Margo struts through the door with her chin tipped up, and I can tell by the heated expression on her face that getting her on my side will not be an easy task.
“Sit,” I order her.
She shakes her head. “I think I’ll stand.”
Her little act of defiance doesn’t surprise me. She hates being ordered around.
I want to lash out and say a million things that I know will get under her skin and piss her off even further, but I quickly think back to what Jack said. I have to stop fighting with this woman and get on her good side so she’ll cooperate with not only the divorce process, but also with the other little plan that I have in mind.
I take a deep breath and push myself to be more pleasant with her. “Would you please have a seat, Margo?”
She arches one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows, clearly questioning my sudden manners. She stares me down a moment longer but then takes the seat across from me. Margo crosses those long, sexy legs of hers, and my eyes instantly dart down to them. She’s wearing another one of those goddamn skirts that does nothing but accentuate every curve beneath it. A couple of buttons on her blue blouse are undone, the valley between her tits on display.
I pull at the collar of my shirt and do attempt to stop thinking about how fucking sexy she is both in and out of her clothes. “I have a proposition for you.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “This had better not be another request to be your fuck buddy. The last time you propositioned me for that, I distinctly remember smacking your face.”
My tongue dances behind my teeth, ready to remind her just how much she enjoyed having my cock buried inside her—how she begged for it. But I know doing that right now won’t help my case.
“Look, Margo, you’re an intelligent woman, so there’s no need for me to beat around the bush. I need something from you.”
This catches her interest, and both of her eyebrows shoot up. “And I suppose you believe I’ll just give over whatever it is you need from me.”
I lock my gaze with hers. “Yes.”
She opens her mouth to protest, but I quickly cut her off.
“The answer is yes because I’m willing to make you a very generous offer.”
She folds her arms over her chest. “What exactly is it that you want?”
“Your cooperation,” I tell her honestly.
She smirks. “You want to divorce me so soon?”
“This isn’t a joke, Margo. Our little moment of drunken indiscretion could put me in some deep shit.”
“And this is my problem because . . . ?”
Her flippant attitude is really getting under my skin. “If you want to save your father’s company, then it should matter to you if I’m no longer the one making final business decisions when it comes to the King Corporation.”
She rolls those magnetic, blue eyes of hers. “You’re really reaching, Alexander.”
I pound my fist on my desk, causing her to jump and release a tiny gasp. “It’s true, dammit.”
Her eyes search my face as she chews on that plump bottom lip of hers, and then she asks softly, “How is that possible? I thought your father left you this company?”
“He did, but there is a catch. A clause written in his will states the board has the power to overthrow my position as president if it is deemed that I was making reckless decisions in either my professional or private life,” I explain.
Her eyebrows draw in and there’s a flash of pity in her eyes. “Why would he do that?”
“Because I was only nineteen years old when he was diagnosed with cancer and that’s not exactly a mature age for a guy to run a Fortune 500 company without some protective measures in place.” I shrug. “I understand why he did it. Hell, I would do the same thing in order to protect the family empire and make sure it remained profitable. He was looking out for my sister, Diem, and me.”
Margo’s lips twist. “But you’re thirty years old now. Does that clause not have an expiration date?”
I nod. “It ends when I’m thirty-two. Father figured since that was the age he settled down, got married, and began building his empire that I should have my head on straight by then.” I lean in and set my elbows on my desk. “That’s why I need your cooperation. I need to convince the board that our marriage wasn’t some random drunken act so they don’t question my ability to run this company. I’ve worked my ass off since my father’s death to prove not only to the board, but also to myself, that I’m fit to fill Father’s shoes. I would want him to be proud of how well I’ve handled everything.”
Silence settles in the office. I’ve never really admitted to anyone why I’m so driven, but it feels good to say it out loud. I just hope that Margo understands why this means so much to me and agrees to help me out.
Finally, after she’s had time to process everything I’ve just told her, she launches into question mode. “So you’re saying that you want to stay married and that you want me to play along and make the world believe that we’re madly in love?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking.”
Margo nods. “What’s in it for me?”
I flinch. “I thought I was pretty clear about how me staying in power benefits you.”
She shakes her head. “All you said was that if I wanted to save my father’s business, then I would need to help you. I’m just sitting here asking myself why I would want to do that. I know your main objective is to buy out my father’s entire company and then break it into pieces to sell off like it’s some worn-out toy at a flea market.”