Chapter 2 2

The heavy satin of the wedding dress rustled against the carpet, Kailee walked fast.

Chaya jogged to keep up, her tablet clutched to her chest. A notification pinged.

Chaya looked down at the tablet, her face went from pale to ash gray.

"Oh no," Chaya whispered.

She tapped the screen, a video expanded. The audio was tinny, echoing in the long hotel corridor.

"Screw the family merger!" Julian's voice. Slurred. Drunk. "Tonight is for the boys! And the real girls!"

The camera swung wildly. It showed the interior of a VIP suite-the one three floors above them. Julian's face filled the frame, sweaty and red. He pulled Annabelle into the shot. She was giggling, her dress strap falling off her shoulder.

"Say hi to my boring sister!" Annabelle shrieked, kissing Julian's cheek.

Chaya clamped her hand over her mouth. "He's live. He's streaming this. He forgot to set it to Close Friends."

Kailee stopped, she turned around and took the tablet.

She watched the man she was supposed to marry in twenty minutes groping her younger sister, them laugh at her name.

She tapped the screen. Screen Record, then she handed the tablet back to Chaya.

"Send this to the audio-visual booth in the ballroom," Kailee said. "Tell them to hold it in the queue. Standby."

Chaya stammered. "You... you're going to play this? At the wedding?"

"Do it."

Kailee turned to the elevator bank, she pressed the button for the Penthouse Executive Lounge.

"Kailee, you can't go up there," Chaya hissed, looking around for security. "That's Hendricks territory, it's restricted. Ervin Hendricks is... he's dangerous."

"If you want a job tomorrow, stop talking."

The elevator dinged. The doors slid open.

Two men in black suits blocked the entrance.

Kailee didn't flinch. "Tell Ervin Hendricks I have a solution to his board problem," she said.

The guard on the left blinked, he touched his earpiece. He murmured something low, indistinguishable.

Silence stretched for ten seconds.

The guard stepped aside. "Mr. Hendricks will see you."

Kailee stepped into the elevator. The doors closed, sealing her in.

The Executive Lounge was dim. In the corner, a silhouette sat on a high-backed chesterfield sofa. A glowing ember of a cigar floated in the darkness.

Ervin Hendricks didn't stand up. He didn't offer a greeting. He sat with the stillness of a predator waiting for movement.

Kailee walked toward him.

"The bride," Ervin's voice was gravel, deep and scraping. "You're supposed to be downstairs, crying into a handkerchief."

"Julian is gone," Kailee said. She stopped three feet from him. "I need a groom."

Ervin laughed. It was a dry, sharp sound. "And you came shopping here? You think I'm a spare part, Ms. Lynn?"

"I think you're a businessman," Kailee said.

She took a step closer. She could see his face now-sharp angles, eyes that looked like black glass. She lowered her voice.

"I know your board is implementing a new ethics and morality clause next month. I know they're using your 'personal life' as leverage to block your acquisitions. They want a stable, traditional family man. You don't have one, you don't have time to find one."

Ervin's smile vanished. The air in the room dropped ten degrees.

Viktor, the guard in the shadows, took a step forward, his hand moving to his jacket.

Kailee didn't look at the gun, she looked at Ervin.

"Marry me," she said. "I'm the solution. I'm being investigated as part of my family's financial scandal. That means I'm already under a dozen NDAs. I'm legally incentivized to be silent, stable, and spotless in public. I am the perfect, controllable, temporary wife, and in return for your legal protection and clearing my name, I will sign over the voting shares in my trust. The ones that give you a controlling interest in the Lynn-Hendricks merger."

Ervin stared at her. The cigar smoke curled around his face. He looked at her dress, then at her eyes. He was looking for fear.

He didn't find any.

"The shares," Ervin repeated softly.

"And my complete, legally-bound silence," Kailee said. "A perfect public image for you. A lifeline for me."