“Of course you’d be well compensated for your…contribution to Conrad Industries. Even more than we’re currently paying you. We’d be happy to double your salary. Naturally it wouldn’t be a real marriage, and when you’ve finished with your work, we’d obtain a quiet divorce. If you’re agreeable, I’ll have Jerry draw up a prenuptial agreement for us to sign.”
Aleksandr was convinced that if there’d been any other way to solve the problem, Julia would have opted for it. She was offering him a pretend marriage, followed by a discreet divorce.
He frowned, disliking the fact that she was trying to bribe him with money. His wages were already far beyond what he could ever hope to make in Russia. Much of what he earned now he sent to his family, while he lived as frugally as possible.
“I understand there are several members of your family still in Russia,” she said cautiously. “We might be able to help them immigrate to the States if we did decide to go ahead with this marriage.”
At his silence, Julia added, “If that’s something you’d care to consider—bringing your immediate family into the country. Is it?” she prompted.
Aleksandr’s voice was strained when he spoke. “My sister is unmarried and lives with my mother, who is a widow.” Unable to remain seated, he stood and walked to the window, his back to her. He felt a strong desire to take Julia in his arms, but he was painfully aware that there was no warmth in her, nor would she welcome his touch.
For two years Aleksandr had studied Julia Conrad. Outwardly she was often arrogant and sometimes sarcastic. But she wasn’t entirely capable of hiding her softer side. Every now and then he caught puzzling, contradictory glimpses of her. She cared deeply for her employees and was often generous to a fault. Then there’d been the day, shortly after Alek had come to America, when he’d seen Julia with her grandmother.
Julia’s facade had melted away that afternoon. If Alek hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed such a transformation was possible. Julia had glowed with joy and pride as she gave her grandmother a tour of the rebuilt facilities. Alek had watched from a distance—and had held on to that image of her ever since.
Marriage. He sighed inwardly. His religion didn’t accept divorce and he refused to sacrifice his life and his happiness for a business proposition.
“I wish you’d say something,” she said.
He returned to the chair and kept his features as expressionless as he could. “There’s much we would need to consider before we enter into this agreement.”
“Of course,” she returned.
“Your money does not interest me.”
She seemed surprised by his words. “Even for your family?”
“Even for my family.” What he earned now was adequate. Julia wasn’t the only one who was proud. Alek couldn’t be bought. She, a woman who needed no one, needed him, and he appreciated what it had taken for her to approach him with this offer. Alek wasn’t being completely unselfish, nor was he without greed. He had a price in mind.
“Then what is it you want?”
He shrugged, not knowing how to tell her.
Restlessly she came to her feet and walked away from him. He admired her smooth, fluid grace. She was a woman who moved with confidence, sure of herself and her surroundings. Usually. But at the moment she seemed sure of nothing and obviously that disturbed her.
“I don’t know what to say,” Aleksandr answered truthfully.
“Do you find the idea of marriage to me so distasteful?” she asked.
“No,” he told her quietly. “You’re lovely.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t want money.”
“If it isn’t money, then what? A percentage of my stock? A vice presidency? Tell me.”
“You Americans regard marriage differently than we do in my country. There, when a man and woman marry, it is for many reasons, not all of them love. Nevertheless, when we marry it is for life.”
“But you aren’t in Russia now, you’re in America.”
“Americans treat marriage like dirty laundry. When it becomes inconvenient, you toss it aside. My head tells me I live in your country now, but my heart believes in tradition. If we marry, Julia, and it would be my wish that we do, there will be no divorce.”
Her breath escaped in a rush and her dark eyes flared briefly.
Aleksandr ignored the fury he read in her and continued. “We both stand to gain from this arrangement. I will remain in the country and complete my experiments. You will have what you wish, as well. But there is a cost to this, one we should calculate now. The marriage will be a real one, or there will be no marriage.”
Her gaze cut through him with ill-concealed contempt. “So you want more than the golden egg, you want the whole goose.”
“The goose?” Aleksandr hadn’t heard this story. He smiled. “In my family, goose is traditionally served at the wedding meal. I do not know about the golden egg, but you may keep that. I want only you.”
Her voice was husky when she spoke. “That’s what I thought.”
The phone on her desk rang just then and Julia reached for it. “I said I didn’t want to be disturbed,” she said impatiently. Her face tightened as she listened. “Yes, yes, of course, you did the right thing. Put me through immediately.” Several seconds passed. “Dr. Silverman, this is Julia Conrad. I understand you’ve had my grandmother taken to Virginia Mason Hospital.”
Alek watched as the eyes that had been distressed and angry a moment earlier softened with emotion. She blinked, and Alek thought he might have noticed the sheen of tears.
“Naturally. I’ll let my brother know right away and we’ll meet you there as soon as we can. Thank you for contacting me so soon.” She replaced the receiver, stood and started out of the room, apparently forgetting Aleksandr was there.
“Your grandmother is ill?” he asked.
She whirled around, apparently surprised at the sound of his voice, and nodded. “I…have to leave. I don’t believe there’s any need for us to discuss this further. I can’t agree to your conditions. I refuse to be trapped in the type of marriage you’re suggesting. I’d hoped we’d be able to work out some kind of compromise, but that doesn’t seem possible.”
“I’m disappointed. We would’ve had fine children.”
She stared at him as if he’d spoken in his native tongue and she didn’t understand a word he’d said. “Children?” she repeated. A sadness seemed to steal over her; she shook her head, perhaps to dispel the image.
“I will think good things for your grandmother,” Alek told her.
She nodded. “Thank you.” With what looked like hard-won poise, she turned and left the office.
Alek watched her go, and the proud way in which she carried herself tugged at his heart. He wished her grandmother well, but more importantly, he wished Julia a happy life.
* * *
Knowing his time in the States was limited to mere days, Aleksandr worked well past five, when his colleagues had all gone home. He felt it was his moral obligation to do everything within his power to see that the next series of experiments was performed to the standards he’d set for the earlier ones. He wouldn’t be with Conrad Industries to oversee the ongoing research, and that bothered him, but he had no choice.
The laboratory was silent, and the footsteps echoing down the wide corridor outside his office were louder than they would otherwise have been.
He raised his eyes expectantly when Julia Conrad opened the door without knocking and walked inside. She was pale, her eyes darker than he’d ever seen them before.
“Julia,” he said, standing abruptly. “Is something wrong?”
She looked sightlessly around, as though she didn’t know where she was or how she got there.
“Your grandmother?”
Julia nodded and gnawed on her bottom lip. “She…she had another heart attack.”
“I’m sorry.”
Her eyes flew upward as if to gauge the sincerity
of his words. For a lengthy moment she said nothing. Then she inhaled a shaky breath and bit her lip so hard, Aleksandr was afraid she’d draw blood.
“I…I’ve reconsidered, Mr. Berinski. I’ll marry you under the conditions you’ve set.”
Two
“I don’t want an elaborate wedding.” Julia folded her arms, moving to the far side of her office. Her brother was being impossible. “How could there even be time to arrange one?”
“Julia, you’re not listening to me.”
“I’m listening,” she said sharply. “I just don’t happen to like what I’m hearing.”
“A reception at the Four Seasons isn’t so much to ask.”
“But a wedding with guests and this whole thing about wearing a fancy wedding dress is ridiculous! Jerry, please, this is getting out of hand. I understand marriage is the best solution, but I didn’t realize I’d be forced to endure the mockery of a formal wedding.”
Jerry gestured helplessly. “We’ve got to make this as credible as we can. Apparently you don’t understand how important this is—and not just the wedding, either. That’s only the first hurdle. You have to make everything appear as though you’re madly in love. Nothing less will convince the Immigration people. If you fail… I don’t even want to think about that.”
“You’ve already gone through this.” More times than she cared to count.
“Alek has to live with you, too.”
This was the part that disturbed Julia most. Her condo was her private haven, the one place where she could be completely herself. She was about to lose that, too. “But why?” She knew the answer, had argued until Jerry was seething with exasperation. Julia didn’t blame him, but this marriage was becoming far more complicated than she’d ever thought it would.
“Why?” Jerry shouted, throwing his hands in the air. “I’ve made everything as plain as I can. Alek isn’t the problem, it’s you. What I don’t understand, Julia, is why you’re being so difficult when we’re the ones who stand to benefit from this arrangement.”
“You’re making Alek sound like a saint for marrying me.” She frowned. “And I don’t see you running for the altar.” Jerry had recently ended yet another brief liaison.
He didn’t answer right away, which irritated her even more. “Let’s put it this way,” he finally said. “Conrad Industries is gaining far more from this marriage than Alek ever will. And,” he added, “my marital status is irrelevant.”
Julia rolled her eyes at that. “I offered to pay him, and very generously, too,” she said.
“You insulted him. The man has his pride, Julia. He isn’t doing this for the money.”
“Then why is he going through with it?”
Jerry shrugged. “Darned if I know.”
His words reiterated that Alek wasn’t getting any bargain by marrying her. “He wants to help his family,” Julia reminded her brother. She remembered Alek mentioning a sister and his widowed mother. As the oldest son, Alek would feel responsible for taking care of his family. Julia had promised to do whatever she could to bring both his mother and his sister to the United States. This marriage provided plenty of incentives for Alek, she told herself, so she didn’t need to worry about taking advantage of him.
“There’s more to the man than meets the eye,” Jerry muttered. “I’m convinced he’s not interested in monetary gain. When he read over the prenup, he insisted on no stake in the company. We’re about to make a fortune because of him, and he wants no part of it.”
This discussion wasn’t doing anything to ease Julia’s conscience. “I agreed to the marriage,” she said, not wanting to stray any farther from the subject than they already had. “But no one said anything about a wedding. I thought we’d make an appointment with a justice of the peace and be done with it.” She walked over to her desk, opened the old-fashioned appointment book and flipped through the pages. “Friday at four is open.”
“Julia,” Jerry returned with a sigh. “As I’ve explained—we’ve got to make this as real as we can for obvious reasons.”
“I’ve said Alek can move in with me.” To Julia, that was a major concession. She wasn’t pleased by it, nor did she feel good about tricking Alek. He’d insisted from the first that their marriage be real. He’d made it known that he intended to sleep with her; he also wanted children. Julia couldn’t allow any of that. Alek didn’t understand and neither did Jerry. Julia was incapable of love, the kind of trusting love a husband and wife shared. That possibility was dead, destroyed by Roger’s treachery. Never again would she put her faith in a man. Alek expected her to be his wife in every way, but soon he’d learn the truth. Soon he’d know for himself how badly he was being cheated. Such deception didn’t sit well with Julia, but there was no avoiding it.
While Julia admired Alek, she found herself nervous around him. He left her feeling naked, somehow. Exposed. He seemed to be able to look into her very soul. That didn’t make sense, but she couldn’t shake the suspicion that in some uncanny way he knew all there was to know about her.
“Immigration is going to ask about the wedding,” Jerry went on. “We need proof that what prompted the marriage to Alek was nothing less than earth-shattering love. A hurried-up affair in some judge’s chambers won’t work. They’re going to want evidence of your commitment and devotion to each other.”
“A hurried-up affair at the Four Seasons will convince them of all that?” she asked sarcastically.
Jerry sighed again. “It looks better. Now, I suggest you go out and get yourself a fancy wedding dress while I make arrangements with Virginia. We’ll deal with the caterers and the photographers and see to having the invitations hand-delivered.”
“Jerry, this is crazy!” Julia protested. The idea of dressing up in an elaborate wedding gown, as if she were a loving bride on display, appalled her. Nor was she keen on posing for a series of photographs, like a new wife passionately in love with her husband. It was too much. “I can’t go through with this,” she said evenly.
“You’ve already agreed.”
“To the marriage, yes, but not this…this circus. It’s becoming a Hollywood production, a show for media attention.”
“A show is what we need if we’re going to fool the Immigration investigators,” Jerry argued. “And trust me, Julia, this marriage will be investigated.”
Julia walked over to the window and studied the street several floors below. In a moment of weakness, when her fears had been rampant and she was so deathly afraid of losing Ruth, Julia had gone to Alek and agreed to his terms. Even now she didn’t understand what had prompted her. She was sick of analyzing it, furious with herself for being so weak. This morning, once her head had cleared, she’d realized it had all been a mistake. But by then Alek had contacted Jerry, who’d put everything in motion. Now, it seemed, there was no turning back.
Her intercom hummed before Virginia’s efficient voice reached out to her. “Mr. Berinski is here to see you.”
Julia looked at her brother in sheer panic. She wasn’t prepared to deal with Alek just yet. They hadn’t spoken since she’d consented to the marriage.
“Julia,” Jerry prompted when she didn’t respond.
“Send him in,” Julia instructed her assistant, steeling herself for the confrontation.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the door leading to her office opened. Alek walked in and his dark eyes shone brightly as he gazed over at her. A slow, seductive smile appeared on his lips.
“Good afternoon.” Alek spoke to her brother first, then returned his attention to her. “Julia.”
“Alek,” she said briskly, surprised by how defensive she sounded.
He didn’t seem perturbed by her lack of welcome. Last night she’d agreed to become his wife, accepting the stipulations he’d set. She’d been overwrought with anxiety, frightened and lost. Yet no matter how hard she argued with herself, Julia wouldn’t change her mind…unless Alek wanted out. She was a woman of honor, a woman of her word. She k
new he was the same way.
“I was just clearing the wedding arrangements with Julia,” Jerry explained.
Alek’s eyes refused to leave her. She felt her face heat and wished with everything in her that she could escape.
“I’d like some time alone with my fiancée,” Alek said.
Julia sent Jerry a pleading glance, not wanting him to leave her. Jerry ignored the unspoken request, mumbled something under his breath and walked out of the room.
“You want to talk?” she asked abruptly. She rubbed her palms and walked away from him. Her shoulders felt stiff and her legs heavy.
“You’re nervous.”
Nervous. Terrified. Afraid. None of those words adequately described what Julia was experiencing. The situation had an eerie, unreal quality that she couldn’t shake. Only a few years earlier she’d looked forward to being a happy bride. She’d dreamed of the day Roger would slip a wedding band on her finger and gaze down at her with love.
She felt a flash of unexpected pain, then forced herself to shake the image from her head.
“All brides are nervous,” she said quietly in response to his question.
“How is your grandmother?”
“I’ll be seeing her this afternoon.… Better, I believe.” According to the nurse Julia had spoken with that morning, Ruth had slept restfully through the night. But that had been after Jerry had spoken to her and said Julia would be marrying Aleksandr Berinski. Her grandmother had only met Alek once, and that had been recently. He’d obviously made quite an impression, because his name had cropped up with alarming frequency ever since.
“Do you wish to cancel the wedding?” Alek probed.
Here was her chance, handed to her on the proverbial silver platter. All she needed to do was tell him that she hadn’t been herself, that she hadn’t been fully aware of what she was doing. She opened her mouth to explain it all away and found she couldn’t. The words refused to come. While she was fumbling for a reply, he stepped behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward, gently kissing the side of her neck.
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