Beauty & The Business Man

Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Alex smiled at the way Helen's breath hitched when he proposed to her. She was an expressive little minx with her large green eyes and wide mouth. She would be a terrible poker player. He watched as her mouth fell open in shock and continued to delight in her predicament as she closed it and opened it again several times without making a sound. Her eyebrows pulled together and her lips slid down into a frown. "Marry you?" She asked, breathlessly. "You—you've literally said two words to me and now you want to marry me?"

He smirked, it might not seem like an arrangement that made sense to her, but for him, it was perfect. He was trying to separate himself from his playboy image of his youth, now that he was in his thirties he was trying to show the world that he was serious and not just Hector's little brother along for the ride. Who better than to lend him that air of legitimacy than McCoy Enterprise's golden goose? "This arrangement benefits us both equally. Your reputation is at risk and mine needs some rehabilitation."

"Wha—," She paused and took a deep breath, clenching her fists at her sides letting it out. "Okay. You want me to marry you for reputation's sake?"

Alex nodded.

"Will..." She paused again, he knew what question she would ask next. He was surprised she hadn't asked it already. "What are the expectations...is this...will we...?"

"We won't have sex until you beg me." He smirked at the thought of her begging him in bed. He imagined what she would look like, dressed up in only lacy underwear, head thrown back in pleasure—he had to control himself before he got lost in those fantasies.

"Beg you?" Helen scoffed. "I don't beg."

Alex quirked an eyebrow at her, "No? Then what is this little meeting about?"

He watched her fume and bite the inside of her lip. "I won't beg you for sex if marriage is what you want." She settled on. "Is this a lifetime commitment or do you have a timeline in mind?"

"Five years." Alex said. He and Hector had already talked about this arrangement before coming here. It hadn't taken much digging to figure out why McCoy had reached out to them for a partnership, they understood going into the meeting that things were bad for McCoy Enterprises, bad enough that they could demand almost anything of the company.

Alex had jokingly suggested marrying the daughter so he could have control of the company and get a hot wife with great old-money connections. He hadn't expected Hector to take the suggestion seriously, let alone help him implement his plan. It had worked well, perhaps a little too well now that he sat here, trying to keep his composure as Helen McCoy looked as though he'd killed her puppy. "Five years of marriage to you and you'll help McCoy Enterprises get back on its feet?"

"Five years of marriage and controlling interest of McCoy Enterprises—,"

"Controlling interest?" She interrupted him, "You can't be serious!" Helen's hands fisted again and he wondered if she would hit him.

"You haven't listened to the rest of the proposal." When she said nothing, he continued, "Five years of marriage and controlling interest of McCoy Enterprises for the duration of those five years. I'll take a spot on the board and ask that you father step down as CEO." He shot her a glare when she opened her mouth to argue with him. "You will be named CEO and, at the end of our marriage, I'll return controlling interest to you, while still maintaining a large stake in the company that I helped to save."

Alex watched as she rolled his proposition around in her brain. He knew she was tempted to take it. Not only was she going to save her father's company, but it would become her company. Though she hadn't said it in so many words, it was obvious that her father's once-bright star was fading fast. Throughout the meeting upstairs with Hector, Helen had been the one to talk, she had tried to include her father in the discussion, but he had seemed uninterested, disjointed with everything around him. Helen was the true powerhouse behind the company now, even if this was accelerated by about fifteen years, she would have become the CEO had her father not stolen from his company.