As soon as she was sure he couldn't see her anymore, Josephine got behind the wheel. her car and spread her lips in the widest possible smile, and then happily shifted in the soft, leather seat, imitating the movements of the victory dance.
"Thank God. Finally, ”she whispered into her chin. The irresistible duke was her ticket to the world of the rich. Ever since she founded the Alliance agency, she has dreamed of wealthy clients like Theo Smith knocking on her door - millionaires who needed a woman to make their greatest wishes come true. She mostly found women for men who did not have time to court, or simply did not want to go through a long process of dating and falling in love. They did not need love, but the company. Some needed a woman just to get her mistress out of the door, who insisted on putting a wedding ring on her arm. So far, with her dedicated work, she has gained many recommendations and built a business that brought her a stable income, but only enough to survive. However, with Smith's substantial financial opportunities, he will be able to pay most of his expenses in at least another two or three years. At least she hoped so. Being a multimillionaire Josephineself, Smith did not need his late father's money. But it would be a shame to allow his bank account, with a figure large enough to buy a small state, to fall into the wrong hands, such as the cousin he mentioned, or to be used by charities, which have been rocked by big money for years. financial scandals. In that case, Sherlock Holmes would not be able to find out in whose pockets the money ended up, or who got away with it. Josephine knew firsthand how money intended for the vulnerable could easily fall into the hands of greedy people. Smith's situation was quite different from the ones he had faced so far, primarily because of his flattering aristocratic title. She will have to comb the list of possible candidates well and choose the ones for which she will be able to guarantee that she will not get carried away as she will one day become a duchess. However, when an irresistible look is added to Smith's title, these women should be blind so that they do not want anything more from that man than money and a noble title. The pictures she saw in the magazines did not show how handsome Theo really was. She had always looked up at men at six feet five, but Theo was at least eighty-five feet tall and had extremely muscular shoulders. She saw his photos from Tahiti in a tabloid and, although he was in a suit, one could guess what was hiding under Josephine. Even today, when he entered the cafe, all heads turned towards Josephine, but he did not notice it at all. He just walked in and crossed the room looking for the person he was supposed to meet. If any other client had entered, she would have got up immediately and approached Josephine, but this time she stayed in her place to regain her composure. His penetrating grayish-blue eyes and strong jaw gave off a firm character from which even her, otherwise always cold and calm, knees were locked. His appearance will be a problem, Josephine concluded. It would be best for that woman, whom he chooses to be his wife, to live in one country and he in another. There is hardly a living female being who would not be tempted to sleep with Josephine near Josephine.
Josephine took her mobile smartphone from her handbag and referred to her assistant. "Alliance, please. You got Alice. ”
“ Hey, it's me. ”
“ How did it go? ”Alice asked openly.
"It's great. Did you review all the files and call the candidates? ”
“ I did. At the moment, only Joanna is not available to us. ”Josephine remembered the tall brunette. "Really? And why? ”
“ Apparently she has a boyfriend. ”That can really be a barrier to marrying another man. And yet, even without Joanna, there were three more perfect candidates. Provided he likes one of the three, Josephine will fulfill his request to find Josephine a wife by Wednesday. . Today is only Monday. "Too bad for her." "Are you coming to the office?" "I have a few more chores to do, so I'll come." "Bring me something for lunch."
"Since I'm the owner of the agency, shouldn't you bring me lunch?" She joked.
"It shouldn't be, since the owner is not in the office all day and then I have to answer the phone." Office - what a joke. Josephine used an empty room in her house in a poor part of town for that purpose. I laughed. "I'll be there in about half an hour." "But before that, call the moon urgently." Josephine straightened in her seat. "Why? Is something wrong? ”She asked in a panic, feeling her stomach cramp with worry. "Nothing urgent. Jordan won't eat again, at least not as much as he should. They said it would be good for you to stop by. ”Josephine sighed loudly and consciously relaxed her shoulders.
"All right." She will have to postpone her afternoon duties to visit her younger sister, who has been in a long-term care facility for a long time. The last time Jordan stopped eating, she ended up in the hospital due to an infection that affected her entire bloodstream. Josephine hoped that her sister was just depressed, not sick and that she refused to eat because of that depression. Unfortunately, due to depression, she tried to commit suicide, but she did not die, she ended up with a stroke.
"I'll be a little late, but if you can bear the hunger, wait, I'll get us lunch."
"Let me know if you stay long." Thanks. ”Josephine hung up and steered the car toward the moon. Her sister's stay in that exclusive private health institution cost her one hundred thousand dollars a year, and that is exactly why she needed the income from the contract with Theo Smith. She was a month late with the payment of her own bills, while she always sent checks for the Moon with a delay of a week or two. She had to finish that job with the millionaire in order not to go bankrupt, which is why she would have to transfer her sister to a state institution. She knew that no one there would take care of her properly and that in less than a month she would probably get pressure ulcers or some kind of infection. No, we must not allow that at all! He would rather sell all his property and live in a car than allow that to happen. Remembering the duke, Josephine knew that it was not realistic for Josephine to get into so much trouble. If he didn't get married by the end of the month, he could easily lose three hundred million dollars from his father's estate, which meant that Theo would surely cut his purse and pay a hefty sum to both his future bride and her agency, which would allow her to emerges from the danger zone and lives safe for a while. She just needs to provide Josephine with a good choice of women and make sure none of Jose arouse suspicion in Josephine. Cakewalk. At least she hoped so.
Theo reviewed photos and information about the three women Josephine had sent Josephine. All three were perfectly beautiful, educated, and cultured. Then why did they apply to the agency to find a temporary husband? There must have been some connection between Jose and Miss Matchmaker, but he did not see that connection at the moment.
Candidate number 1, Candice ... No last name. According to her file, she is studying law for the second year and has school loans. He loves art and runs marathons. Theo looked at her photo again. Her reJosephineeblance to Jacqueline was incredible. Josephine thought of everything; she even listed the height and weight of each lady at the bottom of the page. In the description of the picture, she stated that other agencies use photoshopped photos of girls, from the time when they were high school students, while the Alliance updates their photos every six months. Candidate number 2, Rita ... Again without a last name. She is currently an assistant doctor and studying medicine. She loves rowing and exotic travel. Judging by Josephineea's data, Rita has traveled half the world, but it is not written how she manages to finance her expensive hobby.
Candidate number 3, Karen ... This time he didn't even bother to look for her last name, knowing that it certainly wasn't listed. Karen should work as a model. Her beautiful blue eyes and Nordic light hair would drive air out of every man's lungs. She is not a student and has no loans. She is the manager of a nursing home, and in her free time, she gives piano lessons to girls and boys in the children's club.
All three women are really perfect, but Theo was tormented by the inexplicable feeling that neither was for Josephine. He pushed Josephineself back in his chair and picked up the phone. When his assistant called, he said, "What do you have for me, Mitch?" "I'm still waiting for some people to call, but I've managed to dig up some interesting information about Miss Miller." windows of his office and looked at the city. The fact that he was engaged in the transport of goods to all four corners of the world gave Josephine a great advantage over his rivals. He built the business from scratch, despite his father’s opposition. His great desire to prove to his father that he did not need his money or title to succeed only motivated Josephine further. Still, he had to admit that the famous surname had opened many doors for Josephine, and now that his father was no longer alive, he did not want his inheritance to fall into the wrong hands. Mitch knocked on his office door and entered.
Theo turned and nodded at the low table in the corner of the room. "I'll examine Jose there." Mitch sat down at the table and immediately spread the papers in front of Theo. "Josephine Miller, twenty-seven, born in Connecticut, to father Harris and mother Martha Miller." Theo sat across from Josephine. "Why do those names sound familiar to me?" A few years ago, all the media were buzzing about Harris Miller due to numerous business frauds and tax evasion. He and his family lived in a palace worth twenty million dollars, they had summer houses in France and Hawaii - I mean, they were more than well-off. "Theo remembered that story.
A great New York businessman deceived thousands of users by dragging Jose into the famous pyramid scam. He sold insurance policies for houses, land, business, and property to naive victims, to whom he later did not pay a single cent. If his memory serves Josephine well, Theo recalled that the feds tried to bring Josephine to justice, but they failed to convict Josephine of fraud and bribery, but only of tax evasion. Harris' accounts and assets were frozen, and his family fell apart. "His wife, Martha, couldn't stand the downfall and the humiliation, so she drank a full bottle of sleeping pills and a pint of gin, after which she didn't wake up." "According to the press, Josephine's younger sister Ana tried to commit suicide like her mother, but she did not succeed, but ended up with brain damage. I'm still working to determine where the girl is located. Josephine survived all that hell, but she had to leave her studies and start life from the beginning. She probably managed t
When their eyes crossed, a pleasant heat flowed down her spine. "You're late," he told her in a provocative tone, alluding to what she had first told Josephine during their previous meeting. She started to answer Josephine, but immediately closed her mouth. "Shower." He smiled at her. "I was free to order wine. I hope you don't mind. ”He let her pass Josephine and waited for her to settle in the booths, and only then did he reach for the ice bucket behind his back. Josephine watched Josephine as he poured her golden-yellow liquid into an elegant crystal glass, concentrating on staring at Josephine. "Are we celebrating something?" "Maybe," he said and poured the wine into his glass. She wanted to immediately ask Josephine which candidate he had chosen but still refrained. Of course, he hadn't decided, since he hadn't met any of Jose yet. Theo raised his glass and waited for her to do the Josephine. "Toast to our successful business rela
After the plane reached a certain altitude, the pilot told Josephine that they could untie their seat belts and that the flight to Las Vegas would take just under an hour. Since boarding, Josephine had barely spoken. Since she agreed to be his wife for a year, Theo more or less organized a wedding in the chapel in the City of Sin. He believed that the seemingly romantic wedding in the chapel in Vegas would seem much more legal to his father's lawyers than the one in the town hall. Theo unbuckled his belt and got up from his seat. He went to the bar of his private jet and took a bottle of champagne out of an ice bucket. As he opened it, he glanced at his newlywed fiancée. She looked thoughtfully out the window with her fingers tightly intertwined in her lap. Strangely, he is the one who puts everything at stake by marriage, but she is the one who got nervous. "Maybe this will relax you a little," he said, handing her a tall glass of champagne. "Is it so obvious I'm ne
There, they both signed a marriage document, and thus officially became husband and wife. Before coming here, Theo didn't think much about what their first wedding night would look like, but he certainly didn't think it would go the way it did. He booked a youth suite in a luxury hotel, where he spent the night on the couch in the living room, while his bride wandered around the bedroom until the early hours of the morning. That kiss of theirs honestly shook him. It is true that he was acted out and performed only to satisfy his form, but since they left the chapel, Theo has not thought about anything other than that he wants to repeat that show. Judging by the gleam in Jose's eyes, her flushed cheeks, and her persistent refusal to look him in the eye, he concluded that the kiss aroused her as much as it did him. Hell, you shouldn't be so mad at her. An emergency woman. A woman who likes to enjoy making unsalted jokes at the expense of his playboy endeavors and cheap ent
Twenty-six hours after uttering the fateful "yes," Josephine and Theo got off his private plane and faced an onslaught of reporters. Luckily, she remembered to wear big sunglasses and hide the concern on her face. The media has not changed at all since her father's arrest. The others are equally overbearing, boring, and curious. Theo protectively wrapped his arms around her waist and led her to the exit of the airport. It would be great if some Hollywood star made a scandal so that the media's attention was diverted to her, Josephine thought. Otherwise, she will have to fight the paparazzi on her own. As they passed a column of reporters, Theo answered their questions briefly, uttering phrases like the love of my life, it knocked me off my feet, I fell head over heels in love and the like. He sounded so sincere that she would have believed him if she hadn't been into this scam. At one point, he brushed her ear with his lips and whispered, "It's going to be worse in Europe, so wake u
As she entered the house, she set the keys on the table in the hall and headed for the stairs. When the bell rang, she turned mechanically and grabbed the handle. It wasn't until she opened the door that she remembered that it wouldn't be wise for someone to take a picture of her now, because Theo would surely shake his jaw with nervousness when he saw that picture in the newspaper. But the person standing in front of her door was neither a journalist nor holding a camera. The matter was much worse. That was Vanessa. The woman staring at her was the complete opposite of her. A natural blonde with shiny, lush hair, high cheekbones, blue eyes, long, slender legs over which fluttered an elegant silk skirt, one of those that are not bought in department stores, but only in luxury boutiques. No matter, Theo really has a taste when it comes to women, he has to admit that. "You know who I am." Even in her wildest dreams, Josephine did not expect Vanessa van Buren to appear at her doo
Theo rubbed his face for who knows how many times. Josephine's message upset him deeply. Why didn't she answer his phone? What the hell is Vanessa? What did she say to his wife? He and Josephine have been married for less than a week and he already had to figure out a way to keep his mistresses as far away from her as possible. He hadn't heard from Vanessa since he got married. True, he called her once, but since her maid told him that her mistress would not accept his invitation, he thought that the two of Josephine no longer had anything to talk about. Jacqueline sent him only one short message. Let me know when you freak her out. Why did Josephine use the word poisonous? Something nasty must have happened there. Hell. If he hadn't been prevented from flying all day, he would have boarded a plane and returned to America. But making hasty decisions was not in his style. He planned to return only on Sunday night when he would bring his wife home and send her to Europe. Unless she ne
Somewhere in the background of her mind, Josephine was aware that she was dreaming. She also knew where that dream would take her, so she desperately tried to prevent it. A picture of her room from her childhood flashed through her mind. Then one honest conversation with a good friend. Then she saw her mother warning her to watch what she was saying. And Ana, who stands in the middle of the room in her sports bra and laughs at something their dog Buster did. All these images mixed in her head and caused severe chest pain. Two men in dark suits entered her classroom and took her into the hallway to interrogate her. Only, now they didn't ask her where her father was and what she was doing, but their questions were about Theo. "What he's doing is illegal, Josephine. Thousands of people suffer because of him. ”No! That's not true! She struggled with sleep trying to get her brain to choose some other images. But he rewound the film in advance and her heart almost stopped