“W- What?” Aira stuttered wondering what her, so far perfect, date partner was saying.
It sounded weirdly close to the M word…
“I have to get married within the next two months for various reasons. I’ve been thinking about it for a while and you’re the best candidate that I could think about,” He repeated simply as if he was talking about arranging a second date.
One she had been hoping for just moments ago...
But no! The man was going straight from their first non-date to marriage! Wasn't talking about marriage on a first date taboo or something?
Her brain raced, was he some kind of believer in matrimony? Marriage before dating or something like that?
Or was it just her luck to be meaninglessly proposed to every time she starts dating someone?
Hell, she just broke off her engagement with her cheating ex. And the way THAT prick had proposed looks exactly like what this guy was doing here.
Although perhaps less flashy and minus the ring and the audience… And the balloons and the fireworks...
Wait a minute, didn’t he say that he needed to get married for some reason? And that she was the best… Candidate…
Then it dawned on her, what all this was all about. It wasn’t about dating her. It wasn’t about liking her either. This is because he thought she was a Candidate.
The best candidate for marriage…
Something shattered deep within her and Aira wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. A feeling she experienced twice since this morning.
“Candidate, huh… Don’t you think It’s a bit too early to talk about marriage? We’re not even dating.”
Yes! That’s it! She managed to sound calm without asking him if he had lost his freaking mind…
Not that things would have ended well for her if she’d asked Vincent Valory if he had lost his mind.
God, this was THE Vincent Valory… CEO extraordinaire and technically her boss for the time being.
She knew she should have refused to have dinner with him like this even when it sounded like a good idea back then…
“I think blind dates are designed this way too. So that people could find a marriage partner. I may be fast-tracking things a little bit, but it’s not all that unusual for people in our kind of families to decide to marry after the first date.” He responded his direct gaze trained on her.
“Yes, but this is not a blind date. The person I had a blind date with left hours ago,”
“Well, I thought we agreed that I was his substitute,” He said with a smirk and Aira sighed with exasperation,
“Yeah, but, sorry I can’t do this,” She said, “I suggest that you propose to one of your other candidates,”
“There are no other candidates. The moment this marriage talk came up you were the only person that came to my mind,” he said his eyes on her, trapping her.
Was he saying what he was saying? That as soon as he had to get married he thought of her.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your offer. As you know, I just got out of a failed engagement and it’s a bit too early for me to think about marriage.”
“I wouldn't call it failed..." He said pensively then smirked darkly, "I wouldn't even call it an engagement, myself." His smile widened.
That bastard! He was provoking her! He was practically saying "God, what were you thinking, agreeing to be with someone like that?"
Well... He was right...
"But nonetheless, Are you sure you want to be so reserved about this?” He asked his sharp green gaze zeroing on her.
“What do you mean?” Aira asked
“What I mean is are you sure you want to refuse my proposal after what your family is going through?” He asked again his cool features never wavering.
That's when Aira realized it. This was a negotiation for him, just like those he did every day in the boardroom.
Vincent Valory never entered a negotiation where he could lose. She knew that he told her that earlier…
“What do you mean by my family?” She asked too afraid to hear his answer. Although she already knew it.
Vincent already held the trump card in his hands. She was going to lose.
“Well, why don’t you ask your brother about that? It seems like he decided to break his engagement with a certain influential family resulting in a few lost deals for your family business,”
“No, it can’t be.”
“But it is… Your family will be going bankrupt within the next few days. That is… Unless you agree to marry me next month,” Vincent smiled and a chill ran down Aira’s spine.
She knew now why everyone called him THE SHARK. She could see it in his emotionless grin right then, as if he was getting ready to devour her.
Leaning forward, he whispered into her ears as his lips gently fluttered over her cheek,
"You don't have to worry about anything. Just be mine"
Hi! Thanks for picking up this book. I hope you enjoy your read. Please let me know what you think in the comments down bellow. ~Dorampo
One week earlier Aira finished the last touches on the magician’s eyes she was drawing and leaned back admiring her work for a few moments. ‘Not bad for a first draft…’ She pondered as she looked up at the clock on the wall in front of her atelier. Sighing she stood up stretching and letting her muscles protest to her about the long hours she just spent bent over the table not moving. Aira stopped by the fridge for a bottle of water and picked her phone up turning it on. Her phone immediately started binging furiously startling her so much that she almost dropped it. Her mother had called almost ten times, a call from her brother and a few congratulatory messages from her acquaintances. She tapped on her mother’s name put on her pods and wandered toward her room. She picked up before Aira could reach her room making her smile. Her mother’s impatience was always a source of entertainment for her. “Aira! Why aren’t you answering your phone?! Do you know what time it is?!” Her moth
Aira remained silent for a while before opening her mouth to talk then shutting it again.“Helloooo, Earth to Aira!” Meghan called out through the line,“I don’t understand. Why would I need to meet your CEO in person. I thought those people don’t bother to be involved in minute details.” Aira finally said still not understanding what all this was about“This is not minute details, Aira. This is a huge deal. I told you the CEO scouted you himself to be in this project and you being the illustrator is good publicity among the target market base we’re working on. Basically, all your fans should be very interested in this product. It is a huge deal…” Meghan ended her rant with a sigh and Aire almost smiled“I know, but still, why would he want to meet me, and what would he want to discuss?” Aire asked“Well, Vincent Valory is a very known art connoisseur and maybe he’s interested in your art. As for what he wants to see… well… He may have mentioned something about the first drafts…” Megh
Opening her eyes, Aira slowly moved her body noting the sting in her arm and the slight soreness in her chest. Looking around, she realized that she was still in the middle of the highway where people were starting to gather and some of them were holding their phones to report the accident. Slowly looking to each side, she realized that the other car smashed into the passenger side of hers. Hence the throbbing in her left arm. Noting that her life wasn’t in danger, the first thing that she thought about was that she was going to be late for her exhibition. She opened the door slowly maneuvering her way out of the car clutching her phone in her hand. As she stood up, she was hit with a sudden bout of dizziness and lost her footing for a moment. She felt something hard support her back as strong arms wrapped around her effectively stopping her fall and sending a wave of electricity through her skin where the hand touched. Funny that the first coherent thoughts she could muster out o
“OMG! You look phenomenal!” Meghan exclaimed dramatically as Aira Emerged from behind the makeshift curtains they set up for her to change. “Thanks, I guess,” Aira responded hesitantly, “I’m still not sure about this, I somehow feel bad about wearing this dress,” “Why would you?! Didn’t you say that he was worried about ruining your dress and injuring you?” “Well, he technically didn’t. The accident wasn’t his fault, so him sending an expensive dress like this is a bit too much. I don’t even know his name or how to thank him for it.” “Nah! Don’t worry too much about it! He probably did this because he liked you and he wanted to do something for you,” “I have a fiance, Megs, and he knows it,” Aira responded feeling somehow guilty at the thought of Jace. “Ant that’s why he did this instead of asking for your number!” Meghan said eying the dress wistfully, “Ugh, look at you lucky little boar! Do you know how hard it is to get a dress like that?! The designer who made it doesn’t tak
“Aira, this is Carter Polland, Mr.Valory’s personal assistant,” Meghan said introducing the handsome, almost pretty young man in front of her. “Mr. Polland, This is Aira Brian,” “Nice to finally make your acquaintance, Miss. Brian. My boss is such a huge fan of your work, I hope everything is to your liking.” “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Polland! Of course! Everything is perfect, thank you very much!” “Please call me Carter, we will be working with each other from now on so let’s drop the formalities,” Carter announced and Aira smiled “Call me Aira then, Carter. It’s very good to make your acquaintance,” Aira said smiling at the deceptively charming secretary. She glanced at her friend to find her keeping a good distance from the amiable secretary and stiffly staring at Aira who wanted to laugh at the sight. Maybe she was going to have her revenge on Megs for teasing her earlier sooner than she expected. Her usually fun-loving and social friend was acting like she was in a h
Aira’s eyes were fixed on the sight before her as if she had been slapped on her face.Jace was standing there fumbling with his belt to cover up a part of his anatomy that she’d never even seen before.Not that it seems like she’s missed much…Her gaze shifted to the other woman who was wearing the catering business’s uniform and trying to fit it back tightly onto her frame- her curves generously spilling out of the unbuttoned shirt.Everything looked as if she was merely an observer and none of the participants seemed to take note of her.“Of all the people that could’ve walked in on us,” Jace said with a resentful tone looking at Meghan.It didn’t seem like he noticed Aira standing right behind her. Although Meghan was much taller than Aira, there was still enough space for him to see her.But, he didn’t notice her. Aira wondered for a moment if the man ever really SAW her, but she soon she buried that thought deep within her mind, it was too late to think about that.“You cheating
Aira slowly woke to persistent beeping sounds bumping into her ears like drums. Opening her eyes she tried to sit up from her crouched position on the desk wincing as her neck and back protested against the sudden movement after such a long time resting in a wrong position.Trying to massage the back of her neck as it painfully flexed back against her fingers like some unruly child who didn’t want to be set straight, Aira looked around her through half-closed lids.Papers were strewn around her desk haphazardly with rough drafts of various characters. She had been pondering in her mind for a while waiting until the Idea completely formed in her mind. And last night they finally came to her.The drawings caught her eyes and she couldn’t help but look at them with amazement. In her furry, she had managed to complete the work of weeks within one week and only to finally sleep on her desk with her pen still in her hand.The persistent sound came through again and she turned toward the doo
The man standing before her wasn’t wearing a three piece suit like the last time she met him. Instead he was dressed casually in khaki pants and a simple white shirt, leaning against his desk with a document in his hand.Basically he looked like something out of the pages of a magazine,“You…” Aira said too shocked to say anything else.“Ah! We meet again!” The handsome businessman said with a smile, as he uncrossed his long legs and made his way toward them with the ease of a pather and the charm of a fox.“My, do you know each other?” Carter asked with a smile not seeming in the least bit surprised.“Miss. Aira and I had an unexpected encounter last week,” Vincent said, “ Though we didn’t get to introduce ourselves since she left before I could ask her about her name,” He said with a smile that looked too much like a smirk to Aira making her guards stand up to attention.Good lord, it had been him all along! And to think that she had made a fool of herself…“Yeah, last time was a bi