Chapter 3: The Proposal That Sounded Like an Insult II
1077 Words
The following morning, Aria arrived at Bennett Dynamics thirty minutes earlier than usual.
She had barely stepped into her office when Mia appeared at the door.
"Good morning."
"It was, until I saw that expression."
Mia placed a cream-colored envelope on her desk.
"It arrived ten minutes ago."
Aria glanced at the gold wax seal.
Ashford Global.
She sighed.
"He actually sent a letter?"
"It was delivered by hand."
Aria broke the seal and unfolded a single sheet of expensive stationery.
There were only two lines.
Lunch. One o'clock. The Imperial Club.
If you still say no after thirty minutes, I'll never ask again.
No signature.
He didn't need one.
She read it twice before folding it neatly.
"He has confidence," Mia observed.
"He has nerve."
"So... you're not going?"
Aria looked out at the skyline.
"I didn't say that."
---
At exactly one o'clock, Aria walked into the private dining room of the Imperial Club.
Damien was already there.
He stood as she entered.
"You came."
"I came to end this."
He pulled out a chair.
She ignored it and seated herself opposite him instead.
A flicker of amusement crossed his face before he sat.
"You dislike making things easy."
"I dislike men who mistake persistence for charm."
A waiter approached.
Damien closed the menu.
"We'll order later."
The waiter discreetly withdrew.
Aria rested her hands on the table.
"You have thirty minutes."
"I only need ten."
"You've already wasted one."
For the first time, Damien smiled openly.
Not broadly.
Just enough to soften the severe lines of his face.
"I've been told you're impatient."
"I value my time."
"So do I."
"Then explain."
Damien leaned forward slightly.
"My grandfather's will requires me to marry within ninety days."
She blinked.
That...
She hadn't expected.
"So this isn't romantic."
"No."
"It isn't personal."
"Not initially."
She stared at him.
"You proposed because of a legal document?"
"Yes."
She let out a slow breath.
"I should be offended."
"You probably are."
"I am."
"But at least now you're being honest."
He nodded once.
"I have no interest in lying to you."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Aria asked quietly,
"Why me?"
"There are thousands of women."
"I don't want thousands."
"You only need one."
"I need the right one."
"And that's me?"
"You meet every condition."
She almost laughed again.
"That sounds incredibly unromantic."
"It wasn't intended to be."
She studied him.
He wasn't nervous.
He wasn't trying to impress her.
He was simply presenting facts.
Cold.
Logical.
Calculated.
Exactly as the newspapers described him.
"Tell me something."
"I'm listening."
"If your grandfather hadn't written that condition..."
"Would I have proposed?"
"Yes."
Damien didn't answer immediately.
"No."
There it was.
The brutal honesty again.
Oddly...
She respected it.
Even while hating the answer.
"So I'm convenient."
"No."
He met her eyes.
"Convenient women don't build empires."
Something shifted inside her.
It was only for a moment.
But she felt it.
He continued.
"You challenge me."
"You frustrate me."
"You refuse to fear me."
"And you possess enough power that no one could accuse me of buying a wife."
Aria folded her arms.
"You've certainly thought this through."
"I think everything through."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It has its advantages."
She smiled faintly.
"And its disadvantages."
Their eyes held.
For one brief second...
The conversation no longer felt like a negotiation.
It felt...
Personal.
Dangerously so.
Aria broke the moment.
"My answer is still no."
"I expected that."
"You expected me to waste my lunch break?"
"I expected you to hear the truth."
She rose from her chair.
"Now you have your answer."
As she turned to leave, Damien spoke.
"What if I told you marrying me would protect Bennett Dynamics?"
She stopped.
Very slowly...
She looked back.
"What does that mean?"
"I've been hearing rumors."
"What rumors?"
"Someone is trying to acquire your company."
Her expression hardened.
"Impossible."
"They've already begun purchasing shares through shell corporations."
She froze.
Only four people knew that.
Her legal team had discovered unusual trading activity two days earlier.
They hadn't even identified the buyer.
"How do you know?"
"I investigate every move made against my competitors."
"Why warn me?"
"Because if Bennett Dynamics falls..."
He stood.
"...my future wife disappears with it."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You are unbelievable."
"So I've been told."
"You actually think I'll marry you because you scared me?"
"No."
"Then why tell me?"
"Because you'll discover it's true by this evening."
He walked past her.
Stopping only long enough to say quietly,
"When you do..."
"...call me."
Then he left.
Without another word.
---
At four thirty that afternoon, Aria stormed into her legal department.
"Tell me everything."
Her chief legal officer looked up in surprise.
"We were just about to call you."
Her stomach tightened.
"It's true."
He nodded grimly.
"Someone has quietly acquired nearly twelve percent of Bennett Dynamics."
Her pulse quickened.
"Can you identify them?"
"Not yet."
"They've hidden behind multiple international investment firms."
Exactly as Damien had said.
She stood perfectly still.
Her mind replayed every word he'd spoken over lunch.
This wasn't coincidence.
He had known.
Her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
She answered.
"Aria."
"I assume you've spoken to your legal team."
His calm voice sent an unexpected shiver through her.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know."
She frowned.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I know someone is coming."
"I don't yet know who."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"What do you want from me?"
"For now?"
"Yes."
"Nothing."
She frowned again.
"Then why call?"
"To make sure you don't face this alone."
For the first time since meeting Damien Ashford...
Aria didn't know what to say.
His proposal had sounded like an insult.
But his warning...
Had just saved her company from being caught completely off guard.
Was he manipulating her?
Almost certainly.
Was he telling the truth?
Undeniably.
She looked through her office window toward the towering silhouette of Ashford Global across the city.
For the first time...
She wasn't looking at her greatest rival.
She was looking at the only man who had seen the storm before it reached her.
And somewhere high above the city...
Damien stood in his own office, watching the lights of Bennett Dynamics flicker on as evening settled over the skyline.
His phone buzzed once.
A single text message.
From Aria Bennett.
«We need to talk.»
A slow, satisfied smile touched his lips.
The negotiation...
Had finally begun.
- Writer
