SEXY SCANDAL

SIX

He leaned back in his seat slightly, like he had all the time in the world. “This is business, sweetheart. Nothing more. We have a common goal, and I’m offering a solution that benefits both of us”. Then he dropped the real bomb. “You need access. I have power. With my name attached to yours, you’ll walk through doors that would have taken you years to unlock. You get resources. A title. And yes…” he tilted his head slightly, lips curling at the corner, “… a very generous amount of money”

He looked down at his watch, clearly bored, “I’m pretty sure you can comprehend what I just said” I opened my mouth, then closing it again. My fingers clenched the edge of the table, trying to ground myself. He made it sound so… logical … so easy. Like I was just some piece on a chessboard he could move whenever it suited him.

My eyes dropped. “You don’t even know me” I mumbled, and it sounded so small, so pathetic even to my own ears. “I know enough” he said simply. And maybe that was the problem. What did he know about me? His words hit me like a freight train. I wanted to scream at him, tell him off, but I couldn’t, he had me cornered. Everything he said made too much sense, and I hated that.

“I do not want to marry you” I said, my voice firm this time. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he smirked, rising to his feet and casually adjusting his black tuxedo, the kind of tux could probably cover my house rent for the next three years, maybe more.

“It’s either you’re so foolish or you enjoy playing hard to get. I’ll give you two days to think about it” he said, sliding a sleek business card across the table. “Whenever you come to your senses and change your mind, I’ll see where I can fit you in my schedule” I didn’t touch the card, not yet.

I just peeked at it and he added coolly, “I must remind you, I’m not a patient man”. Then he turned smoothly, walking out of the restaurant like he owned it. Without a word, two men in tailored black suits fell in step behind him, moving with practiced calculated steps.

I sat frozen for a moment, still staring at the spot where he’d just stood. The chair he left behind was still warm, yet he was already gone, like a storm that swept through and vanished before I could catch my breath. My fingers hovered over the business card but didn’t dare touch it.

My heart was racing, not just from anger, not just from confusion, but from something I wasn’t quite ready to face yet. Why did his words sting like a dare? Why did his voice echo in my chest like a challenge I hadn’t accepted… but also hadn’t entirely refused?

I scoffed under my breath, forcing a laugh. “What an arrogant bastard.” And yet I hated how a part of me… wanted to chase after him. No. I wasn’t thinking right. I quickly tucked the card into my apron pocket after one more judgmental gaze. I got up ignoring the curious stares from across the room.

I hated that I kept the card. It felt like a betrayal… not to him but to myself. I pushed through the kitchen doors like nothing had happened, but of course, Christine had caught it. She was leaning against the counter, apron dusted with flour, eyebrows raised so high they were practically halfway up her forehead.

“Oh, so that’s how we’re walking now?” She said, arms crossed, smirking. “All mysterious and shaken like you just saw a ghost… or a god” I rolled my eyes, tossing a towel at her. “Don’t start”. She giggled, “I’m not doing anything. You already started” she said, taking a dramatic bit of the cookie dough she wasn’t supposed to eat.

“I just wanna know why the f**k a billionaire came her asking to borrow you like you’re a library book?” I opened my mouth to protest. She was going to dig whether I liked it or not. “Was that… Ellis Murray?” she whispered, suddenly serious. She said his name like she was afraid he’ll hear.

I busied myself with the dough avoiding her gaze. “He’s… funding a project I’ve been working on…” I lied, not fully a lie though. I couldn’t tell her that a billionaire popped from nowhere asking me to marry him. “… some private investigation leads”

Christine leaned in, a smirk playing on her lips. “A billionaire interested in your dusty files?? Must be a very generous donor.” My mind immediately flashed to earlier when he had paid my boss to speak to me. I forced a laugh, hoping it sounded convincing, and then slapped her hand away from the dough.