The Deal
496 Words
"Of course there is," Ava muttered.
"The Blackwood-Asano merger." Noah said it like it should mean something to her. When Ava just stared blankly, he elaborated with barely concealed impatience. "I'm acquiring Asano Technologies. The deal is worth four billion dollars. But Hiroshi Asano is... traditional. Old-fashioned. He believes in family values, stability, commitment. He's been hesitant to sell to me because he thinks I'm 'emotionally unavailable' and 'incapable of maintaining long-term relationships.'"
"Well, he's not wrong."
Noah ignored her. "If he finds out I got drunk-married to a stranger in Las Vegas and immediately divorced her, the deal is dead. He'll walk away. He'll sell to my competitor, Marcus Vane, instead."
"So... don't tell him?"
"He has investigators. He has sources. He'll find out." Noah's jaw tightened. "Unless..."
Ava didn't like the way he was looking at her. Like she was a problem to be solved. Like she was a chess piece he was considering moving.
"Unless what?"
"Unless we stay married."
The words hung in the air between them.
Ava laughed. It was a hysterical, slightly unhinged sound. "I'm sorry, I must still be drunk. It sounded like you just suggested we stay married. "
"For six months. Just publicly. In private, we live our separate lives. After the merger closes, we divorce quietly. No one gets hurt. You get a generous settlement for your trouble. I get my deal."
"Absolutely not."
"A million dollars."
"What?"
"One million dollars, tax-free, deposited in your account the day the merger closes. All you have to do is pretend to be my wife at a few events. Smile for cameras. Attend dinners. Play the part."
Ava's mouth went dry. A million dollars would change her life. It would pay off her student loans, buy her a house, give her the security she'd never had. But the thought of spending six months with this cold, arrogant man—
"No."
"Two million."
"I said no!"
"Three million." Noah stepped closer, and despite everything, Ava's heart skipped a beat. "And I'll invest in your event planning business. Fund your expansion. Make you the biggest name in the industry."
"You're trying to buy me."
"I'm trying to solve a problem. You're the solution." He said it without warmth, without charm, like he was discussing a spreadsheet. "Think about it, three million dollars. Your own company. All for six months of pretending."
Ava thought about her tiny apartment. Her car that needed new brakes. The credit card debt from starting her business. The way her mother had worked two jobs her whole life and still couldn't afford to retire.
She thought about Noah Blackwood, with his cold eyes and his compass tattoo and his billion-dollar deals, and how he looked at her like she was nothing more than a convenient arrangement.
"I need to think about it," she said.
"You have until noon."
"You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
Noah smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "I've been told."
- Writer
