Page 32 of The Billionaire's Marriage Dare

Electro Trade Show

AMC Booth

Jane was still pinching herself every other minute or so, and every time she did the huge diamond winking on her finger would catch rays of light and proceed to blind the people around her.

Thankfully, there weren’t that many yet. First days of trade shows were typically closed to the public and reserved only for VIP guests, and the Electro Trade Show was no different.

“Can you get the display to start playing our video?” Sandy called out from the other end of the booth.

“On it!” Jane had to raise her voice a little to make sure she was heard. AMC having the largest booth in the trade show was something to be proud of, but on the other hand, her throat was starting to hurt from all the yelling.

As she switched the display and played the pre-loaded video, she caught sight of her finger—-

The diamond on her engagement ring winked at Jane, as if saying mockingly, You go, girl.

Jane almost made a face. Everyone had been a little bit too enthusiastic about her engagement, the news of which had spread like wildfire from AMC’s lobby all the way to the executive floor, thanks to her boss Vince.

As it turned out, Vince was an obsessed H player, and when he learned the reason behind her resignation, his mood had swung from disappointment to ecstasy. Jane, in his exact words, was “H royalty” by virtue of her connection to its developer, and other obsessed H players working at AMC seemingly shared the sentiment. Before Jane realized what was happening, people she only knew by name and people she hadn’t even seen because they were so high up in AMC’s hierarchy were dropping by her cubicle, offering Jane congratulations and gawking at her like – well – H royalty. It was as if merely talking to Jane took them one step closer to discovering all the game’s secrets.

If only they knew, Jane thought, discomfited. Christian had never talked to her about the “third party,” and to be honest, she was too afraid and insecure to ask why. If he said he believed she wasn’t smart enough to understand the nature of his work, she might just kill him.

A well-dressed couple drifted towards AMC’s booth, and Jane shoved all thoughts of her newfound popularity to the side. It was time to work, and since Vince had been nice enough to reduce the required one-month notice to a mere week, the least she could do was work her ass off on her remaining days.

Stepping forward, Jane greeted the couple with a warm smile before seguing to a brief but concise spiel about her company’s latest offerings – digital news subscription, event management apps, advertising opportunities.

“Some of our partners include...” Jane rattled off a couple of well-known businesses, knowing full well – and not caring – that she was totally name-dropping. That was what P.R. was all about, after all.

“If you have any questions,” Jane ended, “feel free to approach me.”

The man smiled hesitantly. “Actually, I do have one, but it’s not...”

Jane was concerned. “You can ask me anything.” Had bad news of any kind about AMC broken out without her getting wind of it?

The woman blurted out, “Are you Jane Cooper, the fiancée of Christian Ravenhearst?”

Oh. At her cautious nod, the couple grinned at each other like they had hit the jackpot. Surreal, Jane couldn’t help but think, despite knowing it was the understatement of the year. And it really was, especially for someone who used to think that the world wouldn’t even blink if she had dropped dead for no reason.

“I’m just fangirling right now,” the woman blubbered, eyes shining with excitement. “I feel like I’m talking to Christian Ravenhearst himself. I saw the announcement on the newspaper, you know, and then when I saw your name listed on the booth, I was wondering – could it be her? Could I be so lucky?”

As soon as the couple left, Jane quickly searched for her name on any news article, and the results that popped up had her gaping. Why hadn’t Christian told her he was going to—-

“Oh, Jane, there you are.”

Jane’s stomach sank. Was it too late to pretend she hadn’t heard anything? Could she still escape—-

The news anchor came into view, her beautiful face marred by her carnivorous-looking smile.

Shit.

“I almost didn’t see you.”

Shit again. Did Merry always have to make Jane feel like she was a few inches short of being visible?

“I saw the engagement in the newspaper.” Merry’s lips curled in its best attempt at a smile.

“Oh? Uh? Thanks?” It was hard to be coherent, with Merry staring at Jane like she was something to be chewed into pieces – for the sake of chewing.

Another woman approached the news anchor then, and Jane almost did a double take. Wow. It was like seeing Merry’s doppelganger, never mind if the other woman had wavy auburn hair and icy gray eyes.

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