Chapter 3 The Offer

The elevator climbed without making a sound. Maya watched the numbers rise past twenty-eight, thirty-one, thirty-six, with Evelyn standing beside her, hands folded loosely in front of her. Every floor felt like it was carrying her farther away from the sensible decision. At forty-two, the doors opened, and Evelyn stepped out first. Maya followed. The hallway was quiet and carpeted, wide enough to make her feel as though she had walked into a place where ordinary people weren't supposed to exist. Evelyn stopped in front of a set of dark wooden doors. "Mr. Cole is inside." Maya looked at her. "Anything I should know?" Evelyn thought for a moment. "He's direct." "So I gathered." "And he doesn't like wasting time." "Neither do I." Something almost like approval crossed Evelyn's face. She knocked once, and a voice came from inside. "Come in." Evelyn opened the door, and Maya stepped through. The first thing she noticed was the view. The second was Ethan Cole, who stood with his back to the room, looking through a wall of glass at the city below. He didn't turn when she entered. Maya waited, then glanced at Evelyn, who gave her a small nod and left. The door clicked shut. Maya looked back at the man by the window. "So you're Ethan Cole." He turned. The photo hadn't prepared her for him. He was younger than she expected, but there was nothing young about the way he carried himself. His suit was dark, perfectly fitted, and plain in a way that only made it look more expensive. His expression gave her nothing. "You're Maya Brooks." "That depends." His eyebrow moved slightly. "On?" "Who's asking." Something shifted in his expression, not quite a smile, but close enough that she noticed. "Ethan Cole." "Right." He gestured toward the chair opposite his desk. "Sit." Maya stayed where she was, and for a moment they simply looked at each other. "Do you always tell people what to do?" "When they're standing in my office." "I've been standing for less than a minute." Maya bit back a smile and sat. Ethan took his seat behind the desk and set a thin folder between them. "I assume Evelyn explained why you're here." "She explained almost nothing." "That was intentional." "Convenient." Ethan opened the folder. "Your mother is receiving treatment at Saint Gabriel Medical Center." Maya sat up straighter. "You've been investigating me." "I've been gathering information." "That's a nicer word for it." "I wasn't trying to make it sound nicer." That caught her off guard. "Your mother's treatment has been delayed twice because of unpaid balances." Ethan said. "You already know that." "I know." "You know where I work." "Yes." "How many jobs do I have?" "Three." "You really did your homework." "I needed to know who I was making this offer to." Maya leaned back. "Then you should know I'm not interested in charity." "This isn't charity." "Good." Ethan closed the folder. "I have no interest in buying your gratitude." "Then what exactly are you buying?" His eyes stayed on hers. "Your marriage." He said it so flatly that it took a second to land. Maya blinked. "Excuse me?" "I want you to marry me." So that was the condition. Maya looked toward the door. "Is this some kind of joke?" "No." "Because if it is, you have a strange sense of humor." "I'm serious." She looked back at him. "Why?" Ethan didn't answer immediately. He leaned back in his chair, studying her as though deciding how much truth she was ready to hear. "My company is facing a change in control." Maya frowned. "What does that have to do with marriage?" "More than you think." He folded his hands on the desk. "My father left a controlling block of Cole Industries shares in a family trust. Those shares determine who controls the company, and the trust transfers in nine weeks. The trust has one condition." Maya saw where this was going. "Let me guess." "Marriage." Her expression flattened. "You're kidding." "I don't joke about my company." "Your father put a marriage requirement in a business trust?" "He did." "Why?" "Because he believed whoever controlled Cole Industries needed something outside the company that could not be bought, fired, or replaced." Maya let that sink in. "Your father sounds exhausting." A faint flicker crossed Ethan's eyes. "He was." Ethan glanced toward the window, then back at her. Maya hadn't expected that answer. Ethan went on. "The trust gives me control of the shares if I'm married before the transfer date." "And if you're not?" "My father's shares go into a voting arrangement controlled by the other trustees." "Meaning?" "Meaning my cousin gets enough voting power to challenge me for control of the company." Maya took that in. "So you need a wife to keep your company." "I need a marriage that satisfies the terms of the trust." "And you picked me." "Yes." "Why?" Ethan's gaze remained steady. "Because you don't belong to my world." Maya's eyebrows rose. "That doesn't sound like a compliment." "It isn't meant to be." She waited. "You have no history with my family. No interest in Cole Industries. No social connections that would make you useful to anyone trying to influence me. You've kept three jobs while caring for your mother, and despite your financial situation, you haven't asked anyone powerful for help." Maya shifted in her chair. "You've been watching me for a while." "Long enough." "That's unsettling." "It should be." At least he was honest about it. Maya looked down at the folder. "And the five million?" "Yours." "Just for marrying you?" "Five million after the contract is completed." "And my mother?" "Her treatment will be paid in full immediately." Maya's eyes lifted. "Immediately?" "The day you sign." She hated how quickly hope moved through her. Ethan noticed, but he didn't react. "There are terms," he said. "Of course there are." "Twelve-month marriage. You live at my residence. We attend required public events together. If you break the contract, the payment ends. You don't discuss it with anyone." "Not even my mother?" "No one." Maya thought of her mother's warning to ask questions, and asked the next one. "Separate bedrooms?" "Yes." "No romantic expectations?" "None." Maya narrowed her eyes. "Then why do you need an actual wife?" "Because the trust requires a legal marriage, not an arrangement that can be challenged." "And you expect me to believe this is only business?" "I expect you to decide whether the terms are worth what you're getting." She looked at the folder again. Five million dollars, her mother's treatment, a year of her life, and a stranger's name attached to hers. Maya swallowed. "What happens if I say no?" "Nothing." "No retaliation?" "No." "My mother still gets treated?" Ethan paused. "Not by me." He wasn't being cruel. He was being clear, and that was worse. Maya stood. "I need time." "You have until noon tomorrow." She turned toward the door. Then Ethan spoke again. "Maya." She looked back. "If you accept, understand something before you sign." "What?" "I won't control you." Maya studied him. "That's an odd thing to say to a woman you're paying to marry." His expression remained unreadable. "I chose you because I don't want someone I can control." Maya folded her arms. "You picked a woman who can't afford to say no. That's about as controllable as it gets." "Then prove me wrong." She had no answer for that. She opened the door. Her phone rang before she could step into the hallway. Saint Gabriel. She answered before the second ring. "Hello?" Dr. Harrison's voice came through. "Ms. Brooks, I need you to come back to the hospital." "Why? What happened?" "Your mother's condition has changed." She looked back at Ethan. His expression changed again, only slightly, but she saw it. Dr. Harrison continued. "We need authorization for the next stage of treatment, and we need it quickly." Maya closed her eyes. "How quickly?" "Tonight." The call ended. Maya lowered the phone. Ethan was still watching her, and he didn't say a word.