Chapter 5
1321 Words
CHAPTER 5
VALENTINE ROSE HARPER
Valentine arrived at Lorenzo Romano’s office carrying a folder, a notebook, and enough irritation to power the elevator.
This time, she didn't wait for him to tell her where to sit.
She dropped into the chair opposite his desk.
“I have conditions.”
Lorenzo looked up from his laptop.
“Good morning to you too.”
She paused.
That was unexpectedly normal.
“Good morning.”
“Better.”
“Don't get comfortable.”
His mouth twitched.
Valentine opened her folder.
“I read everything you sent.”
“Then you understand the situation.”
“I understand that my family is cornered.”
“And?”
“And I understand that you're the man standing at the only exit.”
Lorenzo closed his laptop.
Valentine noticed.
He had her full attention now.
“I'm not agreeing yet,” she said.
“I know.”
“I'm not moving into your house immediately.”
“Fine.”
“I keep working.”
“Obviously.”
“I keep my own bank accounts.”
“Yes.”
“My family remains my family. You don't get to dictate who I see, where I go, or what I do with my career.”
“Agreed.”
Valentine frowned.
She'd prepared arguments for each point.
He was ruining the fun.
“You're supposed to argue.”
“Why?”
“Because you're Lorenzo Romano.”
“That explains nothing.”
“It explains everything.”
He leaned back.
Valentine flipped another page.
“Fine. No interference with my family. No monitoring my phone. No tracking me. No entering my room without permission.”
“Agreed.”
“No expecting me to behave like some obedient little wife at your command.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“Was that ever under consideration?”
“You're making this difficult.”
“I haven't said anything.”
“Exactly.”
She moved to the next page.
“And there will be no pretending this is a love story between us when we're alone.”
Something changed in his expression.
Not anger.
Attention.
“Explain.”
“In public, we'll do whatever is necessary. At home, we're strangers with paperwork.”
Lorenzo considered that.
“Fine.”
Valentine frowned.
“You're agreeing too quickly.”
“You asked for boundaries. I'm listening.”
That shut her up for a moment.
She looked down at her notes.
There was one more.
The one she hadn't been sure she could say aloud.
“There's no physical obligation.”
Lorenzo didn't move.
Valentine's fingers tightened around her pen.
“I mean it.”
“I understand.”
“Marriage doesn't give you rights over me.”
His answer was immediate.
“It doesn't.”
The tension in her shoulders eased slightly.
She hadn't realized she'd been holding it.
Lorenzo reached for the contract.
“Anything else?”
Valentine stared at him.
She had expected arrogance.
Pressure.
Some ridiculous demand designed to remind her who had the money.
Instead, he was simply waiting.
“I'm allowed to leave.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“During the marriage?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Whenever I want.”
“No.”
There it was.
Valentine sat straighter.
“Excuse me?”
“You're free to leave the house. You're not disappearing for days without informing me.”
“Why?”
“Because we're going to be married publicly. Your disappearance becomes my problem.”
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
That was annoyingly reasonable.
“Fine. I'll inform you.”
“Good.”
She wrote it down.
Lorenzo watched her pen move across the paper.
Then he said, “My turn.”
Valentine stopped.
“Your turn?”
“You've spent fifteen minutes telling me what you expect from this marriage.”
“Because you proposed it.”
“And you've accepted the benefits without asking what I require.”
Valentine slowly lowered her pen.
“Go on.”
“One year.”
“I know.”
“You will attend important family and business events with me.”
She grimaced.
“How many?”
“As many as necessary.”
“That sounds suspiciously unlimited.”
“Then we'll specify them in writing.”
She looked at him.
He was serious.
“Fine.”
“Second, you don't discuss the contract with outsiders.”
“Obviously.”
“Not your friends. Not journalists. Not business associates.”
“My mother?”
“No.”
Valentine's eyes widened.
“My mother is technically involved in my existence.”
“She doesn't need the details.”
“She'll know I'm married.”
“She will know.”
“She'll ask questions.”
“Then answer the ones you're comfortable answering.”
Valentine stared at him.
“You're surprisingly reasonable for a man who tried to buy a wife.”
Lorenzo's expression cooled.
“I didn't buy you.”
“Thirty million dollars says otherwise.”
“I offered your family a solution.”
“And conveniently chose the daughter.”
“Because I needed a wife.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
Valentine waited.
Nothing.
“Right. Mysterious billionaire nonsense. Got it.”
She returned to the document.
Lorenzo continued.
“You'll also maintain a respectable public image.”
“I have one.”
“Your photograph from last month at the charity gala suggests otherwise.”
Valentine slowly raised her head.
“What photograph?”
“The one where you were standing on a chair arguing with the auctioneer.”
“He cheated me!”
“He was seventy-two.”
“He knew exactly what he was doing.”
Lorenzo's face remained perfectly straight.
Valentine pointed at him.
“Don't.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You're thinking it.”
“That's difficult to prove.”
She narrowed her eyes.
Then, against her better judgment, a tiny laugh escaped.
It disappeared quickly.
She remembered why she was there.
Valentine looked down at the contract again.
“Last condition.”
Lorenzo waited.
“When this year ends, neither of us owes the other anything.”
His gaze remained on her.
“No guilt. No threats. No changing the agreement because one of us changes our mind.”
“Agreed.”
Valentine exhaled.
She hadn't realized how badly she'd needed that answer.
She pushed the folder toward him.
“Add everything we discussed.”
Lorenzo didn't touch it.
“You're agreeing?”
“No.”
His eyebrows rose.
Valentine smiled without warmth.
“I'm negotiating.”
For the first time, Lorenzo actually smiled.
It was brief.
Barely there.
Still, she caught it.
And somehow that was more unsettling than his cold expression.
Lorenzo reached for his phone.
“I'll have my lawyer revise the agreement.”
Valentine stood.
“Good.”
She picked up her handbag.
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
She reached the door.
“Valentine.”
She turned.
Lorenzo's voice was quieter now.
“You should understand something before you sign.”
“What?”
“Once the agreement is executed, this marriage becomes public.”
Her fingers tightened around her handbag.
Lorenzo continued.
“People will watch you. My family will have opinions. My business rivals will look for weaknesses. And some of them will assume you're the easiest way to get to me.”
The humor left her face.
“Are you warning me?”
“Yes.”
Valentine studied him.
For once, there was no teasing answer ready.
“Then make sure your contract protects me.”
Lorenzo held her gaze.
“It will.”
She left before she could decide whether she believed him.
Behind the closed door, Lorenzo looked down at the handwritten conditions Valentine had added to the agreement.
Most people negotiated for money.
She had negotiated for freedom.
He wasn't sure whether that made her difficult.
Or exactly the reason he'd chosen her.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD