Once Upon A Beast

by KB Winters

  I pinched my leg. Whatever alternate universe I stepped into when I’d crossed the threshold to his office didn’t disappear.

  “Mrs. Blake, it’s nice to meet you.” One of the suits extended a hand to me, and I shook it numbly.

  Mrs. Blake? My mind whirled. Then I spotted the tag hanging around his neck, partially obscured by his jacket. Suddenly, the events of the past minute or so made perfect sense, and the world came into sharp focus.

  “United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,” the tag read.

  “Nice to meet you too,” I muttered, wondering what the hell Hudson was getting me into.

  He grinned down at me with an adorable soppy expression on his face, as if we were sharing a private moment he’d been waiting all his life for. His voice was low and commanding when he spoke again. “Future Mrs. Blake. We got engaged a few weeks ago, but I don’t intend to wait more than a few more to finally make an honest woman out of my Mia.”

  His Mia? The statement completely floored me. I bristled. I didn’t belong to anyone but myself. I certainly didn’t belong to him. Not even in this wacky version of reality. I didn’t know if it was shock, fear, or his amazing cologne, but I couldn’t bring myself to make a sound.

  “I must admit, Mr. Blake. This relationship comes as quite a surprise. We saw no trace of it in our preliminary investigations.”

  Hudson sighed and ran a hand through his hair like he was pained about something. “There wouldn’t have been. We’ve had to keep it a secret because Mia is a manager here. She’s more than earned her position, of course, but we didn’t want people to assume the worst about her.”

  “What changed?” the second suit rasped. “Why now? The timing seems rather suspicious, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Hudson’s expression turned into one of quiet contemplation. “I suppose it does, but I would argue the point is moot. I wasn’t made aware of any investigation or the fact you would be coming to talk to me today, and yet, here my fiancée is. There would’ve been no time to somehow orchestrate this, would there? I haven’t even looked at my mobile phone since you arrived.”

  “I suppose so.” The first suit rose from the couch. “We will look into this, Mr. Blake. We’ll call you in for an evaluation if we find any indiscretions. Thank you for your time.”

  The second suit followed the first, nodded from the doorway, and disappeared through it.

  I sat in stunned silence, barely aware of Hudson extricating himself from me like I’d burned him before crossing the room to his desk.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked quietly.

  “I would think it was relatively self-explanatory.” Hudson rummaged through the paperwork I’d set down earlier. “Where’s the confidentiality addendum to this one?”

  He held up one of the contracts, impatient eyes burning into mine. All vestiges of emotion completely absent from the hard planes of his face.

  It was enough to snap me right out of the haze of confusion clouding my mind. I snapped at him, annoyed at the implication I didn’t know how to do my job and furious that he’d just made me complicit in a lie to the U.S. government.

  “It’s bundled in after the remuneration addendum that starts on page sixteen. And we need to talk about this, Hudson. It’s not exactly ‘self-explanatory,’ beyond the fact that you just told a blatant lie to the federal government.”

  “What is there to talk about? It’s a done deal.” He turned that intense gaze on me. There was no indication he was playing some cruel joke on me.

  “What’s a done...?” my voice trailed off with incredulity. “Like hell it’s a done deal. Fat chance I’m marrying you, asshole.” It slipped out before I could stop it. My usually submissive demeanor around him had disappeared instantaneously at his assertion.

  “You’ve just told the United States government that you are. I’d say we’re way past ‘fat chance’ and well into ‘done deal’ territory.” He flashed me a cocky grin. “No?”

  “No, absolutely not,” I insisted. “Besides, I didn’t tell them anything.”

  “You didn’t deny anything, either, which makes you complicit in the lie. Come on, Mia. You know that.” His eyes narrowed slightly, but otherwise, his expression remained impassive.

  “I didn’t agree to marry you, damnit. No matter what bullshit arguments you try to make. We have to talk about this.”

  He gathered his things and turned to leave. I grabbed his arm. A bicep of steel flexed under my fingers. He pulled away from me and motioned to the door. “Fine, if you insist. We’ll go get some coffee and negotiate the terms of our arrangement.”

  “I’m not having coffee with you, and we have no arrangement,” I sputtered, my feet rooted firmly in place.

  “You want to talk. I want coffee. It seems to me the most obvious solution is to talk over coffee.” A frown line marred the space between his eyebrows. “Surely, you have to see that? Perhaps I should’ve given more careful consideration to choosing a wife if you don’t.”

  I gaped at him like he’d grown a second head. The arrogance of this guy was un-fucking-believable. “I’m not having coffee with you.”

  Chapter 4

  Hudson

  Well, lo and behold. She came to grab coffee with me. Color me not even a little surprised. It’s not like she was going to say no. Not really.

  “Straight up black coffee,” she ordered when the barista turned his attention to us. She fidgeted with the strap of her bag and looked out the window to the street beyond.

  “For you, sir?” the kid asked, clearly checking Mia out as she diverted her attention to the world outside of the coffee shop.

  The cafe was one that was frequented by everyone in the office. She knew it as well as anyone, but she seemed transfixed by every nuance, as if she was determined to look everywhere but at me.

  “I’ll have the same,” I told him.

  Mia waited to see if I was going to pay. So, I slapped the money for my coffee onto the counter, and the barista turned to Mia expectantly.

  She pulled a few bills from her purse, flashed a smile at the barista in thanks, and hurried to a booth in the corner. It was mildly amusing to see the kid melt at Mia’s smile. I winked knowingly at him and turned to follow her.

  I couldn’t blame the kid. Mia was hot. Just because I didn’t make a habit of fucking my employees didn’t mean I didn’t notice the ones worth noticing. And Mia was definitely worth noticing.

  It wasn’t like I would’ve even gotten fake engaged to her if she wasn’t. Planned or not. I’d already been telling the agents about my fiancée when Mia entered my office. The employee- employer angle for the secrecy and lack of evidence of a relationship was too perfect to pass up.

  Mia slid into a booth at the back of the coffee shop, collected her thoughts, and squared her shoulders. She looked different somehow. More ferocious. Less submissive. I’d always suspected that I intimidated her, but it was clear she’d shed whatever layer that was there.

  “What’s this all about, Hudson? Why did you just lie to the authorities?” She cut right to the chase. Her voice was low, albeit forceful. Her navy-blue eyes held a determined edge. Her full lips pressed into the tight line of a thoroughly pissed off woman.

  “How much do you know about me?”

  I quickly assessed the situation and concluded that the fastest way of getting the answer I required from her was to start from the beginning. To tell her what she needed to know about me and get fucking married.

  I nearly shivered at the thought, but I wasn’t going back to Santo Via Island, and I wasn’t losing my company. A temporary marriage to fulfill the ultimate goal was nothing but a minor inconvenience.

  “Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it. Your name is Hudson Blake, you’re thirty-three. You’re the co-founder of one of the biggest music labels around, and you’ve got a bit of an alpha problem.”

  I bit back a laugh. An alpha problem? How was that a problem?

  She was feisty, this
one. I kind of liked it. Maybe it wouldn’t be completely unbearable to be fake married to her, however briefly it might be. “Is that it?”

  “Why does it look like you’re about to laugh? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh.” Her eyes narrowed. “This isn’t funny, Hudson.”

  “It’s not. You, on the other hand, might just be. I laugh. Sometimes. You really think I have an alpha problem?”

  “Yup, and I think you know it.”

  “I just know what I want, and I get it. How is that a problem?” My brows furrowed. There was no amusement in my tone anymore.

  I expected her to shy away from me. She didn’t.

  She held my gaze without wavering. “I wasn’t trying to be funny. You asked me what I know about you, and I gave you a straight answer.”

  “I can respect that,” I said. “Just so you know, I always get what I want, and I definitely don’t consider that to be a problem.” I sat back, taking a sip of my coffee and watching her expression change as she considered the meaning of my last sentence.

  “And right now, what you want is a wife. An American one, presumably. Why?”

  “I’m from Santo Via Island. I have to get a green card. Fast. An American wife can get me that.” If she was cutting straight the chase, so was I.

  “I figured as much. Why me?” Something changed in her eyes, and she set her jaw in grim determination.

  “It doesn’t have to be you, Mia. I can find someone else if you’d prefer.” I might have an alpha problem in her mind, but I wasn’t forcing an employee to marry me. We were in the twenty-first century for Christ’s sake.

  “You already told INS you were marrying me. If you suddenly marry someone else, they’ll know you lied, Hudson. They’ll know you’re lying.” She sighed.

  She was telling the truth, and I knew it. Perhaps I should’ve left the identity of my future wife to their imaginations for the moment, but I hadn’t.

  “That’s true. Look, Mia, this doesn’t have to be a big deal. Or a real marriage. We can get married in front of a justice of the peace, stay together until immigration gets off my back, and then we’ll get a divorce.”

  “Not a big deal?” she whisper-yelled. If nothing else, I appreciated her discretion. “You’re talking about getting married, Hudson. It’s a big fucking deal, and it’s not happening.”

  Not a problem. I’d closed more than my fair share of deals in my life. I was simply in the middle of another negotiation. “It’s a wedding, Mia, followed by a brief period of cohabitation. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that. It’s not going to be. There’s got to be something you want that can make this happen. What is it?”

  She blinked, paled, then met my eyes in a gaze nearly as calculating as I imagined mine was. She took a few deep, measured breaths. “The only way I’ll even consider going along with your charade is if you promise me Maxwell’s job when he retires next month.”

  “There’s no way. Forget about that. Something else.”

  I’d said it to Henry, and I’d say it again—I wasn’t paying someone else to do that man’s work. I was more than capable of doing it myself.

  Her eyes swept mine, evidently finding whatever answer she’d been searching for. “Well then, I think we’re done here. I hope I’ll still be seeing you at work tomorrow, Mr. Blake.”

  Mia gathered her bag and coffee cup, nodded goodbye, and turned to leave. I waited for her to reconsider or to come back to me with another offer.

  She didn’t.

  Without another look at me, her long curly blonde hair floated behind her as she walked out the door and let it fall shut behind her.

  Well, fuck me sideways. Mia wasn’t who I thought she was. And that didn’t happen very often.

  I sighed, heaved myself to my feet, and headed out after her. I’d warned her. I got what I wanted. She wasn’t the first person who’d stormed out on me during contract negotiations. I’d be damned if I’d let her be the last.

  I preferred the calmer, more direct approach to negotiating, but I also knew how to deal with adversaries who were more emotional.

  “Mia, wait,” I called out after her, exiting the coffee shop to clouds rolling in from the river.

  She paused as I caught up to her and wrapped my fingers around her delicate wrist.

  “What?” she asked. “Have you reconsidered already?” Her eyes betrayed her hopefulness and her insecurity.

  The truth was if anyone deserved that job, it was her. I would never admit it out loud, however. “I can’t promise you the job, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I want better than that, Hudson. I want assurances. This is marriage you’re proposing, even if it won’t be real. It will be real to everyone who knows us. To my family, your family. The authorities.” She hissed, her gaze unwavering.

  “Okay, if it’s assurances you want, I can give you assurances.” I knew I had her. “If you don’t get the job, I’ll pay you a million dollars to become my wife. Wired to an account of your choice on the date of our divorce. That way, it will be part of your settlement, and no one will think twice about it.”

  “A million bucks, huh? So, you can’t give me the promotion you and I both know I deserve, but you think you can buy me? What do I look like to you, a prostitute?”

  “Think about what a million dollars can do for you, Mia.”

  “I’ll think about it.” I could see it in her eyes—she’d already made her decision. All I had to do was wait for her to tell me.

  I let go of her wrist and let her walk away.

  Chapter 5

  Mia

  My fingers toyed with my hair as I listened to my mom chattering at the other end of the line. I loved her, but even at this distance, I could feel her worrying about me.

  A mother’s curse, she’d once told me.

  “Honey? Are you there?”

  “I’m here, Mom. I’m fine, just distracted. Work has been crazy.” It was a lie, but she didn’t have to know exactly how crazy things were yet. Maybe there was no need for her or the rest of my family to ever know what I was considering doing.

  “That’s to be expected. You’re so busy nowadays.” Her tone made my heart bleed with guilt.

  “I’m not too busy, Mom. What’s up?” I rubbed my tired eyes. Most people my age were probably heading to clubs or bars, but I had no desire to be a part of that crowd.

  Twenty-four-years-old and I felt like an old lady, way too tired and stressed to even think about having any kind of social life. I’d actually been excited to get home, pull on my pajamas, and collapse on my couch with Netflix and takeout food.

  The thought was comforting and depressing at the same time. My mom tipped the scales to depressing almost immediately. “I just worry about you, baby. You’re out there in the big wide world, and we only get to speak once or twice a week...” Her voice trailed off. I kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt her. She needed to get whatever it was off her chest. “I just feel like we’re growing apart.”

  I sighed. “We’re not, Mom. I promise. I just have no news other than what is happening at work, and you know all about that.”

  “Okay. You just seem, I don’t know, a little off. I won’t pressure you to tell us what’s going on with you. You know we’re here for you when you’re ready.”

  I closed my eyes, letting the guilt of what was really going on wash over me.

  “Of course, Mom. What’s on your mind?” I scanned my small apartment, drinking in the bright colors in which I’d decorated it, and let the fact that it was mine because of my job at BC Records ease some of the guilt.

  “Well, your father is retiring next week. I’m planning a surprise party for him. You’ll be home for it, of course.”

  “Sure, Mom, I didn’t realize Dad’s retirement was coming up so fast. I’ll be there. I’ll just need to make arrangements at work. I’ll let you know when I’ll be in as soon as I know.”

  That was the problem with having such a close-knit family. It didn’t matter
the distance that separated you. You never really escaped.

  The truth was, I loved it. As crazy and overbearing as my family could be, I loved them all. They were one of the major reasons I was so hesitant to accept Hudson’s proposal. It would kill them if I got married and they weren’t there to witness it, or if they weren’t able to help plan the wedding.

  And I couldn’t tell them I was suddenly engaged to Hudson Blake, the boss I complained about on a fairly regular basis. They’d be shocked to hear I was in a relationship with him. The idea I planned to marry him would be too much. Then there were the expectations I was about to face.

  Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

  Still, I had to be there for the party. It was a big deal for my parents. I would just have to work it out with Hudson. “I have to get to work, Mom. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

  “Okay, sweetheart. Please talk to your boss today about taking next week off, and let me know what time you’ll be in.”

  My stomach twisted at her mention of Hudson. “I will. Love you.”

  “I love you too, baby. I can’t wait for you to get here!”

  ***

  I marched straight to Hudson’s office when I arrived at work. He wasn’t going to be happy about me taking the whole week off on such short notice, but he’d have to deal with it.

  At least I was sure he wouldn’t fire me the way he had the other girl who’d had to go take care of her family, not if he needed me to agree to his proposal. Which, of course, he did.

  A little rush of power surged through my veins. It was kind of cool to have him needing something only I could give him.

  His office walls were clear again, giving me a nice view of his muscular body stretched out behind his desk. His hand gestured animatedly as he spoke into his phone.

  Even from a distance, it was clear he was a man who exuded power and control. I realized there was no way he was going to let me say no to him. He was right the day before. It was a done deal. Simply because he wanted it. And Hudson Blake always got what he wanted.