The billionaire's wife

Chapter 2

She nervously ran her fingers over the table, which led him to conclude that he was either waiting for someone or listening to music through headphones. He looked to the opposite side and only then did he notice a man sitting alone in the booth. He was wearing sports pants and, according to Rick's estimate he was about forty years old. However, instead of a folder with files, he kept a book in front of him. Rick stared at him, expecting him to get his attention. The man really looked up at him, but immediately lowered him and continued reading. Hell, that Mr. Levy must be stuck somewhere in traffic, too, Rick thought. The delay never hinted at good, no matter who it was. If Rick had a choice, he would turn around and leave. But he still decided to wait. He walked behind the back of that small, red-haired woman, walked around the pram, ordered coffee and sat down at the first table. As soon as he picked up his briefcase and lowered it to the empty surface of the table, the girl at the bar shouted his name loudly. It was a sign that the coffee was over. At that moment, he felt someone's gaze on him. He glanced across the room to see who was watching him. Then he came across a pair of emerald green eyes, which first narrowed and then immediately flashed. That red-haired woman did not listen to music or read a magazine. She stared straight at him. Her penetrating gaze briefly turned to the screen of the small laptop in front of her, and immediately returned to it. An expression of recognition flickered on her face. He had seen such expressions before; people made them every time they associated his name with a photograph. Admittedly, here in California, it happened much less often than in his native England, but Rick still recognized that expression on her face. It seemed pretty harmless. It seemed so to him until she spoke and addressed him directly. "You are late." One word. He only needed to say that one word in that deep, velvety voice of his that would embarrass any hotline girl, so Rick was left speechless. His brain finally worked.

 "Excuse me?"

 "You are Mr. Slotter, are not you?" The question was simple, but it took him an eternity to register and understand. He answered her automatically, completely stunned by her appearance.

 "I did." She got up from the table. She was slender and tall to his shoulders.

 "I am Hime Levy," she introduced herself and held out her hand. It has not often happened to Rick that someone throws him off track like this.

. Still, this little woman managed to do it with just a few words. He held out his hand and, when their fingers touched, a pleasant warmth flowed through his whole body. As they shook hands, her penetrating gaze remained fixed on his eyes, while a smile more mysterious than Mona Lisa's flashed on her lips. Her fingers were cold, but her attitude was determined and controlled. "You are not a man," Rick said, and immediately bit his tongue. He had not said anything stupider in his life to a woman. Miss Levy was very nonchalant. "I have never been." She stretched her juicy, full lips into an irresistible smile, revealing a string of pearly white teeth and pulling her hand out of his. As soon as her gentle hand left his, he already missed her. "I was expecting a man." That happens to me often. People mostly think I am male because of the name. Fortunately, that is mostly an advantage. ”She pointed to a chair across from her. "Here, sit down. Shall we start? ”He hesitated for a few moments, wondering if he should continue this“ interview ”at all, or insist that this magical woman change her gender. He did not consider himself a male chauvinist, but as he watched her sit in her chair and cross her legs in baggy pants, he knew his attention would be focused only on her, not her job. So fragile and gentle-looking, determined and confident, Hime Levy was the epitome of contradiction. It was only now that Rick realized that he had learned nothing about women. He decided to give her ten minutes to prove to him that she could meet his expectations. He thought about how he would have to deviate from the original plan and consider some other possibilities if she failed to do so. He unbuttoned the top button of his expensive jacket and sat across from her. "Is Hime short for Himena?" He asked her. "Yes," she said without looking at him, then pulled a stack of paper from her briefcase. The short smile she had just given him had now turned into an enigmatic line between her lips. "Are you aware that your nickname is confusing to clients?" She stopped her hand for a second, then silently pushed that pile of paper toward him. "Would you have come to this meeting if you knew I was a woman? I probably would not. Not saying his thought out loud, he just watched it. Himena tilted her head and continued in her velvety, seductive voice. "I see you have studied me carefully, Mr. Slotter. Let me try to guess what you intend. You have decided to give me a chance to prove to you that I can meet your expectations. How much time did you set for me? Twenty minutes? ”

“ Ten, ”he snapped. What kind of power did this woman with an incredibly sexy voice possess, so that his tongue became faster than his mind? She smiled at him again, and his whole stomach filled with unexpected longing.

 "Ten minutes," she repeated. "You give me so much time to sketch out precisely how I intend to find you the perfect wife for a one-year contract marriage. Business people like you expect fast results and lightning efficiency. Preferably, without emotions that could further complicate the situation. ”She looked him straight in the eye with her emerald green eyes. Her freckled, freckled nose seemed too innocent compared to those cheeky juicy pink lips that slipped words spoken more erotically than at number 900. "How am I doing?"

 "Great."

 "Since women are emotional beings, your secretary is recommended just me for this task. I suppose there are a hundred women who would sell their souls to the devil just to marry you, Mr. Slotter. However, you do not trust anyone deeply enough to just entrust her with your title. ”So far, he has mostly been the one who said what he needed, while others listened to him. Now that the situation has reversed, he should feel vulnerable. And yet, when Hime Levy, who was definitely not a man, unmistakably guessed what his biggest dilemma was, he did not feel threatened. On the contrary. He felt calm. This was definitely the right address to solve his problem. "How do I know I can trust the woman you recommend?" "You can be completely calm, Mr. Slotter. I check all the candidates to the last detail. These detailed checks involve combing their financial obligations and personal habits, but also examining whether they are hiding some skeletons in the family baHimeent. ”“ You sound like you are a private detective. ”“ I am not even close. But I understand why you think so. My job is to pair people, and that means checking both sides in detail. ”Rick leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He liked this green-eyed lady, he concluded, and in his mind added another ten minutes to those original ten. "Shall we continue?" He reached for his cup and nodded. Hime took a pen and wrote something down on paper, then looked him straight in the eye and shot him a look. "I will ask you a few questions. I will ask you to answer them honestly so that I can evaluate you correctly. ”He leaned on the table, obviously very interested in hearing what she would conclude about him in such a short time. "Were you arrested?" His file is clean, but it was not about that. If he lied, he knew she would get up and leave. "I was seventeen when I hit a boy who misbehaved with my sister. To be more precise, he hit her. The police did intervene and file the incident, but that file no longer exists. ”As it does not exist for any member of high society, Rick thought. "Have you ever hit a woman?" His jaw tightened. "I did not." "Did you want that?" She watched him closely now, following his gaze. "I am not". Violence was not in the description of his character. "What is your best friend's name?" "Carter Billings." She wrote it down. "Who is your worst enemy?" He did not expect such a question. "I would not know how to answer that question."

"Then I will rephrase it. Is there a person you know would hurt you? ”He first flipped through the list of business associates he might have resented over the years. None of them would be better off if something happened to him. Still, there was someone who might have looked at it differently. "Whose picture do you have in front of your eyes, Mr. Slotter?" He took a sip of his coffee, but it fell on his stomach like a drop of bile. "Only one person." Himena looked up at him and waited. "My cousin, Howard Walker." The only signs that the name had any effect on her were a slight twitch of the jaw muscles and a slight shrug. To Rick's great surprise, Himena Levy just wrote down this information and stopped questioning him. She took the paper from the top of the pile of documents and handed the others to him. "Please fill out these forms. Fax them to the number at the bottom of page eight. ”“ Did I pass your test, Miss Levy? ”“ If we are going to work together, then we have to be honest with each other. For now, I have no objections to you. ”Now it was Rick's turn to smile. "I could have lied to you about that offense from my youth. In fact, I did not have to mention it to you at all. ”Himena began to buy things from the table. "The boy you hit was called Drew Falsworth. It happened two months after your seventeenth birthday. You broke his nostril at a polo sport in prep faculty you each attended. Drew become infamous for going out with girls only until he dragged them to bed, but your sister was smart enough to stay away from him, so he slapped her. If you had not beaten that bastard to defend your sister, or if you lied to me about it, our conversation would have ended before you put your butt on the chair. "" How did you ... "" I have an extensive list of connections. You know most of these people and I am sure you will contact them before you get home. ”Hell. He is right. He will call his secretary as soon as he gets in the limo.

"And how much will it cost me, Miss Levy?" "I will take a decent commission. When your lawyer draws up a prenuptial agreement, Twenty percentage of the quantity you provide your destiny wife

belongs to me.. ”“ What if I offer her meager compensation? ”“ The woman I work with already has the minimum amount written in the contract you sign. ” "And what if that woman does not abide by that contract?" And what if, after the expiration of the agreed year of mahijrriage, she asks for more money? ”Himena got up from the table, so he had nothing else left. "It will not." "You sound confident." "The agreed part of the money, I mean part of it, is paid into a special account where it will stand until the agreement is fulfilled. If she rebels and asks for more, you will use that money to pay the lawyers to silence her. You can keep everything that is left. This part of the agreement will not be valid only if a child is born within that year, and if the paternity test proves that it is yours. I do not bother with family courts, because there is little chance that I will win the dispute. So, if you do not want something like that to happen, keep the slit buttoned up, Mr. Slotter, at least until the contract expires. If you want to continue the marriage after that, I wish you all the best and name the child after me. ”She meant everything, Rick thought. If he said that he was left without a text, those would be too soft words. "Please return the signed papers to me no later than three o'clock. I will send you a list with the names of potential candidates up to five. Let me know when it is convenient for you to meet me tomorrow. ”Rick bent down, picked up her purse, and handed it to her. She removed the naughty curls from her eyes and slung the bag over her shoulder. "Do you want to ask me anything else, Mr. Slotter?" Or maybe I should call you "Your Highness"? "She said seductively. The unforced, slow way she pronounced his title in that mesmerizing voice of hers was something he could easily get used to. He would not mind hearing him on the phone again ... "Try calling me just Rick.