Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Kane.”
“Call me Gareth.” He greets Nolan next, the two alpha jackasses briefly engaging in a contest of who can squeeze hardest, until they break apart. I have a feeling this meeting is going to be a pain already.
Nolan drags me into the booth beside him. Gareth smiles at us, hands folded on the table. “Well, I’ll admit, when Nolan called I didn’t expect such an unusual request.”
“What sort of requests does he normally reach out to you with?” I ask, smiling playfully.
Gareth shrugs. “Murder. Larceny. That sort of thing.”
My smile fades, but Nolan laughs. “Don’t scare the girl. We’ve only just been married.”
“Actually, I think it’s my duty to scare her, at least a little bit.” Gareth picks up the papers and straightens them. “This is the prenuptial agreement. Don’t worry that you’re already married, it won’t matter. I’ve kept everything more or less boilerplate, except for where Nolan directed otherwise. Would you like to see it?”
I shrug, accepting the stack of papers. “Even if I read this whole thing, which isn’t gonna happen, I’m not sure I’d understand half the legalese.”
“That’s the problem with this sort of thing,” Nolan says, leaning back. “We like to pretend as though the law were clear and accessible, but it’s really not. Then world’s split up into two classes—those that can afford a lawyer to parse it all out, and those that get fucked if they can’t.”
Nolan laughs. “Said like a true lawyer. Tell her what the thing says then. Don’t hold back on my account.”
Gareth inclines his head. “The document’s straightforward. It lays out some guidelines for divorce proceedings, namely that there will be none before five months.” He clears his throat. “Which wouldn’t be enforceable in court, by the way.”
“Don’t tell her that,” Nolan says, looking at his nails like this is boring him to death.
“It’s true though. He can’t actually force you to stay married to him.” Gareth’s staring at me with some concern in his expression. “You understand what you’re doing, don’t you?”
“Thank you, but I’m aware of how weird this situation is.”
Gareth gestures like that’s no big deal. “I’ve seen stranger. I’ve been involved in stranger. But what I mean is, you know what this man is, don’t you?”
I glance at Nolan. “An asshole?”
“He means, you know that I’m a gangster.” Nolan sighs and gives Gareth a hard look. “She’s aware, thank you.”
“As her lawyer, I’m just making sure.”
“You’re my lawyer, you prick.”
“Consider me lawyer to you both, since nobody’s actually paying me.”
Nolan grunts, but he’s smiling slightly. “Get to the good part, please.”
“Right.” Gareth turns his attention back to me. “In the agreement are certain payment provisions. Namely, you’ll have access to an unlimited line of credit, plus a trust will be established in your name. Every month, Nolan will add one million dollars, for a total of five million at the end of the five-month period. If you decide to terminate the marriage after that five-month period, you keep the accrued money. If you decide to terminate sooner than five months, you get nothing. Do you understand?”
I stare at Nolan, my mouth hanging open. I try to make sense of this development, but I can’t quite make it work. Why would he offer me five million dollars if I decide to leave him? That sort of money could change my life. I wouldn’t be able to quit working, but I’d be able to keep the shop going for a long while, even if I’m not profitable.
I turn to Gareth, trying to gather myself. “Can I have a second with him, please?”
“Of course.” Gareth gets up. “I’ll be right over there.” He wanders off to a juice bar.
“I have a feeling you’re about to shout at me,” Nolan says, smiling bigger now.
“What the hell is your game here?” I ask through my teeth. “Five million dollars?”
“It’s an incentive.”
“An incentive to what? Divorce you?”
His face gets serious, the smile slipping away. That intense stare of his, that incredibly focused attention, it slams into me like a boxing punch. I sit there, teeth gritted, staring back as I think about him fucking me barely an hour ago, the ache of him still between my legs.
“I want you to stay with me for five months. The money is your incentive to see it through. If I’ve done my job, at the end of those five months, you won’t want to go anywhere. Five million won’t matter to you then, since you’ll have plenty of money as my wife. Unlimited money, really, or at least more than you could possibly spend.”
I chew on my thumb, considering. “The five million is payment for following through then.”
“If you want to leave me after five months, I won’t stop you, and I’ll make sure you’re still taken care of. Everything you buy while we’re together will remain yours. Gareth has that in the contract too. The business will be yours as well. I’ll consider my investment a gift. That’s also in the contract. You will be free of me, and you will be financially set for the rest of your life.”