Page 14 of The Marriage Deal
His head dropped. "It was tougher than I thought."
"Nolan!"
"Sorry! What did you say you wanted to talk to me about?" He said, trying to change the conversation, not realizing we were still on the same damn topic.
"I need money to buy the collection, but I can't liquidate my shares because the trust says I have to be married."
"Oh, that clause. Dad put it in because he thought your mother would take it all for herself. His words, not mine. I thought it was no longer there after Ivy challenged it."
Our father's perception of my mother was not far off, but fuck, why did he have to harm me and my brothers as well? "Ivy's clause was different."
"You can challenge it. I'm sure Tyler and Sebastian would not mind. Though I do like things, the way they are, if I may say so. Makes things easier for me if you guys aren't diluting the family block of shares."
"I don't have time to challenge it. I need the money urgently. It can be a loan."
"How much?"
I named the likely amount the collection might end up being.
Nolan laughed.
"You have shit luck. Do you know that? Did you piss off a fairy or something?"
Oh. God. What now?
"Damien and I bought shares in a startup recently. It's all over the news."
I rarely read business news, and now I wish I did.
"It was a huge stake. We used our personal funds plus some loans, which means I'm illiquid right now. I am cash-poor. But give me a month and I could pull something for you."
"I don't have that long."
Nolan brushed my arm. “Looks like you have to get busy looking for a wife.”
7
Elvira
From:[email protected]
Date: May 27, 20xx, 9:04AM
Subject:RE: Marriage Deal
Dear Elvira
Please come to my office.
I PRESSED THE SEND button. Fuck! I scrolled up the email just to make sure I was the one who wrote the email he was replying to. Yep. That's my drunk, typo-ridden email, alright. And I fucking send it. I read his reply again through a head-splitting hangover as though the words would magically change. I can't believe I was foolish enough to send it.I took an aspirin, drank some water, hoping to cure my hangover, and prayed for the best as I dragged my feet to his office.
Levi was sitting in his chair, his large desk unusually clean. The only thing on it was his laptop. He wore his usual attire: a light blue shirt under a brown jacket and dark blue pants. But he nonetheless looked imposing, like a king in his domain. A mysterious and handsome king. One you'd find in a dark fantasy. His dark brown hair looked darker in the dim light of his office, and his gray eyes were even more piercing. My mouthwent dry. Out of fear or something else. I chose fear. The other emotion was more terrifying to contemplate.
My gaze darted away from him to his general office. It did not help that he had one of the largest offices in the department and that it was filled with books and papers on the floor. They were neatly piled into stacks that looked like his sentries guarding him from nuisance subjects like me. He gestured to the two visitors' chairs, and I pulled one and sank into it, my stomach rumbling with fear.
"You know why I called you."
