Married To My Anonymous Enemy

Negotiation begins

"The choice is mine?" She raised a slow eyebrow, leaning back into her chair and crossing her arms. "That’s generous, Mr. Black. Considering you just backed me into a corner."

A slow, smirk touched the corner of Victor’s lips, the first real slip in his cool demeanor. "I merely provided a solution to a problem you didn't create, Miss Hart."

Up close, the sharp angle of his jaw and the quiet intensity of his gaze were entirely too distracting, but she refused to let it throw her off balance. "Let's be clear about one thing. I’m not signing away my autonomy. If we do this, it’s a partnership. Equal terms."

"Equal terms?" Victor echoed softly, his low voice dipping an octave as he inclined his head. He reached out, his fingers lightly brushing the edge of her leather notebook sitting on the table. "An investigative reporter and a CEO. You'll be looking for secrets where there are none, and I'll be trying to keep you from running my life."

"Is that a challenge?" Ruby’s lips twitched upward despite herself, a spark of playful defiance breaking through her caution. "Because I’m very good at uncovering things people prefer to keep hidden."

Victor leaned in a fraction closer, his dark eyes fixing on hers with an intense, unreadable warmth that sent a sudden trace of heat down her spine.

"I don't doubt that for a second, Ruby," he said quietly, his tone dangerously smooth. "The question is whether you'll like what you find when you look too closely at me."

Ruby held his gaze, her breath catching slightly at the sudden shift in energy between them. "Try me."

Victor smiled, a genuine, mesmerizing sight that completely altered his carved features. He pushed the silver pen a fraction of an inch closer to her fingers.

"Negotiate your terms, then," Victor murmured. "I’m listening."

Ruby leaned forward, placing both elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands. A light, wicked smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Term number one," she said, her tone dropping into a smooth, deliberate cadence. "I keep my career, and my independence. You don't try to buy my newspaper, buy out my editor, or discreetly steer assignments away from me."

Victor didn't even blink, though the subtle glint in his dark eyes showed he was thoroughly enjoying the pushback. "Acceptable. Though I make no promises if your investigative streak leads you into something foolishly dangerous. I prefer my investment intact."

"I can take care of myself, Mr. Black," Ruby countered smoothly, narrowing her eyes with a mischievous tilt of her head. "Which brings me to term number two: separate bedrooms. I’m agreeing to a marriage of convenience, not a full-time performance."

Victor paused, resting his forearm against the table as he leaned in just enough to close the distance between them. The faint, refined scent of sandalwood and rain drifted over her, entirely too distracting.

"Separate bedrooms?" He echoed, his voice a low, resonant murmur that made her skin prickle. "A bit cold, don't you think, for a newlywed couple supposed to convince the city's highest social circles that we're madly in love?"

"We're exceptional actors," Ruby shot back without missing a beat, her heart doing a quick, betraying flutter that she stubbornly ignored. "Besides, keeping a little distance will keep you from getting too attached."

Victor let out a soft, rare chuckle, a deep, magnetic sound that cut straight through her defenses. "Attached? Miss Hart, you speak as if you're the dangerous one here."

"I am the dangerous one," she insisted, tapping her index finger against the polished wood between them. "I'm the one who writes the headlines. You're just the guy paying for my father's bad decisions."

"And here I thought I was your knight in shining armor," Victor teased softly, the banter light, effortless, and laced with an unmistakable undercurrent of heat.

"You're a knight with a heavy invoice, Black," Ruby corrected, a genuine spark of laughter escaping her. She reached out, her fingers brushing against the heavy silver pen sitting between them. She picked it up, feeling the cool weight of it in her hand. "Term number three: if I find out you're hiding anything that puts my family or my reputation in jeopardy, the deal is off."

Victor's gaze held hers, steady and unreadable, though the playful charm in his demeanor remained intact. "Fair enough. Do we have a deal, Ruby?"

She looked at the document, then back up at the enigmatic billionaire who held her family's fate in his hands, and who was making it outrageously difficult for her to stay furious.

"We have a deal," she murmured, flipping open the contract and pressing the pen to paper.