More Than Hate You (More Than Words)

I hesitate, looking for another way to soften her, but that stubborn chin tells me it’s a losing battle.

“All right. Do you still want to save Reservoir?”

“It’s not my concern anymore. I was fired, remember?” She tries to look unmoved.

I’m not buying it. In her attempt to get her father’s attention, I think she came to care deeply about the organization itself. “Hypothetically, what if you weren’t?”

“Why? Is Mr. Rawson considering hiring me back?” The hopeful note in her voice is unmistakable.

“We’ll get to that. For now, think of this as a general question. If it was within your power to save Reservoir, would you?”

“In this hypothetical scenario, would Mr. Rawson be returning to run things right?”

“No.” He looks too sick for the day-to-day rigors of running a growing tech company, and I wonder if she knows just how unwell her biological father is. But now isn’t the time to disclose that. “Let’s say saving Reservoir falls to you—and you alone. Would you do it?”

“Sure, but this is all mental masturbation, right?”

I shake my head. “As of next Thursday, Reservoir will be under new management and in a healthy financial position again, thanks to a cash infusion in the form of a loan.”

She gapes at me, looking furious and betrayed. “One Stratus is providing, I assume. How convenient.”

Her verbal swipe proves she still cares about her former employer. “But it will save Reservoir. All you have to do is agree to one simple term.”

Sloan looks taken aback. “Me?”

“I told you that you alone dictated the organization’s fate.”

“What does that mean? And what if I don’t agree?”

“The company will be insolvent and forced to declare bankruptcy in the next seven days.”

Sloan’s blue eyes widen with shock. “No. We should be able to file chapter eleven and reorganize, rather than sell out. We don’t need Stratus taking over. You and Satan pack up your carpetbag and get the hell out of Reservoir.”

Yep. She definitely cares.

“Like you said earlier, you were fired. You don’t have the power to lead a reorganization,” I remind her before I unload another secret on her. “And their collateral is already tied up in existing loans. Mr. Rawson still owns the company, and he’s agreed to these terms. All you have to do to save it is say yes.”

She eyes me warily. “To what?”

I pull a velvet box from my pocket and set it on the kitchen island between us. “Marry me.”

Sloan backs away from the box like it’s a snake. “What?”

“If you agree to marry me for one year, I’ll step in as Reservoir’s new CEO. Shane will be fired, as will all the VPs he compromised. The company will receive a much-needed cash infusion, and you’ll be reinstated.”

I don’t tell her about the promotion yet. Some stupid part of me wants her to say yes because she wants me, not a job, though I know that’s stupid, wishful thinking. Sloan only tolerates me. She sure as hell doesn’t trust me. She might not hate kissing me…but that’s not enough to sway her into marrying me.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Does it matter?” I open the box to reveal three carats of princess-cut diamond in rose gold with another carat decorating the diamond-encrusted band. “Say yes.”

She stares at the ring, then back up at me, gaping. “Why?”

The truth will freak her out, so I settle for the logical response. “We need collateral to ensure that Mr. Rawson won’t call his cronies to circle the financial wagons, sell his personal assets, or launch any other eleventh-hour charge to save Reservoir and oust us. You’re it.”

She scoffs at me. “He doesn’t care what happens to me.”

He doesn’t, and I think he’s an asshole. “He cares about keeping you a secret.”