THE BILLIONAIRE’S BARGAIN

CHAPTER 3:THE DRESS

The dress was red.

Maya stood in front of the mirror in Julian's guest bedroom and didn't recognize herself.

Silk. Backless. A slit to mid-thigh. It fit like it had been sewn onto her body. The color made her dark hair look like ink. Even her paint-stained hands looked elegant.

Julian's assistant, Claire, had done her makeup. Smoky eyes. Nude lip. Hair in a chignon that showed off the diamond earrings Julian had sent up on a velvet tray.

"Mr. Voss is waiting," Claire said.

Maya's stomach twisted. "I don't think I can do this."

"You signed the contract, Ms. Chen. The doing is the easy part." Claire stepped back. Assessed. "You look like you own the room."

Maya didn't feel like she owned the room. She felt like a girl who'd eaten ramen three nights in a row.

But she walked out.

Julian stood by the elevator, checking his watch. Tuxedo. Black. Perfect. Cufflinks glinting.

He looked up.

And froze.

Maya stopped three feet away, suddenly aware of the slit, the backless cut, the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Is it too much?" she asked.

Julian didn't answer. His gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips to her throat to he stopped. Looked back at her face.

"It's fine," he said. His voice was rough.

"Fine?"

"Appropriate."

"You look like you're having a stroke."

Julian reached for her hand. Warm. Slightly calloused she hadn't expected that. A billionaire with rough hands.

"Let's go," he said.

The gala was at the Met. Of course it was at the Met.

They walked the red carpet together. Cameras flashed. Julian's hand rested on the small of her back, burning through the silk.

"Mr. Voss!" a reporter yelled. "Is this the mystery woman?"

Julian pulled her closer. "This is Maya Chen. My fiancée."

The word hit her like a wave. Fiancée. It sounded real when he said it. It sounded like a promise.

"How did you meet?" someone shouted.

Maya opened her mouth. They hadn't rehearsed this.

"She sold me flowers," Julian said smoothly. "I kept coming back. She wouldn't give me her number. I had to buy the building next door just to run into her."

The reporters laughed. Maya stared at him. Where did that come from?

Inside, the gala was crystal and champagne and people who cost more than countries. Maya clutched Julian's arm.

"You're doing well," Julian murmured in his ear.

"Your hand is sweating," she whispered back.

"It's not."

"It is. You're nervous."

Julian's jaw tightened. "I'm not"

"Julian!"

The voice came from behind them. Female. Sharp. Expensive.

Maya turned.

The woman who approached looked like she'd been sculpted by angels with a grudge. Blonde. Tall. Gold gown with its own zip code. She kissed Julian on both cheeks, her eyes never leaving Maya.

"Victoria," Julian said. His voice went flat. "Didn't know you'd be here."

"Didn't know you were engaged. To a florist, no less. How... quaint."

Maya felt the word like a slap.

"Maya Chen," Maya said, extending her hand. "And you are?"

"Julian's ex-fiancée," Victoria said, ignoring the hand. "Three years together. Didn't he mention me?"

"Must have slipped his mind," Maya said sweetly.

Victoria's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Julian, darling, your father's looking for you. He wants to discuss the merger."

Julian stiffened. "My father isn't here."

"He is. I invited him. Thought it would be nice for the family to be together."

The storm in Julian's eyes turned to thunder. "You had no right."

"I had every right. I know what you need, Julian. I always have. And this" she looked Maya up and down "this little project isn't it."

Julian's hand tightened on Maya's waist. Protective.

"Victoria," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "If you speak to Maya again tonight, I'll have you removed. If you contact my father again, I'll have you removed from the city. Do you understand?"

Victoria's smile faltered. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Victoria laughed. "She's temporary, Julian. They all are. You'll come back to me when you're done playing."

She walked away, leaving perfume that smelled like money and spite.

Maya's hands were shaking.

"Your ex-fiancée is a Disney villain," Maya said. "And your father is here. Anything else you forgot to mention?"

"I didn't forget. I omitted."

"Same thing."

"Maya"

"Don't." She pulled her hand from his waist. "You said no family questions. Fine. But you don't get to drop me into a room with your ex and your estranged father and expect me to smile through it. I'm not a prop, Julian. I'm a person."

Julian went still. The orchestra played something slow and sad.

"I know you're a person," he said quietly.

"Do you?"

Julian reached for her hand. She let him take it, barely.

"My father hasn't spoken to me in five years. Victoria knows that. She invited him to hurt me. And she insulted you to hurt you." His thumb traced her knuckles. "I'm sorry."

Maya blinked. "You apologized."

"Julian Voss doesn't apologize."

"Julian Voss doesn't do a lot of things. But standing here, watching you defend yourself against Victoria in a room full of sharks — I find myself doing a lot of new things."

Maya's breath caught. "Julian"

"Come with me."

He led her through the crowd. To a balcony. Cold air. City lights. The skyline spread out like a jewel box.

Julian turned to her. The wind ruffled his hair. He looked younger.

"She's right about one thing," he said.

"What?"

"You're temporary. In the contract. In my life." He stepped closer. "But standing next to you tonight, watching you in that dress, hearing you tell Victoria Ashford to go to hell with nothing but a smile I don't want you to be temporary, Maya. And that's a problem."

"Why is it a problem?"

"Because I don't know how to want things. I know how to acquire them. I know how to negotiate for them. I don't know how to..."

He stopped. Looked at her mouth.

"How to what?" Maya whispered.

Julian leaned in. Slow. Giving her time to pull away.

She didn't.

Their lips were an inch apart. She could feel his breath, warm and wine-sweet. The world narrowed to this balcony, this man, this almost.

"Julian," she breathed.

His phone rang.

Loud. Insistent. Tanaka Holdings flashing on the screen.

Julian cursed. Stepped back. The moment shattered like glass.

"I have to take this," he said, his voice rough.

"Of course you do," Maya said. But she was smiling. A little. Because she'd seen it. The c***k in the wall. The man behind the machine.

Julian answered the phone. Walked inside. Left her on the balcony with a racing heart and lips that still remembered his almost-touch.

Maya looked at the skyline.

Twenty-nine days left, she thought.

And for the first time, she wasn't sure she'd survive them.