Page 114 of His Two Hidden Masks

“I don’t want James to win.”

“Bullshit,” I said. “You know, I could sue you. You should be arrested for impersonating my fiancé.”

“Oh, don’t call him that,” Dylan said, giving a low laugh.

“You can’t tell me what I can or can’t call people.”

“If you would stop ranting at me for just a few seconds, you might actually have the brain power to think this through.”

“Oh my God. You are such a condescending asshole. You can’t help yourself.”

“I’m trying to explain,” he said. “You are impossible to communicate with.”

“Should we get couples counseling, dear?” Rage pumped through my limbs along with an undercurrent of sexual tension. I hated feeling desire for him still. It formed an uncuttable cord to bind us.

“Bella, you only thought about killing the deal from one side,” Dylan said, running a hand through his hair.

“Right, because there are only two sides. Us and you.”

“What do you think happens if I dissent as an active member of the board of directors for Street Entertainment.”

“But you didn’t,” I said, my mind slowing down enough to consider a scenario where I wasn’t the only one fighting James.

“You were focused on forging an alliance with Roberto,” Dylan said. “You never thought about what happens if you formed an alliance with me.”

“Is that what you’ve done?” I asked. “Aligned with me?”

“It’s me and you,” he said, stepping closer. “You see now, don’t you.”

For a moment, I stopped fighting. We stood bathed in the shifting lights of carnival. “There is no you and me,” I said, my voice shaking.

Music thumping, a glittering pink nymph holding a tray of cocktails offered us drinks. Dylan waved her off. I called her back, grabbed one glass in each hand and downed them both, one after the other. There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world for a moment like this.

Stepping closer to me, Dylan boldly traced his finger up and down my lace covered arms sending another wave of shivers rippling through my body. “You might be right. Maybe there is no ‘us’ after this.”

“Don’t,” I said, but I didn’t move. I leaned into his touch.

“There is a ‘you’ and ‘me’ tonight. We just got married.” He stepped even closer. His body slid into place beside me, warm and strong. “As husband and wife, we are the single biggest shareholders in Street Entertainment. The deal is dead. It stopped the moment we said ‘I do’.”

He pulled a phone out of his pocket. The screen lit up in the dark. He pointed to an email subject line.

Uzano Merger blocked (document attached)

“The story will break within the hour.”

“How did you do this?” I said, my pulse racing in panic and confusion. “I messaged Lissa. I told her I married Roberto.”

“Lissa already knows,” he said. “She helped make sure the right paperwork was in place when you signed with the cherubs. Roberto knows too.”

My mind replayed the events of the last hour. It was a blur, but I remembered signing my name, using Leo’s back as a table, twice. “Was that even a marriage certificate? What did I sign?”

Dylan shrugged, his lips curling into a gorgeous, crooked grin. “You signed two documents. The marriage certificate and our dissenting vote which killed the deal.”

I looked up into his deep brown eyes. “It’s over?”

“James is a fierce son-of-a-bitch and he will try to get the courts to reverse the filing, but he is also bright as fuck. He doesn’t have the votes and he can’t get them, on either side. He will give up.”

I let his words sink in as I tried to put the pieces of his plan together. “Who else knew about this? You obviously had help.”

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