Hired to Love:Games of throne

Chapter SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Isabella's head throbbed as she flipped through the stack of papers for the hundredth time, cramming every detail about her supposed one year relationship with Alexander into her already overloaded brain.

"Harvard Business School, graduated top of his class," she muttered and rolled her eyes at the pages. "Bullshit." The more she read, the more her eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. Student body president, debate team captain, honors society, whoever wrote this fairy tale clearly hadn't met the real Alexander Elysian.

The car curved around another bend, and through the tinted windows, she caught her first glimpse of the Elysian mansion.

Her sharp mind cataloged every detail of the approaching mansion - Gothic architecture, at least thirty rooms, probably built in the 1900s. She'd researched enough about the Elysians to fill a book, but seeing their world up close made her feel like an ant about to walk into a palace of giants.

"Ready?" Alexander's voice cut through her thoughts as the car rolled to a stop.

"Ready as hell," Isabella shot back, but her grip on the papers betrayed her nerves.

"Your hands say otherwise, sweetheart." His smirk appeared as he nodded toward her trembling fingers. "Try not to pass out before we make it through the door."

Before she could snap back, Alexander stepped out of the car first, and Isabella used those precious seconds to take one last look at the script. The door opened on her side, and she quickly stuffed the papers into her bag as Alexander extended his hand.

"Isn't this a bit much?" she whispered as she took his hand, trying to ignore how warm his palm felt against hers.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Isabella hissed as she stepped out, smoothing her navy dress.

“Darling, we're about to convince my family that you've somehow managed to reform the infamous Alexander Elysian. We need to be disgustingly in love.”

His fingers wrapped around hers before she could pull away, and Isabella reminded herself this was all part of the show.

The massive front door swung open just as they reached the top step, revealing a woman who could've stepped straight out of a society magazine. Victoria Elysian, perfectly styled and manicured, wore a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Isabella immediately noticed the slight tightening around the woman's mouth, the calculating gaze as it swept over their joined hands.

"You must be Isabella. We've been so looking forward to meeting the woman who's finally captured our Alexander's heart."

Isabella plastered on her best guest relations smile, the one she'd perfected after years of dealing with entitled clients. "I've been looking forward to meeting you all too," she said, taking Victoria's hand and trying not to think about how those red nails looked like freshly painted daggers.

The interior of the Elysian mansion hit her. She was wowed withmarble floors, artwork that belonged in museums, and a chandelier that could pay for Josephine's entire treatment. Isabella forced herself not to stare, but damn if it wasn't hard when everything screamed old money and power.

"So this is the woman who's tamed our Alexander." The deep voice came from the top of the staircase, and Isabella's spine straightened automatically. Dominick Elysian descended like a king from his throne. She'd seen plenty of photos of him in business magazines, but they hadn't captured the intensity of his stare - the kind that made you feel like he was reading your entire life story in one glance.

His eyes swept over her like he was assessing her. Isabella kept her chin up, refusing to shrink under his intense gaze. She'd faced down worse in the hotel industry - though admittedly, none of them had been billionaires holding her sister's future in their hands.

"Isabella Taylor." She extended her hand, proud that it didn't shake. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Elysian."

A shadow moved behind Dominick, and Nathan Elysian emerged. Alexander had warned her about him - ambitious, ruthless, and too smart for his own good. The way his eyes lingered on her made her skin crawl, but Isabella kept her smile firmly in place.

"Welcome to the family," Nathan's grip on her hand lasted a few seconds too long. "Though I must say, you're not quite what I expected for my dear brother."

Isabella fought the urge to smack him . "Life's full of surprises, isn't it?"

*********************

Nathan's eyes lingered on Isabella longer than comfortable, like he was peeling back every layer of her, and she fought the urge to fidget under his scrutiny until he finally released her from his gaze with a slight nod.

They entered the dining room as Alexander pulled out her chair - ever the perfect gentleman when others were watching.

Maude, the silver-haired housekeeper, directed a parade of servers carrying enough dishes to feed a small army - lobster thermidor, beef wellington, roasted duck, and at least five different sides that Isabella couldn't even name - and she wondered if this was really how the other half lived every single day.

"Please, begin," Victoria smiled that perfect society smile that didn't reach her eyes, and everyone started eating in a silence that felt thick enough to cut with the absurdly expensive butter knife beside Isabella's plate.

"So, Isabella," Victoria's voice cut through the quiet like a blade, "tell us about your parents - we're dying to know more about them."

Isabella almost choked on her wine, but Alexander's hand was there instantly with a water glass, his fingers brushing hers in what looked like concern but felt like a warning.

"Yes, dear," Victoria pressed, "Alexander mentioned something about tech, but he's been frustratingly vague about the details."

Isabella's mind raced - Alexander had told her he'd already given them the cover story about her supposed tech mogul father, so why was Victoria fishing? Then it hit her: this was a test.

"Oh, you know how it is with tech pioneers," Isabella answered smoothly, the lie burning her throat less than she expected, "Dad's always jetting off to some conference or launch event - Silicon Valley one day, Tokyo the next."

The tension in the room could have powered a small city.

"And your mother?" Victoria pushed, earning a sharp "Mother" from Alexander, but Isabella cut him off.

"It's fine, sweetheart," she touched his arm with practiced affection, "My mother actually passed away when I was young - but she left me with a love of art that led me to meet your wonderful son."

Victoria's perfectly painted mouth dropped open slightly, clearly not expecting such a polished response.

"Speaking of art," Nathan jumped in, his smile all teeth, "what are your thoughts on the recent controversies surrounding anonymous street artists? Particularly that one everyone's talking about - Veritas, was it?"

Isabella's heart stopped for half a second - this definitely wasn't in the script she'd memorized - but years of hiding in plain sight kicked in.

"Actually," she met his gaze straight on, "I find their work fascinating from a sociological perspective - how they challenge the established order while remaining deliberately invisible. Though I suppose some might consider it... threatening."

The silence that followed felt like standing on the edge of a cliff.

"Enough of this interrogation," Dominick's voice carried the weight of absolute authority, "I simply want to know how you met my son."

Isabella glanced at Alexander, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders with practiced ease.

"We met at the Morton Gallery opening," she began, forcing warmth into her voice as they performed their carefully rehearsed dance, "Alexander was criticizing a particularly abstract piece, and I couldn't help but point out that he was looking at it upside down."

Alexander actually laughed, and for a moment it almost sounded genuine.

"She made me look like an absolute fool," he added, his thumb tracing circles on her shoulder that made her want to stab him with her fork, "but somehow convinced me to get coffee anyway."

Dominick watched their performance with those laser-sharp eyes, and just when Isabella thought they'd pulled it off, he leaned forward with the question that made her blood run cold:

"And tell me, Isabella - what do you know about the recent break-in at the Eden Gallery?”