Episode 2
1478 Words
KENDRA'S POV
I had spent the night staring at the ceiling.
The state of my failing company was bothering me deeply and fervently.
The numbers were clear.
I could tell that without fresh capital we would sink within weeks.
And there was only one person that could assist me to change that.
Pascal Anderson.
He wasn’t just a renowned multi billion dollar business tycoon.
He was the man who had invested in me years ago when no one else believed.
I had veen working under a hidden identity to build my own small project back then.
He had recognized my potential and given me the funds that had let me grow.
He had seen me before anyone else had.
And now, I needed him again.
That was why I was here, in front of his complex building in a suit.
I had called and made an appointment, luckily for me he was available.
And when I walked into the reception that day, they directed me to his office.
Now, I sat across from him there.
It was a high-rise room of glass and steel that looked down over the city.
Pascal sat behind his desk, his posture relaxed but his gaze sharp.
He studied me as though he already knew more than I wanted to reveal.
"Mrs Kendra," he began, "or shall I call you Miss Kendra?" He asked.
"Miss Kendra," I said. "The divorce between me and IT has been finalized."
He looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise.
"It?" He asked.
I nodded.
He chuckled.
It was a pleasant sound that I never knew could come from a man of his calibre.
It was unhinged.
"Calling your ex husband IT? That is a new one I haven't heard in my life time."
His laugh was contagious, and I broke into a small bit genuine smile.
But suddenly, he was serious.
“You have come to me.”
His voice was smooth and calm. “I was wondering how long it would take.”
I folded my hands in my lap while I was forcing myself to remain composed.
“As you know," I paused. "As all of the city knows, my company needs capital."
He nodded.
"I know that always you invest in firms with strong potential, and I believe that together we can still turn this around.”
He leaned back slightly, his fingers starting to tap softly against his desk.
“You are asking me to pour money into a company drowning in debt?"
I swallowed softly.
"That enterprise has been gutted from the inside and left with bleeding assets thanks to your charming ex husband.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as his piercing eyes gazed intensely at me.
Mayhap because you believed in me once, because you saw me then?
The words almost slipped from my tongue but I swiftly swallowed them back.
I could never let Pascal know about my hidden identity, at least not yet.
“Yes,” I murmured, all of my confidence flying out the window under his gaze.
His eyes narrowed.
“Why should I?”
I inhaled and exhaled to find back the composure that I had lost.
Thankfully, I did.
“That is because I know the market. I know the industry. I know what my grandfather built, and I will not let it die."
He nodded continuously.
"Ah, I see, you are a resilient and persistent woman. That is quiet intriguing."
The compliment was unexpected.
For some reason, a blush slowly began to stain my cheeks to my horror.
I looked away, at my fingers which were fidgeting against my thighs.
I willed myself to act properly, forcing my smile away with immediate effect.
And when I looked up, I was slightly composed again and he was amused.
Still, I carried on.
"I know that with the right backing I can make my company strong again,” I said.
"Hmm," he mused.
“I’ll prove it.”
A faint smile touched his lips as he gently leaned back in his revolving chair.
“You are really convincing and sharper than most who come through my doors.”
My heart rate spiked.
Was he going to consider me?
Had I brought him on board?
Or had I missed in the board?
"But, Miss Kendra, I don’t make investments out of sentiment. I make deals. And every deal comes with terms.”
My chest tightened.
What does he mean by that?
“What terms?” I asked him as my palms began to grow sweaty.
I rubbed it on the material of my suit skirt repeatedly as my stomach churned.
He rose from his chair, coming around the desk to stand in front of me.
He was tall and his presence filled the room in a way that made my breath catch.
My heart hammered against my chest as I curled my toes insie of my heels.
His eyes held mine.
Those prieceing blue orbs were steady and frankly unreadable at the moment.
What was he thinking?
“I will invest,” he said quietly, “but only if you agree to marry me.”
The words landed like a slap.
I blinked, certain that I had misheard.
"Excuse you?" I whispered. “Marry you?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
My eyes rapidly widened in disbelief mixed with shock and astonishment.
What the hell did he mean?
He continued to speak as if I was not sitting there tensed and totally flummoxed.
“It would be a legal binding marriage with one condition. You will bear me an heir.”
I stared at him, unable to speak for a moment. “You are not serious.”
I shook my head, laughing nervously because I refused to believe him.
“I am Miss Kendra. I am being completely serious in this meeting.”
I glared at him.
But something in his eyes told me that he was not in any way lying to me.
That scared me shitless.
“Why me?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
His gaze softened just slightly.
“Well, you are capable, ambitious, and you don’t fold under pressure."
"Is that all?" I asked him with scrunched up nose and a quirked brow.
He chuckled.
"I don’t need an ornament but a partner who can stand beside me."
He leaned in closer.
"And,” he added as his baritone voice dropped lower, “I don’t trust easily. But I trust you more than most.”
I shook my head as I blinked severally, trying to gather my thoughts.
“You are asking me to trade my freedom for your investment money?”
That was what it seemed to me.
He was trying to buy me for himself using this investment deal as an opportunity.
“I am offering you a partnership,” he countered smoothly.
I have him a dirty look.
“You need capital. I need an heir."
"So?" I pressed.
"Kendra, our goals align and the contract will be clear with no deception, no betrayal and just the terms we both agree on.”
I pressed my palms together ad the heat of his words burned rapidly into me.
My mind raced with images of Grandpa’s company—his pride and his sweat.
All those years of work that I couldn't ever allow to turn into dust.
I needed this.
If I didn’t act, it will all collapse because of the man who had already betrayed me.
Pascal watched me with patient eyes, waiting for me to make a decision.
“What if I refuse?” I asked finally.
“Then your company falls, and you will be left with nothing but it's ashes.”
I clutched my chest as he spelt out my worst nightmare at this moment in time.
He didn’t even bother to sugarcoat it.
The silence stretched between us as the weight of choice pressed against me.
My heart screamed against the idea of tying myself to another man.
Especially after all I had had to endure at the hands of that greedy bastard.
But my mind—
It saw the crumbling numbers, the sinking accounts and the board’s cold eyes.
This was my only chance.
“Decide quickly, Kendra. Time is not on your side,“ his voice broke the silence.
I lifted my head to meet his gaze.
He really wasn’t bluffing.
He never bluffed.
I had read enough about him to know that his terms were final once he set them.
I exhaled slowly.
“Fine,” I announced even as the word tasted bitter on my tongue. “I agree.”
His expression flickered wth something.
It was not the triumph I had expected but something deep and unreadable.
And I hoped I wasn't making a mistake like before.
- Writer
