Chapter 7

Lana Castroff I walked into Phoenix's office with his secretary and she asked me if I want tea or coffee. I told her the water will be just fine and she told me to wait for Phoenix for about 5 minutes because he's still in a meeting. I sat down on the sofa and laid back for a second. I'm really tired of dealing with all of this alone. When will my father comeback because I'm ready to kill him for leaving me in the middle of something like this. I bet he's with her again. The door opened and Phoenix entered the room with his secretary. His secretary gave me a bottle of cold water and Phoenix asked her to leave us both alone. "Ms. Castroff.. I have a proposition for you." I raised my eyebrows when he said that. "I don't think I will like this." I said and he sighed. "I know you won't but.. I have a better deal for you to cover that." "What do you want?" I asked as I crossed my leg. He took a really deep breath and he looked at me seriously. "I want you to marry me." I looked at him and blinked a few times. "I know it sounds crazy but.. I have an offer for you and it will surely gives you more benefits." He said and I tried to take a really deep breath before answering him. "Mr. Sterling, I'm sure that you're aware that we both currently under a lawsuit agreement. My products hurt your employees and I don't think marrying you even though it's just for show will make people believe our relationship." I said calmly trying to process everything slowly. "I'm aware of that, Ms. Castroff. The thing is that nobody has to know that we're married except for my family of course." He said and I sat up straight opening my water bottle aggressively. "What do you mean? So nobody will never know that we're married?" "That's true." "So what's the point of marrying then? We won't show it off to the public anyway." I said as I laughed nervously. "I don't want my family to bother me again and arrange me with the women of their choice. I will make sure that no one except our family know about our relationship." He said proudly about his plan. "Mr. Sterling, I don't think I want this arrangement. I rather pay you the settlement in a full amount than have to deal with you." I said smiling widely. "You haven't hear about my offer yet.." "I don't need to hear it. How about you ask Julie for it? I bet she will do it for the money. She's a commoner.. remember?" I said as I got up from the sofa. "I will drop the charges, I will help your product become more well known and I will gladly use your product in all of my company." He said as he gestured me to sit down again. "We're doing great on our own, Mr. Sterling. We don't need your help." I said as I grabbed my bag. "How about I'll give you one million euros?" He offered and I sighed. "The idea of us marrying will only help you not me." I said as I pointed my finger at him. "Ms. Castroff, I guess.. I have to blackmail you then.." He said smirking as he got up from his seat. He suddenly walked towards the door and locked it making me a little bit anxious. He took out his wallet and he showed me a card that says Illicit on it. He's proving himself as the member of The Illicit. The Illicit was known to be the strongest foundation of Europe. They're really good at business and make connections with a lot of countries. They're clearly a part of the elites who has a lot of privilege in every corner. "Ah.. you know the Illicit huh?" He said and I bet he's judging by my reaction. "I can tell everyone that you are the member of Illicit." I said seriously and looked at him coldly. "No matter how much you're going to scream outside, no one would listen." He said as he walked closer to me. "I don't have any other choice to blackmail you, Ms. Castroff. I have to say this desperately because I really need you to play this role." He said as he closed the gap between us. "You know how powerful I am right? I can crush your business easily and your family legacy will be gone in a snap. I suggest you accept my offer and get the benefits that you will get than rejecting the offer." He said in a serious tone. His eyes was burning in flames showing that he's not playing games. I can say that he's crazy. He didn't even give me room or time to think. He was busy blackmailing me and I just.. couldn't believe that I'm in this situation. "Can you give me time to.. think?" "I'm afraid, I can't." He said and I sighed. "Mr. Sterling, marriage is a real deal for me. I can't just randomly marrying you. You can find another woman who would gladly help you in this situation." I said nervously and he shook his head. "We will enter the marriage secretly and we will have a divorce secretly. I will guarantee you that, you can act like you never got married before." He said like it wasn't a big deal for him. I'm starting to have a headache all of the sudden. "We will only act as a married couple when my family's around, you don't need to worry about that. I will give you freedom to date around and just.. enjoying life like you're single. Don't mind me because I won't mind you either." "Mr. Sterling, I still don't think that this is a good idea." I said. "I will help your business more and as a reward.. I will give you one million euros." He added and it made me want to smack the shit out of him. "You can't think or decide this later." He said and suddenly I remembered about my father. Maybe this is one of the ways to piss him off. Maybe this will teach him something. "Fine, I'll marry you."