“And let me guess. You convinced us in our drunken state that it would be so much fun,” Alexander finishes for him.
Yamada’s face pulls into a lopsided grin. “You didn’t take much convincing.”
Before Alexander has a chance to respond, the front door pops open and the same bodyguard with the braids who walked me up to Yamada’s party last night sticks his head through the door. “Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Yamada, but we have a situation. The women you escorted out are sitting in front of the elevator demanding to speak with you about when they can see you again. Would you like us to physically remove them from the property, sir?”
“Let me talk to them.” Yamada shakes his head, muttering as he heads toward the door. “This happens every time.”
“Yamada . . .”Alexander calls after his friend but gets no response as the door closes us alone in the suite.
Alexander turns around and rests his back against the counter in the kitchen area of our suite. The material of his pressed shirt strains against his bicep as he lifts his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose while he squeezes his eyes shut. “I can’t believe I allowed you to con me into this. How could I be so careless?”
This causes me to jerk my eyebrows up as my eyes widen. “Me? You actually think I want to be married to you?”
His eyes snap open. He holds up his left hand that’s still bearing a wedding ring and points to it. “Obviously, you do. You don’t honestly expect me to believe that Yamada came up with that shit by himself. He had to get the idea from somewhere.”
“Excuse me.” I lift my hand to interrupt. This man is completely out of his ever-lovin’ mind if he believes that. “Being married to you is the last thing on my wish list. Why would I ever subject myself to something like that?”
Alexander releases a bitter laugh. “Right. I know you’re smarter than that, Margo, so cut the act.”
My mouth falls open. “What act? Mythorough disgust at the thought of being your wife isn’t for show—that I can assure you. My disdain for you is quite real.”
He stares at me through narrowed eyes. “I’m sure you’d like me to believe that, but Princess, I’m on to your game. Once Jack figures out if we’re legally married, I’ll have him slap you with an annulment so fast it’ll make your head spin. When I told you to marry some schmuck for money, I didn’t mean me!”
The moment those words leave his mouth, things begin clicking into place. My hungover brain obviously isn’t quick enough this morning to figure out that if, in fact, we are married, it means there was no time for any pesky contracts like a prenuptial agreement. Alexander King is screwed, and he knows it. He’s now at my mercy.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
Since he paints me to be the evil mastermind of this plot, I might as well go along with it.
I lick my lips and peer into the beautiful eyes of the man I love to hate. “I must say, Alexander, this new development changes things drastically between us. Don’t you think?”
“This changes nothing,” he growls. “This marriage is a mistake. No judge in the world will award you shit if you press the issue. Besides, we don’t even know if the marriage is legal.” He snatches the picture of the so-called wedding off the table and panic rolls through his voice. “A minister wearing a fucking Kiss costume can’t be a legitimate man of the cloth capable of marrying people legally, right?”
While I have to agree with him on that, there’s no way I’m about to let Alexander know that I’m having a hard time believing this whole thing is legit.
“Maybe you’re right . . .” I tilt my head. “And maybe you’re wrong. Are you willing to take a chance and find out? If our marriage is legally binding, I won’t let you off easy.”
There’s a long pause of silence between us, and I can tell the wheels are spinning inside that brain of his, He’s trying to figure a way out of this situation.
“What will it take for you to walk away from this quietly?” Alexander’s nostrils flare, and I can’t help smiling. Pissing him off is my new favorite pastime.
I turn on the barstool that I’m occupying and cross my legs in the direction that Alexander is standing. It’s finally nice to feel like the one in control of this situation. For a while there, I felt like trying to save Buchanan Industries was a lost cause, but now things have definitely changed in my favor.
“You know exactly what I want,” I tell him.
He raises his eyebrow. “Forget it. I have too much riding on this Buchanan deal. I’ll take my chances with Jack eating you alive in court.”
“Suit yourself. Everything that went on here this weekend will prove that you were a willing participant. Besides, your college buddy was your best man. Yamada wouldn’t let someone coerce you into something that you weren’t willing to do. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to convince a judge to see things my way.” I shrug and then push myself off the barstool. “I think I’ll go ahead and start with a call to our family attorney. I’ll have to start planning how I want to spend my newfound fortune of half your money.”
“I don’t know what planet you’re living on, Margo, but that isn’t going to happen.” His gray eyes harden. “You can’t afford to take me on.”
“What’s yours is mine, darling. So it seems to me like I can, thanks to your sprawling wealth.”
His nostrils flare. “You are such a bitch. I can’t believe for one moment that I—” He quickly cuts himself off and clenches his hands into fists by his sides. “Pack your shit. We’re going back to New York. Now.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
Alexander smirks. “Being your husband earns me that right. Now pack.”
I open my mouth to tell him to take his orders and shove them right up his bossy ass, but before I have a chance, he turns and walks toward his room, slamming the door behind him.
The second I’m sure that I’m alone, I drop my head and rub my forehead to try to soothe the pounding headache that’s still raging inside. How the hell could I allow myself to get this out of control last night? I have so much riding on saving the family business. Being married to Alexander might fuck everything up.
Alexander
THE ROAR OF THE JET has been the only sound I’ve heard for the last hour. Margo hasn’t said a word to me since we left Las Vegas. Hell, she hasn’t even so much as glanced at me either. Whatever little connection we shared this weekend is now long gone. Reality has definitely set in that we are enemies and nothing more.
I allowed myself to forget that this weekend. I gave in to temptation and had her over and over.
It had been a long time since I’d laughed—let loose and just had a good time. The combination of liquor and Yamada tends to put me in a carefree state, but I never let my guard down around women. Margo Buchanan is irresistible, and I’m not exactly in the habit of telling myself no, which is how I landed myself in this situation. I couldn’t get enough of her.
“Another scotch, Mr. King?” Abigail asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yes, but make it a double this time,” I instruct her before she scampers off to fulfill my order.
I lay my head back against the headrest and close my eyes, only to be instantly alerted to a ringing phone. I answer on the second ring. “King.”
“Madafaka! You left without telling Yamada good-bye?”
I roll my eyes. I knew he’d be pissed at me for taking off like that, but I couldn’t spend one more minute in the penthouse cooped up with Margo’s tempting ass. That woman and her sexy as sin body drives me out of my mind and causes me to lose all control, so I knew I had to get out of there before I did something foolish. I will not break down and give in to her demands, no matter how hard my dick gets.