Chapter 3
1057 Words
CHAPTER 3
VALENTINE ROSE HARPER
At 9:57 the next morning, Valentine stood outside Lorenzo Romano’s office wondering whether turning around would count as a strategic retreat.
She checked the address again.
Same building.
Same name.
Same terrible decision.
“Three minutes early,” she muttered. “Look at me. Already making poor choices professionally.”
The receptionist looked up.
“Mr. Romano is expecting you.”
“Of course he is.”
Valentine handed over her phone and walked through the glass doors.
She had expected intimidation.
She hadn't expected silence.
The entire floor seemed to operate without unnecessary movement. Employees spoke quietly. Assistants walked quickly. Nobody appeared interested in wasting a second.
Then she reached Lorenzo’s office.
The door opened before she knocked.
A man stood beside the window, one hand resting in his trouser pocket.
Lorenzo Romano was not what Valentine had pictured.
That was annoying.
He wasn't flashy. No ridiculous display of wealth. No smug grin waiting to greet the woman he'd apparently decided to marry.
He looked composed. Expensively dressed. Entirely too comfortable in his own authority.
His attention moved to her.
Valentine suddenly became aware that she'd spent the elevator ride rehearsing insults.
Every single one disappeared.
Wonderful.
“You're Valentine Harper.”
She lifted her chin.
“You're Lorenzo Romano.”
“I am.”
“Good. We've established the basics.”
His expression barely changed.
“Sit.”
Valentine remained standing.
“I prefer chairs that don't come with instructions.”
Something faint moved across his face.
Not quite a smile.
Interesting.
Lorenzo returned to his desk.
Valentine sat anyway.
She hated that he had won that tiny battle.
A folder waited in front of her.
She opened it.
The contract.
She scanned the first page.
“Your lawyers work fast.”
“They've had the agreement prepared for some time.”
Her head came up.
“Some time?”
“Yes.”
“So this wasn't a sudden idea.”
“No.”
Valentine shut the folder.
“That's significantly worse.”
Lorenzo leaned back.
“Why?”
“Because now I'm wondering how long you've been planning to purchase yourself a wife.”
His gaze stayed on hers.
“I don't need to purchase a wife.”
“Interesting. Because my father's thirty-million-dollar debt seems to disagree.”
“I am offering a solution to your family's financial problem.”
“And receiving a wife in return.”
“A contractual wife.”
Valentine stared at him.
There it was.
The absurdity she'd been trying not to acknowledge since last night.
“You're insane.”
“No.”
“Then explain the difference.”
“I don't want romance.”
She blinked.
Lorenzo continued as though discussing an ordinary business merger.
“I need a wife for a specific period. You need your family's debt settled. We both benefit.”
Valentine actually laughed.
“You've managed to make marriage sound like leasing office equipment.”
“I prefer arrangements with clear terms.”
“That explains why you're single.”
A pause.
Valentine immediately wondered whether she'd gone too far.
Lorenzo simply looked at her.
“Probably.”
That answer caught her completely off guard.
She stared at him.
What was she supposed to say to that?
Lorenzo reached for the contract.
“One year. We marry publicly. We remain married for twelve months. At the end of that period, the agreement ends.”
“And you clear my father's debt?”
“The full outstanding amount.”
“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His fingers stopped against the paper.
Valentine waited.
Lorenzo's expression changed so slightly she might have imagined it.
“That's my concern.”
“No, it becomes my concern when you're asking me to marry you.”
“Then ask better questions.”
Valentine leaned forward.
“Fine. Why me?”
His answer came without hesitation.
“Because you won't fall in love with me.”
That shut her up.
For perhaps five seconds.
Then she leaned back.
“Your confidence is almost impressive.”
“It's not confidence.”
“What is it?”
“Experience.”
Something about the answer made the room feel different.
Valentine didn't know what to do with it.
So she opened the contract again.
“If I say no?”
“Your father loses the company.”
She looked up sharply.
“You really don't know how to make a person feel pressured, do you?”
“I prefer honesty.”
“That's convenient.”
Lorenzo ignored the comment.
Valentine flipped through the pages.
There were conditions concerning public appearances, confidentiality, residence, family obligations and the duration of the marriage.
She stopped.
“You expect me to live with you?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“That's negotiable.”
She looked at him.
That was not the response she'd expected.
Lorenzo gestured toward the contract.
“Read everything before deciding.”
Valentine studied him.
He wasn't pleading.
He wasn't flirting.
He wasn't even pretending this was romantic.
This was a transaction.
And somehow that made it easier to understand.
She closed the folder.
“I'll consider it.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“Take tonight.”
“That's generous.”
“Tomorrow morning, I'll need your answer.”
Valentine stood.
“See? There you go again.”
“Again?”
“Giving orders.”
“I gave you twenty-four hours.”
“You're exhausting.”
“I've been called worse.”
She headed toward the door.
Her hand had barely touched the handle when Lorenzo spoke again.
“Valentine.”
She turned.
His eyes dropped briefly to the contract.
“If you accept, I expect you to negotiate your terms.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I have no interest in marrying a woman who agrees to everything simply because she's afraid to refuse me.”
For the first time since she'd entered the building, Valentine had no clever response.
She studied him for a moment.
Then she walked out.
The elevator doors closed.
Valentine looked down at the contract in her hands.
She'd come here prepared to hate Lorenzo Romano.
That part was going perfectly.
The problem was that he had just told her to fight him.
And Valentine Harper had never been particularly good at backing down from a challenge.
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