6. Capri
C apri~
Two days later, and I was still upset, furious, and in shock.
After Ares Cormac had kicked me out of his office the other day, I’d gone straight back to confront my dad about Ares’ claims, and just as I’d suspected, my dad had confirmed that Ares was just trying to manipulate the situation in his favor.
Nonetheless, a lot of things still didn’t add up, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Before I could order an audit on the books, my father had announced that the paperwork had been signed, and that Martha Holdings now belonged to The Cormac Corporation.
The announcement was to be made on Monday morning, and I was expected to stand next to my father, wearing a smile, as he sent everyone in a panic, wondering if they were still going to have jobs in a few months.
Honestly, I was surprised that the word hadn’t already gotten out. The business world was an incestuous one, and so nothing was ever really confidential. Yeah, the details might be murky, but there were always whispers when it came to the big hitters, and Ares Cormac was definitely one of them.
When the phone on my desk buzzed, I turned from the bay windows that gave me a perfect view of the city, then ignored the empty boxes in the corner as I made my way to my desk.
The plan was to come in this weekend to clean out my office, making sure to avoid our employees if possible.
According to my father’s recap of his meeting with Ares Cormac, the transfer in ownership was to take place as soon as possible.
Hitting the intercom button on my phone, I asked, “Yes, Gina?”
“Uhm, Ares Cormac is here to see you,” she replied, clearly surprised as I was. “He...uhm, he doesn’t have an appointment, but he says it’s important.”
Yeah, right.
Whether it was now or later, I was going to have to bite the bullet, so it might as well be now. “It’s fine, Gina. Send him in.”
“Of course,” she muttered.
“And please make sure that we’re not disturbed,” I added, not needing anyone walking in on a conversation that wasn’t ready to be made public yet.
Not wanting to give Ares the impression that he was welcomed here or that I had all the time in the world, I walked around my desk, then leaned up against the edge, waiting for him to walk in.
Like clockwork, Gina would escort him inside, shut the door, then leave us be, and I just didn’t want to be sitting down for this.
As soon as Gina opened the door, I inwardly cursed myself for- once again -noticing just how hot Ares Cormac was.
He was around six-foot-one, and he had dark brown hair, these amazing topaz-colored eyes that reminded me of a lion’s mane, and if it wasn’t enough that his frame saw a gym regularly, the man also had a deep dimple in his left cheek.
It popped out whenever he spoke, but since I’d never seen him smile, I had no idea what it looked like when on full display.
He also carried himself like he had an army in back of him, and I supposed that he did. After all, billions of dollars packed more of a punch than an actual army, something that was proven daily as people continuously traded their integrity for cash.
Being the smart man that he was, Ares quickly read the room, so instead of taking a seat, he remained standing behind the two chairs that were positioned in front of my desk.
Luckily, only I knew that the boxes in the corner were empty, or else this meeting would be a little more humiliating than it already was.
“And how may I help you, Mr. Cormac?” I asked, repeating his words back to him.
“Just like you, I don’t have a whole lot of time to waste, so I’m just going to get to the point,” he announced. “I’m here to ask you to marry me, as it would be the solution to both our problems.”
What.
In.
The.
Actual.
Fuck?
“Wha...what?” I asked when I finally found my voice.
“You heard me,” he drawled out. “I’m asking you to marry me.”
He was insane.
He had to be.
“You’re...you’re asking me to marry you?” I echoed dumbly. “Like...husband and wife marry you?”
“Is there any other kind?” he deadpanned.
“No...you’re...this is crazy,” I remarked, immediately shaking my head. “You’re crazy.”
“Why?” he asked as casually as if we were discussing the weather. “Why is it crazy?”
I could feel my eyes bugging out of my head. “Is that a serious question?”
Ares just shrugged. “Marrying me allows you to keep Martha Holdings, so the takeover will be one less headache for me.”
Straightening from the desk, I shot him a look. “They have aspirin for those.”
His lip twitched, deepening that damn dimple. “It’s pretty simple, Ms. Cohen. Marry me and carry on like nothing’s changed, or else watch Martha Holdings crumble into pieces, putting all your employees out on the street.”
My head reared back as if he’d just slapped me. “Do you hear yourself?”
“It’s not that difficult a decision, Ms. Cohen,” he replied coolly, and talk about whiplash.
“Oh, I have to disagree, Mr. Cormac,” I retorted. “Agreeing to marry a complete stranger is the very definition of a difficult decision.”
“Not when you weigh these specific options,” he countered.
“Fine,” I drawled out. “Then agreeing to marry a complete asshole is the very definition of a difficult decision.”
His chin went up, and it really was a mark against him that he was gorgeous, intelligent, ambitious, and wealthy. “Because you’re such a delight?”
“I might not be a delight, but I’m also not stealing people’s companies, spreading lies, then blackmailing people into marrying me,” I snapped back.
“I don’t lie, Ms. Cohen,” he said, correcting me. “I’m guilty of a lot of sins, but that’s not one of them.”
While I wanted to argue the point, I had bigger fish to fry.
Ares Cormac was handing me a way to save everything that my grandfather had built, and he was handing it to me on a silver platter.
All I had to do was marry him, which just the very idea was insane, but that’s still all that I’d have to do.
What the fuck, Capri?
Shut up, no one asked you.
Pushing all common sense to the back of my mind, I asked, “So, let’s say that I decide to take you up on your offer...what all does marrying you entail?”
Ares arched an arrogant brow. “Do you not know the meaning of marriage?”
“How about you go to hell, Mr. Cormac?” I fired back.
Instead of coming back with an insult, he said, “Well, since you don’t seem overly affectionate towards me, I’m guessing that you’re referring to our professional relationship, yes?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“Martha Holdings will be transferred to you in your name only,” he announced, making me almost have to sit down. “A wedding present, if you will.”
This was too easy.
Ares was making it sound as simple as a chocolate-chip cookie recipe, but I knew better.
Ares Cormac had a reputation for being one of the most ruthless businessmen in the world, let alone the nation, so why would he go to all the trouble to acquire Martha Holdings just to give it back to me?
What did he have to gain, and I wasn’t buying that headache nonsense for one bit.
Ares Cormac was the type of man that thrived off the challenge, so even though the transfer of ownership might really be a bit of a headache, it wasn’t anything that he wasn’t already used to.
So, there had to be something more behind his motives, but did it really matter at this point? No matter how many questions that I had, he had presented me with two choices only, and that’s what I had to choose from; reasons, explanations, and motives didn’t matter at this point.
My father’s words came back like a sledgehammer against my skull, reminding me that what we did during the hard times was what determined if we had integrity or not.
Was I selfish or selfless?
While the answer was an easy one, what would being married to Ares Cormac be like? Would it be a marriage in name only or would he expect us to live like an actual married couple?
I supposed that there was only one way to find out.