Page 8 of Cruel Offer
Defiance flashes across her face, followed by a hint of desperation. How shitty of her father to send her here tobeg. I fully expected him to show up again in another vain attempt at getting his money back. He’s tried twice now. Instead, he sends his only child to do his dirty work, and the poor thing thinks she still has a chance at being sold to wealthy man.
She moves closer to my desk. Her eyes flick to the chair but I don’t invite her to sit and she’s too proper to do so without an invitation.
“There must be someone who would be interested in me.”
“Save yourself the trouble, Ms. Barclay. Go home.”
Damn it. Her eyes glisten with sudden tears and her jaw clenches. She’s doing a good job of holding it all in, but not before I saw the flash of her anguish. Why does she want this so bad?
And why am I fighting the urge to help her?
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Windemere.”
She turns to go. I lean back in my chair and tap a pen against my lips while staring at her firm, round ass as she retreats.
Piper-Lily Barclay is delicious…and I have been hungry for something new lately.
“There may be other options,” I call after her, “depending on what you’re willing to do.”
She spins, her long brown hair creating a curtain around her face. Her features light up with hope. Gesturing to the chair, I sit up straighter as I watch her seat herself, contemplating what I’m about to do.I’m going to enjoy it. That’s what I’m going to do.
“I’ll do anything, Mr. Windemere. Really. I’m willing.”
Her eagerness shows her naivete. Or her desperation.Maybe both. The scent of her floral, spicy perfume reaches me, and my pulse picks up just enough that I’m aware of my physical reaction to her. She really is a beautiful little package.
Turning to my computer again, I go into QG’s shared drive and open up a spreadsheet that Sebastian maintains. It’s the “last option” file, a list of men we consider last resort matches because either they’re hard to fully vet (usually with a military or government background that’s classified) or because they have different ideas of marriage than most.
I dig my hand through my hair as I scroll through the list. There are a few good candidates, but they might not be right for Piper-Lily. She’s so young and innocent. Then again, desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Are you willing to marry a man from another country? Specifically, a nation that has remarkably different views on women’s rights than what you enjoy here? You wouldn’t be allowed out in public without a male escort, for example.”
I’m not going to lie to her. It’s an option.
Her smooth brow furrows. “It would be a difficult transition, but I could manage…”
“What about a husband from overseas in general? Russia, Asia, the EU?”
She leans forward in her chair. “I’d prefer to stay in the United States for family reasons. There’s a…medical issue. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable living that far away.”
I almost ask her to elaborate, but it has nothing to do with the topic at hand, so I don’t.
“What about a sugar daddy? He might not marry you, but if you’re good at playing arm candy, your every want and need will be met.”
She nods. “I don’t need marriage, as long as I get guaranteed financial security.”
Ah, the rich girl wants her money back. Of course. Some of my earlier frustration fades as I become more invested in the woman sitting across from me. What will she think when I make her the ultimate offer?
“How wide of an age gap are you comfortable with?”
Her brow furrows again as she thinks. It’s kind of…cute. “I’m not even twenty yet. So maybe ten or fifteen years at the most?”
A laugh bursts out of me. “Our clients are well-established in their careers and their lives. That means a lot of them are in their mid-forties. We have plenty that are younger or older than that, but I can’t make any guarantees as to age. You’ve got to be comfortable with the idea of a much older man taking you to bed or this is never going to work.”
Blooms of red color her cheeks. She really hasn’t thought this through.
“I didn’t realize that,” she says quietly. “But I’ll accept it. Whatever it takes.”
She didn’t even flinch as she responded. This woman really is desperate. Is her father putting her up to this or is she so devastated over the loss of her wealthy lifestyle that she’ll do anything to get it back? Or does she have her own financial debts to settle now that Daddy can’t bail her out?
