Part 5:
I’m not afraid of a legal battle. You should be afraid of what happens outside the courtroom. Your cousins have connections. Money. They could make your life very difficult. Are you trying to talk me out of reclaiming what’s mine? I’m making sure you understand the cost. His thumb traced my jawline, the gesture intimate despite the public setting.
If you pursue this, you’ll have enemies, powerful ones. Then I’ll need powerful allies. I smiled slightly. Good thing I’m engaged to the city’s most notorious businessmen. Something shifted in his expression. Surprise, appreciation, and something darker I couldn’t name. This isn’t a game, Grace. I know, but I’m done running from fights just because they’re dangerous.
I stepped back, creating distance before I did something foolish like lean into his touch. I spent 3 years hiding because one man tried to control me. I won’t hide from my own family because they want to steal my grandmother’s legacy, even if it means staying in my world longer than 6 months. The question hung between us, loaded with implications.
The contract specifies 6 months, I said carefully. Contracts can be renegotiated. James moved closer, his voice dropping. If you pursue the legal claim, you’ll need protection. Sullivan already sees you as leverage against me. Your cousins will see you as an obstacle. 6 months won’t be long enough to resolve either problem.
What are you suggesting? An extension. One year total. Full protection. legal support for your claim and continued public relationship. His eyes searched mine. In exchange, you help me with something. Help you with what? Sullivan is planning something. I don’t know what yet, but my sources indicate he’s been meeting with Eastern European contacts, arms dealers, human traffickers, the kind of people who make my business look ethical.
James’ expression hardened. I need someone he won’t suspect. Someone who can move through social circles and observe without triggering his paranoia. Someone intelligent enough to recognize patterns. You want me to spy. I want you to attend parties, make friends with the right people, and tell me what you learn. You’re good at observation.
6 years cataloging manuscripts taught you to notice details. He touched my hand lightly. And Sullivan already thinks you’re just a harmless librarian playing dressup. he’ll underestimate you completely. I should have refused. Should have stuck to the original six-month agreement and walked away clean. Instead, I thought about my grandmother’s trembling hands, about the codeex that held our family’s future.
About Kate’s warning that men like James didn’t fall for women like me. But what if I didn’t need him to fall? What if partnership was enough? One year, I said slowly. But I want additional terms. His eyebrow lifted. Negotiate. Then the codeex gets returned to my grandmother immediately, not at the end of the contract.
I want your lawyers on retainer for the legal claim. Full support, not just consultation. And I wanted in writing that you won’t use any illegal methods against my cousins. Legal warfare only. Done. Done. And agreed with one caveat. If they use illegal methods first, I reserve the right to respond proportionally. James extended his hand.
Anything else? I hesitated, then pushed further. I want to know what I’m walking into. Your world, your business, the truth about what you actually do. No more vague implications and calculated revelations. If I’m going to be your partner in this, even temporarily, I deserve full transparency. For a long moment, he simply studied me.
Then, surprisingly, he nodded. Tomorrow evening, my office. I’ll show you everything. The legitimate businesses, the less legitimate operations, the full scope of what you’re agreeing to protect yourself with. His grip on my hand tightened. But understand, Grace, once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Once you know you’re complicit, even if you walk away after the year, you’ll carry that knowledge. I understand. Do you? His voice went soft, almost gentle. Because I’m offering you an exit right now. Take the codeex, pursue your legal claim on your own, and disappear back into your quiet life. I’ll even provide security for 6 months to keep Sullivan at bay. No strings, no obligations.
It was a genuine offer. I could see it in his eyes. He’d let me walk away if I chose. The smart choice was obvious. I stepped closer instead, rising on my toes to whisper against his ear. “I don’t want the exit, James. I want the truth. All of it.” When I pulled back, his expression had transformed into something hungry and dangerous and utterly focused on me.
“Then you’ll get it,” he promised. “Every dark corner, every moral compromise, everything I’ve built and destroyed. And when you run, because most people do. I’ll remember that I offered you the chance to leave while you still could. I’m not most people. No, he agreed, his thumb tracing my lower lip with devastating gentleness. You’re really not.
The orchestra began another waltz. This time, when he pulled me close, there was nothing business-like about the embrace. His hands spllayed across my back, holding me against him while we moved through the crowd of dancers who had no idea they were watching something real take shape between two people pretending to be in love.
