Chapter 3 - Five Hundred Dollars and a Diamond
"Absolutely not," Claire said, standing up so fast her tote bag slid off her shoulder onto the floor. "I am a pastry cook! I make croissants! I don't play fake wives for billionaires involved in high-stakes custody battles!"
Julian didn't look surprised by her outburst. He simply stood up, pulled a slim leather folder from his desk, and opened it.
"Claire Bennett," Julian read calmly. "Twenty-seven years old. Graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Current debt: forty-two thousand dollars in student loans. Your sister, Mia, owes sixty-eight thousand dollars in medical bills for her kidney treatment. Your checking account balance as of two hours ago was five hundred and seventeen dollars and forty-three cents."
Claire felt a wave of heat rush to her face. "You investigated me in twenty minutes?"
"Gideon is very good at his job," Julian said. He slid a piece of paper across the desk. "If you agree to move into this apartment for the next ninety days, attend the custody hearings at my side, and play the role of my fiancée in front of the judge and the press, I will pay off your debt, your sister’s medical bills, and place two million dollars in a tax-free trust under your name."
Claire froze. Her hand hovered over the paper. Two million dollars. Mia wouldn't have to choose between her medication and her rent. She would never have to worry about Chef Julian throwing copper pots at her head again.
"Why me?" Claire whispered, her voice shaking slightly. "You could hire a professional actress. You could pay a high-society woman."
"Because my sons don't talk to strangers," Julian said quietly. "Lucas hasn't spoken a word to anyone outside our immediate household since his mother died three years ago. Today, he spoke to you. He held your hand."
Julian stepped closer, his presence warm, imposing, and strangely grounding.
"You don't have to love me, Claire. You don't even have to like me. You just have to protect my boys for ninety days."
Before Claire could answer, a small head peeked around the corner of the hallway. It was Lucas. He was holding a worn, stuffed velvet bear missing one eye. He didn't say anything, but his dark, wide eyes looked directly at Claire, lingering on her face with a quiet, hopeful desperation.
Claire looked from the motherless boy to the cold, powerful father who was clearly terrified of losing his children.
She let out a long, ragged breath.
"I need a written contract," Claire said, her voice strengthening. "Rule number one: No physical intimacy beyond what is necessary for public appearances. Rule number two: My sister’s medical bills are paid tomorrow morning. Rule number three: I keep my job at the bakery three days a week. I won't lose my identity in your world."
A faint, fleeting shadow of a smile touched Julian’s lips.
"Agreed," he said.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a velvet box, and opened it. Inside sat a breathtaking oval-cut diamond ring surrounded by small sapphires. He took her right hand—his fingers surprisingly warm and broad—and slipped it onto her ring finger.
May you like
It fit perfectly.
"Welcome to the family, Claire," Julian murmured, his thumb briefly brushing over her knuckles before he pulled back. "Now, let’s go teach you how to survive my father-in-law."
