My lips parted and I closed it again. It didn't matter the reason—not really. All I knew for sure was that I had two months to find a way to end this little arrangement.
“He threatened to take it all away if I didn't agree. It was either lose the chance of even being CEO or go along with this ridiculous plan.”
“Fuck.”
I scoffed, running a hand through my hair. “Yeah. That.”
Another pause came, heavier this time.
“Why would he do that now though? I mean, I get the pressure to get married, but an arranged marriage like this sounds like nothing but trouble,” Savannah interjected.
“He's playing it smart because he knows how much you want CEO,” Jaxon answered. “Fuck, Benji, he's always stringing you along for this and it's always “you're not ready” or “you fucked up” because he doesn't want to let go of the reins.”
“I just need to prove to him that I can fix this,” I murmured more to myself than then.
“Fix what?” Savannah asked.
This is where we get technical.
I didn't want to say it because I know Jaxon would find a way to blame himself for the situation.
“Let's just say I lost a major contract.”
Jaxon scoffed. “And this is your father's fucked up way of dealing you in with another one? Let me guess, the contract had to deal with the Choes.”
My silence spoke for itself.
“Fucking hell, Benji. If it's related, then you know it's not going to be easy to just end something like that.”
“Well aware.”
“Have I mentioned how much I fucking hate the old man?”
Despite everything, the notion brought a small smile to my lips.
“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”
My father detested anyone that didn't meet his exacting standards and a loud mouth, inked bad boy like Jaxon Cage didn't fit the image of perfection that father wanted me involved with.
It didn't help that the first time I met Jaxon, we both ended up behind bars, but that was a story for another time.
“All I need is to figure out a way to secure the original deal before the wedding. That way, I won't need to tie myself to the Choes at all.”
“Ah, so you plan on copying our fake dating love story, do you?” Jaxon teased.
I rolled my eyes.
“Can you be serious?” Savannah muttered.
“I'm serious, trouble. I mean, look how well it worked out for us.”
“Cut it out,” she scolded, laughing a little bit. I didn't even want to know what they were doing over there. “Benji, how exactly are you planning to do that?”
I let out a quiet breath, turning toward the window. The city stretched out below me again, but it didn’t feel as impressive as it had earlier.
“We only need to pretend for the cameras. Between all the press nonsense for the next two months, I'm sure I can secure the contract.”
“And the woman?” he asked. “She in on this ‘temporary’ plan of yours?”
“There'd be no need to tell her. Two months and we'll part ways.”
Savannah let out a quiet, disapproving exhale. “This is going to blow up in your face, Benji.”
“I’ll deal with it when it does.”
A sharp knock sounded against my office door and I glanced around, irritation flickering.
“Hold on,” I muttered, pulling the phone away slightly. “Yeah?”
“Benji? It's Ryan,” came his squeaky voice from the other side. “Mr. Won sent me to go over a few details for the appearance tomorrow. Oh, and I've brought in a selection of rings for your choosing. Won't be long.”
And so it begins.
I closed my eyes briefly, then brought the phone back up. “I have to go.”
“Benji—” Jaxon started.
“I’ll come by later,” I cut in. “We’ll finish this then.”
Jaxon didn’t sound convinced. “You better.”
I ended the call before either of them could say anything else, slipping the phone back into my pocket as I turned toward the door.
Two months.
Plenty of time to iron out the details of this contract and forget the name Choe even existed.