She will come back
1052 Words
Elena blinked, then let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change, but she could see the slightest twitch at the corner of his lips. “I’m quite serious, Ms. Hartley.”
“Look, Mr. Kane,” she said, shaking her head and leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms. “I don’t know what’s more ridiculous, the fact that you think I’ll help you with your little image makeover, or that you think I need to sell out for your investment.”
She looked at him, her eyes narrowing.“I’ve built my business from the ground up. You honestly believe I’ll pretend to be someone I’m not just to make you look good? I’m not a Christmas decoration you can hang on your arm for photos.”
Adrian's cool demeanor never wavered. “You need the help. I’m offering it to you. This is a business transaction. You don’t like the terms, you’re free to walk away.”
“Oh, believe me, I’m tempted,” Elena replied, rolling her eyes dramatically. “But since I’m still technically here, maybe we should talk about how this partnership would really work.”
A soft instrumental holiday tune from somewhere in the building drifted into the silence between them—cheerful, bright, and wildly out of place.
“You’ll get what you need, but you’ll work for it. If you want my investment, you’ll do exactly what I ask of you. Simple.”
“Simple?” Elena repeated, her voice rising in incredulity. “You think you can just buy me, put me on your arm, and I’ll play the part of a respectable woman for your investors? You’re insane.”
Adrian’s expression was stone cold. “I’m offering you an opportunity, Ms. Hartley. A way out of your financial troubles.”
Her jaw clenched. “I don’t need your charity. And I’m not some object you can parade around to improve your image.”
She pushed her chair back with a screeching sound, standing up abruptly. “Forget it. I’ll figure this out on my own. I will not stoop this low for your money.”
Adrian’s eyes followed her every movement, but he didn’t stop her as she stormed toward the door.
“Good luck with finding an investor for your wreck company,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.
Elena turned back for a second, her face flushed with anger. “You think you’re the only one who can save me? Go ahead and keep your investment. If you want to pretend to be a family man, you’re welcome to do it alone. I’ll manage without you.”
She slammed the door behind her with such force that the sound echoed down the hall.
Adrian remained still for a moment, his gaze following her as she left. His fingers twitched, and in a sudden burst of frustration, he slammed his hand down onto the desk. The sound was sharp, like a thunderclap in the silence of the room.
“D*mn it,” he muttered under his breath, staring at the papers in front of him.
If it weren’t for the d*mn investors, if they hadn’t demanded he show this family man image for the merger, he wouldn’t have had to do this. This... ridiculous game of appearances.
Elena Hartley. She wasn’t even his type. Curvy and thick in all the wrong places, freckled and brunette. She didn’t even come close to the models he was used to.
He ran a hand through his hair, seething quietly. He hated this. He hated how she had walked out, how she had turned down an offer that was more generous than anyone else would’ve gotten.
“She’ll come back,” he muttered to himself. “She doesn’t have a choice.”
****
Back in her studio, Elena was fuming. The warm glow of the string lights she’d hung earlier now felt mocking. The plastic snowflakes taped to the windows wobbled each time she stomped across the floor.
How dare Adrian Kane think he could throw her into a fake relationship just to secure his Christmas merger deal? How dare he ask her to sell herself so he could look like Mr. Family Man?
She stood in front of the full-length mirror by her drafting table, glaring at her reflection surrounded by tacky tinsel.
“Ridiculous,” she snapped softly. “Who does he think I am? Some ornament he can hang beside his stupid Christmas tree?”
But the mirror looked back with a truth she didn’t want to see.
She was desperate.
Her business was hanging by a single lightbulb on a dying strand of fairy lights.
She had employees depending on her. Bills piling up like fallen snow. Deadlines and debt that didn’t care about pride.
“Dammit,” she muttered to herself. “I hate that I need his help. But I can’t fix this on my own.”
She slammed her hand against the desk, her frustration bubbling over. How was it possible that the one person who could help her (the one person who could save her) was the same man who thought she could be bought so easily?
Her phone buzzed on the desk. A message from Jenna, one of her staff members.
“Elena, I’m really sorry to ask, but I’m struggling to make ends meet. Can I get a little out of my outstanding salary payment? I’m really behind on rent…”
She stared at the screen, her stomach sinking. She had always promised herself that she would never let her employees see her struggle, but now? Now, she couldn’t even help them.
Her fingers hovered over the phone, a wave of guilt washing over her. How could she save her business when she couldn’t even help the people who worked for her?
Elena closed her eyes, breath shaking.She couldn’t even help the people who believed in her.
Slowly, she sank into her chair, the tiny lights above flickering weakly.
If she didn’t get Adrian’s help, Hartley Design wouldn’t survive past Christmas.
And if that meant pretending for a little while then maybe that was the price.
“I hate this,” she whispered, voice cracking.“But I have no choice.”
- Writer
