Chapter 6 6

Adelynn stared at him, her mind a blank slate of confusion. A business proposal? What kind of business could he possibly have with her?

"I don't understand," she said. "I'm a barista. I deliver coffee. What kind of proposition could you possibly have for me?"

Christian's gaze didn't waver. It was like being pinned by a searchlight. "I am aware of your current employment. I am also aware of your degree from Parsons, your student loan debt of one hundred and eighty-two thousand dollars, the two pending foreclosures on your family's properties, and the outstanding medical bills for your mother, Helen Acosta, totaling just over half a million dollars."

Each word was a hammer blow, shattering the fragile walls of her composure. He had dissected her life, laid bare every one of her failures and fears on his polished desk. The humiliation was so intense it was a physical sensation, a hot flush that spread from her neck to her cheeks.

"How... How do you know all that?" she stammered, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and outrage.

"I make it my business to know things," he stated simply, as if explaining the laws of physics. "Information is the most valuable currency in the world, Ms. Acosta. I am a very wealthy man."

He let that sink in before continuing. "You are in an untenable position. You are drowning. I am offering you a lifeline."

"What lifeline?" she whispered, her throat dry.

He slid a thin, leather-bound folder across the desk. It stopped perfectly, just within her reach. Her name was embossed in small gold letters on the cover: Adelynn Acosta.

Her fingers trembled as she opened it. Inside was not a business plan, but a contract. The language was dense, legalistic, but certain phrases leaped out at her.

'Marriage Agreement.'

'Term of one year.'

'Full assumption of all outstanding Acosta family debts.'

'Lump sum payment of five million dollars upon successful completion of term.'

'Clause of Non-Disclosure.'

'Clause of Public Affection.'

She looked up from the document, her heart pounding a frantic, terrified rhythm against her ribs. Her vision swam. This couldn't be real. It was a fever dream, a hallucination brought on by stress and sleep deprivation.

"You want to... marry me?" The words sounded insane, even to her own ears.

"I require a wife," he said, his tone as matter-of-fact as if he were ordering office supplies. "For personal and business reasons that do not concern you. You require financial salvation. You are suitable. You are unattached, educated, and presentable. Your desperate circumstances ensure your discretion and compliance. It is a mutually beneficial transaction."

A transaction. He was talking about marriage, about a life, as a simple transaction.

A bitter, hysterical laugh escaped her lips. "This is crazy. You're insane."

"I am pragmatic," he corrected, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Insanity is continuing on a path that leads to certain ruin. That is your path, Ms. Acosta. I am offering you an exit."

She shook her head, pushing the folder away as if it were contaminated. "No. Absolutely not. I won't sell myself."

"You already are," he countered, his voice cutting like a shard of ice. "You sell your time for minimum wage. You sell your dignity with every coffee you deliver. You sell your dreams every day you don't design. I am simply offering you a much, much better price."

His words hit their mark, cruel and true. He had seen the deepest, most shameful corner of her heart-the part of her that felt like a failure, the part that lay awake at night wondering how she was going to save her family.

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, hot with shame and anger. "Why me? Out of all the women in the world, why pick me?"

For the first time, a shadow of something unreadable passed through his eyes. It was there and gone in an instant. "As I said," he replied, his voice once again a flat, impenetrable wall. "You are suitable. That is all you need to know."