Service Entrance My Foot
1630 Words
Adeline’s POV
“I’m sorry…” I let out a small laugh, convinced I’d heard him wrong. “Did you just say… wife?”
Declan looked at me, the smile on his face disappearing into an irritated scowl.
“I don’t make a habit of repeating myself.”
The woman stepped toward me with effortless confidence, the kind only rich people and serial killers seemed to possess.
“Chloe Silver.” She extended a perfectly manicured hand. “It’s lovely to meet you… um…”
My body had gone completely rigid, but my mouth still worked.
“Adeline Levine.”
“Wonderful.” Her smile widened. “I hear you’ll be moving in with us. I can’t wait to get to know you.”
“…Hold on.” I lifted both hands between us, pushing at the air as though I could physically rearrange the conversation into something that made sense.
“Us?” I repeated. “As in… us us?”
Nobody answered.
I looked from Chloe to Declan and back again.
“You’re his wife.”
Declan pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Great.” He sighed. “Paid half a fortune for a f*****g retard.”
He didn’t even bother lowering his voice.
“Yes,” he said slowly, like he was speaking to a particularly stupid child. “As I’ve already established… she’s my wife.”
Maybe I was stupid.
Because none of this made any sense.
“Okay…” I laughed once, completely baffled. “Whatever rich people kink this is, I want absolutely no part of it.”
“You’re married… or were married… and we just…”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
Neither of them looked embarrassed.
Chloe stepped in before Declan could answer.
“It’s alright, dear.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know all about your arrangement. Actually…” She glanced proudly at Declan. “It was my idea.”
I stared at her.
“You suggested your husband marry another woman?”
“Temporarily… on paper.”
“So she can carry his child?”
“Yes.”
I frowned.
“There’s something called surrogacy, you know.” I spread my hands. “They’re discreet. They’re professionals. Nobody even has to know.”
For the first time, genuine surprise crossed her face.
Then she laughed.
“Oh, goodness, no.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I assure you I’m perfectly fertile.”
Like that somehow made this entire situation less insane.
She leaned toward Declan.
“She is a bit retarded,” she whispered.
Again.
Not quietly.
“Then what exactly do you need me for?” I demanded.
“Enough.” Declan’s palm slammed onto the table.
The loud crack made me jump slightly.
“Our reasons are none of your business.” His cold, unreadable eyes met mine.
“I’m not paying you to ask questions.”
Before I could think of another comeback, Chloe’s phone rang.
She checked the screen and smiled.
“Oh! The helicopter is here.” She waved her phone around. “The fashion show… executive thing… whatever.” She smiled at Declan. “I have to go, baby.”
He simply nodded.
She cupped his face with both hands and kissed him. A long, slow kiss that lasted far longer than necessary.
I awkwardly looked away, studying literally anything else in the room until I heard her murmur,
“I’ll call you when I get to Miami.”
She patted his chest affectionately before finally turning back to me.
“It was lovely meeting you…” She frowned thoughtfully. “Arielle, was it?”
“Adeline,” I corrected flatly.
“Right… whatever.”
Of course.
She leaned over Declan’s chair again.
“Baby…” she asked sweetly, not even pretending to lower her voice, “is she really the best they could find?”
Declan leaned back in his chair and looked me over with all the enthusiasm of someone inspecting expired groceries.
“That cooperation is a f*****g joke — I gave them very specific descriptions,” he said. “They couldn’t even manage that.”
“It is disappointing,” Chloe agreed with a sigh.
This…
This b***h.
She tilted her head, studying me “Is it too late to request another candidate?” She looked at me again. “…One with a little more visual appeal?”
That did it.
“Excuse me? I’m sitting right here.”
Chloe slowly turned toward me, looking almost surprised I’d spoken.
“Oh…”
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“…right. I forgot you were still here.”
Of course she hadn’t.
“Well, I really should get going.”
She leaned down one last time, pressing another lingering kiss to Declan’s lips before grabbing her designer handbag.
“See you soon… Arielle.”
“It’s Adeline,” I said through clenched teeth.
She either didn’t hear me…
Or didn’t care.
Probably the second one.
Her red stilettos clicked confidently across the marble floor before disappearing through the door.
I stared after the closed door for a long moment. I might actually kill someone before this contract’s over.
Preferably her.
Silence settled over the room. Neither of us spoke.
Declan picked up a contract from his table, flipping through a few pages before signing something with quick, practiced strokes. He scribbled a note in the margin, closed the file, then reached for another.
I waited.
At first, I assumed was going to explain… something.
The rules.
The arrangement.
A welcome package titled Congratulations on Your Fake Marriage.
Anything.
But after what felt like twenty painfully silent minutes, it became painfully obvious.
He’d forgotten I was still sitting there.
I cleared my throat.
Nothing.
I shifted in my chair.
Still nothing. Seriously?
“Um… excuse me?”
His fingers never stopped moving across the keyboard.
“I know.”
I frowned. “…Know what?”
“That you’re still here.” His eyes remained glued to the screen. “You’re not exactly quiet.”
My mouth dropped open.
The audacity.
I resisted the overwhelming urge to introduce my middle finger to his face.
“You’re not a people person, are you?”
“I’m not paying you for conversation, Miss Levine.”
“Good,” I muttered. “Because I’d definitely be overcharging.”
His rigid face didn’t move.
“Well, seeing as you didn’t purchase my free will along with this contract,” I said, standing, “I’m leaving.”
I grabbed my handbag. “Bye.”
“You’re moving into my home the day after tomorrow.”
I froze. “…I’m sorry?”
“You heard me.”
“No, I heard the words. I’m just choosing to believe I imagined them.”
He looked back at the file in front of him.
“The day after tomorrow.”
I folded my arms. “I have a life. I need at least a week or two to pack up.” I paused. “My things aren’t magically packed,” I added.
They were, but he didn’t have to know that.
“Three days,” he said, typing away on his computer.
“Five.”
“Two.”
Typing.
“I’m serious.”
“Likewise.” He still hadn’t looked at me.
“Tomorrow.”
Still typing.
“No.”
“A driver will arrive at six the day after tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
The word escaped before my brain could stop it. “…Wait. No.”
A small, infuriating smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.” His attention returned to the file. “You’re dismissed.”
“Oh, absolutely not.”
I marched back toward his desk.
“I did not agree to that. You can’t force me to agree to this.”
He stilled, then raised his head, his expression unreadable. His green eyes locked onto mine, cool and unwavering.
The room suddenly felt a little smaller.
He placed his pen neatly on the desk before folding his hands.
“Miss Levine…”
His voice was calm.
“You seem to be under the impression that this is a discussion…” He let the words settle. “Allow me to explain this in a way even you can understand. I own every obligation outlined in that contract.”
His voice remained frighteningly even.
“I paid forty million dollars for this arrangement, and I don’t negotiate with investments. So in the future, don’t mistake my instructions for requests.”
The words settled over the room like a verdict.
Then, just as easily, he picked up his pen and returned to his work, effectively dismissing me without another glance.
My jaw clenched.
“We’ll see about that,” I muttered.
Investment?
Please.
If this arrogant billionaire thought throwing forty million dollars around meant he could control every second of my life…
He’d regret not ending up with Leah.
With one final glare in the direction of his annoyingly handsome face, I spun toward the door.
I had barely wrapped my hand around the handle when his voice stopped me.
“Miss Levine.”
I paused.
Against my better judgment, I turned.
Maybe—
Maybe he was about to apologize.
Maybe he suffered from some strange condition where his evil twin took over every few minutes.
I’d seen weirder things in anime.
He didn’t even look guilty.
“Tell my secretary, Rebecca, to escort you through the service entrance.”
I frowned.
“We wouldn’t want my employees mistaking you for the help.”
…
My mouth fell open.
Oh.
Fuck.
You.
I bit down so hard on the inside of my cheek it almost hurt.
Service entrance, my foot.
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